Alpha's Rejected becomes the Lycan's Obsession
Chapter 127: You think I’ll do that?

Chapter 127: You think I’ll do that?

The silence had fallen thick in the room after the chaos of Dera’s outburst. Her screams had subsided, but the aftermath still clung to the air like a thunderstorm that refused to leave.

Her hands were clamped over her ears, her slender fingers trembling as they clutched the sides of her head. Her whole body was slightly shivering, shoulders taut with leftover tension, lips parted as though she wanted to scream again but had run out of voice. Her eyes were vacant, lost somewhere far away, like she was stuck reliving a memory she couldn’t crawl out from.

Williams stood a few feet away, his brows drawn together in concern, watching her. He looked like a man ready to leap into battle but trapped behind invisible bars. The moment the tremors in her shoulders eased the slightest bit, he took a cautious step forward. His voice, when he finally spoke, was soft but firm, like a warm breeze carrying steel.

"I know how we can fix it, Dera," Williams said. He paused for a heartbeat, hoping she would look up at him, hoping her eyes would hold even a flicker of the old Dera, the woman he had once known like the rhythm of his heartbeat.

"You just have to come back with me—" he continued saying, taking another small step in her direction.

But she didn’t let him complete his words.

"No! What I have to do is go far away from you," she said, her voice slicing through the room like a blade. There was no waver, no hint of indecision, only fierce, unshakable resolve.

Her hands dropped from her head, her fingers twitching slightly as if the act had stolen the last bit of her energy.

"Stay away from me, Williams. Please," she added, and this time her voice trembled just slightly around the edges, like a curtain fluttering before it falls.

Then she turned sharply, like she couldn’t stand to look at him another second, and began to approach the door with hurried steps, as though just being in the same room with him was setting her skin on fire.

But Williams wasn’t having it.

His instincts kicked in before he even had time to think. He moved swiftly, decisively, crossing the distance between them in a heartbeat. This time, he caught her before she could reach the door. His arms wrapped around her waist, firm and unrelenting, anchoring her to the present moment, pulling her body flush against his.

Her breath hitched sharply. Her eyes stretched wide in shock, the kind that threw her pulse into chaos. Her heart pounded hard against her ribs like it wanted out, and she stood frozen for a heartbeat, unsure whether to fight him or fall apart.

"Stay away from you?" He probed, his voice low, incredulity swirling in his gaze like a gathering storm. His eyes were locked on hers now, intense and searing, like he was searching for something behind her fury and fear.

"You think I will do that after leaving my mark on you? After leaving a part of me with you? After dedicating years and years of my life to search for you?" His voice was rising with each question, the depth of his emotion pouring out unrestrained.

"What makes you think I will stay away from you now that I finally found you? What gave you the slightest idea that I will stay away from you now that I found out we have a son together?"

His words rang through the room like a gunshot, but Dera didn’t back down. Her body tensed even more in his arms, her shoulders stiff with denial.

"Dexter is not yours," she said, her voice steady but quiet, and her gaze fierce.

"Cut me that load of bullshit," Williams said, not willing to agree with her lies. His jaw clenched hard, his eyes burning with certainty. "I will know my seed anywhere, anytime, and you know that. I can beat my chest and swear on my life that that boy belongs to me."

He narrowed his eyes, leaning in slightly as if to challenge her to argue back. "Can you do the same? Can you?" he probed, and the challenge in his voice was unmistakable.

"Let me go, Williams," Dera said to him in a low voice, trying to wriggle her way out of his grip. Her hands pressed against his arms, her muscles taut with resistance.

"No," Williams refused without a second thought. His hand remained steady on her waist, unshaken by her struggles.

He remembered the last time he held her like that, the last moment before everything had gone dark. But the person he was holding now wasn’t the same girl. The woman in his arms had changed, hardened, built a fortress around her soul, and he was burning to know why.

"No freaking way I’m letting you go anymore," he confessed, his voice dropping an octave. There was pain there, and longing, and a fierce determination that gripped every syllable he spoke.

"It’s me, Dera. The same person you know would do anything to ensure your happiness and safety. I have done it before, and you know I can do it again, even if it means putting my life on the line."

He stared into her eyes, daring her to deny that truth.

"So can you please talk to me? Tell me what the fuck that bastard did to you—damn, I don’t even know if I want to hear it." His voice cracked slightly as he spoke, emotion threatening to rip through his chest. "What I’m seeing alone is already driving me insane."

The silence that followed his words was thick and agonizing. Dera looked at him, her gaze unreadable, and for a moment he feared she would walk away again.

But she didn’t.

Instead, her eyes softened. Her arms dropped. And slowly, she allowed herself to collapse against him. Her head dropped onto his chest with a quiet surrender, her breath hot and uneven against the fabric of his shirt. Then the tears she had been fighting for so long finally escaped, rolling down her cheeks in hot, uncontrolled waves.

Her shoulders sagged as her emotions took over, and she cried her eyes out, clutching tightly to his shirt like it was the only thing holding her together.

That move surprised Williams at first. For a split second, he froze, unsure if it was real. But then it brought a strange calm to his raging heart, like a balm he hadn’t known he needed.

With his other hand, he brought her closer, holding her in that position like he never wanted to let go.

"I’m sorry, Dera, for whatever pain you have gone through in my absence. Blame it on me, scream at me, do anything you must—but don’t push me away, because I will not go," Williams said, and those words broke Dera down further.

She cried harder, her entire body trembling with the release of emotions she had held back for too long.

"You abandoned me, Williams," she said, hitting him in the chest with her fisted palm. The gesture was weak, lacking any real force, but it carried the weight of her grief.

Another wave of relief washed over him, and his arms tightened around her. Her words told him what he hadn’t allowed himself to hope. Her attitude wasn’t hate, nor indifference. It was pain.

"I never abandoned you, Dera. You don’t seem to understand what that mark I put on you means," he said, his voice low, his eyes focused on her like she was the only thing that mattered in the world. "You have a part of me in you. How can I abandon myself?"

He shook his head, frustration and sorrow bleeding through his words.

"You won’t believe how many times your father had me arrested simply because I didn’t believe he didn’t have you locked up inside the house and tried breaking in," he confessed.

Dera let out a small laugh amidst her tears. It was hoarse, rough from crying, but it was real.

"You broke into our house?" she asked, a trace of disbelief coloring her voice.

"I only succeeded once," Williams replied, his eyes glazing over with the memory. "But he caught me before I could do any reasonable search."

There was a moment of silence between them again, heavier this time, as though the years had condensed into a few seconds.

"I didn’t believe you would just leave like that without telling me anything," he continued.

"I didn’t know how it happened. One moment I’m sleeping in my room, and the next time I opened my eyes, I was in a strange place." Dera confessed.

Her voice cracked, and she swallowed hard before continuing. "I got to know about the transaction between my dad and Casper from the lips of the people there. I thought you would come for me. I waited, Williams. I hoped and prayed. But you never showed up."

Williams tightened his hold on her, burying his face in her hair like he could inhale her pain and ease it away.

"I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry," he said, his voice thick. "Forgive me, Dera. I should have done more than I did. It will never happen again."

Dera shook her head slowly.

"I don’t believe you," she whispered. "You’re only saying all these because you need my help. You wouldn’t have even put the effort to find me if you didn’t."

But still, she didn’t move. She didn’t step away from him. Her arms remained curled around him, her fingers still twisted in his shirt. And that told Williams everything he needed to know.