Three Alphas, Fated To One, Played By One, But Mated To One-Chapter 58: Clash

I stood near the door with my arms folded as I watched Valerie work on her laptop. Yet, she didn’t seem to notice me at all. I always wonder whether I am the only one feeling the bond.

Why does she never have a reaction when I get close to her when I, even when I am at such a long distance, can feel the tension on my skin and the contraction of certain muscles.

My body was burning to get close to her, yet she behaved as if I didn’t exist.

I felt my heart twist in pain. Pain of silent rejection.

I wondered if she had felt the same way when I ignored her. But she doesn’t have a wolf. So, maybe some of her emotions aren’t as amplified as mine.

I took a deep breath and walked over to her, but even when I towered over her table, she didn’t look up. It was as if my presence was completely unnoticeable.

’Tap tap.’

I tapped the table a couple of times to attract her attention and she stopped what she was doing and looked up at me.

It was just one glance before she went back to focusing on whatever she was doing on her laptop.

"What can I do for you, Mike?" She asked without looking at me.

This was what hurt me the most. The way she dismissed me like some replaceable item.

She didn’t treat me like her mate at all.

She could act so unaffected in front of me as if I held no place in her heart.

I know that I have hurt her a lot over the years and I didn’t plan on accepting her as my official mate, but she has no right to treat me like that.

I am the alpha and maybe Karl was right, she has taken power that doesn’t belong to her and I need to take it back.

Maybe her empty title as Luna has gotten to her head and she thinks she can ignore me as she wished.

"Look at me when I talk to you, Valerie." I wasn’t as gentle as before as I tried to assert my authority as the alpha and also her mate.

There were many people in the library and people had already started talking about how I couldn’t control my mate anymore even though she has always been a slave.

I even heard a few men in the pack complaining that their mates have been corrupted by Valerie and completely changed.

They no longer respect them like before and this is changing the atmosphere in the pack.

I cannot allow this to continue, otherwise, I will lose my authority as the alpha shortly after taking over the position.

Valerie stopped typing and slowly raised her head. However, there wasn’t any expression on her face. She was like a wooden character sculpted without any emotion.

"What can I do for you?" She asked again, but this time her tone was not as casual as before.

"You need to stop doing what you are doing." I said it without thinking and immediately regretted those words.

I know that she was moving out of the shadow of her former self as a slave and she must crave accomplishments to feel at ease and I was crashing those accomplishments, but I could always make it up to her later.

"What am I doing that I must stop?" She asked, looking confused.

At this moment, I thought about changing the subject, but when I looked around and found many eyes looking at me, especially the men who had hopeful eyes, I had to keep going.

"Whatever it is you are feeding the women in the pack with, please stop. It is disrupting the peace in many families." I felt like crap after saying that, especially when I looked into Valerie’s eyes and she looked as if she had suffered a physical blow.

But I couldn’t just back down in public. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"And what have I done to disrupt peace in those families?" She asked calmly.

She was so calm that it was unsettling. So calm I felt a chill run down my spine.

I wondered whether she was so quick to hide the hurt because she was used to experiencing pain.

I hated that I was hurting her again. Probably reminding her of the past. Of the many times I had lifted my hand on her, or when I had given the order for her to be punished.

But I just couldn’t take it back now.

"Many of the women you talked to have changed. Their mates are complaining that they are breaking pack traditions and they won’t listen to reason. They claimed that you told them to do so when asked. So, can you please talk to them again and ask them to stop?" I was practically imploring her but I had to make my voice sound like a command because I am the alpha and my orders ought to be followed.

Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to bode well with my mate.

I watched as Valerie’s expression morphed from confusion to indifference, to anger.

She was angry that I was asking her to take back what she told those women. And I know that this hurt not only her pride and self-esteem, but also extinguished her efforts. But it has to be done. Otherwise, what Karl said would become a reality.

Valerie would become a weakness in my path of greatness.

"You want me to tell those poor women that they have no right to independence and that they are nothing more than accessories their mates can use for their own convenience?" Valerie asked in disbelief and her voice was loud enough for everyone in the library to hear.

Before I could move to cover her mouth and stop her, she had already said what shouldn’t be said.

"That’s not what I meant, Val. Don’t take my words out of context." I couldn’t have the female members of the pack thinking that they were lesser than the men. That isn’t the kind of leadership I want.