The Alpha’s Rejected And Broken Mate
Chapter 99

Clarissa POV

I came back down the hallway and stopped in my tracks, hearing the murmuring of voices. I don't know what made me do it, but I pressed myself against the hallway and eavesdropped unabashedly.

"Mother, father" I heard Darius say quietly "I went to go replace Amber for another reason. One that I know is going to make you angry and annoyed with me." I put my hand to my mouth, knowing there was only one other reason that Darius would have gone searching for Amber and feeling sick to my stomach. Although I couldn't prove it, I suspected he had something to do with Sophie's death and I had tried hunting for clues to no avail.

"Well, why did you go then? I mean, what was so important that you had to go looking for that undesirable?" snarled Luna Marian as I flinched. She had never liked Amber and one of the reasons was because she was an undesirable, a shifter without a wolf. "I went to go and replace Amber because she's carrying my unborn child," Darius told them. An awkward silence filled the room. I struggled to breathe, wanting nothing more than to go inside the room and wring his neck for everything he was telling them. "Unborn child" muttered Alpha John sounding quite displeased. "Since when has Amber been pregnant and why is this the first time we're hearing about this?"

I swallowed hard.

"She got pregnant before I married Sophie" Darius supplied slowly, as I gritted my teeth in dismay.

"Why was nothing said?" barked Alpha John, his voice loud enough to echo in the corridor "it would have changed what happened between the two of you."

I flinched. I knew instinctively what Darius was about to say and knew that I was about to be sold out. "Clarissa and Mathew told Amber not to say anything to me or you both. They wanted it kept a secret so that I would still marry Sophie" Darius explained tiredly. Alpha John looked saddened as I glanced into the room, careful to avoid them seeing me. "It's because she was an undesirable, wasn't it? They wanted Amber gone and they knew we would want the child she was carrying."

Luna Marian's eyes were flashing now "as if I would have let you marry that slut" she hissed "Sophie was perfect for you, do you understand that? She would have made a perfect Luna in the future if she hadn't died." "Amber would have been perfect, if you had just been willing to see her," Darius told his mother firmly, sitting upright and staring directly into her eyes which were flashing daggers at him.

"There is no way I would have let you marry an undesirable" Luna Marian said heatedly.

I sighed. The irony was that Amber was no longer considered an undesirable, not since she had gotten a rare and unique wolf. Not that Luna Marian knew that. I'd been careful to keep that a secret and I was glad I had. "She has her wolf now mother," Darius said quietly.

Luna Marian looked stricken. I silently groaned. Now the cat was out of the bag.

"She does" she stammered "but how is that possible?"

Darius shrugged. "I don't know but she does. Besides, I thought you would care that she's having your grandchild" he pointed out, watching his mother's lips flatten as she glanced over at her husband.

"I think that we might be needing to get our lawyers involved," Luna Marian said with a large exhale and grimace "that is if you want custody of the baby, Darius? I'm assuming you do because I want that grandchild to be in our lives and I want her away from Amber." So Luna Marian wanted to put her hands on the grandchild that my daughter was carrying but wanted nothing to do with Amber whatsoever. Why was I not surprised? My hands clenched into fists. My daughter was worth ten of Darius, I wanted to scream, and so was Sophie, while your son is nothing but a murderer!

"Mother, I plan on marrying Amber," Darius said quietly but with determination, his tone of voice brooking no arguments "you took her away from me once, but I don't intend for you to do that again."

"Marry her," his mother said incredulously. "You cannot be serious Darius!" she stormed.

Alpha John looked thoughtful. "It would be far easier to have Darius marry her if she's willing that is than to have a long drawn-out legal battle over custody," he said wisely.

Over my dead body, I thought to myself. It would be a cold day in hell before I let Darius lay a finger on Amber.

Luna Marian glowered at him. "I would rather the legal battle," she said sharply "we have the best lawyers. No one would be able to win against us. Not unless she was hooking up with the werewolf king or something and we both know" she laughed "that that would never happen." "I want to marry Amber" Darius cut in.

"Don't forget Darius" she said, glancing nervously towards the doorway as I ducked behind the door again, "that you have just lost a wife and child. You're meant to be in mourning, not thinking about marriage to the sister of the wife you have lost!" "Screw being in mourning" he hissed "Amber should have been mine in the first place. You should never have interfered in my relationship with her and I won't allow you to do it again."

"I'll contact the lawyers just in case, "Luna Marian said quietly, "in case your plan doesn't exactly come to fruition."

His father nodded "do that but just in preparation. I believe in giving Darius a chance to persuade Amber to marry him. It is what would be best for the child."

My heart was thumping wildly in my chest by now and I couldn't stand to be there a minute longer. I scrambled, rushing down the hallway and turning left, hoping desperately they hadn't seen me. I had overheard everything and I snuck out the front entrance. With luck, Luna Marian and Alpha John would forget all about my presence as they started to implement their horrid plan to get their hands on my grandchild. Yes mine, because I was determined to warn Amber about what they wanted with her. The question was, where was she? There was only one way for me to replace out.

