THE ALPHA WHO HATED ME - Chapter 51: Chapter 51

**Ronan's POV**
The Nightbane castle sat on a cliff overlooking the sea, its dark stones worn smooth by centuries of wind and rain. I'd grown up in these halls, but coming home today felt different. Wrong. Like I was walking into a trap instead of sanctuary.
My hands shook as I parked my motorcycle in the courtyard. The engine's roar died away, leaving only the sound of waves crashing against the rocks below. Even that familiar noise couldn't calm the storm raging inside my chest.
I'd defended her. I'd stood up in front of the entire council and protected Evangeline from Celeste's lies. The memory made my wolf pace restlessly, pleased with what we'd done. But the human part of me knew there would be consequences.
There always were.
The castle's heavy doors opened before I could knock. Marcus, our family's head butler, stood in the entrance with his usual stoic expression.
"Your father is waiting in his study," he said without greeting. "He's been expecting you."
My stomach dropped. Of course he'd already heard. News traveled fast in werewolf circles, especially when it involved the future Alpha publicly humiliating a councilman's daughter.
I climbed the spiral staircase to the third floor, my footsteps echoing off the stone walls. Family portraits watched me from their golden frames - generations of Nightbane Alphas with their stern faces and cold eyes. They all looked disappointed in me.
The study door was already open. My father sat behind his massive oak desk, reading through a stack of papers. He didn't look up when I entered, but I could feel the anger radiating from him like heat from a fire.
"Close the door," he said without raising his eyes.
I did as he asked and stood in front of his desk like a soldier awaiting orders. The silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating. Outside, thunder rumbled in the distance.
Finally, he set down his papers and looked at me. Alpha Gideon Nightbane was a man built for intimidation. Tall and broad-shouldered, with silver hair and eyes like winter storms. Even at fifty, he could make grown men tremble with a single glance.
"Sit," he commanded.
I lowered myself into the chair across from him, trying to keep my back straight. My wolf wanted to submit, to bare our throat and beg forgiveness. But the human part of me rebelled against the instinct.
"Explain yourself," my father said.
"Sir?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Ronan." His voice was deadly quiet. "The council meeting. Your little performance defending that omega girl. I want to know why you chose to humiliate your fiancé in front of the entire pack leadership."
My mouth went dry. "I was upholding justice."
"Justice?" He leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving my face. "Is that what you call it? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like my son publicly sided with a nobody over the daughter of our most important ally."
"The mate bond was a mistake," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Was it? Or are you so weak that you'd let a cosmic accident control your choices?"
"It's not that simple."
"Isn't it?" My father stood up and walked around the desk. He towered over me, making me feel small and young. "Because I'm having trouble understanding why my heir would risk his future for a bond that means nothing."
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came. How could I explain that the bond felt like the most real thing in my life? How could I tell him that ignoring it was killing me slowly?
"I'm waiting," he said.
"I... I couldn't let an innocent person be destroyed by lies."
"This isn't about her innocence, and we both know it." He said the words like they tasted bitter. "This is about you choosing the bond over your duty."
"Innocent." He said the word like it tasted bitter. "Do you have any idea what your little act of chivalry has cost us?"
I shook my head.
"Your behavior today has consequences, but not the ones you might expect. The council understands pack dynamics. They know how mate bonds work. But they also know that true leaders don't let biological impulses control their decisions."
Each word hit me like a physical blow. "I'm not weak."
"Aren't you? Because choosing to defend your mate over your future Luna suggests otherwise."
"She means something to me," I said before I could stop myself.
My father's eyes narrowed. "Of course she does. She's your mate. The question is whether you're strong enough to do what needs to be done."
"What needs to be done?"
"You know exactly what needs to be done." He grabbed my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. "The question is whether you have the strength to do it."
Terror flooded my veins. "You want me to reject her."
"I want you to be an Alpha," he said coldly. "Alphas make hard choices. They put duty before desire."
"Nothing," I whispered. "She's nothing to me."
"Then why defend her?"
"Because it was the right thing to do."
