My Alpha Rejected Me, So I Married His Brother

Sparrow’s POV

I killed someone, and guess what? I don’t regret it.

Before you judge me, survive the hell I did first. If you make it out, pull up a chair and judge me all you want.

Until then, wipe that look off your face.

Pardon my manners, I haven’t even introduced myself.

My name is Sparrow Wren. For nine years I was Luna Sparrow Gavriel, but that name doesn’t exist in my world anymore.

And I will be glad to tell you why.

                             —

Nine months ago.

I stood in the kitchen of the WinterMoon packhouse with a dish towel in my hand, drying the same plate for the third time because my mind wasn’t on the plate. Zella was at the table coloring, her little tongue sticking out the side of her mouth as always when she was concentrating. Zola was on the floor with his toy cars, making engine noises that were way too loud for this early in the morning.

Lady Lilibet sat in her usual chair by the window, hands clasped in front of her like she was praying. She always looked so peaceful like that. So helpless. The perfect picture of a blind old woman who needed everyone to take care of her.

I set the plate down harder than I meant to, the sound making her head turn slightly in my direction.

“Sparrow, dear,” she said in a gentle, sweet voice. “Could you bring me a new mug of tea? This one has gone cold.”

I walked over, picked up the mug, and felt it. It was still warm. “It’s fine, Mother,” I said.

“It’s cold, I can tell.” She smiled in my direction. “You’ve always been a little careless with these things.”

Zella looked up from her coloring book. “Mama, can I have juice?”

“In a minute, baby,” I said.

I took the mug to the sink, dumped the tea, and made a fresh one. When I set it back in front of Lady Lilibet, she reached for it, fingers brushing the rim like she was checking the temperature. She always did that. Always enjoyed putting up a show.

“Thank you,” she said. Then, louder, so the whole kitchen could hear, “You’re so good to me when you remember to be.”

I didn’t answer and went back to the counter. I wasn't in the right mind for her dramas.

Gavriel walked in a few minutes later. He was already dressed for the day, black shirt sleeves rolled up, hair still a little wet from the shower. He kissed the top of Zella’s head, then Zola’s, then came over and rested his hand on the small of my back.

“Morning, baby,” he said.

“Morning, love.”

Lady Lilibet turned her face toward his voice. “Gavriel, my son, your wife made me fresh tea. Isn’t she thoughtful?”

He smiled at her, the warm smile he only ever gave his mother. “She is.”

I dried another plate and kept my mouth shut.

He stayed in the kitchen longer than usual that morning, watching me while I moved around. When the kids finally ran off to play in the living room, he stepped closer.

“She’s trying,” he said to me.

I looked at him. “Is she?”

“Sparrow.” His voice dropped. “Please. Just… try a little harder with her. She’s old and blind, and doesn’t have much left.”

“I’ve been trying for nine years,” I reminded him.

“Then try harder.”

I set the towel down and faced him fully. “I don’t hate your mother, Gavriel. I’ve never hated her. She’s the one who—”

“Don’t start.” He cut me off, jaw tight. “Every time we talk about this, you turn it into an attack on her. She’s been through enough.”

“And I haven’t?”

He stared at me for a long second, then shook his head like he was disappointed. “I’m asking you, as your husband, to do better. For the sake of this family.” That was the last thing Gavriel said before walking out.

I stood there with my hands braced on the counter, breathing through my nose. Zella’s little voice floated in from the other room, singing something off-key. I forced myself to move. Forced myself to smile when she ran back in asking for more juice.

That was how most of my mornings went as a wife, mother, and Luna of a pack. 

In the afternoon, the tension in the mansion grew intense. Marilla, my sister-in-law, came home around three, tossed her bag on the couch, and went straight to her mother. I heard them whispering in the sitting room. I didn’t try to listen because I already knew the direction of those conversations.

I took the kids outside to the backyard so I wouldn’t have to hear them. Only way I avoided having an altercation.

In the evening, I was in my bedroom folding laundry when Marilla knocked once and opened the door without waiting.

“Mother wants you on the balcony,” she said in the usually arrogant way. “Mother says she needs help with something.”

