Chasing the rejected Luna

13: The offer

Alexander's POV

"You're wrong," I told Sophia amid the guilt that tried to rip me open. She knew I was lying. I could see the way she looked at me. My expression must have given me away.

I hated how she saw me as a beast. I had promised Rudolph I would avenge his death but it wasn't as easy as I thought. Sophia made me turn against everything I said in the past. Now, I was torn between my feelings for her and my duty to the pack.

It didn't help that she wanted the fu*ker, Ryven. I didn't know how to make her see he wasn't who she thought he was. And the part where I saw Dianne hit her, I wanted to murder her right there and then. And then, Sophia disobeyed me.

Dianne may have had that stupid thing going on for her that she planned to use against me but I would kill her before she goes a step further. Even if it means taking my Alpha position from me by my father.

"No, you're lying," Sophia said, bringing my eyes to focus on her moist ones. My eyes caught on my fingerprints on her face where I held her tightly and I was doubled with guilt.

My anger would be the end of me. I knew it and the way Sophia stared at me broke my heart into a million pieces. I wanted her to trust me, to run into my arms so I would protect her from whatever comes her way. And the thing I feared the most was the idea that she needed protection mostly against me. I was her nightmare. Her everyday dread and I didn't want that.

I exhaled and ran my hand through my hair, assuming my signature blank and emotionless look. I wanted to leave but not with the fact that there was still a misunderstanding between us.

I turned around to her again and noticed she hadn't relaxed a bit since she asked the question. How could I tell her she was right and I was on the brink of losing her to that monster?

"I'm not. It's not about you. You're not so special to me that I would talk about you with Ryven," I smirked while my heart bled at the look of horror that crossed her face.

"I know you don't care about me, then let me go!" She yelled and the tears which she had tried to keep in her for the past minute came rushing down.

I still had the smirk on my face. She balled her fists and looked at me with pain reflecting off her eyes. I walked over to her to get her into my arms and tell her everything would be okay, and that I

would be with her no matter what. But I would be lying to her and myself because she would be gone like the wind within the blink of an eye.

Instead, I pushed her head up so she was staring into my eyes. Her hot tears fell on my index finger burning my heart.

"I will never let you go. The earlier you realize that, the better for you," I said and she pushed my hand away and walked away from me. Her steps were uneven and I knew it was because of what I did to her.

I followed her out of the bathroom to make sure she didn't do anything stupid with herself. However, I doubted it with the way her eyes shone with resolve before leaving the bathroom.

She went to the door and opened it but closed it back while I watched from behind. She turned around to look at me with red-rimmed eyes and a flushed face.

"I won't stay here with you. I have moved my things back to my room," she spoke and rubbed her arms as if to get rid of whatever conversation we had in the bathroom.

"No, you'll stay here with me. You're my mate and future Luna," I said to her in a calm voice even if I didn't believe the last sentence.

She smiled at me and proceeded to walk away but I moved to her. "I got you new clothes and whatever you need. It's on its way."

She opened her mouth and closed it multiple times. "Okay," she said and turned around and I was bitter with anger. NôvelDrama.Org: text © owner.

What? She'd just give up like that without a fight? That wasn't the Sophia I knew. Sophia would always try to get people to buy into her idea. Just like how she talked about that she wasn't the one responsible for Rudolph's death. And for a few days now, I began to believe her because of the conviction in her eyes each time she said it.

And each time I thought about bringing up an investigation, something always came up. But this time, I made a mental note to get Orion to check it out.

Before Sophia could reach the doorknob, the door was opened from behind to reveal an angry Orion. He glanced at Sophia, noticing her red eyes and flushed cheeks before raising his eyebrows at me in question. I knew my face was stoic and he took that as an initiative that I didn't want to talk about it with Sophia in the room.

"Alpha Ryven wants to see you," he said and Sophia looked sharply at him. I almost wanted to choke Orion with the glare I threw his way. He felt it and bared his neck.

