CHAPTER 22. Not my Alpha
**— VITA.**
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“Derek...” I try to argue, but the Alpha’s cold voice cuts me off while his blue eyes remain on Frank...
“Quiet, Vita, I only addressed the human who is wandering around my land thinking he owns the place.”
Frank frowns and slowly puts his body in front of mine, almost like protecting me.
“I imagine things have really changed since we last saw each other, Derek… You don’t look the same anymore.”
“It seems to me that you’ve lost your courtesy too, now that you are hanging out with your own kind,” Derek growls, his eyes finally glowing yellow. “How dare you address me by my name?”
“I’m not a shapeshifter, let alone a wolf. You’re not my Alpha, and I don’t owe you anything.” Frank retorts in a serious voice, and his answer draws a sarcastic laugh from Derek.
“So why are you back? I was told you landed at the airport just a few hours ago, Frank Ryan, and you’re already after my Vita? Are you sure you’re a human? Sometimes, you seem like a fucking dog.”
Frank puts his arm around my shoulder slowly, and this simple gesture is capable of destroying Derek’s indifferent posture completely. Now, he looks so furious that he’s swallowing hard at the growl that dares to escape from the back of his throat.
“I don’t see how that would be relevant, Derek, considering that Vita doesn’t concern you anymore.”
“What?” Derek now laughs out loud, his face up — then he lowers it only for his intense eyes to glow with murderous intent. “You’re the one who shouldn’t be getting involved in this… Frank, you should stick with the humans you belong to.”
“I couldn’t keep ignoring it. Last time, I couldn’t do anything, but this time, I have Vita’s back.” Frank says with such firmness and confidence that I feel my eyes sting with tears that roll down my cheeks even if I’m fighting them back.
I move a little closer to Frank, leaning my shoulder against his chest and resting my head in the crook of his neck...
This simple act causes something to snap inside Derek because he points the whisky bottle in our direction, shouting, “Do you have a death wish, Frank? Why are you two snuggling up, hum? Have you lost your FUCKING MIND?”
“It seems to me that you have no idea what things are going to be like now, Derek.” Frank’s voice is deep and serious and sends shivers down my spine. “Vita is no longer yours, have you forgotten? Your fiancée is now Wanda; don’t waste your time with a woman who no longer belongs to you!”
Wait... What?
I feel like my heart has been completely torn apart by these words, so much so that I swallow hard one by one, with tears in my resentful eyes, as I get them up to meet Derek’s. And to my surprise, he looks shocked and desperate. His eyes widen, and he looks at me with real anguish, taking a step towards me with his mouth open and speechless.
“Vita…” He let his pointed arm fall back, looking at me with a troubled expression. “Come here, don’t get too close to this man, hum? Let’s talk about it.”
Oh, so that’s it… Wanda and Derek are engaged. Of course, I should know… since they’re often together, and there’s a lot of intimacy in the way she touches him and calls his name.
My step-sister and the man who used to be my fiancé, now my tormentor, the man I pathetically still love even though he disappoints me and betrays my heart a million times.
A heavy tear falls from my eye, and I try to wipe it away, even though it hasn’t left a wet trail along the way...
“Vita.” Derek tries to reach me, but Frank holds me even tighter in his arms, turning my body behind protectively — which again angers Derek and makes him shout, “Get away from that man, Vita!”
“She doesn’t owe you anything anymore, Derek.”
“Vita! Listen to me, damn it!” He raises his voice even higher, making me shudder with an overload of emotions... Pain, sadness, anger and disappointment. Curiously, I should be used to all of this since everything Derek has done is destroy my life, my heart, and my soul. He had it all, and he made sure to shatter it with his bare hands.
But it’s really funny... What really makes me want to die now is knowing that he replaced me as quickly as the blink of an eye... And with the very girl I used to call sister.
“Vita, I’m ordering you!” Derek growls, his eyes glowing brightly in the yellow that used to scare me, but now I feel nothing but emptiness in my chest. Even his scent doesn’t seem to affect me like it used to, even though it’s suffocating at the moment. “I’m your alpha!”
“You rejected me, Derek.” I finally find my voice, and it takes him by surprise. His eyes widen at my response, and he staggers. “You rejected me! You chose a new mate; what power do you think you have over me?”
He opens his lips, but I’m quicker to add, “My father banished me, disowned from his flesh and blood; I’m no better than a rogue. You cast me out, now I don’t belong anywhere anymore.”
“Vita!” He calls my name louder, in desperation, and his pheromone grows even stronger and more agonizing. At this point, I thank the heavens that Frank is a human and can’t smell this nauseating scent... Otherwise, he might be knocked out on the floor, just like Mr. Raven, who still hasn’t woken up from his possible concussion.
“I’m ordering you to obey me!” Derek says through clenched teeth, squeezing the glass bottle harder. “Come here, now!”
My legs want to obey him.
No, every inch of me wants to comply with the whim of this man, of my Alpha... especially my foolish heart that would be better off beating out of my chest.
But I stand firm, staring at him with resentment. And in the face of my denial, of his lack of control over me, Derek lets out a scream and a roar that merge with the sound of the bottle shattering on the floor; he’s thrown it near us, almost like to hit us, but even the shards are far from my feet.
“Damn you, woman!” Derek shouts, looking at me equally hurt, confused, and angry. “DAMN YOU!”
“Move, Derek.” Frank finally says, holding the Alpha’s eyes, who looks about to jump on his throat and rip it open. “MOVE!”
Derek doesn’t move. He remains still in complete silence, never wavering from our eye contact.
I hold my breath for this delay, feeling that his emotions are fluctuating so much that he could easily destroy this entire bar in a brief moment. I can smell his booze, his anger, his veiled authority that Frank can’t smell but can sense as a bad omen. Derek’s pheromones are so strong that even humans can feel with their weaker senses, like subtle trails.
Fortunately, this long delay ends when Derek lets out a chuckle and gracefully points to the door, putting one hand in his pocket.
Frank guides me slowly towards the exit of this cursed room when Derek’s eyes keep on mine, following me without even blinking.
Once again, I feel weak in the face of my predator’s gaze... And he seems really furious to know that he’s lost his hunt.
[...]
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Outside, the breeze ruffles my hair and chills my skin; if it weren’t for Frank’s coat, I’d probably be shivering with cold.
In front of my house, I notice him staring at the facade with emotion in his eyes. That was the house my mother used to spend most of her days in since she became ill. Despite the great suffering, the days used to be bright and fun... both for me and for the neighborhood boy who used to visit her every day, bringing a simple flower from the sidewalk to make her smile.
“It brings back memories,” Frank says with emotion in his voice and smiles, looking back at me with watery eyes. “I’m glad everything looks exactly as it did before, almost untouched by time.”
I nod, my eyes also aching with the memories that sweep over me.
“Vita.” The affectionate way he calls my name reminds me of childhood, even though his voice is so different... “I think we should talk.”
I feel my heart beating in my throat, and I struggle to swallow it back down.
“Can I come in for a moment?”
Honestly, I don’t know if I should trust anyone after everything that’s happened… after everyone turned their backs on me. But somehow, I feel like this is a chance, a mercy from the Moon Goddess, a gift from Alice.
Yes, Frank might betray me, too.
But my foolish heart chooses to believe in the past once again.
People change, it’s true... But I really hope that the man in front of me is still that boy with the silly smile who used to be here for me before in the rough times.