The Alpha's Mate Who Cried Wolf novel Chapter 34

"My pack runs differently from other packs. I don't want to go along with the whole fated-mate shindig. Instead, I decide to match people with mates who increase the pack's strength. Vanessa, pretending to be a victim, goes to Shadow Crest with the mission to mark and mate Ryker, one of the strongest alphas around other than myself, of course. Alice is stubborn, though, and doesn't want to leave Vanessa. So, I send them both and keep in contact with them daily. Alice spends the odd night here, with Shadow Crest none-the-wiser."

"Knowing you are of Moonstone Crest and Justice pack DNA means you are a powerful wolf with rare genes and likely a pure white wolf who would breed strong pups with my son. Amelia is an Alpha's daughter too, mixed with a secret gene that only her family and I know about, who, with a substantial dowry, handed her over to be mated with John."

"Love no longer matters. It doesn't matter if the Moon Goddess gives you a mate. There is always a chance you'll be rejected and left for someone else, regardless of how strong the bond is! I learned power is stronger than love that night."

"That's what I taught my pack: it's less heart-breaking to choose a mate who will benefit you and the pack, and a fated mate's rejection is gut-wrenching."

"My kids agreed. I killed the boy's fated mates. They were weak Omegas. Can you believe that? Omegas matched to future alphas! I killed Vanessa's mate, too. He was the weakest wolf I had ever seen: more mutt than wolf. And now, here you are, the day before your eighteenth birthday, about to be marked with my eldest son. How did it go? Oh, yes. "Welcome to the family, sweetheart," Alpha Zenith says with a sadistic smile.

Astrid

In utter shock, I can't believe what Alpha Zenith has just told me. He is my mother's true mate and murderer. I stand, run to the cell door, and shake the bars with fury full of anger. 

"You killed my mother! You killed her!"I yell. Alpha Zenith smiles. 

"Yes, I killed her! After everything I did for her! I gave her a chance to reunite with me, and she threw it away like I was nothing, like I wasn't even worth the risk!"He yells.

"You killed her whole family! You murdered them all in cold blood! She didn't want to be with a monster!"I yell. The look on Alpha Zenith's face changes from a smile to aggression. He unlocks the cell door and grabs me by the throat, holding me against the cold stone wall.

"What did you call me?" He growls, squeezing my throat tighter. I try to loosen his hands from my throat. I can't breathe. Black dots appear in my vision, and he loosens his grip and speaks.

"Call me a monster again, Astrid," he warns. Boring his eyes with mine, I know he will kill me if I call him anything again. I shake my head in defeat. 

"I hate you," I say in a low voice. James stiffens and glares at me. 

"Look, I need to help Dad in the office today. I will come to see you when I return," he says. 

"I'd prefer you never come near me again," I retort.

James crosses his arms in anger and goes upstairs. Hours pass. I'm guessing it's late afternoon. It's hard to tell with no windows down here. I wonder if Amelia had any luck finding the cell key. For self-entertainment, I throw small stones between the cell door bars, missing half the time.

Suddenly, I hear yelling and cries. Light appears on the stairs as the door opens. Someone shoves Amelia down the stairs. She cries out as she stumbles and falls. 

"Please, John, I'm sorry!"She says.