Chapter Four

It was very silent on their way home; it was as if someone significant had died and no one had recovered from the shock; everyone kept their thoughts to themselves, and no one dared to speak of what had happened earlier.

***Flashback***

ZANE’S POV

"Your sister is my mate," I said coldly, my face expressionless. Saying that out loud made me anxious.

As soon as I said the word, the entire pack fell silent. Nobody dared to move, not even a pin, as the music immediately ceased to play.

After a little pause, someone mumbled, "Reject her," and when I turned to see who was talking, I found her brother staring at me. He appeared to be daring me to say or do something unusual. And, as my reputation suggests, "I answer to no one," which means that I am the only one who makes the "command," and everyone else is compelled to listen to me.

"Wait a second, what exactly did you say?" I inquired in a casual tone.

"I ordered you to refuse her; she's not coming with you, not under my watch!" he said sharply.

"So, tell me, who exactly do you think you are? And why do you believe you have the right to tell me what I should do?" I questioned, turning to face him and giving him my full attention.

"I'm the pack's Beta, and aside that, I'm her brother, and I'm telling you straight out that she's not going anywhere with you," he replied, practically brushing his foot against mine.

I smirked since I hadn't heard anyone tell me what to do in a long time; usually, it's the other way around. He was obviously putting me to the test; he has no idea how much my human and wolf selves adore each other. My wolf despises defeat and refuses to accept it. Aside from that, brother or no brother, he was lower in rank than me; he's a fucking Beta and I'm an Alpha, so he's beneath me.

"I make the decision to reject her, not you!" He must have noticed my sudden rage as my eyes turned red because he slowly backed away and glanced at the ground, I added, malice filling my voice.

"Because you're all aware that she's my mate, I'd like to let you know that she'll be joining me, and we'll be leaving before dawn. That's all there is to it. "I am not receptive to any advice or conversation on this specific topic," I replied firmly.

When I told them about my decision, their faces were tinged with similar emotions: some were shocked, some were in anguish, and some were in despair.

When I observed their defeated expressions, I was happy with myself, but my wolf was angered by the outright rejection of my mate's pack members; who were they to tell me to reject her? I was convinced that one more comment from anyone would trigger my wolf to snap and surface, and he would then do something dangerous.

"You can't just take her away without notice, and she'll be fatigued after the ceremony; she's been working extremely hard and will be quite busy late at night to ensure the event works successfully, so she'll need some time to unwind and regain her strength.”

“She doesn't have to do anything, and if you don't want her to get tired, we can go right now.” I said and Ace was shocked by my actions and exclaimed, "That is terribly foolish and selfish!"

"Excuse me, but I have important things to do," I mumbled, growing angrier by the second.

"You may be her mate, which is terrible, but she is still an autonomous woman with the right to select whatever she wants because this is her future, and it's for fucking eternity," he moaned.

"Please stand aside Ace," Mickey pleaded, pleadingly. Let's not make too much of it.

"No, Liam, please say something; you used to be in love with Shirl, so act like the Alpha that you are. He can't just walk into our pack and start calling the shots because that's not how it's done "...

I grabbed my wolf by the neck and dashed out the door into the forest, transforming as I went. He tried to flee, but I wasn't going to let him. I came to a halt after a quick jog and moved back; I didn't give him time to react before launching into a flurry of punches, daring him to fight back, but he was no match for me. We fought on till he eventually gave up. I informed him he couldn't interfere in any problems concerning my relationship anymore because she was now mine.

After reaching an agreement, we returned to the pack. When we arrived, I turned out the lights and shut the door, so I didn't hear anything. Ace was expected to tell them what had happened between us, but he kept silent.

"Zane," she whispered softly, her velvety voice piercing my cranium. After all, she is my mate, so I guess I can't shut her out as I can't shut out my wolf. They're both a part of me.

I screamed fiercely at her, enraged that she could always get into my head, even when I attempted to block everything out. She flinched for a split second before regaining her composure.

"There's no need for you to be hostile or nervous, Zane; I've packed my bags and am ready to leave whenever you want; there's no need for you to cause a conflict with my packmates," she begged.

I yelled at her for attempting to counsel me, but she gently stroked my arms, and my wolf calmed down immediately.

"Betrayal," I whispered quietly, and I can imagine my wolf gleefully nodding.

"The allegations about him looking so much like his father are so true that it's no surprise that people avoid him and that all ladies pray not to be paired with him," a lady said under her breath.

"He'll be a loner when he dies if he continues on this path. Shirl, I feel so sorry for her!" another lady added.

My vision blazed brilliant red, and a rush of wrath washed over me... I was tempted to rip her heart out, and if it had been a male who said it, I would have done it. I approached her gently, and when she realized I had heard what she had said, she bolted from the room. That wouldn't be the end of it, I vowed myself; she'd have to explain herself the next time we met.

"Alpha Liam, I ask you to remind your members to stop saying anything nasty about my brother, especially comparing him to our parents, because they will not be able to bear the consequences of their actions, Zane is an unforgiving person, as you all know," my sister, Amelia added.

My eyes were still red from wrath, and I wanted to do something about it; I can't seem to control myself when compared to my father; it takes a lot of destroying things to calm me down, but there's nothing to wreck here, so running back into the woods was out of the question. As a result, I had to start taking long, deep breaths.

"I know you're tempted to kill her right now, but you can't, not now and never, she's a woman, so you can't harm her," Amelia remarked, confused between not wanting to worsen my wrath and not wanting to urge me to harm a lady.

“Follow Shirley to her room and help her get her belongings; we're leaving right now. I can't promise that if I stay here for another hour, I won't murder someone.” I replied to Amelia