He Had Me Whipped, I Married the Alpha

Chapter 2 My Savior

"Of course. I'm your mate, aren't I?" Rodger replied, letting out a strained, awkward laugh.

Once we were in the guest room, I handed him Phillip's diagnostic report.

In this life, I had wasted no time getting Phillip checked, but unfortunately, returning to the past hadn't altered the cruelty of his condition.

Rodger's face went pale as he scanned the pages.

I knew he felt a genuine pang for Phillip, so I seized the moment. "A Health Potion can cure him, but the application process is rigorous. You're the Alpha's successor—you can make this happen, can't you?"

Rodger immediately dialed the Werewolf Emergency Center. Hanging up, he assured me, "Seven days from now, we're taking Phillip to the hospital for treatment."

Seven days later would be Christmas Day. The memory of the c*****e from my previous life sent a cold shiver down my spine.

"Rodger, Phillip is my only pup. Swear to the Moon Goddess that nothing will go wrong!"

Rodger offered a perplexed smile. "Alright, I swear to the Moon Goddess! Phillip is my only pup, too—why are you so wound up?"

Only after hearing his oath did I allow my muscles to relax.

Suddenly, the door swung open without a knock. It was Whitney.

"Rodger, Jeffry is waiting for his bedtime story."

She had come to claim my son's father on behalf of Samantha's child.

Rodger stood up instinctively, but before leaving, he cast a hesitating glance back at Phillip.

"Jeffry just lost his father; he needs you more right now. Just sign the treatment papers and go to him." I pulled out the Mark Dissolution Agreement, offering him a hollow excuse for his favoritism just to put his mind at ease.

He looked like a man granted a royal pardon.

Eager to leave, he scribbled his signature without even glancing at the contents of the document.

I tucked the paper away, a wave of profound relief washing over me.

"I'll come back to Phillip as soon as Jeffry is asleep," Rodger added, trying to salvage his conscience as he turned to go.

But I had long stopped believing in his empty promises.

Whitney caught the flash of disdain on my face, and her smile instantly vanished.

"What wicked scheme are you cooking up now? If you hadn't snatched Rodger away back then, Samantha would never have mated with a rogue wolf, and she wouldn't be a young widow today!"

I was Rodger's fated mate, yet in my own mother's mouth, I sounded like a homewrecker.

Not wanting to jeopardize Phillip's treatment, I chose not to reveal what we were actually doing. I met her gaze with chilling calm. "Who becomes Rodger's fated mate is the Moon Goddess's design. I didn't 'snatch' anyone."

"How dare you speak to me like that! Wolves raised in orphanages truly have no breeding," she spat. "Let me remind you, Rodger hasn't gone public with your identity because he's afraid of hurting Samantha. Tomorrow is her welcome party—you'd best keep your mouth shut!"

Her spiteful eyes flicked toward Phillip. "And don't go telling people he's Rodger's pup! A successor wouldn't have such a scrawny runt. He really ought to have a paternity test!"

Even knowing her tongue was a viper's, hearing her slander Phillip made me grit my teeth.

I suppressed the urge to let my wolf howl in rage and simply held the door open. "We need to rest. Please leave."

Whitney's lip curled. She looked at me as if the one being insulted was her. "We should never have brought you back from that orphanage!" she snapped, slamming the door behind her.

I finally let out a long, shuddering breath.

I remembered the day I was reunited with Whitney and Hayden. They had held me and wept for hours.

Then, they told me through tears, "When you were two, our pack was slaughtered. We lost you while we were fleeing. Now that you're home, you must yield to Samantha in everything. She's been our only child all these years; she isn't used to you being back."

I was so afraid of upsetting Samantha, and even more terrified of losing my parents again, that I yielded at every turn.

When I came back, I found Samantha had three rooms to herself, while I was tucked away in the attic. But back then, I wasn't angry.

On my birthdays, they gave me Samantha's hand-me-down dresses as gifts, and I accepted them with a smile.

But Samantha hated me anyway.

She would prick her own chest with silver needles and claim I had hidden them in her clothes. She threw Whitney's earrings down the toilet and shredded Hayden's books, telling them I did it because I resented their love for her.

I pleaded my innocence, but Whitney and Hayden only believed the daughter they had raised.

After that, they never smiled at me again. The phrase I heard most was "If we knew you were this malicious, we never would have brought you back."

"Don't be sad, Mommy. I'll grow up to be stronger than Daddy, and then no one will dare bully us." Phillip's small voice pulled me back from the abyss.

I pulled him into a tight embrace, feeling as though I were hugging my younger self.

In this life, I would protect him at all costs.

Once Phillip was sound asleep, I went to the living room for water.

When I passed the master bedroom, I heard Samantha's voice. "Rodger, my chest hurts so much... It's the grief. It's breaking my heart."

I looked instinctively. Samantha was guiding Rodger's large hand onto her breast.

She was wearing my nightgown—the silk straining and tearing at the seams under her fuller figure.

That nightgown was the first decent gift I had ever received. Seeing that, I looked away, sickened.

When I first returned from the orphanage, Samantha was already the most popular young she-wolf in the pack, and Rodger was the golden boy destined to be Alpha.

They grew up together; everyone assumed she would be his mate.

I was nothing more than a target for the elite young wolves to bully.

They cut my hair short, spiked my drinks with Aconitum, and threw me into a muddy pit full of toads, jeering, "Go back where you belong!"

At first, Rodger just stood by, a neutral, silent observer.

Later, he began to intervene with a casual but commanding tone. "Stop this nonsense."

Eventually, he would physically fight off those who tormented me, carrying me away in his arms.

After one Full Moon Run, he whispered in my ear, "I tried with all my will to resist it, but loving you is a destiny I can't escape."

Back then, I was too naive to hear the reluctance in his voice or to realize that loving Samantha was a habit he could never break.

I only knew he was my prince charming, who rescued me from my tormentors—the only wolf who was kind to me.

So that night, without any ceremony, I let him mark me.

We made love with a desperate fervor; he tore my old nightgown in his haste.

The next day, he brought me a silk gown, telling me my skin was as beautiful as the champagne-colored fabric.

It was the first gift Rodger ever gave me—the first expensive thing I ever owned.

I had preserved it with such care.

But now, it was being shredded by Samantha, just as Rodger's heart had rotted away for her.

It didn't matter anymore. Now, I no longer needed a savior.

In seven days, I would take Phillip away and start a new life.