"Okay," I muttered and retracted my glare. Opening up the mind-link to Orion, I questioned him, turning my face down so Sophia wouldn't notice I was having an internal conversation with Orion. She was a smart girl and knew whatever it was that was being said had something to do with her or Alpha Ryven.

"Couldn't you have mindlinked me?" I asked as irritation sipped from my voice. Orion walked away from the room when he noticed my stance. He knew what I was doing.

I followed him out of the room and cut the mind-link, not waiting for him to respond to me. Looking back at Sophia while I passed by her, she refused to meet my gaze but stared at the floor, her lips in a thin line.

We got out of the room and Orion threw a questioning gaze my way.

"Forget it. I'm not talking about it," I said while I went to my office, following Ryven's scent.

"Oh, come on. I saw that you made her cry."

"And?" I asked him as soon as I reached the door to my office. There was a guard in it to make sure Ryven didn't do anything stupid or out of line.

"And nothing. What's your plan now? Have you decided to give her up?" I stopped my hands from reaching the doorknob and turned to Orion. I was sure as hell I looked scary as I felt my blood boil from the question.

Orion backed away from me, realizing his mistake, and raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, fine. I get it. She's still with you and would probably become our Luna."

"She will," I said and opened the door, banging it in his face. I was irritable when I knew that was the same question I had asked myself so many times since the last time Ryven and I spoke. I was just afraid of the truth, afraid to face it.

I saw Ryven lounging on the chair with a magazine in his hands. He smiled when he noticed my presence.

"What a pleasant surprise that you decided to host me here. The last time we spoke you weren't so kind. I take it it's because of Sophia," he stood up from the chair and walked toward me.

My jaw twitched violently from hearing him talk about Sophia. He came to me and stood a few inches from me, offering his hand for a handshake. I took it and gave it a hard squeeze, almost breaking his bones.

He smiled into my eyes and retracted his hand, pretending like he didn't feel anything when I saw pain bounce off his eyes.

"Shall we?" He smiled wider and sat down on the chair without waiting for an invitation. I hated how he acted like he had won already when we hadn't talked about anything.

I stood rooted to my spot, "What do you want?" I asked him and he looked at me, the smile still plastered to his face.

He pointed to my chair, "Why don't you have a seat? Whatever good news I brought can't be shared with you standing. You're an Alpha and ought to sit while you talk to your guest."

"Don't tell me what to do," I spat and walked over to my drink cabinet and poured myself a drink. I poured another into a cup and took it to Ryven. I sat down on my chair and stared directly at him while I drowned the contents of the cup in one gulp. It burned my throat, exactly what I loved.

I knew whatever information Ryven brought along wasn't good. It only made me nervous. The last offer he made was hard to refuse and he wasn't as happy as he looked now. I feared for what he had to say.

"Spill it," I said and poured myself another drink, controlling my heart rate to prevent the ass, Ryven from knowing how nervous I felt.

I heard his drink move around in his cup. That was the only sound in the quiet room, "The land by the east border is all yours," he said and I slowly raised my head to meet a dead serious expression on his face.

"What?" I whispered, unable to comprehend what I just heard. That can't be true. The land by the east border which is owned by Alpha Ryven is one of the most sought-after lands by most Alphas.

It wasn't just because of its fertile soil but because of the river that was there. The river is rumored to heal any kind of ailment. It was Alpha Ryven's most prized possession.

Alpha Ryven shrugged and looked at the cup in his hand, staring deeply into the liquid.

"But why?" I asked, looking into his eyes. "Why? What do you plan to do with Sophia that you had to give this up to? I know how much this land means to you. What is it you're not telling me?"

He continued looking into his drink when he looked into my eyes for some time, "What do you think?" He smirked and looked back at me with a glint in his eyes.

Anger blossomed inside of me, "Why?! You bastard!" I flared up and threw my cup on the floor. It shattered along with my heart.

"Ask your bloody father," Ryven roared and smashed his cup on the desk. I watched his blood drip slowly from the wound on his hand as realization slowly dawned on me.