THE ALPHA WHO HATED ME - Chapter 32: Chapter 32

**Ronan's POV**
My cheek still burns.
I sit in my car outside the school parking lot, staring at my reflection in the rearview mirror. The red mark from Evangeline's hand is fading, but I can still feel it. Like her fingers left something behind that goes deeper than skin.
I touch the spot where she hit me, and my wolf whimpers. Actually whimpers. Like a beaten dog crawling back to its master. The sound makes me sick.
She hit me. An Omega hit me. Hit an Alpha. Hit her mate.
And I did nothing.
I should have grabbed her wrist. Should have shown her what happens when someone forgets their place. Should have made her apologize on her knees in the dirt until she remembered who she was talking to.
But I didn't. I just stood there like an idiot while she walked away from me.
My hands shake as I grip the steering wheel. Not from anger. From something else. Something that feels too much like fear for me to name it.
The way she looked at me in those woods. Like I was nothing. Like I was the one who should be afraid.
When did she become so... different?
I close my eyes and try to remember the girl who used to flinch every time I walked past her in the halls. The girl who would drop her eyes to the floor whenever I looked her way. The girl who took every cruel word I threw at her and asked for more with her silence.
That girl is gone. The one who slapped me tonight was someone else entirely. Someone who didn't smell right. Someone who didn't feel right.
Someone who made my wolf pace and whine like he was missing something important.
My phone buzzes on the passenger seat. A text from my father.
*Council meeting. 7 AM tomorrow. Don't be late.*
I stare at the message until the screen goes dark, then throw the phone against the dashboard hard enough to crack the screen.
Seven in the morning. Another meeting about my future. About the pack's future. About everything except what I actually want.
And I know exactly what they're going to talk about. The same thing they've been talking about for weeks.
The wedding.
My wedding to Celeste.
The thought makes my stomach turn, but I can't figure out why. Celeste is everything an Alpha's mate should be. Beautiful. Strong. From a good family. The perfect choice to stand beside me when I take over the pack.
So why does the idea of marrying her feel like swallowing broken glass?
I lean back in my seat and close my eyes, but all I can see is Evangeline's face in the moonlight. The way her eyes flashed when she told me to stay away from her. The way she stood up straighter, like someone had replaced her spine with steel.
The way she smelled... wrong.
That's what's been bothering me for weeks. Her scent. It used to be so clear, so easy to track. Honey and wildflowers and something soft that made my wolf want to roll in it like fresh grass.
Now it's faded. Muffled. Like someone wrapped it in cotton and buried it deep.
The binding stone around my neck grows cold against my skin. I pull it out from under my shirt and stare at the dark surface. It's supposed to keep her calm. Keep her wolf quiet. Keep her from doing anything stupid that might embarrass me.
But it's not working anymore. Is it?
I think about the way her hand felt when I grabbed her arm. The sharp pain that shot through my fingers like I'd touched something electric. The way my wolf immediately wanted to let go, like he was trying to protect me from her.
From her.
Since when do I need protection from an Omega?
My wolf starts pacing again, restless and unhappy. He's been like this for weeks, ever since Evangeline started pulling away. Ever since her scent began to change. Ever since she started looking at me like I was the enemy instead of her mate.
*She is our mate,* he whimpers in the back of my mind. *She is ours.*
"She's nothing," I say out loud, but the words taste like lies.
*She is everything,* he argues. *She is hurt. She is angry. She is leaving us.*
"Good." I grip the steering wheel harder. "Let her leave. I don't want an Omega mate anyway."
But even as I say it, something twists in my chest. Something that feels like loss.
My phone buzzes again. This time it's a text from Celeste.
*Daddy says the elders want to move the engagement party to next week. Isn't that exciting? We'll finally be official! ❤️*
I stare at the message until the words blur together. Next week. They want to announce our engagement next week.
Two months ahead of schedule.
Why the rush?
I scroll back through our conversation, looking for clues. Celeste has been pushing for this for months, but she's never been in a hurry before. She likes attention. Likes drawing things out. Likes making a big show of everything.
So why does she suddenly want to speed things up?
Unless...
My blood turns cold.
Unless the elders told her to push for it. Unless they know something I don't. Unless they're trying to lock me down before something changes.
Before I change my mind.
Before I do something stupid like choose my real mate over the one they picked for me.
I think about the binding stone again. About how long I've been wearing it. About how it was a gift from the elders when I turned eighteen. A way to help me control my future mate, they said. A way to make sure she didn't cause problems.
But what if it wasn't just about controlling her? What if it was about controlling me too?
What if they knew who my mate was going to be before I did? What if they've been planning this for years?
