Chapter 13 Part 2 Determination

SERENA POV

“Why are they like this?” I shouted, my voice echoing painfully through the large room.

The walls offered no answer. The silence pressed down on me, heavy and suffocating.

“Why can’t they be like other parents?” I cried out, my voice breaking. “Parents who care for their child. Parents who are willing to sacrifice anything for their child’s happiness and well-being.”

My knees drew up to my chest as I sank further down, my arms wrapping tightly around myself as if I could somehow hold myself together. 

As if I could replace the warmth I had never truly known.

“Why am I so unfortunate,” I whispered, my voice shaking, “to have parents who see me as nothing more than a pawn? A tool to fulfill their goals and ambitions.”

Tears streamed freely now, blurring my vision.

“They don’t care if I’m hurting. They don’t care if I’m suffering or in pain,” I said, my chest aching with every breath. “As long as their plans succeed.”

I pressed a hand over my heart as a sharp ache bloomed there.

“I just want to be loved,” I whispered brokenly. “To feel a parent’s care… their protection… their guidance… their sacrifice.”

My voice cracked completely.

“Is that too much to ask?”

The room felt unbearably quiet, as if even the air was listening to my pain.

“This isn’t the first time,” I continued, bitterness creeping into my words. “And it won’t be the last time they tell me to put the pack first. To put the people first. To put the future first.”

A hollow laugh escaped me.

“They never once said, Serena, my child, you come first.”

Never.

“Everything is their doing,” I said angrily now, my hands clenching into fists. “Everything is their fault.”

Images flooded my mind—memories I had buried deep, memories I had tried to forget.

“They drilled it into me since I was a child,” I said, my voice trembling with fury. “That being a female Alpha would never work. That it was a curse for a pack to have a female leader.”

A tear slid down my cheek as my chest tightened painfully.

“They always made me feel less,” I whispered. “Less capable. Less worthy. Less than enough.”

My breath hitched.

“They lamented every single day about how unfortunate it was to give birth to a girl instead of a boy,” I said bitterly. “How they tried again and again to have a male child… but failed.”

A sob tore from my throat.

“They said I scared the male heirs away,” I cried. “As if it was my fault I was born.”

My fingers dug into my arms as the memories sharpened.

“They told me I was meant to marry the Alpha King,” I said quietly, the words tasting bitter. “Or any powerful Alpha, if the king did not choose me.”

I laughed hollowly.

“But the king was always their priority. Only if that failed would they settle for another Alpha.”

My heart clenched painfully.

“They never once considered my true mate,” I whispered. “To them, my mate didn’t matter. My feelings didn’t matter.”

I swallowed hard.

“I was born for the pack,” I said, voice heavy with resignation. “That’s all I was to them.”

A tear slipped free.

“They believed that only by mating with the king could our pack be protected,” I continued. “Only by becoming queen could I secure our future.”

My voice grew softer, darker.

“They already planned my life beyond me.”

I closed my eyes.

“They wanted my second son to inherit the pack,” I whispered. “A child not even conceived yet… a life that hasn’t even come to this world.”

My chest tightened.

“That child and the future of the pack was already more important than me,” I said brokenly. “More valued than my happiness. More valued than my pain.”

I shook my head slowly.

“They never once thought about what Jayden might do,” I said bitterly. “They never thought about how he might punish me for rejecting him.”

My nails bit into my palms.

“Did they think he wouldn’t take his anger out on the pack?” I asked harshly. “Or did they assume that as long as I was here, he could pour all his rage onto me instead?”

A sob escaped my lips.

“I love my pack,” I admitted quietly. “I truly do.”

But then my voice hardened. 

“But the way my parents raised me… the way the people there treated me… it’s making me resent everything I was taught to protect.”

I exhaled shakily.

“Here, in the royal pack,” I said softly, “I know they don’t want me.”

I opened my eyes, staring at the ceiling.

“I know they don’t like me.”

A pause.

“But I will prove to them that I belong here,” I whispered, resolve slowly replacing despair. “I belong beside Jayden.”

My chest rose with a deep breath.

“I will earn their respect,” I said firmly. “I am their queen.”

A flicker of determination ignited inside me.

“And I will make Jayden fall for me again,” I added quietly. “I will earn back his respect, no matter how long it takes.”

My lips trembled.

“I will face every challenge he throws at me,” I vowed. “No matter how painful.”

The weight of everything pressed down on me again, and I slumped slightly.

“I feel overwhelmed,” I whispered. “Broken. Emotionally drained. Hurt beyond words.” My voice softened.

“But I promise myself,” I said slowly, “this is the last time I will cry over my parents’ neglect.”

I wiped my tears away.

“This is the last time I will let their words destroy me,” I continued. “The last time I will allow their expectations to control my heart.”

My breathing steadied.

“From now on, they will never evoke emotions from me again,” I whispered. “I will no longer expect affection from people who never knew how to give it.”

A strange calm settled over me.

“This is the last time I will obey them blindly,” I said quietly.

With that resolve anchoring me, I pushed myself up from the floor. My legs felt weak, but I forced myself to stand.

I walked slowly toward the bed and lay down gently, staring up at the ceiling.

“I don’t feel like going out again today,” I murmured. “I just want to be alone.”

Tomorrow loomed in my thoughts.

“I don’t know what tomorrow’s training will bring,” I admitted softly.

But a quiet strength settled in my chest.

“Whatever it is,” I whispered, “I’m ready.”