Chapter 4

His jaw clenched. "Will learn to show you the respect you deserve."

I almost laughed at the impossibility of it. "You think you can just tell them to stop, and they will? You think Declan will suddenly see me as an equal? That Peter will stop looking at me like I'm something he scraped off his shoe?"

"They'll have no choice once they know..."

"Once they know, they'll see me as competition," I interrupted. "Or worse, as something to be controlled. I won't be your political pawn, Alpha. I won't be mated off to secure alliances."

"That's not what I'm asking."

"Isn't it?" I challenged. "Five unmated Alpha heirs and one convenient Alpha female? The math isn't hard to figure out."

Alpha Marcus was quiet for a long moment, and I could see the wheels turning in his head. When he spoke again, his voice was measured, careful.

"What if I gave you my word that wouldn't happen? That any mating arrangement would be your choice alone?"

"Your word against pack politics and tradition?" I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Alpha, but I can't risk it."

I reached for the door handle, but his next words stopped me cold.

"The rogues who killed your pack—they're back,” he said.

“Well, maybe I might just be fine with them instead of here, because at least if I died at their hands, I’d be free when it happened. I don’t even know why we’re even discussing this. Because even if I were your sons’ fated mate, they would still treat me the same as they do right now.”

That’s when the five of his sons came back into the packhouse, “Where is that little shit stain? She hasn’t gone past us on the way to school, so she must still be here.”

Alpha Marcus's expression darkened at the sound of his sons' voices. He held my gaze for one more moment before turning toward the door.

"Stay here," he commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument.

I stood frozen as he stepped into the hallway, pulling the office door nearly closed behind him. Through the narrow gap, I could see his broad shoulders blocking the view of his sons.

"What are you five doing back so early?" His voice carried the full weight of his Alpha authority.

"Boundary patrol was quiet," Declan answered. "We finished our rounds and thought we'd get some training in before lunch."

"You're looking for Ruby." It wasn't a question.

My heart hammered against my ribs as I pressed myself against the wall, out of sight. If they knew I was in the Alpha's office, they'd only find new ways to torment me later.

"The little mutt skipped school again," Peter said, his voice dripping with disdain. "Someone needs to teach her about responsibility."

"And you've appointed yourselves her teachers?" Alpha Marcus's voice had taken on a dangerous edge I'd never heard before.

There was an uncomfortable silence before Francis spoke. "She's pack, even if she is just a stray. Rules apply to everyone."

"Interesting that you've suddenly developed such concern for the rules," Alpha Marcus said. "Especially when it comes to Ruby."

I heard shuffling feet, sensed the tension building in the hallway. My wolf stirred anxiously within me, responding to the aggression radiating from the Alpha heirs.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nelson demanded.

"It means I'm reviewing the security footage from last month," Alpha Marcus replied coldly. "All of it."

My breath caught. He believed me. After all these years, he was finally looking into what had been happening right under his nose.

"What footage?" Declan's voice had gone carefully neutral. "What are you talking about, Father?"

"We'll discuss this later. All of you, to the training grounds. Now."

"But..." Peter began.

"Now." The single word vibrated with power, making even my knees weak from inside the office.

I heard their reluctant footsteps retreating, muttered complaints fading as they moved away. Only when the front door slammed did Alpha Marcus return to the office, his face grim.

"You should have told me," he said quietly.

"Would it have made a difference?" I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly cold despite the warm spring day. "They're your sons, your heirs."

"And that doesn't put them above pack law." He ran a hand over his face, suddenly looking every one of his fifty-plus years. "I've failed you, Ruby. I see that now."

"It doesn't matter." I adjusted my backpack, desperate to escape this conversation and the emotions it stirred. "In two days, none of this will be my problem anymore."

"And where will you go?” He asked.

“Anywhere but here, if I get half a chance,” I stated flatly.

His expression hardened. "And if they find you? These rogues who destroyed your pack, who killed your parents? They're still hunting any survivors, Ruby. That's why your father wanted you here, protected."

"Protected?" I couldn't stop the bitter laugh that escaped my lips. "Is that what you call this?"

Alpha Marcus stepped closer, lowering his voice. "I made mistakes. Grave ones. I should have watched more closely, should have seen what was happening. But running now, untrained and unprepared, is suicide."

I turned away, unable to look at the sincerity in his eyes. It was easier when I could hate him completely, when I could lump him together with his sons and their cruelty. This unexpected concern complicated everything.

"What does it matter to you if I live or die?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'm nothing to this pack. Nothing to you."

"You are the daughter of my closest friend," he said. "The last of a powerful bloodline. And whether you believe it or not, I have been protecting you, just not from the threat I should have been."

The school bell would be ringing for first period by now. My carefully ordered world was crumbling around me, and all I could think about was the history test I was missing. Somehow, that small, normal concern anchored me when everything else felt like shifting sand.

"I need to think," I said finally. "This is... too much."