I got in the car and started the engine, careful to drive out slowly, and headed towards the main road. I knew where Rowan's pack was, of course, having already spent some time there and the patrol recognized me immediately. Laurence, the sweetheart, was there and he mind-linked Rowan, recognizing I was there due to an emergency.

"Go straight to the pack house Clarissa, he's in the study waiting for you."

"Thank you Laurence" I breathed, feeling my heart rate return to normal. I wasn't afraid of the monstrous Alpha, not like others seemed to be. The man I had met, was a gentleman, with honor, and I knew that he would treat me well, provided I wasn't there to provoke or anger him in any way shape, or form.

I parked the car and practically ran to the study, startling poor Rowan who leaped up from his seat. "Clarissa" he exclaimed, eyeing me warily "what's going on? Why are you here?" he asked worriedly "is it about Amber?"

I sighed and he motioned for me to sit. I sat politely, crossing my ankles and regarding him silently for a moment. He looked a bit of a mess, his mouth flat in annoyance or anger, his hair disheveled, and stubble growing on his chin. I knew he was searching for Stacey, who had been the prisoner, I suspected, having heard the rumors she had spelled him and caused him to lose the ability to want Amber. She had messed with the mate bond in layman's terms and Rowan had not been pleased. "Rowan, where is Amber?" I asked him softly.

He stiffened and regarded me a little hopelessly "I've told you before Clarissa, that I don't know. When she rejected me she went deep into the forest and ran away from my trackers, thanks to her wolf. She was faster than my patrol was that night."

I exhaled and sat back in the chair. "I need to replace her Rowan," I told him urgently "it's imperative that I replace her."

He frowned at me. "I understand you want to replace your daughter" he commented but I shook my head and interrupted him.

"It's not just that" I protested "yes I want to replace Amber but only because I'm afraid for her."

Rowan stilled. "You're afraid for her," he said a little stunned, leaning forward, his eyes searching mine "why? Clarissa what has happened? Is she in danger?" he said in a rush.

I had him, I thought triumphantly. He still gave a damn about Amber, even if he tried not to show it. "I think Darius killed Sophie," I told him.

He gave a shocked gasp. "Sophie's dead?" he asked and I nodded.

"She was poisoned," I told him heavily "by a woman that we suspect might have been Stacey. According to the omega that was knocked unconscious, a woman with long raven black hair and dark eyes did it. It was someone she wasn't familiar with and happened around the time the prisoner was released from your dungeon."

"I knew it" muttered Rowan "I knew that little bastard Darius had let her out. But why kill Sophie?" he asked me.

I glanced at him and then stared down at the floor. "Because he's still in love with Amber," I said miserably "I just overheard them Rowan and he wants to marry her."

He scoffed at me. "As if Amber would marry someone like him," he said with a chuckle "she's not in love with him."

I glowered at him. "But he is in love with her and she's carrying his child. He wants his child Rowan and so does his parents. They just lost a grandchild, Sophie was pregnant and now they're looking to replace it with Amber's."

Rowan gripped the edges of the desk, his fingernails digging into it "do you think he might try to force her to marry him?" he said with gritted teeth.

I nodded adamantly. "Darius isn't used to not getting what he wanted. When he married Sophie he pretended to be the loving caring husband and he had all of us fooled, Sophie too. It's not taken long for him to go back to his old ways. I know he had something to do with her death, I just can't prove it. I would hate to think how far he might go if she refuses to marry him. He might even go so far as to harm the unborn child if she tells him no."

Rowan looked disgusted. "Only a coward would do something like that. I should have killed him while I had the chance" he growled.

I was a little sorry he hadn't killed Darius as well, to be honest. The little bastard had more than deserved it, but it hadn't surprised me that Rowan had chosen to show mercy. He was too nice to kill someone in cold blood, even if they did deserve to meet their maker.

"We need to replace her Rowan" I reiterated "you owe her that much considering what you did to her. I know you were under a spell, but you treated her poorly" I said, slamming my hands on the desk and towering over him as I stood up. He blanched from the accusatory look in my eyes.

"Alright," he growled finally, Laurence coming into the room. "Laurence you're in charge until we get back."

Laurence looked nonchalant and I had the feeling he'd been listening in on the whole conversation.

"Where are we going?" I asked him suspiciously.

Rowan gave a grin. "to hunt down your daughter. Even if we have to go pack by pack until we replace her. I know of an excellent vampire tracker if we get stuck, who will be more than happy to assist me, for the right price of course."

"Oh yeah?" I said cautiously, moving to the doorway, to stand in front of the man "and where might said vampire tracker be located?"

Rowan winked at me, gently pushing me to the side and starting down the hallway. "The Vampire King's Castle of course" he called over his shoulder "now are you coming with me or not?"