The Mark of an Alpha
Chapter 63

The pounding resonates as the snapping echoes in my ears.

There is a fight around me and I hate that it is always me getting hurt and being weak. I want to be an actual alpha the one that does not pass out at every fight.

I will fight.

My wolf could not agree with me more I can feel her power swell inside of me and I know that I am capable of taking care of myself. My eyes shoot open and I see Hunter’s body over me crouching down close to my body.

His fur brushes my face as his eyes dart in every direction making sure I am safe.

I look for Derek and he is holding a smoking gun. His eyes are wide as if he is just realizing what he just did.

Mathew stands a few feet away from his nephew. He is not worried about no gun, he wants to go after Ivan.

“Don’t you dare touch her,” Derek hisses and Ivan is cradling his arm.

“You would betray your father?” Ivan snaps. Derek’s breathing is coming in rapidly and he shakes his head.

“You made me do this. You made me become the person that I am...less shadow of your former self.” Derek loses it and his hand starts shaking.

“Let me get up,” I whisper to Hunter but he does not listen he is not budging. “Hunter let me out,” I growl and he seems to be fighting with himself until he takes a few steps away from me.

The cold stone floor presses against my hands as I get to my feet and my hand goes to my neck and it stings where Ivan’s fingers once were.

“Melany, stay away from him,” Derek says and he is still holding onto the gun as if he cannot do damage without it.

His wolf will not allow him to hurt his father.

Derek’s wolf is just like Derek, son to the man before us, so he could not bring himself to attack the man that brought him to life. That is the reason that the bullet grazed Ivan’s arm and it did not go straight into his heart. Derek wants his father to back off but he cannot kill him.

“I am not going to let you kill your son just to gain power. He is your son for the love of God.” I am practically yelling at Ivan as his eyebrows scrunch up and he looks at me as if I have lost it.

“I wasn’t going to kill my son,” he hisses.

“Then who is next in line…”

It appears that Mathew had enough of the talking because he lunges after his brother but Ivan, for an older man, moves quickly and he makes it to the door running out of there as fast as his legs can carry him.

Mathew looks over at me apologetically and runs after his brother.

I stare at the door as if Ivan would return and answer my question. A cold hand caresses my neck and I turn to look at Hunter. His fingers gently run where I am hurt.

“Does it hurt?”

A bit. I shake my head.

I glance over at a broken Derek. His face is white as his eyes go to the blood on the floor, his father’s blood. He has lost his crown, father, and pack all in a matter of minutes.

“How are you?” He is still holding the gun in his hands his fingers seem to regain their movement and he drops his gun to the ground.

“How do you think I am doing?” He snaps and he makes his way to the chair and drops into it. “He wanted to kill the next in line which is me…but he said that it wasn’t me. Who the hell is next in line?” He looks as confused as I feel.

“Don’t worry about that now.” We sit there in silence for a while when Mathew makes his way back wearing just his slacks.

“We have a lot to talk about…” he starts without a warning. “Son, go change we will be right here.” He looks over at Hunter and Hunter looks at me waiting for my response. I nod and he sighs and walks out the door.

“Uncle Mathew is my father…” I know exactly what he wants to know. Is Ivan dead?

“No, he might be older but that sneaky bastard managed to get away.”

Even though he pulled the trigger on his father the look of relief on Derek’s face tells me that he is relieved that he is still alive.

“Melany, are you okay?” Mathew's worried eyes fall on me.

“It’s just a scratch. I’ll be okay,” I shrug.

“Who’s the male?” Mathew asks looking at the door that Hunter just walked out of and then his eyes go to Derek. “Mate?” Derek’s eyes widen.

He thinks Hunter and Derek are an item!

“No!” Derek yells at Mathew.

“He’s with me,” I cut in before Mathew says something else.

“I thought that you were…never mind.” Mathew stops himself and I am happy that he is letting it drop easily.

“You kept tabs on me?” He smiles and shrugs. I don't know if I should replace that charming or disturbing.

“Tabs? No, but I did catch wind of things while I was trying to compose myself for a lack of better word.” Mathew paces a bit in front of the entryway.

“Are you the new alpha?” I blurt out.

“I will take my place as the rightful alpha. I’m sorry Derek but that is not your place.” Mathew looks at his nephew and Derek does not fight him.

“I’ll announce that the true alpha has returned.” Derek gets up and walks out of the door.

“What’s going to happen to his pack?” I ask, worry filling me for Calvin. He has been nice to me and I feel as if I need to look out for him.

“They will lose their ranking unless I see them fit for the spot if not they can live like the rest of the pack.”

“Can one of your pack members move to another pack? Technically they are still part of your pack since you are the Alpha of Alphas.” I question him.

“Melany," he chuckles, "they can do whatever they please they have a mind of their own.”

