The Alpha’s Rejected And Broken Mate
Chapter 33

Beta Mathew POV

I stare at my daughter, feeling a little misty-eyed. It had been an eventful few days, while we waited on tenterhooks for her to wake up. "Let me grab the doctor," I tell her as she blinks and looks around the hospital room a little confused. I walk to the doorway and nab the first one walking past, a young woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes, similar to Sophie's features. "My daughter is awake," I tell her urgently.

She knows who I am, I can tell instantly from the expression on her face as she hurries into the room. Sophie is sitting up now, my wife, comforting her as best she can.

"How are you feeling?" asks the doctor professionally, straight away checking Sophie's vitals.

Sophie gives her a shaky smile. "A little sore all over" she admits, looking over at us.

Darius has vanished, I notice with some annoyance, which quickly cools when he comes back into the room clutching a soda, which he hands to Sophie.

"I thought you might be thirsty," he says to her quietly, and she looks surprised, thanking him just as quietly.

"Thank you."

She takes a grateful sip as we wait for the doctor to finish examining her.

"You are incredibly lucky to have woken up so fast" murmurs the doctor while taking Sophie's blood pressure "we were certain it could take months for you to heal."

My wife gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. "Thank god you're awake" she whispered, tears in the corners of her eyes as she patted Sophie's hands.

Darius stands back and puts his hands in his pockets, a brooding expression on his face. The doctor is quiet but efficient. I glance at her name tag. It simply reads Dr. Jones.

"Your blood pressure is a little faint but we can try again after you get some proper food in you," Dr. Jones says to Sophie with a warm smile. "Your bruises will take a little longer to heal but you didn't break anything or injure anything vital. It could have been much worse" she warns my daughter "thank the moon goddess that it wasn't" she adds ominously.

Why did Sophie go so pale just then?

"Alright. I'm going to go and organize some food for you and I want you to eat it" she advises Sophie "and then we'll see how your blood pressure is and if it's alright and within normal levels, then you might be allowed to go home. But that's entirely up to you and your parents. If you'd prefer to stay and continue being monitored, that can be arranged as well."

Sophie shakes her head. "I want to go home" she breathes and Dr. Jones gives an affirmative nod, acknowledging her.

"Then eat up and I'll come around again in an hour or so," she says cheerfully.

I feel nothing but relief. My baby girl is going to be fine. In fact, we might even be able to take her home with us today. Maybe now my wife would stop her endless sobbing and wailing over Sophie and get her act together. She was sure that Sophie was going to die and no amount of persuading would tell her otherwise. It had been a few horrendous days of putting up with her. Thank christ that was all over now.

"I have to get back home and let my mother know how you are doing," Darius says softly, approaching Sophie again, his phone in hand. "Mother's been worried about you so I'm sure she will welcome the good news" he adds. "Is there anything you need?" he adds with a frown.

"No, thank you, Darius. Um," Sophie bites her lip and looks a bit chagrined "I was hoping to have a talk with you, Darius."

"We could leave the room" offers my wife hastily but I glower at her. Like hell, I'm leaving this room and her alone with Darius. Especially since this was the nicest I had seen him act towards Sophie since they'd both been told to get married. I was feeling like it was all an act on his part but for god knows what reason.

"I will come and visit you when you are home again," Darius says firmly, with a glance over at me and seeing the scowl on my face "I promise. After all it's not long until our wedding," he says a tad bit gloomily.

Sophie gives a slow nod, still looking disappointed. Darius shakes my hand. "Goodbye, Beta Mathew. Goodbye Clarissa" he calls to my wife, before promptly disappearing through the doorway.

"Never mind" my wife comforts Sophie "there will be plenty of time for you to talk to each other later."

A nurse appears in the doorway, a large tray in her hands. "I have some food for you" she advises Sophie, placing the tray on her lap "and I will come back for it in an hour. Try to eat as much as you can" she encourages Sophie who gulps as she glances at the immense amount of food on the tray.

"I'll try," she says in a small voice.

The nurse gives her a friendly smile and waves before heading out the door, leaving Sophie to glance down at the food. She selects a piece of toast and slowly begins to nibble at it. She makes a face but continues to chew, albeit really slowly. There's nothing but silence as Sophie munches away at the food, wincing on occasion as she changes position on the bed and sits up higher.

Sophie glances over at her mother who is sitting there, with her hands clasped together, looking grateful. She looks slightly puzzled as she glances over at me. "Where is Amber?" she asks me casually.

Immediately Clarissa stiffens, a hand going to her mouth as she glances over at me. She had not agreed with what I had done to Amber or the fact that Amber was still currently in the dungeon. We had argued over it, but in the end, Clarissa had been forced to obey my wishes. "She's been punished for pushing you down the stairs" I growl "you won't have to worry about her hurting you again."