My father released my chin and stepped back. "The right thing? Let me tell you about the right thing, son. The right thing is protecting your pack's interests. The right thing is honoring your commitments. The right thing is putting duty before personal feelings."
"Personal feelings?" The words slipped out before I could catch them.
"Yes, personal feelings. Because that's what this is about, isn't it? You have feelings for this girl."
"No, I..."
"Don't lie to me!" His voice exploded through the room like thunder. "I can see it in your eyes. The way your voice changes when you talk about her. The way you can't quite meet my gaze when I ask you direct questions."
I pressed myself back in the chair, my heart racing. "You're wrong."
"Am I? Because if I'm right, if you do have feelings for this omega, then you need to kill them now. Before they destroy everything we've built."
"I don't understand."
"Don't you?" He walked to the window, staring out at the storm clouds gathering over the sea. "Your engagement to Celeste Hartwell isn't just about love, Ronan. It's about politics. It's about alliances that keep our pack strong and prosperous."
"But what if..."
"What if what? What if you follow your heart instead of your duty? What if you choose passion over responsibility?" He turned back to face me. "Then you end up like every other fool who put his own desires before his pack's needs."
The words stung. "You're talking about yourself, aren't you?"
My father went very still. "What did you say?"
My throat felt tight, but I forced the words out. "Your mate bond. With mom. Were you happy? Choosing duty over your true mate?"
The silence that followed was deafening. My father's face went pale, then red with fury.
"How dare you," he whispered.
"I need to know," I said desperately. "Was it worth it? Rejecting your real mate for political advantage?"
"That is none of your concern."
"It is my concern!" I stood up, my hands clenched into fists. "Because you're asking me to make the same choice. You're asking me to sacrifice my happiness for the pack."
"Your happiness?" My father's laugh was harsh and bitter. "You think happiness matters? You think personal satisfaction is more important than the survival of hundreds of wolves who depend on us?"
"I think there has to be another way."
"There isn't." His voice was final. "There's duty and there's selfishness. There's strength and there's weakness. There's leadership and there's failure."
"Which did you choose?" I asked quietly.
For a moment, his mask slipped. I saw pain flicker across his features, old wounds that had never healed. Then the walls came back up.
"I chose to be an Alpha," he said. "Just like you will."
"And if I don't want to?"
"Then you're not the son I raised." The words cut through me like a blade. "You'll call Celeste tonight. You'll apologize for your behavior. You'll make things right between you."
"No."
The single word hung in the air between us. My father's face darkened with rage.
"What did you say?"
"I said no. I won't apologize for doing what was right."
"You will, or you'll face the consequences."
"What consequences?" I stood up straighter, trying to match his intimidating presence. "You'll disown me? Strip me of my title? Go ahead. Maybe I don't want to be an Alpha if it means becoming like you."
The slap came so fast I didn't see it coming. Pain exploded across my cheek, and I staggered backward. My hand flew to my face, feeling the heat spreading across my skin.
"You ungrateful child," my father snarled. "After everything I've given you. After all the sacrifices I've made to secure your future. This is how you repay me?"
Before I could respond, the study door burst open. My mother stood in the doorway, her face white with shock.
"Gideon!" she gasped. "What are you doing?"
"Teaching our son about respect," my father said without taking his eyes off me.
My mother rushed to my side, her hands gentle as she examined my cheek. "You hit him?"
"He needs to learn his place."
"His place is not on the ground bleeding," she said fiercely. Then, more quietly to me: "Are you hurt?"
I shook my head, though my cheek throbbed. "I'm fine, mom."
She turned to face my father, her small frame trembling with anger. "How could you? He's your son."
"He's my heir," my father corrected. "And heirs who can't follow orders become failed Alphas."
"He's eighteen years old, Gideon. He's still learning."
"Learning what? That his feelings matter more than his duty? That he can ignore his responsibilities whenever his heart tells him to?"
My mother looked between us, her eyes filled with pain. "What is this really about?"
"It's about Ronan's behavior at the council meeting today. His decision to publicly humiliate Celeste Hartwell."
"He defended an innocent student," my mother said. "That shows good character."
"It shows weakness."
