Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother
Chapter 185: _ She Lives With a Man?!

Chapter 185: _ She Lives With a Man?!

I let out a breath, my grip loosening on Luis Miguel but not entirely. Relief flooded through me, but it was tangled up in frustration, exhaustion, and the ever-present rage burning under my skin.

At least someone around here knew how to exist instead of just vanishing into thin air.

Luis Miguel’s face lit up, though his grin was nervous. "Beta Axel! Man, am I glad to see you."

For once, the feeling was mutual.

"Where the hell have you been?" we asked at the same time.

I narrowed my eyes. He looked tense, shifting on his feet like he was debating whether to run or stay put. My patience was barely there and I wasn’t even sure I had the time for Luis Miguel’s mischievousness right now, so I let him take the lead.

"Go on," I muttered. "You first."

Luis Miguel hesitated, glanced around like someone might be listening, then leaned in slightly. "It’s about yesterday."

A fresh wave of anxiety shot through me. I had a lot of reasons to be stressed about yesterday. It seemed yesterday had been a very crazy day for everyone.

"Be specific."

He wet his lips. "Last night, after we escorted María José..."

Hold on... Escorted? Escorted María José? Now, talk of coincidences.

My voice came out sharp. "What do you mean, escorted María José?"

Luis Miguel winced, like he realized he’d dropped a bomb on me without meaning to. "Uh... so... she was disowned. Her father threw her out of the house. We ran into her on her way to wherever she was going to squat, so we... walked her there."

The guard had already told me this before but it didn’t make hearing it again feel any better. The air was so heavy, it felt like I was struggling to breathe.

My grip on Luis Miguel was still there, but there was something in his eyes, some strange relief as he met my gaze. Maybe it was because he’d finally found someone who didn’t look at him like he was a nuisance or a problem.

But then again, I wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved that he was here, or to be angry that María José had to resort to squatting now while I basked in a life of luxury.

I didn’t have time for this, and yet, here I was, tethered to this moment, still unsure of what to do with all the new information that kept coming at me.

Luis Miguel stood in front of me, looking like he might break into a nervous laugh at any moment, but there was a caution in his movements.

He always had this charm about him, but right now, the boy wasn’t acting like the usual mischievous brat I knew him to be. He was tense. I could see it in the way his eyes flickered, darting uncomfortably as if wondering if I might lash out at him for some unknown reason.

Our eyes interlocked, making it clear that the both of us were clearly frustrated, but as much as I wanted to snap, I needed to hear what he had to say.

If there was anyone who knew where María José was, it was him. And that, for some reason, brought a sickening sense of relief, even if it was quickly tangled with everything else that was going on.

"You escorted her where?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

I didn’t want him to know just how much I wanted to strangle him right now because this wasn’t his fault.

But as for Rosa and Don Diego, I could feel the rage bubbling under the surface, itching to break free. But not yet. Not until I had all the facts.

Luis Miguel swallowed nervously and shifted again, like he was debating whether to keep quiet or give me more of the story.

His smile gleamed like a dying ember, but his tone was earnest. "Santa Leticia. That’s where she is."

Santa Leticia. My heart dropped. There were a dozen places I could’ve imagined her going, but that wasn’t one of them. I knew that area. It wasn’t exactly the safest part of the pack or the fanciest.

It was more like a forgotten part of the pack’s land, a patch of land that people who were struggling to make ends meet or those who were barely home and didn’t really need a personal space occupied.

Moreover, how did María José know anyone from Santa Leticia?

"Who is she squatting with?" I asked, my voice strained, despite my attempt to keep it calm.

He scratched the back of his neck. "With a... a man, she said."

"A man?!"

The jealousy that surged through me tasted like acid on the back of my tongue. She was with a man? That was the only thing I could focus on, and it made me sick to think of it.

Luis Miguel hesitated again. I saw his gaze flicker to the side, like he was searching for the right words or trying to find a way to get himself out of the conversation.

It was typical of him. Mischievous, but careful when it came to things that might get him into real trouble. This was one of those moments.

"It’s... the house of a packhouse guard," he said slowly, the words clearly weighing heavily on him like even he didn’t like the idea.

The tension in his voice was undeniable, but I was too lost in the implications of what he’d just said to think about it properly.

The house of a guard. I hated the thought of her being with anyone, especially a packhouse guard. The thought of another man being close to her, taking care of her, or worse, becoming too familiar with her made my blood boil.

I clenched my jaw, the muscles in my face tight as my hands gripped harder, my fingers digging into the flesh of his arm.

I wanted to shout at him, to demand to know why she had been forced to leave her family and be in such a position like this was his goddamn fault when it wasn’t.

But the words stuck in my throat. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the anger or because a part of me was still trying to figure out why I felt so responsible for her. Was it just guilt? Or my love? Or something more? I didn’t have the time to explore that question now.

"Dammit," I muttered, more to myself than to him. My stomach churned, and I could feel a sickening knot forming at the pit of my stomach. I felt horrible for her, but at the same time, I was pissed off.

She was in a mess that shouldn’t have been hers to deal with in the first place. I should have done something. And here I was, stuck, doing nothing. My hands balled into fists, frustration surfacing again.

Oh, and I shouldn’t be selfish. He did say his friends were missing. What the hell did he mean by missing anyway?

People rarely go missing in this pack.

I dimmed my eyes and asked. "The boys. What the hell happened to them?"