Chapter 333
Spit flew from my mouth as I screamed at him. “You tortured her for finding you fucking my stepsister. She had every right to reject you.” I squeezed. “You are an unworthy male.”
Brandon tugged me off Derek, and I allowed him to do it. Vince watched with hawk eyes every movement, every gesture. Brandon pulled me against his chest, and again I allowed him to. “Calm down. At least let him speak. If you rip out his throat, then you won’t get to hear his reasoning.”
“His reasoning?” I snarled, and Vince winced. But Brandon cupped my face.
“I’m sorry. I said the wrong word. But let him speak, and then your conscience will be clear if you kill him.” Vince nodded, and I knew he was feeding him the words. I wanted to roll my eyes and scoff.
Megan rubbed against the barrier. Allow them to believe they are convincing you.
Fine, but you owe me. She chuckled, but I turned back to Brandon.
“Fine.” I turned back to Derek. “Speak, boy.”
He pushed back a bit, and I took in a deep breath. His fear had spiked, and I was enjoying the scent. “I think I am older than you.” His words made me chuckle.
Nix pushed her words from my lips and flashed my eyes. “That’s what you want to say to save yourself? You are a pup compared to me. Killing you would be child’s play. So yes, boy, I will continue to call you whatever I want. Age means nothing to me.”
He swallowed and then nodded. “I, I, I.”
I growled. “Let’s hear it.” I slammed my hand to the ground, and the wood flooring cracked. His eyes snapped to the board, and he started to sweat as he shuffled back a little more. I scoffed. “Putting more space between us means nothing, beta. I am faster than you, stronger than you, and pissed off. Stop wasting my fucking time and explain.” Derek looked from Vince to Brandon, but both looked away. “Stop looking to them to fucking save you. Neither of them has the ability. I have invoked a Cath Báis; no one can change my mind but me. Alpha Vince cannot interfere. So fucking face me like the man you pretend to be and explain yourself!” I screamed. This time, Derek froze.
“There is no excuse.” His voice was a whisper.
“What?” My voice was ice as I settled onto my heels. I was hunched over like an animal, arms shielding Brandon at my side.
Claws loomed.
“I didn’t expect to meet my mate. Brandon and I have been using Shannon for the last two years of high school, and I was in a dry spell. She came to me one day after Brandon turned her away again.” The words were spilling from his lips now. “I hadn’t met Lynn yet, as she got here while I was away and training.” Derek swallowed. “It wasn’t supposed to be like that.”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “What the fuck did you expect?”
Derek’s eyes filled with tears. “I expected to meet my mate fully clothed. I expected to meet my mate and to have her fall in love with me. With my face, my smell. I expected my mate to fucking want me.”
I didn’t expect the hurt in his voice. “You were fucking another woman.”
“I know.” He screamed and surged to his feet. He ran his fingers into his hair and pulled. “I know, and I fucking regret it.” He spun in a circle. “It wasn’t supposed to happen. But I expected her to allow me to explain. At the very least, allow me to win her over.”
I sat back into Brandon. “But she rejected you.”
He faced me. “I didn’t even have a second to register my mate fully. I deflated instantly. Shannon, the fucking whore, smirked. She laughed as she pulled on her shirt and actually laughed. She said, ‘Well, isn’t this perfect?’ Then she had the fucking audacity to face me and say that she could be mine forever now. Like that would ever happen.” He slammed to his knees. “She smelled like home. But her face…her face was perfection carved by the goddess. But she hated me. In that moment and everyone since, she hated me.” He covered his face with his hands and started to sob.
My rage was still blazing. It didn’t matter that he was hurting; he tortured her. But I pretended I cared. “Then why did you do this?”
He glanced at me, and behind the pain, there was a calculating look. He was trying to figure out if I was buying his act. Nix and Megan growled, but I kept it in. “I hoped she would change her mind. If I kept her close enough, she would rescind the rejection.” His voice was full of longing, and even though I knew it was an act, I wondered if there wasn’t a kernel of truth behind his words.