Why does my mother-in-law need my help out of the blue when she has never loved the air I breathe, unless she was putting up a show for her son?

I looked at Marilla. “I hope there isn’t any prob—?”

“Are you going to attend to my mother, or stand there running your stinking mouth?” she asked, then walked away.

I took a deep breath, controlling my rage before abandoning the clothes I was folding, and headed towards the balcony. When I arrived, Lady Lilibet was standing near the railing with her cane resting against the wall. 

She didn’t turn when she heard my footsteps. “You took your time,” she said.

“I was busy.”

“You’re always busy when I need something.” She let out a soft, tired laugh. “Nine years in this house and you still treat me like a stranger.”

I stopped a few feet away. “What do you need, Mother?”

She finally turned her face toward me. Those eyes that everyone believed were sightless moved over my face like they could see every line. And for a second, I almost thought she could see.

“I need you gone,” she said.

I stared at her. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me. I want you out of this family.” Her wrinkled face twisted into a scowl. “You are not fit for my son. His ex is better suited for this place than you have ever been,” she continued. “You do not belong here. I have been holding back for a long time. Smiling, and pretending, but I’m done with it.”

I couldn’t believe what I heard. Her age must be playing tricks with her brain. “This is my home. I’ve built this life for nine years with my husband. Given him children and never crossed the line with you, even when I knew you didn’t like me. You don’t get to stand here and tell me to leave.”

She tilted her head a little. “I thought you were dumb. So you knew I never liked you… and you still refused to go.”

“Nobody can push me out of my husband’s home.” My voice came out more intense than I expected. “The only person who can tell me to leave is my husband. And until he looks me in the eyes and says it, I stay.”

Her mouth curved at the corners. “If you will not leave in peace,” she said calmly, too calm that the venom in it clawed through my body, “then I will make sure you leave in chaos.”

My chest tightened as I shifted on one foot. I wasn’t about to stand here and trade threats with her. My kids were downstairs and I had no interest in another long fight tonight.

I turned to walk back inside when her words stopped me in my tracks. 

“Let go of me! Why are you pushing me?! Why are you touching me?!” she screamed.

I spun around, completely confused at her current act. “I didn't touch y—” My voice died in my throat because at that moment, she was backing toward the railing, arms moving like someone was grabbing at her. Her cane was already on the floor.

“Mother—what are you doing?” I moved toward her without thinking. 

She kept screaming, her body angling closer and closer to the edge like she was being forced there.

I reached out and grabbed the fabric of her dress to pull her back. The second my fingers touched her cloth, she looked right at me and smiled before throwing her weight backward over the railing to the ground floor.

The sound she made on her way down made me freeze, and the heavy thud of her body hitting the ground made my eyes widen.

I stood there with my hand still stretched out in empty air, staring at the place where she had been.

My mouth opened on its own. “Somebody help!” I screamed. “Somebody—please! She fell! Help!”

Shouts started rising from the grounds as people gathered around my mother Inlaw, lying in the pool of her blood. Doors slammed inside the house. Feet pounded up the stairs behind me.

I couldn’t move, or look away from the edge of the balcony until Gavriel’s voice suddenly cut through everything. “Mother?!”

He shoved past me and looked over the railing. The sound that left him didn’t sound like anything I had ever heard from him before, and it broke everything in me.

Gavriel turned toward me, the look on his face was something I would never forget. “What did you do?” he whispered, and I saw a strange fear in his eyes.

I tried to speak but my voice failed me as more people poured onto the balcony. Everyone stared at me, then down at the broken body on the ground below.

Gavriel’s hands were shaking as his nose flared. His eyes blazed with anger I’d never seen for nine years of our lives together. “Seize her,” he ordered.

No one moved at first.

“I. Said. Seize her!” he ordered again, his Alpha command shaking the entire packhouse.

“Honey, I didn't touch her—” I made to speak but his growl cut me off.

The warriors grabbed my arms immediately. I didn’t fight them because I couldn’t. My eyes stayed locked on Gavriel’s face, begging him in silence to listen to me as they dragged me backward out of the house.