Alpha’s Brood

Chapter2

I think you need company," he said, smiling, but a shiver ran down my spine. I didn't want his sympathy, not now. My heart was sore, and my pride wounded. He was my enemy, wasn't he? "What is it that you want from me?" I snapped, trying to hold my emotions together. "Leave me alone."

But he didn't back down. "I'm just here to console you," he returned, softening his features. But I wasn't buying that one. "I'm Ryker," I returned, firm. "And what? You're not the Alpha of another pack, I father's sworn enemy?" He jabbed back. "Is that what matters now? Aren't you betrayed by the same father?" But I shrugged the comment off, my mind racing with worry.

Well, after he was gone, a sense of unease set in. My mind turned to Kael, my mate, and to his disappearance, which was just so mysterious. Where could he be? I had expected him to follow me when I left the event, but he hadn't. Now, a sense of urgency filled me. "I need to find him," I thought. "I have to look for him."

I scanned the grounds of the pack, my eyes scouring every nook and cranny for a glimpse of the familiar figure. The feeling of his betrayal still seared into my mind like a fresh wound; I had to know what side he was on. Had he known all along the plans of my father? Did he think Lyra's ascension was justified? The questions gnawed at my gut like some restless beast.

With every step I took, it sounded as if the weight of my father's words rebounded. I was lost, alone, unsure of whom to turn to. But deep inside, I knew I had to find Kael. His silence was deafening while I needed to hear his voice, to see his face, and to know he still stood with me.

That is when I heard Kael's low, murmuring voice, the words meant to be for Lyra's ears alone. "I've always loved you, Lyra. Astrid was just a pawn in my game." Lyra's soft, teasing laughter followed his words and mocked the very reason for my existence into a sweet serenade.

I stood there, hidden from view, my heart heavy with the weight of their conversation. It hit me like a ton of bricks: Lyra, my own sister, had been secretly with Kael the entire time.

I burst in, my heart racing with anger and hurt, and accused him: "You never loved me, did you?" His unrepentant shrug and cold admission: "No, Astrid. I used you for my own gain." felt like a punch to the gut.

Lyra's slashing laughter- "You were always just a pawn to us, Astrid"-and Kael's emotionless confirmation, "You were just a means to an end. Nothing more", came next, leaving her reeling.

I turned on Lyra then, my anger boiling. "And you, sister? How could you do this to me?" Her triumphant smile and cruel words-"You're not an Alpha, Astrid. You're nothing"-brought tears to my eyes, but I refused to cry in front of them-not now, not after all I'd been through.

I pleaded with Kael, my body shaking as my quivering voice begged: "Please forgive me. I am sorry; please do not let me down- well, not now, at least, when I depend upon you more than ever." Yet, he did not; his face remained resolute. Turning to me with eyes that had grown cold and unfeeling, he spoke in a frigid determination, "I rejected you, Astrid. And Lyra was right to mock you."

His words cut deep, a brutal rejection that made me feel absolutely crushed and demeaned. It seemed like I was swimming in an ocean of desperation with no buoy to save me.

I drowned my heartache shot after shot, trying to numb my pain with liquor on the bar. The liquor numbed me, but it was only for temporary relief. I was on the verge of a stagger into oblivion when Alpha Ryker, this stranger, interrupted my world in a quiet voice.

"Hey, pretty, why so depressed? You can drink yourself into oblivion, but that solves nothing." Concern laced his tone, and my curiosity sparked to life. Who was this stranger, and why should he care about me?

I looked up at him, my vision blurry, and tried to focus on his face. In a drunken haze, I slurred out my story, words tumbling out of my mouth. "My mate. he cheated on me. with my own sister."

Mumbling my story incoherently, words blurred with the drunkenness of my state, I let it all out: "My mate. he cheated on me. with my own sister." The expression of the stranger softened; his eyes were filled with sympathy. "I'm so sorry," he said softly.

The more I poured my heart out, the more interested he got-he was actually listening. Before I knew it, we moved on from sorrow to flirtation. We laughed and joked; the chemistry was electric. I almost couldn't believe it-in the midst of my broken heart, I was clicking with a stranger.

His warm, gentle eyes, and soft smile gave me that feeling of being noticed, and I forgot about the pain of Kael's betrayal. For the first time that night, I felt alive. Swept by all those overwhelming emotions, he proposed to me that very night; his words whisked me off my feet. "Be mine," he whispered, his eyes burning with intensity.

I felt alive, my heart racing with excitement. But in the haze of alcohol, I couldn't shake off the feeling that he was an alpha: strong, dominant, and maybe a little dangerous. But then, my judgment was clouded, and I couldn't resist the pull of charisma.

He was leading me in a daze to some hotel room, soft lights and plush bed, calling like some mythical siren song. My senses dulled, my instincts yelled warnings that somehow would not come through. As the door closed behind us, a shiver ran down my spine, mixed thrill and trepidation: what was I getting myself into?

That night, ecstasy was a blur as my senses were strongly heightened by the alcohol coursing through my veins. I was wholly bare; my inhibitions had shed like worn skin at the roving hands of this stranger. His lips trailed fire over my neck to my chest, leaving me out of breath, wanting more.

It was a primal beat, the music pulsing around us, in time with the thrumming of my heart. The wind whispered sweet nothings; its gentle caress was a stark juxtaposition to the passionate storm brewing within me. I was alive; a woman reborn as fire took hold, threatening to consume me whole with every touch of his hands.

The rest was all marginal; only the feeling, the pleasure, and the intoxicating thrill of the unknown mattered. Well, that night was indeed unforgettable, so surreal-a night that stamped itself in my heart indelibly. I'd never felt such intensity, passion, or connection with another human.

It was a night I lost my virginity, but it felt so much more than it seems. It was a night of discovery, of exploration, of yielding. Every moment was electric, every touch a revelation. I was alive, free, unbridled.

His hands, his lips, his whispers-an orchestra of sensations that sent me breathless and wanting more. And even now, whenever I shut my eyes, the magic of that night suddenly comes alive-the thrill of the unknown, the excitement of the new. Changed me for good-night I always will treasure.

Little did I know, the Alpha who had come forward to me in hysterics when my sister had been crowned instead of me, was from that very territory-the rival pack, sworn enemy of my father.

But in my present condition, a sheer indifference was all that mattered. I was too gone on the tide of my anger and the drink to let anything get through the haze and bring me back to my right mind. The liquor had anaesthetized the pain but had also fogged my judgment and made me vulnerable to whatever the fancies of this unexpected visitor might be.