The thought makes me want to rip the stone off my neck and throw it into traffic. But I don't. Because without it, I'll be able to smell her properly again. I'll be able to feel the full weight of the bond between us.
And I'm not ready for that. I don't think I'll ever be ready for that.
My wolf whimpers again, but this time it sounds different. Like he's mourning something.
*What did we do?* he whispers. *What did we do to her?*
I know what we did. I remember every cruel word, every public humiliation, every moment I chose my reputation over her feelings. I remember the look on her face when I rejected her in the cafeteria. I remember how small she looked, how broken.
I remember deciding that breaking her was easier than dealing with what she made me feel.
But now she's not broken anymore. Now she's something else. Something stronger. Something that doesn't need me.
There was something in her eyes tonight. Something old. Something that didn't belong to any Omega I've ever met. Like she was looking at me from somewhere far above, somewhere I could never reach.
And the thought of that terrifies me more than I want to admit.
I start the car and drive toward home, but I take the long way. Past the coffee shop where I saw her reading alone one afternoon. Past the park where she used to sit under the old oak tree. Past all the places where I noticed her without meaning to.
When did I start noticing her so much?
When did she become more than just the Omega I was cursed to be bonded with?
I pull into my driveway and sit in the darkness, listening to the engine tick as it cools down. The house in front of me is huge and perfect and everything an Alpha's son should want. But it feels empty tonight. Cold.
Like a prison made of other people's expectations.
My father is probably inside, going over notes for tomorrow's meeting. Planning out my future like it's a business transaction. My mother is probably organizing seating charts for the engagement party, smiling like this is everything she ever wanted for me.
And maybe it is everything they wanted. But what about what I want?
The question hits me like a punch to the gut, because I don't have an answer. I've spent so long doing what everyone expects of me that I've forgotten how to want anything for myself.
Except...
Except I remember the way Evangeline's eyes flashed in the moonlight. I remember the strength in her voice when she told me to stay away from her. I remember feeling proud of her, even as she was rejecting me.
I remember wanting to tell her that she was magnificent.
The thought makes me laugh, but there's no humor in it. Magnificent. That's what I think of the girl I've spent months trying to destroy.
What does that make me?
I pull out my phone and scroll through my contacts until I find her number. I've never used it. Never had a reason to. But I saved it anyway, months ago, telling myself it was just in case of emergencies.
My finger hovers over the call button.
What would I say to her? Sorry for being a monster? Sorry for letting my friends hurt you? Sorry for choosing everyone else's happiness over yours?
Sorry for being too much of a coward to admit that you're the best thing that ever happened to me?
I close the phone without making the call.
Some things can't be fixed with words. Some damage goes too deep for apologies.
And maybe that's for the best. Maybe she's better off without me. Maybe she deserves someone who won't be ashamed of her. Someone who won't try to hide her away like a guilty secret.
Someone who isn't me.
The binding stone feels heavier around my neck, like it's trying to drag me down into something dark. I wonder what would happen if I took it off. If I let myself feel everything I've been trying to suppress.
Would the bond pull me back to her? Would I be able to resist going to her, apologizing, begging her to give me another chance?
Or would I do something even stupider, like tell the elders exactly what they can do with their engagement party?
The front porch light flicks on, and I see my father's silhouette in the window. Waiting for me. Probably wondering why I'm sitting in the driveway like an idiot instead of coming inside to discuss tomorrow's meeting.
I take a deep breath and reach for the door handle. But before I can move, my phone rings.
Unknown number.
I almost don't answer. But something makes me pick up.
"You're losing control of her." The voice is old, gravelly, and I recognize it immediately. Elder Morrison.
My blood turns cold. "What?"
"The Omega. Your mate. Whatever hold you had on her is slipping." There's satisfaction in his voice, like he's been waiting for this moment. "We warned you this might happen."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't lie to me, boy. We can all feel it. The bond is changing. She's changing." A pause. "Fix it, or we will."
The line goes dead.
I stare at the phone, my hands shaking. They know. The elders know about tonight, about the way she stood up to me. About the way the binding stone isn't working anymore.
But how?
Unless they've been watching. Unless they've been waiting for this to happen.
I look down at the binding stone around my neck, and for the first time, I wonder if it's been protecting her from me... or protecting them from her.
My wolf goes still, like he's finally understanding something that's been hidden from us both.
And suddenly, I realize I'm not the only one who's been played.
The question is: what exactly have the elders been hiding? And what will they do to Evangeline now that their control is slipping?
I don't know how much longer I can pretend to be their perfect little Alpha. But I do know one thing, whatever they're planning for her, I won't let it happen.
Even if it destroys everything I'm supposed to be.