Alpha’s Hybrid Cinderella
Chapter 34

It was the first and only real argument we had ever had in the long weeks we had known each other. In my room, well into the night, Raf's voice rose and swelled as she demanded to know why I was throwing away the life I had just grasped with my own two hands, all for the same man who had already broken my heart.

I had no defense. What did it it even mean, that I was ready to put my life on hold again for a man who had only halfway committed to me, and only in secret? What did it mean when he hadn't told me with his own mouth he would stop looking for his fated mate to replace me, and that I was simply believing in his strength that would take him there when he was ready? Rafael didn't know how to get through to me, and neither did I. I could only sit patiently while responding to her questions with understanding and no little shame, especially when she asked again and again about the house we had decorated, furnished, and gotten ready for me to live my new life in. My friends were few, but they had all come together for me and put all their strength into making it a happy home I could love.

And I'd left it all behind.

Whenever Raf felt too badly about grilling me, she backed off before she could start shouting. She paced back and forth, barely suppressed like a rumbling volcano until her emotions were under control again, but only just barely.

And there was nothing I could say to alleviate that anger. She was right. From the outside looking in, I was falling for another wishy-washy moment from the Alpha, tossing everything over my shoulder with sparkling eyes just because he had called my name. "Do you not see what he's doing!" she cried. "He broke into your home because he has no respect for you! For your boundaries! Do you realize how much of a red flag that is that he f*****g kidnapped you from your house! This isn't a 1700s romance novel, men need to respect us. You're not a slave anymore, Claudia! You're a woman! You're an adult woman who can make her decisions on her own!"

She had never brought up my Dark Moon past for fear of hurting me before, so her mentioning it now so forcefully only proved how much more danger she thought I was in, or at least my heart. I understood that. I took her hands and pulled her back, urging her to sit on the bed next to me.

"I know," I said gently. "I know it was wrong of him to grab me like that and bring me here without my consent. But he wasn't trying to hurt me."

"He was trying to scare you! To force you to do what he said, not what you want! Because he did not give a damn what you wanted! He only wanted to satisfy his own d**k, Claudia, or at the very least his ego, do you understand that! He's an a*****e and he will not change!"

"He's already changed, Raf. I see it. He told me he loved me."

"Oh, he said 'I love you'? Look! I just said it! No skin off my nose, easy to say! And what do words even mean! What is love without the proof to back it up! Is he promising to stop looking for the next shoe to fit his foot? Is he promising to never keep you as a sidepiece or just straight up throw you away when he finds his mate that he's been searching for for like two years? Everyone knows it, Claudia! Everyone knows why he's been lining women in all the packs he takes over! Do you get that?"

"I do. And... I think he'll tell me when he's ready what will happen from now on. He told me he loved me, Claudia, and he meant it. I believe that with all my heart."

"And maybe he believes it too, for like the next five minutes until he sees his glamorous, stupid-faced mate somewhere in some countryside pack and then he comes back with her! What do you think is going to happen? That he's just going to treat her like an honored guest while you and him happily get it on?"

I probably shouldn't have told her that Evan and I had slept together last night, but she had already guessed. The sinking guilt in my stomach when she had demanded to know the truth... "There's no way he would have snatched you and dragged you back all the way here if he wasn't cruising for p***y right that second! What, did he have no booty calls he could make in the middle of the night!"

There were only so many times I could tell her it wasn't like that, that it looked different from the outside than it really was. After a certain point, it only sounded like excuses. I'd skipped telling her about the pit of prisoners because I knew that would only horrify her even more, and that she would assume Evan was threatening to lock me down there if I didn't give him my body... which technically, he had threatened me, yes. But he hadn't meant it. He had been angry and terrified of losing me. That was all. He hadn't really wanted to hurt me. Not really...

If only I could make Raf understand, but I suspected she was thinking the exact same thing of me.

She dropped her face in her hands, crying in frustration, and I could do nothing but sit quietly next to her until she was vented out. Nothing I said would sound right, at least nothing honest, and I couldn't lie to Raf just to make things look 'better'. She deserved to know the truth even if made me look stupid and gullible.

I was in love with Evan, and he loved me. At the very least he believed that he was, and I could only cling to that confession with all my strength.

"Fine." She straightened and stared straight ahead at the wall. "I'm staying until Evan gets back. When is he returning?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea..."

"I'm doing it anyway. You knew what you did wasn't a good idea either, didn't you? And you still did it. So don't try to stop me."

"Raf, I don't want you to do something you regret later when we're calm."

"Regret? Are you worried I'm going to pick a fight with him and he'll punish me like he does everyone else who gets out of line with him? You know he does. He's not a good man for you, Claudia. In the beginning, I was only in it for the gossip, but once I got to know you, I knew that was the truth. The rumors are all true, Claud. He's cruel. He kills. He slaughters whole packs even if he's handsome and rich, that will never change what he's done. You get that, right?" "I do..."

"Then if you're that determined, you won't stop me from what I have to do, too."

***

EVAN

It was still raining when Evan returned. The storm systems stubbornly remained over the entire region, and they would stick around for a while yet, something that displeased him. Rain washed away scents. At the Dark Moon greenhouses, the trackers had failed to isolate any scents outside the buildings because of that.

But at least he could be with Claudia again. He might be called away in the morning, so he would make the most of every moment afforded to them. He let himself into the manor, ignoring the staff, and almost sprinted up the steps...

And stopped in the doorway when someone other than Claudia answered her bedroom door.

"Oh, so the mighty Alpha Evan has returned," the woman said, eyes lit up with sardonic fury. "Please, let me pay my proper respects."

He knew who she was. He'd had people watching Claudia closely after she told him about the parking lot incident, at least for a while to make sure she was safe. This was Rafael, one of her two best friends, the one with the boyfriend who had also fought that night outside the bar. Evan narrowed his eyes.

"Why are you here-"

"You know, I was in the middle of telling Claudia how stupid it is to fall for your tricks when you made it more than clear she's never going to play anything more than second fiddle to the mate everyone knows you've been looking for for ages. I was also telling her that it's funny how possessive you are of her when you do your damndest to not make it public you want her. That night at the dance was one thing, but you never actually committed to anything, did you? Are you going to be changing things up all of a sudden, or is she just a distraction for you to enjoy in the meantime?"

"That's none of your business."

"It sure is. It sure f*****g is." She went up into his face, fearless and furious. "And look at that. The great Alpha Evan wants to pummel me senseless. Don't think I don't sense your Alpha aura. But go ahead. Prove to Claudia why I'm right. You will never be right for her for as long as you are who you are, end of story. I'm more than happy to be the guinea pig who proves it. So go ahead. Kill me. Kill me like you kill everyone else who pisses you off. You want to, right?"

Over her shoulder, Claudia... did nothing. She watched him. She watched him with patient eyes, waiting for him to respond...

Evan let out a slow breath and relaxed his shoulders.

Yes. Rafael was right. That was the kind of man he was. But he didn't want Claudia to see it anymore, that side of him, and Rafael... was doing this because she cared about Claudia. If she had challenged him for any other reason, he would have snapped, but... "I'm sorry. You're right. I hurt Claudia, and I haven't done right by her. But I'm working on it now and I want to be that person for her."

I want to change, he thought, knowing Claudia would hear his thoughts if what she had told him this morning was true. And indeed, her eyes flitted up to his again, surprised but pleased. A strange heat moved down his body at the pure pleasure in her eyes. "I love Claudia. I'm staying by her side."