"Does it? Or does it show strength?" She moved to stand beside me, her presence offering comfort I desperately needed. "Standing up for what's right, even when it's difficult, is exactly what an Alpha should do."
"Not when it costs us political allies."
"Then maybe those allies aren't worth having."
My father's face turned purple with rage. "Don't you dare lecture me about politics, Elena. I've kept this pack strong for twenty-five years by making the hard choices. By putting duty before personal desires."
"And look what it's cost you," my mother said softly. "Look what it's cost all of us."
The words hit my father like a physical blow. For a moment, he looked older, more fragile. Then the anger returned.
"Ronan will call Celeste," he said firmly. "He will apologize. He will make this right."
"And if he doesn't?" my mother asked.
"Then he'll learn what it means to truly disappoint me."
The threat hung in the air like a storm cloud. My mother's hand found mine, squeezing gently.
"Please, Ronan," she whispered. "Just make the call. For me."
I looked into her eyes and saw the fear there. Fear of what my father might do. Fear of the consequences that would fall on all of us if I continued to resist.
But something deeper stirred in my chest. My wolf was restless, pacing like a caged animal. Something felt wrong. Dangerous.
"I can't," I said suddenly. "I won't betray everything I believe in."
My father's face darkened with fury. "You ungrateful..."
"No!" The word exploded out of me with such force that both my parents stepped back. "I'm done pretending. I'm done lying to myself and everyone else."
My wolf surged forward, pressing against my control. For a moment, I felt my eyes flash gold. My father saw it too, and his expression shifted from anger to cold calculation.
"Control yourself," he ordered, his Alpha voice rolling through the room like thunder.
The command hit me like a physical blow. My wolf whimpered and submitted, retreating deep inside my mind. I gasped and doubled over, the sudden loss of strength making me dizzy.
"You see?" my father said quietly. "You're not ready to challenge me. You're not ready to lead. Not until you learn that sometimes breaking others is the only way to keep yourself whole."
"Mom, I..."
"Please," she said again. "One phone call. That's all."
The weight of his Alpha command broke something inside me. I couldn't let my mother suffer for my choices. Couldn't watch my father take his anger out on her because I was too weak to resist his will.
"Fine," I said, the word tasting like ash in my mouth. "I'll call her."
Relief flooded my mother's face, but I could see the disappointment there too. She knew what this cost me.
My father nodded with satisfaction. "Good. And Ronan?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Remember what's at stake here. Your future. Your pack's future. Don't let misguided feelings destroy everything we've worked for."
I nodded, not trusting my voice to speak.
"The phone is on my desk," he said. "Make the call now."
I walked to the desk on unsteady legs and picked up the receiver. My hands shook as I dialed Celeste's number, each digit feeling like a nail in my coffin.
The phone rang once. Twice.
"Hello?" Celeste's voice was soft, hopeful.
"Celeste," I said, my voice hollow. "It's me."
"Ronan! I was hoping you'd call. I wanted to talk about today..."
"I'm sorry," I interrupted. "For what happened at the council meeting. For embarrassing you."
"Oh." Her voice brightened. "Thank you for saying that. It means everything to me."
"Yeah. Well. I should go."
"Wait!" she said quickly. "Maybe we could have dinner tomorrow? To talk things through properly?"
I closed my eyes, feeling the trap closing around me. "Sure. Dinner sounds good."
"Wonderful! I'll make reservations somewhere special. I love you, Ronan."
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. "I... I'll see you tomorrow."
I hung up before she could say anything else.
My father smiled with cold satisfaction. "Well done. You're learning."
But as I looked at my mother's conflicted face and felt my father's approval washing over me, all I could think about was Evangeline. The bond hummed in my chest, weaker now after my father's Alpha command, but still there. Still calling to me.
I turned toward the door, my chest tight with an emotion I couldn't name. I needed to see her. Just to know she was okay.
That's when my wolf growled.
It wasn't loud, but it was sharp. A warning. Sudden and primal, like something ancient stirring in the dark.
My hand gripped the doorknob. A sense of dread slithered down my spine. The bond pulsed with something that felt like fear, but not my own.
Something was wrong.
Very, very wrong.
And Evangeline was in danger.