“That is not how your family saw it.” He does not think that way that Ivan and Derek thought.

“We don’t see eye to eye on that then,” he sits in the chair next to me. “Is that young lad your new mate?”

Never mind he isn’t dropping it.

“He is not my mate but he manages to mean more than my actual mate ever meant to me.”

“So it is true you broke the mate bond.” I nod, “That is unreal.”

“Your nephew did it as well.”

“I know but he did it because he was selfish. You in the other hand did it to better yourself and with that, you manage to defy all the laws we know. But what happens when he replaces his true mate?”

“She died a while back.”

“You don’t say,” he tsks and looks at me, “seem as if you two were made for each other.”

“It appears so but your brother was trying to convince me that I was meant to be with Derek,” I tell him and the door opens as Hunter makes his way back to me taking the seat on the other side of me.

“I bet he was. He wanted to get close to my next in line.”

“Derek.”

“Do you want me to spell out for you sweetheart, you, Melany Blake. You are my next in line to become alpha of the alphas.”

It is as if someone dropped a bucket full of ice water on my head.

“How? I am nothing to you and by the way, I was never meant to be an alpha?” I look over at Hunter and he grabs my hand giving me a gentle squeeze.

“Let me start at the beginning. My father was the alpha before me. He had two sons, Ivan and me, but he only saw one as the rightful alpha when he died. Upon his death, we found out that he wanted me to the alpha and not my brother as we all thought. My brother grew angry with everyone and shut everyone out. I didn’t have time for his pity party I had a pack to run.”

“You had a pack to run but you left…” He puts his hand up to stop me.

“I’m getting there. After a couple of years, my brother seems to accept the fact that I was in charge. Everything went smoothly I was making lead way with my pack when I met a woman by the name of Arabella Martin.”

“My mother,” he nods.

“She was not my mate but there was an attraction between us that even she couldn’t deny.”

“She wasn’t your mate!” My tongue lashes out and I feel my face heat up with anger, “that asshole tried to make me think that my mother and I went through the same thing except she was Marcus.”

“No, she wasn’t my mate but I loved her as if she were. When we met we fell in love in the course of a few weeks. Arabella made me happy, a happiness that I have yet to feel once again. My brother hated that I had everything the crown and a girl that loved me back so he did the next thing that would hurt more than death itself. He brought her mate to her. He brought Julian Blake into the castle and that is when Arabella found him. She, of course, broke our relationship the second she found him.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper as I see the pain in his eyes.

“Why? We all know the risks of falling for someone who isn’t meant to be with you. I let her go and after a while, I heard that she was pregnant. It hurt me more than it should have.”

Mathew sits down and presses his fist against his forehead.

He loved her.

With a heavy sigh, he continues.

“When I heard that she passed away giving birth I was angry. I fought with everyone that tried to come near me. That is when I decided to take a break and maybe replace my mate. That very night that I was about to leave I received a letter from your father. He wanted to speak to me.”

“About what?” he lifts his head, smiles, and puts one finger in the air.

“I fought with myself long and hard until I finally decided to see what he wanted. I went to his packhouse and when I walked in he was a blubbering mess on the couch he held you in his arms. It seems as if he was trying to make sure that you were real. I went to him and that is when he poured his whole heart out to me. We talked I can’t tell you what we talked about since my mind blurs out what causes me pain…but I do remember one important detail that is about you.”

His eyes scan mine searching for something.

“He wanted me to be your godfather. If anything happened to your father I would be responsible for you.”

“I’m not a child anymore.”

“You’re not but that does not mean that I don’t see you as a daughter. The younger version of the woman I once loved. That is why Ivan was after you and not Derek. You’re the one next in line to be alpha. That is why he wanted his son to get closer to you so that he can get close to you as well.”

“I’m what?”

“You are next in line to be crowned.” My hand grips Hunter’s tighter.

“I wasn’t even supposed to be alpha. My father did not want this. But the situation forced him to pick me.” I repeat trying to get it into his head.

“Your father, as well as I do, knew that you were never meant to be a follower but a leader. I wanted to be there for you when I heard about Julian’s death I was so lost in my animal side that I couldn’t come to you. Then your whole mate situation happened I hoped that I would run into him so that I could...”

This is too much I put my hands up to stop him.

“We’ll talk in the morning but for now I need to regain my energy.” Hunter stands and helps me out of my chair as Mathew’s words sink in.

"I'm sorry for everything that you went through." Mathew fights away the frown that is pulling at the corner of his mouth.

"The only thing that I am sorry about is losing my father. Everything else has shaped me into the person I am right now."

Ivan was trying to kill me.

I am next in line to be Head Alpha.

My parents were in facts mates.

Hunter can feel my distress and he tries to take it away as he helps me back to our room.