Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother
Chapter 165: _ Broken

Chapter 165: _ Broken

Axel remained mute as though he was deaf to my words. However, from the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, I knew he was feeling their impact.

"Do you know the consequences I will face? Do you know what they will call me? A desperate Omega who tried to seduce a high-ranking wolf. A disgrace. A liar. Some might even say I forced you. And do you know what happens to women like that in our pack, Axel?" My voice cracked. "They get banished. And with my Father, he’ll marry me off to an old, ugly, and devious rogue, claiming I have sullied the family’s name because I HAVE, Axel."

I took a moment to breathe, my chest rising and falling. "First, I am an Omega, and now, I got marked by my sister’s soon-to-be fiance outside of the mate bond?!"

His hands twitched at his sides.

I took a step closer, desperate for him to understand, to see what he had done to me. "I have lived every day terrified that someone would notice. That someone would pull at my scarf, and my secret would be exposed. Every time someone reaches for it, my heart stops. Every time someone glances at my neck for a second too long, I feel like I can’t breathe."

Axel’s breathing had grown heavier. His fingers curled into fists so tightly his knuckles went white.

Was he feeling it? The guilt? Regret? Did he realize what was at stake now?

"I have protected our secret. I have protected us. I’m not even good at protecting myself, but I have gone out of the way just to protect what we shared." My voice trembled, but I kept going. "And what about you? Are you just going to marry Rosa and let me be ruined?"

His face fell and I thought I had finally gotten to him, but when he finally spoke, his voice was cold. "I’m sorry, María José."

"Sorry?" I repeated hollowly.

"I have always wanted Rosa. Since childhood. And I won’t let one mistake stop me from achieving my deepest desire." He finished in a distant tone.

I physically recoiled at those cruel words. Who could have known that behind all that fake act of justice, behind all that caring exterior was a disgusting and heartless bastard in Axel?

After everything... after making me feel like I was the most important woman to him in the world, he was doing... this?

Deepest desire. That was what she was to him.

Not me. It was never me.

I sucked in a sharp breath, but it was useless. The pain had already settled in my chest, and it wasn’t being pretty either.

"The only thing I can do for you now is give you some advice," Axel continued, his voice oddly emotionless, as if this wasn’t destroying me. "If there is someone else who wants you, you should go to them. Love them heartily."

I stared at him, waiting for him to take it back.

He didn’t.

"You should find someone who actually wants you, María José. Because it’s hard to choose an Omega when there are so many eligible females in the pack."

It felt like the final dagger to my heart. So that’s what I was to him now... an Omega. Coming from someone who goes out of his way to show people that I was worth something beyond my omega status, this was a lot to swallow.

He almost seemed like someone else. Yet, he felt so familiar.

I let out a broken laugh that was bitter and humorless. "You think I should appreciate a man who I don’t have any feelings for? To lead him on and trap him in a one-sided love web as has been done to me?" My voice cracked. "Do you even hear yourself right now?"

Axel said nothing.

The room spun around me and I thought I might collapse, but I didn’t care. The pain inside me was too loud, too crushing, and too much.

There was no more shame in me. I wouldn’t hold back any longer. Axel would never get this version of me ever again. I would never be the María José I was about to be in his presence ever again.

The one who actually says how she felt.

I lifted my chin, swallowing down the sob lodged in my throat. "What if I don’t want someone else?" I whispered. "What if I want you?"

His eyes flashed.

My lips trembled, but I refused to stop now. "What if I love you?"

and of course, there was silence.

Axel shook his head, further dipping his hands in his pockets. He looked like he had just been punched, like I’d declared I wanted to kill him, not love him.

He had no idea how big this was for me. How personal, how memorable this moment would be for the rest of my life. This was the first time I’d ever confess my feelings to any man.

Axel he—he was my first love.

But then, after what felt like an eternity, he inhaled sharply, schooling his features into that of indifference.

"Then if you love me, you should let me be with the woman I love." He declared and bells rang in my eyes.

Everything inside me shattered.

Tears burned my eyes, but I really didn’t want to let them fall. No, don’t cry, María José. Not in front of him. Not when he didn’t deserve to see them.

I shouldn’t have doubted Mateo. He only meant well. He only didn’t want to see me hurt. He had been right about Axel.

Was this how Mateo felt when I rejected him? Was this how much his chest hurt that it felt like a wound was festering in it?

It was no wonder he reacted that way. No wonder he terrified me. You were either disgusted or vengeful. In Mateo’s case, he was vengeful.

I, on the other hand, was disgusted with this deceitful man in front of me. I couldn’t believe I let myself get fooled. All along, I didn’t mean more than a little sister to him:

A second of silence passed and then, I made an internal decision.

I exhaled shakily and stepped back, feeling the cold rush of air between us. I reached for my scarf, pulling it up over my neck and covering the mark—the shame, the taint as Mateo had called it.

Then, in a whisper, I pointed toward the door. "Get out."

Axel glanced at me. At first, he hesitated and I almost got fooled by the seeming pain in his eyes until I saw the corners of his mouth faintly curving up.

Was that a... smirk? Was he triumphant? Glad he had broken my heart?

Really?!

I lifted my head, meeting his gaze, and this time, I was the one who looked away first. "I said get out, Axel!"

There was a long pause. And then—footsteps.

The door creaked open. He didn’t say anything as he left. Didn’t look back. He was worse than Álvaro. At least, Álvaro was plain about who he really was. He didn’t pretend to be some emphatic hero who deceived girls into winking their hearts.

And as the door clicked shut behind him, I finally let myself break.