The Alpha’s Rejected And Broken Mate
Chapter 95

Rowan POV

We sit in the car, tight-lipped, my father Teddy looking absolutely furious with me. He looks so much better now. His skin doesn't look translucent and pale anymore, but rather tanned and slightly golden, his hair no longer shaggy but gleaming and full of vibrancy, his eyes sparkling in spite of his anger, his body beginning to fill out instead of his stick-thin weak physique from the hospital. Amber had healed him before leaving and I couldn't be more grateful to her for what she had done for him. Teddy, on the other hand, was angry that I had let Amber slip through my fingers. "I just can't believe it," Teddy said sadly, "she was so perfect for you Rowan. How could you have chosen Stacey over someone like Amber? She was just so damn angelic" he commented.

I sighed. We had been over this more than once and no amount of telling him that I'd been under a spell had swayed the man into feeling sorry for me.

"You should have known better" he barked, staring out the window, his lips curled back in a snarl. "The mate bond is sacred, damnit" he hissed.

"I said that I was sorry" I snapped "alright, she should never have slipped through my fingers, but I don't have time to keep arguing with you right now."

My father fell silent and I could feel his disapproving gaze from here. He was beyond pissed at me, not that I could blame him. He had really enjoyed Amber's company and I knew he'd been a big fan of hers.

"Where are we going anyway?" my father said grumpily. He hated long car rides and would have much preferred that we run to the pack we were traveling to in wolf form.

"We" I snarled "are going to see Darius, Amber's ex-boyfriend. He has to be the one who released Stacey from the dungeon. The question is why" I muttered under my breath "what could she have possibly offered him in exchange for her freedom?" The boy had been a foolish mutt, releasing the b***h from my dungeon while I had been busy with a rogue attack. As if I wasn't going to know it was him.

"Who cares if Stacey is gone? How much damage can she possibly do now that she no longer has a witch to do her bidding?" asked my father puzzled.

"I care," I said heatedly "she lied to me and put me under a spell. She deserves to be punished for that."

We stopped inside the boundary line, a swarm of warriors preventing the car from going any further. A tall man, heavily muscled, with the physique of a Viking, stepped beside the window.

"State your business," he said tiredly.

I made a mental note to inform Alpha John of his men's boredom in patrol. Someone who had slow reflexes and didn't care much for the job could get another man killed.

"I'm Alpha Rowan Craven and I'm here to see Darius," I said firmly, my eyes almost pitch black as I bored holes into the man's eyes. He gave a little shrug and I saw his eyes cloud over. I waited impatiently, my fingertips drumming on the steering wheel, while my father readjusted his seat trying to get more comfortable.

The warrior's eyes became clear again. "Alpha John has permitted for you to proceed," he said gruffly "please go right to the pack house."

I put the engine back into gear and peeled off, driving straight towards the elegant mansion of a pack house and parking right in front of it. Somehow I wasn't too surprised to see that Darius was waiting by the front door, his arms folded over his chest and a smirk on his damn face. My father awkwardly got out of the car.

"Father," I said firmly "go into the house."

He vanished inside. The second he did, I raced over to Darius and grabbed hold of the teenage boy by the neck, squeezing it tightly, seeing a red haze in front of me, I was that angry.

"Where is she?" I demanded, watching his feet dangle uselessly, his fingernails clawing and scratching at my hands "where is the little b***h?" I hissed "I know it was you that let her out."

"Alpha Rowan" came a shocked voice, Alpha John stepped out of the house, and looked at me in shock "I must ask that you release my son immediately."

I hesitated, then dropped the boy to the ground, turning towards the other alpha with my lips curled back "your son is responsible for letting one of my prisoners escape."

Darius coughed and spluttered from his place on the ground. His mother, Luna Marian, came up beside Alpha John, looking displeased as she eyed me.

"What proof do you have?" asked Alpha John, glancing down at his son with a warning look in his eyes.

"He was the only one in attendance besides my people the other day. I was busy with a rogue attack and your son took advantage of that fact to release my prisoner." "He's lying" coughed Darius "and I replace it insulting that he would go this far."

His father looked thoughtful. "You did go to Alpha Rowan's place the other day" he rumbled "and came back in a hurry. Darius are you sure that he's not telling the truth?" Darius hesitated. "I'm telling you that it's all lies" he exclaimed.

My father stepped outside and grimaced. "I hate to say it, but Rowan is being truthful. So at the moment it's a case of he said, she said" he muttered.

Alpha John gave a grim nod. Luna Marian looked pained. "So what do we do about this?" asked Alpha John.

Darius stumbled to his feet. He glowered at me. I smirked at him, reveling in his bright red face and disheveled appearance. "I challenge you to a fight" he snapped at me.

