Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother Chapter 187: There’s An Enemy

The door shut right back the mont she saw standing lancholically behind.

Luis Miguel took a startled step back. "What the...?"

I blinked. Did she just...?

Of course, she would. After everything everyone had claid I did, after choosing her sister over her, sleeping with her sister even when I had marked her, and getting engaged to her sister, I deserved an even worse reaction.

Luis Miguel knocked again, sounding more confused than anything. "María José, what was that?"

Oh, Luis Miguel, I marked her and got engaged to her sister, that’s what.

However, the oblivious boy tried again, his voice more insistent. "It’s ! Luis Miguel. And Beta Axel is here too!"

Dios mío.

He was making it worse.

The mont my na left his mouth, I heard a muffled curse from the other side of the door, and if I wasn’t so irritated, I might have laughed.

Luis Miguel looked utterly baffled. "I don’t... what’s wrong? He’s your sister’s fiancé! I’m sure he’s here to plead on her behalf. He has been looking out for you for quite a while now. He..."

Oh, for the love of The Moon!

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Luis Miguel."

He turned to , looking completely lost. "What?"

"Shut up."

He blinked. "Huh?"

"I said, shut up," I repeated, this ti with the full weight of my authority. "Go find your friends. If you don’t find them in three hours, go to the packhouse and ask for ."

Luis Miguel hesitated, then nodded stiffly. He glanced at the door, clearly still confused, then back at . "Alright, Beta. Three hours."

"Three hours."

He gave the door one last uncertain look before jogging off, disappearing around the corner.

I exhaled. Finally.

Turning back to the door, I stepped closer and leaned slightly against the fra. "María José."

Just as I deserved, I got no response.

I sighed. "Are you really not going to open the door for ?"

Still nothing.

"I’m not leaving," I warned, crossing my arms. "We need to talk."

Nothing.

Hugo huffed in my head, thoroughly unimpressed. "We could just kick the door down."

I ignored him. Why the fuck should I break down soone else’s door and risk her getting kicked out?

Well, if she got kicked out, I could check her into a pack’s hotel or sothing. She should be more comfortable there than this...

If only she’d let .

Leaning my forehead against the door, I let out another breath. "Co on, María José." My voice was softer this ti, coaxing. "Just open the door."

The silence went on between us like the space between two strangers who used to know each other intimately.

I stayed where I was, my forehead resting lightly against the rough surface of the door, feeling the uneven wood scrape against my skin as if trying to punish itself. Maybe I deserved that too.

Hugo growled lowly in my head, pacing restlessly. "Just kick the door down. Drag her out. Make her listen."

I shut him out, my fingers curling into fists at my sides. No. She had every right to keep that door closed, every right to shut out of her life, and if she wanted to stand here all night and beg, then so be it.

I swallowed against the lump in my throat and exhaled slowly, forcing my voice to stay steady. "I deserve that."

I paused but still got no answer. However, she was right there behind that door. I could hear the fast beating of her heart and how fast it got with every word I uttered.

I tilted my head against the door, closing my eyes and imagining as though my head was placed on her back. "I deserve all of it, María José. You could open this door and slap across the face, and I’d still deserve worse."

Still, she said nothing.

I let out a dry chuckle, but it was humorless. "I know I don’t even deserve to be standing outside your door right now. I don’t deserve your ti, your patience, or even the air we’re sharing." I swallowed hard. "But I can only beg you to hear out. Just once."

My jaw clenched, and I squeezed my eyes shut. Co on, María José. Please.

I dragged a hand down my face, my fingers pressing hard into my skin as if I could force so kind of relief from the ache building inside .

Then, I took a deep breath and said what I should have said a long ti ago.

"I could never do that to you."

Sothing shifted. It wasn’t loud, just the faintest sound of movent from the other side. A shift in her breathing, and the scrape of her feet against the floor. But it was sothing.

I pressed on. "I have never, and will never, choose Rosa over you. I swear that on my life." My voice was firm now even as my chest felt like it was caving in. "Whatever happened... whatever you saw and heard... it wasn’t ."

It really wasn’t . Even if I was drunk, it could never be . I would never do such a thing. Not when I had just decided to officially mark and marry her.

Why would I do sothing so serious to ruin my plan and chances with her? Sothing was wrong with this pack. Soone was there with and Luis that day.

They had cut my throat, put in such a vulnerable condition, and stole my identity to ruin things for . But who?

If it were a witch, I don’t rember having bad blood with one. So why would they target ? Or could it be María José?

Was a witch intent on ruining her happiness? First, they killed her father’s pigs so that she could get labeled as cursed. And then, they ruined her chances with the man who genuinely loved her.

Was this what it was? Soone trying so hard to ruin María José’s future?