Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother
Chapter 33: _ You Must Marry Her

Chapter 33: _ You Must Marry Her

The moment the name "Rosa" left my father’s mouth, I knew we were venturing into dangerous territory.

I almost choked on the predictability. I hadn’t seen or spoken to her in years, and now my father thought we were some kind of star-crossed lovers waiting to be united?

"Wait, wait, wait," I said, holding up a hand as if I could physically halt the ridiculous idea forming in his head. "You’re serious about this?"

He gave me a look that screamed, When am I not serious, Axel?

Never, that’s when, you murderer! I replied in my head.

However, "Papá, Rosa and I are just friends. Friends! And by ’just friends,’ I mean we haven’t spoken in years. Years!"

"And what’s your point?" he shot back, crossing his arms over his chest like he was already, and I was just friends.

Oh, God. No.

"My point is," I said, gesturing wildly, "you can’t just wake up one morning and decide I’m supposed to marry someone I haven’t seen since... what, I was twelve? How does that even make sense?"

"It makes perfect sense," he said, in that tone that always made me want to rip my hair out. "Rosa is strong, intelligent, and devoted. Everyone in the pack respects the woman she has become."

I rolled my eyes, jutting my hip out. "And what if she already has a boyfriend? Or a... mate?"

"She doesn’t have a mate, for sure. I and her father spoke about you kids last week."

What? So this was already pre-planned by both fathers?! Brilliant.

I fought the urge to slap my forehead. "And what if she has a boyfriend? A boyfriend, Papá! She might be in love with someone else!"

"No, she isn’t. The De la Vega girls are noble girls of this pack. They are exemplary figures. Well, except for that... that good-for-nothing Omega who humiliated your brother, of course." My father replied, face scrunching up in disgust at the recollection of Mariá José.

Seriously?! She was not an exemplary figure or noble because she had no wolf? He’s got to be kidding me.

And did he say the De la Vega girls?!

The Camilla I met yesterday was far from noble. She was so insufferable and annoying. Shameless, to say the least.

Pfft.

Funny how these parents think they know it all when they literally know nothing.

"Rosa the perfect wife for a Beta." My old man finished.

"Well, good for her," I said, throwing my arms up in mock celebration. "I’m sure there’s a long line of guys in the pack who’d kill for a chance to marry her. So why not let one of them have the honor?"

He arched an eyebrow at me, his jaw tightening in that way that told me I’d just walked into his trap.

"Because you’re not ’one of them,’ Axel. You’re my son. You’re the Beta. You might not want to accept it, but this is your duty."

I snorted, leaning back against the door. "Barely a Beta," I muttered under my breath, but loud enough for him to hear. "I’m not even sure I count as a member of the pack these days."

That did it.

His face darkened, and his voice dropped into that silent, menacing tone he used when he was really pissed off.

"You are a member of this pack, whether you like it or not. You can go on your wild goose chases, pretend to be a lone wolf, but your loyalty is with your Alpha. With your family. That’s not negotiable."

"And that," I said, staring him dead in the eye, "is my single biggest regret in life."

The silence that followed was deafening. I could hear the faint rustle of leaves outside the window, the distant buzz of the pack grounds waking up for the day. My father’s face turned a shade of red that probably wasn’t healthy for a man his age.

"How dare you?! How dare you speak like that about the gift you were given? About your family, your bloodline, your heritage? Do you even understand the honor it is to be a part of this pack?"

Oh, please. If there was any honor in being a member of this pack or a werewolf altogether, we lost it when the Moon Goddess decided to be a selfish bitch.

I shrugged, completely unbothered. "It doesn’t feel like an honor. Feels more like a life sentence."

If his glare could’ve killed me, I’d have been dead and buried right then and there. He took a step closer, his voice rising as he scolded me like I was still a pup who’d just been caught sneaking out.

"You are a disgrace, Axel. A disgrace to this family, to this pack, to your bloodline! I have given you every opportunity to prove yourself, and this is how you repay me? With disrespect? With ingratitude?"

Yeah, right. At least, one thing Mariá José and I had in common. We were both the losers. I guess that’s why I was so protective of her.

Because in her... I saw a younger me. That’s why she’d be the little sister I never had.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. This conversation was going nowhere. The man was like a brick wall, impossible to argue with and twice as stubborn.

"Alright, fine," I said, holding up my hands in surrender. "I’ll talk to Rosa. But don’t come crying to me when your grand plan blows up in your face."

"It won’t blow up. As long as you don’t mess it up, the plan is perfect." He said as a matter of factly.

Pfft. Bold of him. And that was why I was going to definitely mess it up. I don’t want any of it... love, romance, commitment, marriage... none of it.

I wanted to be single and as free as a bird. All of my life. It was okay for one to have their standards and preferences, right?

Rosa traumatized my childhood with her kiss and now, they wanted her to traumatize the rest of my life with more.

Fuck them all.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, because your plans always work out so perfectly, don’t they?"

He ignored me. "You’ll talk to Rosa," he repeated.

"Under one condition," I said, crossing my arms and meeting his glare head-on.

His head tilted. "What condition?"

Father had always known I’d never go down without a fight. My condition was much expected. The way he replied was as though he were expecting it.

"Give me a month. One month to find my mate. If I don’t find her by then, fine, I’ll let you push this ridiculous marriage idea with Rosa. But if I do find her, you’ll back off. No arranged marriages. No interference. Deal?" I proposed, a smirk on my lips.