Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The air was thick with grief and the stench of blood. Marissa stood beside her father‘ s still form, her heart shattered, her mind clouded with grief. Her hands. trembled, her nails biting into her palms as she struggled to keep the fury boiling within her from spilling out. Her wolf clawed at her, howling in pain and rage. She could barely breathe, every breath choked with reality she refused to accept: her father was gone. The one constant, her rock, was taken from her.

“Why?” she whispered, her voice breaking as she looked down at her father’s lifeless face. “Why him?”

The sound of footsteps broke through her haze of sorrow, and she turned to see Caleb approaching, his face etched with sorrow and guilt. They looked at her, their gazes filled with pity and regret. She could barely stand to look at them.

“Marissa…” the Alpha began, his voice low, gentle. He reached out to place a hand on her shoulder, but she jerked back, a low, feral growl escaping her lips.

“Don’t,” she spat, her voice trembling with rage. “Don‘ t you dare.”

His hand fell, his face tightening with pain. Caleb tried to step forward, but her glare stopped him in his tracks. She could feel her wolf rising, the anger, the fury swirling within her like a storm, desperate to lash out.

Caleb‘ s voice was soft, hesitant.

“Marissa, I… I’m so sorry. If only I’d known-”

“Known?” Marissa cut him off, her voice a deadly whisper. She looked between the two of them, her gaze hard and accusing.

“What were you doing–the Alpha- while my father was being torn apart?”

The question hung in the air like a blade, sharp and cutting. He shifted uncomfortably, his jaw clenched as he met her gaze. “I… I didn’t know it was that bad. I was helping Ivy. She was in danger and pregnant, Marissa. She needed me-

“Ivy,” Marissa snarled, her voice filled with venom. “It’s always Ivy, isn’t it?”

The Alpha’s face paled as he looked at her, a flicker of guilt crossing his features. Caleb reached for her hand, but she pulled away, her anger blazing, filling the space between them like a physical force.

“While my father was fighting to protect this pack, to protect all of us, you were busy being with her?” Her voice shook with the intensity of her fury, her eyes blazing as she glared at them. “He was dying, and you left him to save her when all the other high ranking wolves are positioned to keep her safe already?”

Caleb tried to speak, his voice laced with desperation. “Marissa, it’s not like that.”

“Then what is it like, Alpha?” she snapped, her voice cold and unforgiving.

“Tell me, what was it like leaving my father to die while you ran off to protect her? Where were you when your own people needed you? Tell me!”

His mouth opened and closed, but he had no answer. He looked away, unable to meet her gaze, and she felt the weight of his silence pressing down on her, stoking the flames of her rage.

At that moment, Ivy approached, her steps. hesitant, her face twisted in what Marissa. might have once thought was grief. But now, all she saw was manipulation, a veneer of innocence hiding her true nature. Ivy’s face crumpled as she reached out to Marissa, her hand trembling as she placed it on her shoulder.

“Marissa,” Ivy whispered, her voice thick. with what Marissa was certain was forced sorrow. “I… I’m so sorry. I… I didn‘ t mean for any of this to happen.”

Marissa felt her wolf surge forward, a feral growl escaping her lips as she shrugged off Ivy’s touch. “Don’t touch me,” she hissed, her voice filled with barely controlled rage. She felt her nails lengthen, her wolf clawing at the surface, desperate to be free, to tear through anything and anyone that dared to come close.