Chapter 49 Chapter 49

Chapter 49 Chapter 49
Chapter 49: ♥ Shattered Trust

Dean’s

Stan’s words cut deeper into me than any claw ever could, his voice raw with pure hurt as he stood there, his eyes burning fiercely into mine.

“You’re the sole reason I’m now stuck in this complete mess!” he yelled desperately, shoving my reaching hands away immediately when I tried to comfort him. My heart twisted painfully, Vex growling low and angrily in my mind, his violent rage instantly mixing with my own guilt. Noah did this awful thing to him—he stole his inner wolf, leaving him permanently powerless—but Stan was relentlessly blaming me for the damage. I couldn’t properly breathe, the dark, intense pull of our mate bond completely choking me with a painful mix of guilt and enduring love.

I stepped closer to him, my voice low and desperate for a true answer. “Stan, what exactly are you trying to say right now?” I said, my hands shaking with worry. “How am I the reason for your pain? You secretly went behind my back completely, and openly made a deal with Eric! I definitely didn’t tell you to do that at all!”

He laughed, the sound bitter and sharp, his eyes flashing with renewed anger as he moved aggressively toward me. “You truly don’t get it, do you, Dean?” he said, his voice severely shaking. “I sincerely respect you. I’ll always truly respect you. But I urgently need to be completely alone right now. You desperately want the Alpha position so much? Then go quickly get it yourself. When you’re finally done chasing after that worthless power, then you can come try to find me again.”

He turned sharply to walk away, his shoulders stiff and unforgiving, but I grabbed his hand instantly, stopping his escape, my voice urgent and pleading. “Wait a minute, Stan,” I said, my heart pounding hard with realization. “Are you truly angry with me about that? Is that the only reason why you recklessly went to see Eric? Because of the Alpha title thing?”

He spun around violently, tears instantly streaming down his face, his voice breaking completely. “I absolutely don’t care at all about you being Alpha!” he shouted, his hands trembling severely. “I seriously don’t care about that power or Enzo or any of this ridiculous nonsense! I just purely wanted you, Dean. I desperately wanted you to actually be with me, not constantly running after some silly title you don’t even need! Why truly couldn’t you just simply stay right here with me and give me attention?”

I froze completely, my chest instantly tight with a sudden, searing guilt, Vex whimpering softly in my mind from the intensity of his pain. I stepped closer quickly, gently wiping his tears away with my thumb, my voice soft and filled with regret. “I’m incredibly sorry, my love,” I said, my heart aching deep inside. “You truly should’ve talked to me about this pain, Stan. You definitely didn’t have to go to Eric’s camp. You absolutely didn’t have to bravely do this all alone without me.”

He laughed again, his voice harsh and bitter, his eyes completely wet with tears. “Talk to you now?” he said, his voice painfully rising again. “How could I possibly talk to you when you’re literally never here beside me? You’re constantly fighting Enzo, always chasing after the entire pack’s attention! You selfishly left me alone, Dean. You recklessly left me, and I felt like I truly had to do something drastic to change the situation!”

I pulled him instantly close to my body, his head resting heavily on my chest, my arms wrapped tightly around him in a desperate embrace. “I’m so very sorry for everything,” I whispered sincerely, my voice breaking with emotion, my lips softly brushing his hair. “I swear to you, Stan, it absolutely won’t happen again. I’m right here beside you now. I’ll personally fix this entire mess for us.”

He didn’t answer me, his body still trembling violently, but he thankfully didn’t pull away from my embrace either. We stayed like that together for what felt like hours, the entire room completely silent except for his soft, shallow breaths.

I sat down gently onto the couch, his head still resting peacefully on my chest, his eyes now closed, finally asleep. I stared down at his face, which was peaceful but incredibly pale, and my heart broke all over again for the damage I had caused. “I’m so sorry, my love,” I whispered again, my voice barely audible. “I honestly didn’t truly know you were hurting this much inside. I truly didn’t know it was all tragically because of me.”

Vex growled low and impatiently, his voice sharp and demanding in my mind. Noah’s fault. He took Stan’s wolf. End him now and make him pay. I nodded to my wolf, my jaw tight with resolve. Noah would definitely pay for his actions, but Eric was just as guilty in my eyes. He maliciously used Stan’s desperation, dragging him directly into this dangerous mess. I gently laid Stan down onto the couch, my hand softly brushing his cheek, and stood up quickly, my blood boiling with focused rage. Only one name furiously burned in my mind now—Eric’s.

…

I stormed aggressively into the rogue territory, the air immediately thick with the awful stench of unwashed, aggressive wolves, their eyes glaring intensely at me like I was simply fresh meat. I didn’t care about their threats, my heavy boots loudly slamming the dirt as I quickly marched straight to Eric’s hideout. He was right there, leaning casually against an old crate, his mocking smirk wide until I violently swung my fist, my knuckles loudly connecting with his jaw, blood violently splattering. I grabbed his collar immediately, lifting him easily off the ground, my voice a furious growl.

“How dare you even breathe!” I yelled, my eyes fiercely glowing green with anger. “You blatantly used my mate’s pain, Eric! You purposefully put Stan directly in Noah’s destructive path! You truly think you can mess with him and casually walk away from me without being punished?”

Eric laughed weakly, blood heavily dripping from his split lip, his eyes glinting with defiance. “Why are you so incredibly mad, Dean?” he said, his voice mocking my pain. “Your mate came directly to me begging for help. You honestly weren’t even there for him when he needed you most, were you? He desperately begged me to help him take out Enzo and his Vengas boy so you could finally have more quality time with him in your life.”

I slammed him hard against the wall again, my voice shaking with pure, unadulterated rage. “Why did you actually agree to help him?” I shouted desperately, my hands tightening their grip. “You clearly knew you shouldn’t have accepted his desperate deal! You clearly knew he was exclusively mine to protect!”

He chuckled darkly, wiping the blood slowly from his mouth, his voice surprisingly calm. “Stan’s something truly special,” he said calmly. “He’s got a fierce fire inside him, Dean. Much more fire than you have ever shown me. Working with him was honestly fun—much more fun than having to constantly deal with you and your pack.”

I hit him violently again, my fist loudly cracking against his cheek, my voice a furious snarl. “Don’t you dare talk about him like that!” I said threateningly. “You seriously stay away from Stan completely. This is your very last warning, Eric. You ever touch him again, and you’re absolutely dead to me.”

His guards growled loudly, immediately stepping closer to us, their eyes glowing threateningly. One of them, a tall guy with a large scar, loudly spoke up. “Back off right now, Dean,” he said, his voice rough and aggressive. “You’re deep inside our territory now. Do you really wanna start a massive fight right here in our camp?”

I laughed coldly, instantly dropping Eric to the ground, my eyes sweeping dangerously across the room. “Start a fight?” I said, my voice sounding cold and deadly. “I’ll violently finish it immediately. You truly think your pathetic mutts can scare me with your weak threats? Just tell your boss to quickly keep his disgusting hands completely off my mate forever.”

Eric stood up slowly, his smirk still clearly visible, his voice low and confident. “You’re definitely making more enemies now, Dean,” he said. “Stan’s permanently powerless solely because of Noah’s touch, not because of anything I did. You desperately want someone to blame for your pain? Then go furiously after that Vengas boy immediately.”

I turned quickly, walking straight out, my heart pounding loudly, their deadly, hateful stares relentlessly burning into my back. I passed the remaining rogues, not saying a single word, Vex growling violently in my head, completely ready to instantly tear them all apart if given the command.