Chapter 10%
His response was immediate, his tone accusatory. “Do I need to spell it out? Who else could it be if not Alpha Atlas Olcon’s?“>
Atlas. The name hung in the air.”
The memory of that day flashed before my eyes. After our wedding, after Ronan’s cruel words, I had fled the pack, seeking peace of mind in the anonymity of a nearby town.
I found myself at a small inn, drowning my sorrows in a glass of cheap alcoholic drink. The same day, I was harassed, not knowing what to do. That’s when Atlas appeared, the Alpha of a powerful pack that rivaled even Ronan’s and Phantom Moon Pack. His presence had always been commanding, even as a child, and now, as a grown man, he exuded an aura of strength that was impossible to ignore.
His dark hair, always a little too long, fell into his piercing blue eyes, eyes that seemed to see right through me. His chiseled jawline, the strong set of his shoulders–everything about him screamed authority.}
Atlas had helped me that day, stepping in when a drunken stranger had harassed me. He had driven me back to Obsidian Howl. I never thought much of it, but now… now Ronan was twisting it into something ugly.”
“Ronan,” I said, my voice laced with defiance, “on what basis are you saying this?“}
He sneered, stepping closer until I could feel the heat of his body against mine. His hand gripped my wrist tightly, and he pinned me against the door, his eyes wild with anger. “The day after our wedding, you went out of the pack and went to a nearby town, right?“}
My mind raced back to that morning, the pain of his rejection still fresh in my memory. I had sought escape, not an affair. But Ronan’s mind was made up. “Adeline saw you and him enter a private room in that inn and leave together.”}
Adeline. Of course, it had been her. The realization made my stomach churn. She had always been in the background!} “Anastasia, it was right after our mateship ceremony, and you weren’t even discreet? Greedy, wanting it all. And to think I believed…” Whatever he believed, I didn’t care. I didn’t want to hear it. The man before me was no longer the one I had loved so fiercely. He was a stranger, twisted by his own insecurities and the manipulations of those around him.
I shoved him away with all the strength I could muster. “So you think Kieran isn’t your biological child?”
He looked at me, his eyes hard and unyielding. “Isn’t he? Which part of him looks like me?“}
The absurdity of his question made my blood boil. Babies all looked somewhat alike when they were young. How could he see any difference? But arguing with him was pointless.
And damn, if only he came to see Kieran once in a while, he would have never thought of those things. But he didn’t even bother to look for him in two years!!
I turned away from him, walking to the bedroom where I kept the last remnants of Kieran. From the drawer, I retrieved his used toothbrush and a small plastic bag containing strands of his hair that had fallen out during his medications.
I held them out to Ronan, my voice flat and emotionless. “Take these and find out for yourself.
