Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother
Chapter 279: _ The Showdown

Chapter 279: _ The Showdown

I had barely gotten a grip on the chaos when my mother—the fire-blooded woman who gave birth to both Álvaro and me, stepped forward, her eyes unwavering as a winter wolf.

"Wait," she called, voice hushing Rosa’s hysterics. "María José, what did you mean by a cottage in the woods?"

Every head turned. Even Rosa shut up for a second, which was, frankly, more magical than any damn witchcraft she was claiming María José might’ve done.

María José, so small and calm, looked up at my mother without flinching. "I meant what I said, señora. There’s a cottage. If everyone is willing, I’ll lead you there right now. Everything you need is in that place."

She said it like she was offering directions to a bakery. Like we weren’t on the verge of a full-pack civil war. I swear I heard Rosa inhale to object again, but my father was quicker.

"Then lead us," he said, standing from his throne chair. "Now."

He turned to the other Alphas, the ones from the neighboring territories who’d come to witness the mating ceremony and were instead being treated to a front-row seat at our family’s implosion.

"This... this is not who we are. Our pack is not disordered. I swear on the moon itself, those responsible for this madness will be punished. But for now, allow us to uncover the truth."

For men like my Father and Don Diego, whose reputation was everything to them, a scandal like this in the presence of their competitors was a huge blow.

I knew that deep within them, they were stewing with pure rage and shame. Especially Don Diego whose daughter was the catalyst of everything.

With that, we moved.

María José led the way into the forest, taking light and confident steps. I followed close behind her, never once letting more than a meter of space grow between us. It wasn’t just about protecting her—though yeah, I’d probably growl at anyone who so much as breathed wrong near her—it was about reassuring her.

Telling her, silently, I believe you. I’m with you. Keep going.

Behind us, the others trooped along. Rosa was screeching again, naturally.

"This is absurd! She’s a nobody! She’s just an Omega! She doesn’t know what she’s saying! There’s nothing in the woods—she’s delusional!"

I didn’t look back. I didn’t have to. I could practically feel my mother rolling her eyes.

We walked and walked. The trees grew taller, and denser, like sentinels leaning in to watch the drama unfold. Birds cried above. Dry twigs snapped under our boots. Someone swatted at a mosquito and cursed. The air smelled like pine, damp earth, and tension.

About fifteen minutes in, Don Diego’s feeble patience snapped.

"This is ridiculous," he barked at his disowned daughter, brushing past a fern that slapped him in the face. "Do you even know where you’re going? There’s nothing here but trees and damned bushes!"

I turned just enough to face him. "Exercise a little more patience, Don. If María José says there’s something, then there’s something."

Others murmured their agreement. Even Camila muttered, "She’s been right about everything else so fat, Father."

Then, just when I was starting to worry myself, we broke into a clearing... and there it was.

A cottage. Old, stone and wood, literally growing out of the earth and provoking gasps from the pack members present. In the end, it was moss-covered and the roof sloped with age, but the structure was solid.

A breath lapped through the crowd like a wave of wind.

"What in the..."

"Oh my god."

"Where did that come from?"

Even I stopped dead, staring. This was my first time seeing the place too. It was like a spell had worn off the forest, revealing something that had been hidden for years. I looked at María José, who stood calm and quiet, like she’d known it would be here all along.

Then Rosa screamed.

"Witchery!" she shrieked. "She’s a witch that’s why she has no wolf! She planned this with witches to lie on me! This whole thing is...!"

"¡Cállate, Rosa!" Don Diego shouted, face red. "¡Basta! Shut your damn mouth!"

Camila let out a bark of laughter. Someone else giggled. I’m not sure who. Probably one of the guards. Or maybe Álvaro. He’d always enjoyed dramatic irony, the bastard.

Husband and wife laughed when everyone else was horrified. What a pair!

The pack flooded forward into the cottage, curiosity outweighing any fear. Inside, it was even worse.

We found photos. Dozens of them. Taped to walls, tucked into old books, scattered across a table like someone had been building a shrine.

And in every single one was Rosa and a man none of us recognized. Holding hands. Kissing. Smiling. Covered in blood. Standing over bodies.

Silence fell like a shroud. Even I couldn’t move, blink, or breathe.

"Holy..." I whispered.

"Is that..." Camila trailed off beside me, trembling. "Is that... my sister?"

It was all exactly as María José had described.

I turned slowly to look at her, but she was already kneeling by the fireplace. Her fingers pressed into the stones until something clicked. A panel slid open, revealing a box the size of a shoebox.

She pulled it out and opened it.

I gagged. Fingernails. Not all whole. Not all clean. Some cracked. Some still bloodied.

Camila collapsed with a wail.

"My—my mother... she killed my mother! My mother!" She rocked herself, sobbing uncontrollably. "Why?! Why her?!"

Don Diego, that big, proud man, staggered back as though the cottage had punched him in the gut. He stared at the photos, the box, then at Rosa—who had gone dead silent, lips trembling, and face pale.

"You..." he growled. "You killed her. My wife. You killed your own mother."

"No! I didn’t—I didn’t do this...this is a lie! She planted it all!"

"I should kill you!" Don Diego roared, his face twisted in a way I had never seen. "I should tear you apart!"

But there was nothing to tear apart because in the blink of an eye, Rosa was gone. It was as though some magical powers had teleported her away.

Rosa didn’t have magic, I knew that for sure. So who... who helped her? Was it her lover? Was he around here? Lurking somewhere?

Hold up... Lurking somewhere, that... that was Ignacio!

It was Ignacio! I was so damn sure of it. He helped her get outside!