Sophie looks mystified. "Father, what are you saying" she cries "Amber had nothing to do with me falling down the stairs. It was an accident nothing more" she gasps "what did you do to Amber?"

"Tony told me that she pushed you," I say numbly but Sophie adamantly shakes her head.

"She didn't, I fell," Sophie says heatedly "he's lying to you. Why didn't you ask Darius? He was there" Sophie was genuinely distraught now. I wasn't used to this reaction from her when it came to her sister. It was like looking at a stranger.

"You didn't hurt her, did you?" Sophie asks, full of grief.

Clarissa bites her lip.

"Never mind just eat" I growl frustrated at her and at myself.

Why hadn't I been able to tell that Tony had been lying to me? I used to be able to read people. Part of me is feeling guilty now that I know the truth. But why would Tony lie to me, the Beta of the pack? What was he hiding from me? I feel the sudden urge to find out. "I need to go," I say gruffly, Clarissa looking a bit surprised now "but I'll come back later when you're being discharged" I add, bending down and kissing Sophie on the cheek.

I give Clarissa a perfunctory kiss on the cheek. "Take care of her."

"I will" my wife whispers, a bewildered look on her face.

I rush out the door and head directly to my car, flinging the door open and climbing into the driver's seat. I start the car and peel out of the parking lot, rushing back to the pack house. I get out with determination in my steps, locating Tony who is sitting in the living

room.

"You're supposed to be guarding Amber," I say gruffly, not impressed with the young man who looks at me with a sigh.

"There's no point, it's not like she's going to be able to free herself," he says nonchalantly.

"That's beside the point" I growl "when I give you an order, you do it, is that understood?" I demand.

"Yes, Beta Mathew," he says quietly.

I eye him, not liking what I see. He has a defiant look on his face and his hair is slicked back. His eyes are beady and narrow as he stares back at me, waiting for orders. I c**k my head at him. "I just heard something interesting from Sophie" I begin and see him swallow hard. "Sophie's awake," he says looking a little dazed.

I nod. "She told me everything, Tony. Amber never pushed her down the stairs, did she? You lied to me."

He has the nerve to sneer at me. "Maybe I did, what do you care? You were ready to believe that Amber had pushed her own sister down the stairs."

"I punished Amber for what she did," I say thickly, feeling a pang of guilt, remembering her screams every time the whip had cracked against her back. I feel slightly sick. Even though a small part of me reminded me, rather coldly, that Amber had tried to protest her innocence and I had ignored it, too angry at her to even contemplate that she hadn't done it. So in a small way, I was to blame, but Tony's lies had condemned her to her fate. I was angry beyond words. "Why lie? I am your Beta, you are supposed to tell me the truth at all times" I roar.

He laughs, a little bitterly. "Because I can't stand this assignment you've given me, Beta Mathew," he says sarcastically, his voice dripping with malice "to have to stand so close to an undesirable, it's disgusting. She should be put down, like the disgusting, weak, pathetic little b***h she is" he finished.

I let out a huge growl and too late he realizes his mistake, his eyes widening as I take a step towards him, my hands clenched into fists. My ire is up and my temper was hot. My hands reach out and grab him around the neck, lifting him up into the air as he kicked and struggled against me. My grip is so tight that he doesn't even think to transform, nor do I give him a chance to, my hands cutting off his windpipe. His eyes bulge as he desperately tries to get some oxygen in, to no avail. "You son of a b***h" I growl, my eyes never leaving his "I've had you guarding Amber all this time and that's what you think of her?" My hands were shaking, I was that angry at him. But if I was honest, I was angry at myself for not seeing Tony for what he was. Without another word I break his neck, flinging his body onto the floor in one fell swoop. It hits the ground with a sickening thump and I breathe hard, my breath coming in short pants. I begin to mind link some omegas to come and grab hold of him, the omegas getting rid of the body within minutes, none of them uttering a sound or attempting to speak to me. Not when I'm in such a dark mood. Now I had to find someone else to guard Amber, someone who would tell the truth and who didn't despise an undesirable. Part of me questioned why I cared so much when it shouldn't have mattered to me, but it did. I told myself that it was because Tony had misled me, his Beta. I told myself a lot of things. But deep down, I should have been able to realize and acknowledge that the majority of the anger was aimed at myself and for punishing my daughter for something she was innocent of. Because I might hate Amber for being an undesirable, but a tiny, small portion of me, still loved her, still felt some fatherly feelings towards her and that was something I had never, been able to get rid of.