Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother
Chapter 66: _ You’re Obsessed With Her

Chapter 66: _ You’re Obsessed With Her

~Axel’s Point Of View~

After leaving Luis, I thought I’d swing by the butcher’s to retrieve the meat I’d paid for. Maybe give it to some starving wolf in the pack—Lord knows plenty of them could use it.

What I didn’t expect was to meet María José in such a state.

She had bumped into me, her chest rising, beads of sweat lining her entire face as though she had just escaped a beast. What made it all the more heart-wrenching was that she had.

The butcher, that bloody bastard, had some guts. I did put him in his place but it wasn’t enough. I had to handle this matter from its roots.

And I did. I didn’t care if it was her, the butcher, or her father that I needed to fight. I just knew I had to do something.

Her skin had taken on a sickly pallor. Her cheeks were hollow, her wrists too thin. And then there were the bruises—fading yellow and purple splotches peeking out from under her sleeves, her collarbone, her jaw.

I felt my stomach turn.

This wasn’t just the work of exhaustion or malnutrition. No. This was something worse.

This was neglect. This was abuse.

And what infuriated me most was the way she carried it. Like she had accepted it. Like she thought she deserved it.

My fingers clenched into fists at my sides.

I wasn’t one to meddle in other people’s affairs, especially not Don Diego’s. But hell if I was going to stand here and watch his daughter waste away right in front of me.

Not when I’d grow so fond of her or saw her as my sister. She was Rosa’s, yeah, but I’d known her since she was little as well.

Speaking of Rosa, all the rumors were true. Dios mío, she had grown incredibly elegant. She had blossomed into a fine woman.

I could almost feel the strength radiating off of her. She was the perfect woman suitable for the Luna post. It was a shame I wasn’t an Alpha. It was a shame I wouldn’t be able to give her the life she deserved.

If Álvaro wasn’t being petty and materialistic, he’d have seen the potential in her. But no, my brother would rather go for the bitchy and brain-dead Camilla who would gladly throw herself at any eligible man.

Hell, sorry to say, but he deserved what he was aiming for.

As I drove away from their estate, Hugo’s voice piped up in my head. "So which one of the sisters has your heart? Rosa or our dear little sister, María José?"

Argh! Could he not please? My heart? None of them did.

"Leave me alone, Hugo. You can see I’m infuriated and not in the mood for girls’ talk."

If this damn conversation with Hugo in my head continued, I was ready to throw my phone out the window. There was no escaping him, no dodging his constant prodding.

His voice kept swirling around in my mind like a persistent mosquito, buzzing and biting when I least wanted it.

"Come on, hermano, just admit it," He teased. "Which one has your heart? María José or Rosa?" He literally shouted the question, as if the world had to know his answer.

I rolled my eyes and slammed my palm on the steering wheel. The sound of the horn blared briefly, but I didn’t care. "I don’t have time for this, Hugo," I muttered under my breath, half hoping he’d get the message.

"Oh, I know you do," he chimed in. "I saw the way you held María José’s hand today. You were literally holding her like she was the last drop of water in a desert. You were protecting her, ¿no?" he added, dragging the word out like it was some kind of scandal.

I cursed under my breath. My knuckles whitened as I gripped the steering wheel. He had seen it, hadn’t he? Of course, he would have noticed.

Hugo was like a damn hawk, always watching. "She was in trouble, Hugo. What do you want me to do? Just stand there?"

"You dropped her hand pretty quickly when Rosa showed up," Hugo’s voice was almost sing-song, taunting me. "Is she your real priority now? You can’t even decide between the two."

I could feel my jaw clench. "It wasn’t like that," I tried to explain, though my voice was tight. "Rosa was... well, she was just there. It’s been years since I saw her like that. I didn’t even know how to react."

That was nothing but the truth. After today, I was sure I couldn’t take Rosa in as a wife no matter how eligible of a candidate she was.

She had stood there, did nothing to save her sister, and even blamed her in the end after her father ordered her never to speak to me again.

She only spoke when it benefitted her. It was worse and grating that her words were foolish too. At first, I thought it was Camilla who spouted that—I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised.

However, it was her... Rosa. She said it was all María José’s fault. How the hell was it?

Come to think of it, there had been instances back when we were little when Rosa played on her little sisters weaknesses, always bossing them around and so on.

From what I’d gathered, Rosa was no different from Camilla. She just had a more sophisticated way of being the bitter and selfish sister.

I could almost feel Hugo’s grin growing. "Sure, sure. It’s always different when Rosa’s around. You forget all about María José and focus on the attractive older sister." He snickered. "But hey, let’s talk about the real thing. How about the way you destroyed that butcher, huh? Did you see the way you pummeled him? Like he was nothing."

I gritted my teeth, trying to ignore the growing heat in my chest. "The bastard deserved it. What he did to María José—what he did to her—that was more than enough reason." I flicked my eyes to the rearview mirror, my reflection showing the rage flaring in my eyes.

I wouldn’t give a damn if anyone thought I liked her. I’d still help her even if she didn’t want my help because she doesn’t WANT it. She NEEDED IT.

{A/N}

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