Alpha's Rejected becomes the Lycan's Obsession
Chapter 118: More complicated

Chapter 118: More complicated

The surprise and shock that appeared on Mrs. Curt’s face when he had mentioned attempted murder, and when she asked about it, gave Roman a satisfying feeling.

His lips curled slightly, not in a smile, but in something far darker. A bitter sense of satisfaction that wasn’t sweet but scorching. The same way betrayal burned through a soul when it came from someone once trusted.

"You call me a monster," he said, his words deliberate, laced with disdain, "but you fail to look into the mirror to see who the real monster is."

His voice was sharp, cutting through the air like the blade of a sword. It carried an edge that was impossible to ignore, and every syllable dripped with disgust. Roman’s eyes bore into her, challenging, unyielding. The silence that followed was louder than any scream.

Then, without warning, he turned his head slightly, his eyes shifting towards the pillar where he had asked Tessy to hide and listen.

"Come on out, my love," he said, his tone softer now but still firm.

From behind the pillar, Tessy stood trembling. Her breathing was uneven, her sobs caught somewhere between her chest and her throat. Her arms were wrapped around herself like she was trying to hold herself together, like her very existence might crumble if she loosened her grip. When Roman called her, her steps were hesitant, fragile. Each one forward felt like stepping deeper into a nightmare she hadn’t fully woken from.

Her tears were pouring now without control, trailing down her cheeks like rivers of pain. As she moved to stand beside him, the ache in her chest threatened to break free into wails, but she held it down, swallowing it like poison.

Her heart was pounding furiously, each beat echoing in her ears as her eyes locked onto the woman standing before her. Her voice, when it came, was barely more than breath.

"Mom?" Tessy called, her tone hollow, drenched in disbelief. Her lips trembled as the word left them.

She blinked rapidly, as if trying to make the image in front of her blur away like a dream. But it didn’t. It stayed. The woman standing there was unmistakable. The same face she had mourned only weeks ago. The same face she had loved all her life. It was real. Too real.

But the response that came back cut through her like a knife.

"Quit the pretense, Tessy. I’m pretty sure by now you already know I am not your mother."

Mrs. Curt’s voice was sharp, venomous. She spat the words out like they tasted foul in her mouth. There was no affection in her tone, only rage, and Tessy flinched as if she’d been physically struck.

"Why?" Tessy asked, the question trembling from her lips like a fragile bird taking flight. Her mind was spinning, her thoughts scattering like broken glass. She needed to understand. She needed answers because suddenly the foundation of her entire life felt as if it had been built on lies.

"Don’t ask me questions," Mrs. Curt snapped, her words icy and final.

Tessy staggered slightly at the harshness, her lips parting again in stunned silence. Her eyes, which were full of longing, pain, and confusion, darted between Roman and the woman who had raised her. Who was she now?

Mrs. Curt turned to Roman then, her face twisting with hatred. She knew the game was up. There was no use hiding anymore, not when the truth had already been spilled.

"If they did not succeed in taking her out today," she said, her voice dark with conviction, "they will succeed tomorrow. Or next. You can’t stop it from happening. You can’t protect her forever. One day she will be killed, and I will be the most joyous person ever, whether dead or alive."

Each word landed like a dagger. Tessy’s breath caught in her throat. The pain in Roman’s face was visible too, but hers was a different kind of heartbreak. This wasn’t just betrayal. It was the total annihilation of a belief, a love she had held onto her entire life.

She didn’t recognize the woman speaking to her. Yet she did. That made it even worse.

Tessy swallowed thickly, her throat burning. Her hands clenched into fists by her side, trembling with the weight of her emotions.

"All right," she finally managed to say, her voice hoarse. "Since you are not my mother, tell me what you did to my real mother. Where is she?"

She was proud of how her voice didn’t crack, how she didn’t fall apart completely as she said it. But the woman in front of her was unmoved.

"And I said you shouldn’t ask me any questions," Mrs. Curt said coldly.

Tessy’s face crumpled, the pain pushing forward like a wave crashing against fragile rocks.

"What do you mean I shouldn’t ask you any question? Don’t I deserve answers after you have lied to me all my life?" Tessy cried, her voice rising now, the tremor in it replaced with fury.

But Mrs. Curt didn’t respond. She turned her back, as though Tessy’s words didn’t matter. As though she didn’t matter. With slow steps, she walked to the far end of the cell, her movements deliberate. When she reached the wall, she dropped down in a seated position, her back to them, her mouth closed. She said nothing else.

The silence screamed louder than any insult.

"Don’t waste your time. She isn’t going to give you any response. Her black heart will not allow her to," Roman said gently, turning his attention to Tessy.

He could see her breaking. The devastation etched into every part of her. It was visible in her posture, her eyes, the way she was breathing like the air itself betrayed her. Roman’s jaw clenched. He hated seeing her like this. But he knew now wasn’t the time for vengeance. That would come. Right now, she needed comforting.

"Come on, let’s leave this place," he said softly, reaching out and taking her hand.

His touch was warm and grounding. Tessy followed him like a ghost, her feet moving but her mind miles away. When they stepped outside the dungeon, she gently slipped her hand from his and moved to the other end of the corridor, leaning heavily against the cold stone wall. Her legs barely held her weight.

She stared blankly at nothing. The pain was too loud. Her chest rose and fell in shudders.

"I’m going crazy," Tessy whispered, her voice distant and hollow. She raised her hands to her head, gripping it tightly as if to hold her thoughts in place. "My whole life has been a lie. Where am I supposed to start from?"

Roman took a step toward her. Her words were like a dagger twisting in his chest. He remembered the light in her eyes, the fire. And now... that fire was dimmed. Her green eyes, once filled with mischief and wonder, now held only pain.

"We will figure it out together, okay? There is no need for you to panic or worry yourself to death," he said gently, his voice like balm on an open wound. "We will do this together. And I will do everything I can to find your real mother, if she’s still alive," he promised her, with all the sincerity in his heart.

Tessy lifted her eyes to him slowly. "How did you know about all these? Are you a witch also?"

Her words echoed in her mind, reawakening the memories of their first meeting. She had always known there was something different about him. Now it all made sense.

He hesitated for only a second, knowing she had heard and seen more than enough for one day. But he didn’t want to keep his identity a secret anymore. If she must know, then she had to know at that moment she asked.

"I am not a witch. I am a Lycan," Roman revealed, the words falling heavy into the air.

"What’s that?" Tessy asked, frowning. The word was foreign to her.

"Let’s just say it’s a higher version of a werewolf," Roman explained carefully, choosing his words to avoid further confusion.

Despite the pain lacing her every feature, Tessy’s eyes widened slightly, and her brows furrowed as she processed the new information.

"So, you are not human? You change into a wolf?" she asked, her voice small, her gaze searching his.

"It’s a bit more complicated than that," Roman said gently. "Let’s talk about it some other time, okay? You need to rest. I don’t want you falling sick again."

Tessy didn’t argue. She couldn’t. Her body was already trembling from the exhaustion of the truth, and her soul felt twice as heavy. She gave a weak nod, her shoulders sagging.

"Come on. Let me walk you to your room," Roman offered, extending his hand, but Tessy shook her head in refusal.

"I need to think, so I would like to be alone," she said to him, and he nodded in understanding.

"Very well then. I’ll walk you to your room and then leave you alone. That better?" He asked, withdrawing his hand back to himself.