I stared at him incredulously. Did the little pup really think he could beat me? I, an experienced Alpha who trained regularly? His father was also rather incredulous. "Darius I don't believe that's the ideal solution."

"No" shouted Darius, backing away and looking me straight in the eyes, "he thinks he can just come over and make a fool out of me."

"Rowan," said my father disapprovingly "don't kill him."

Luna Marian turned towards her husband who merely sighed and shook his head. "It's his lesson to learn" was all he would say. Darius was clearly impatient, no longer happy to wait around and before anyone could stop him, he shifted into his pure black wolf form, which was several inches shorter than my own.

Daemon was more than happy to take control and I shifted, my paws thudding loudly against the floor. Luna Marian, Alpha John, and my father stayed by the door as Darius and I began to circle each other, Darius's jaw clenched tight. I waited for the perfect opening and then struck, jumping onto his back and swiping furiously down, leaving a long gash along his midsection as I dropped to the floor and rolled away, facing him once again. Darius didn't look so cocky now, racing towards me as I dodged to the side and swiped again, getting him across his hind legs and eliciting a small whimper from him.

I c****d my head to the side and watched his form, knowing he was tensing his body to take a leap. I met him in mid-air, clawing and biting, Darius getting several hits of his own as we fell to the ground. I backed away, heaving and panting, blood trickling from several small gashes, my fur matting with blood. Darius looked the worse for wear though, blood beginning to pool beneath him. He let out a low ferocious growl, that made birds leave their perches in flight, trees swaying from the sound. I tensed, preparing myself, and dodged, jumping up and landing on his back, my jaws biting down on his neck, He sent me flying into a nearby tree and I hit it with a large thudding noise, my body dropping to the floor.

I got to my feet and eyed Darius warily. He was strong, stronger than I imagined but not as strong as Daemon and I were. This time, I waited until he got on top of me and then bucked, sending him crashing into a nearby tree, his body thudding to the floor. I heard Luna Marian give a shriek of distress and saw my father and Alpha John doing their best to comfort her as she turned her face away, a hand to her lips.

Would this pup never give up? Did he not understand that he couldn't win? For he wasn't giving up quite so easily and I was impressed with him, despite myself. I noticed he was limping slightly on his hind leg and knew that he'd broken a bone when he went crashing into the tree. The blood was pouring faster now as well, staining the forest floor and debris as we fought. Darius raced towards me, and I jumped up high, leaping into the air, landing on his back, and digging my claws in, to prevent him from bucking me off. My jaws clenched tight around his neck. Forfeit, I thought to myself furiously as he wriggled and writhed beneath me, forfeit and acknowledge that you have lost.

He continued to fight, before his body completely slumped on the floor, my jaws slowly and reluctantly letting go. Blood pooled around his body. I heard Luna Marian give a shout of anger "you've killed him you bastard" as I slowly changed, my bones shifting and breaking, readjusting to my human form. I stood there, naked, vulnerable, Darius doing the same so that he lay naked on the floor. I knelt beside him and checked for a pulse. He was still breathing. Good, I hadn't killed him by accident then. He coughed and spluttered where he lay.

"Tell me where she is?" I asked quietly as he moved his head to peer up at me, blinking against the bright sunlight.

"Don't know" he heaved "she didn't tell me where she was going."

I frowned at him in annoyance. All this fighting had been for nothing then. Why had he instigated the fight, when he couldn't even give me the answers I needed! Sure I was angry at him and had been spoiling for a fight, but it didn't need to come to this. Luna Marian shoved past me. Darius' eyes were fluttering open and closed. I looked down and noticed he was losing quite a bit of blood and fast. "Darius" she wailed "my poor baby."

Alpha John was quicker, racing over to grab hold of his son, and cradling him to his chest. "Mind-link the hospital" he growled at Luna Marian whose eyes were clouded over as she began to do just that. He stopped beside me for a moment, holding fast to his son. "I don't blame you for the fight," he said hurriedly "Darius started it but I must ask you to leave for now."

"I understand," I told him, watching the man's eyes alight with relief. He began to run across the grounds, so fast he was almost a blur, heading towards the hospital I assumed. Luna Marian began to follow behind him, her eyes are no longer cloudy. She shot me a look filled with daggers and loathing over her shoulder, before joining her husband's side.

My father let out a low whistle "well son, that was no help for you at all was it" he said with a shake of his head as we walked towards the car. "I take it you learned nothing?" he asked.

But I wasn't so sure. Stacey wasn't the kind to go to other packs when she knew I might be looking for her. She was smarter than that. If she hadn't told Darius it meant she hadn't trusted him either. Where would a shifter go, to seek sanctuary, when they weren't wanting to be a rogue and needed to replace employment?