Semua Bab Alpha's Regret: Return of the Rejected Mate: Bab 171 - Bab 180

Edward’s POVI sat in the abandoned warehouse, forty miles from any pack territory. The concrete walls were thick enough to muffle sound. The location was perfect for meetings that required absolute secrecy.Nicholas sat to my right. Julian to my left. My two most trusted operatives. The men who would help me finally claim what I deserved.“The target is emotionally vulnerable,” I said, sliding Penelope’s photograph across the metal table.The image showed her during happier times. Smiling. Confident. Before I’d destroyed her life piece by piece.Julian picked up the photo. Studied her face. “She’s beautiful.”“She’s powerful. More powerful than any werewolf alive.” I leaned back in my chair. “That power should belong to me.”I’d learned from my mistakes. No more elaborate schemes. No more false identities. No more trying to infiltrate pack society.The chaos was already there. I just needed to weaponize it.“Her family is destroyed,” I continued. “Her mate has abandoned her. She’s fac

Dominic’s POVThe council chamber walls rose around us, and the Elders’ bench looked like a guillotine waiting to fall. I sat at my table, my lawyer shuffling papers beside me. Across the aisle, Penelope sat next to her attorney, her back straight as a blade.I couldn’t look at her directly. Every time my eyes drifted toward her face, I saw my mother’s broken body on the stones. Heard her sickening scream. Felt the cold rage that someone I’d trusted could do such a thing.Elder Francis presided from the center of the bench. His gray beard reached almost to his chest, and his pale eyes missed nothing. He’d been a judge for thirty years. He’d seen every kind of destruction imaginable.“This emergency hearing will determine temporary custody of the minor child Debbie Moon,” Francis announced. “Given the serious criminal allegations pending against the current primary guardian.”Current primary guardian. Like Penelope was some bureaucratic problem instead of the woman who’d raised our dau

Penelope’s POVThe council chamber felt different this time. Bigger. Colder. More like a place where people came to die than to seek justice. Representatives from all major packs filled the gallery seats, their faces turned toward me like spectators at an execution.I sat beside Dad at the defendant’s table. His earlier defense of my character still rang in my ears, though the hostile faces around us suggested his words had fallen on deaf ears.He’d spoken passionately about my leadership, my dedication to pack welfare, my years of service as Alpha Female. It had sounded hollow against the murder accusations.Elder Francis rose from the center of the judicial bench. His black robes rustled as he opened the official documentation. The paper looked like a death warrant in his hands.“The council announces formal murder charges against Alpha Female Penelope of the Iron Mountain Pack in the death of Luna Sophia of the Darkwood Pack,” he declared.My ears rang. Formal charges. Murder. My na

Penelope’s POVI sat in my bedroom, wrapped in my mother’s arms like a child seeking comfort from nightmares. Mom held me against her chest, her fingers stroking through my hair the way she used to when I first came to them—lost and scared and unable to trust anyone.We’d never been separated after she found me. Even during the pregnancy, she’d been there. Now her scent surrounded me like a protective blanket.“I didn’t kill her, Mama,” I whispered against her shoulder. “I know I didn’t. But everyone believes I did, and sometimes I wonder if I’m losing my mind.”“Shh,” she murmured, rocking me slightly. “I know you didn’t, baby. I know.”“Even Dad doubts me now. He asked me directly if I pushed her. My own father thinks I’m capable of murder.”Mom’s arms tightened around me. “Your father is scared. When people are scared, they say things they don’t mean.”“But what if he’s right? What if there’s something wrong with me that I can’t see?”The confession tore from my throat like broken g

Penelope’s POVDad’s car rumbled along the forest road toward Darkwood territory while I sat in the passenger seat. Every mile closer to seeing Debbie felt like walking toward salvation and damnation simultaneously.“You don’t have to do this,” I said.“Do what?”“Drive me. Apologize. Pretend you believe in my innocence when we both know you have doubts.”Dad’s jaw tightened. “Penelope—”“I’m not a child. I can drive myself to see my own daughter.”“I wanted to be here for you.”“Where were you when I needed you to believe me?”Silence fell between us like barbed wire. Dad’s fingers dug into the steering wheel, his face set in lines of regret and frustration.“I was scared,” he said finally. “Terrified that my daughter might have done something unforgivable.”“And now?”“Now I know that scared or not, a father should stand by his child.”I turned to look out the window. “Too late for noble realizations.”We turned through the Darkwood Pack gates. Security guards waved us through after