The Alpha's forbidden omega mate - Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Catrina POV:
I woke up realizing I had fallen asleep on Derek's shoulder. My heart raced as I remembered the events from earlier: The wedding humiliation, and Derek's offer of revenge.
Before I could fully gather my thoughts, the door burst open, and Rowan stormed in, still wearing his groom attire.
"What the hell is going on here?" Rowan growled, his eyes fixed on Derek with fury.
Derek remained unfazed, meeting Rowan's gaze with a calm expression. "Relax, bro. We were just talking."
Rowan's nostrils flared, and he grabbed Derek by the shirt collar, lifting him off the couch.
"This was your 'important business'? Trying to make a move on my mate?"
"Rowan, stop!" I shouted, but he didn't seem to hear me.
Derek just calmly said, "It's not like that! I was just trying to help Catrina."
Rowan grabbed him even harder, and I worried he might really hurt him.
"Help her? By messing with her while I was gone?" he shouted.
Derek shook his head, staring right at Rowan.
"You know me better than that. I wouldn't be a jerk to you or Catrina."
Rowan stopped for a moment. His wolf instincts seemed to tell him Derek was honest.
He let go, and Derek landed back on the couch, rubbing his sore throat.
"Then what's going on?" Rowan asked in a suspicious voice.
Derek glanced at me, like asking if it was okay to tell Rowan. I gave him a quick nod, and he looked back at Rowan.
"Someone broke into Catrina's room and stole her money," Derek said, his words making me shiver.
Rowan's eyes got big, and he looked at me to see if it was true.
"Why do you even care now?" I blurted out, upset and not able to hold in my feelings any longer.
Rowan flinched, like I punched him. "It's not like that, Catrina. You know I love you."
I scoffed. "Maybe you thought I'd take the money and run away, huh?"
Rowan looked defeated and stepped back. "Catrina, I would never steal from you. You have to know that."
We stared at each other in silence, the air thick with tension. Derek moves nervously on the couch, caught between us.
Finally, Rowan spoke real softly. "I messed up, right. But please believe me, I want to fix things."
I looked in his eyes, unsure what to think. A part of me wanted to believe him, to forget everything bad.
But another part whispered that he might still be hiding something.
Derek coughed, breaking the awkward silence.
"Okay, guys, hold on. We can talk about your feelings later. Right now, we gotta figure out who stole the money and why."
Rowan nodded, his face turning serious. "Yeah, Derek's right. We'll find the thief, Catrina. I promise."
I glared at him, feeling angry. "Shouldn't you be with your... wife right now?"
Rowan looked sad. "That's not important. My marriage to Isabelle is fake. We don't even like each other, and-"
I cut him off again. "You think she's happy you're here messing around instead of being with her in your fancy room?"
Derek fidgeted on the couch, not sure what to do. "Maybe I should leave..."
Rowan raised his hand. "No, stay. We need to find the thief."
I scoffed. "So now you care about my problems? After humiliating me and casting me aside for… your alpha mate?"
Rowan flinched a little, but he kept looking me in the eye.
"Catrina, you have to believe me. Isabelle means nothing to me. She's just a means to an end, a political arrangement to solidify our pack's power."
"And what about me, then?" I practically yelled, my voice shaky.
"Was I just something to play with and then throw away?"
Rowan took a step closer. "No way, Catrina! You're the most important person to me..."
I really wanted to believe him, but it still hurt too much.
"Then why'd you get married? Why'd you let her make me look stupid in front of everyone?"
Rowan dropped his shoulders and sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"It's complicated, Catrina. There are forces at play here that you don't understand. Isabelle is a dangerous enemy, and I had to play along for now to protect you."
Derek coughed, like reminding us he was still there.
"Hey, I know this is a fight between you two lovebirds, but can we please focus on finding the thief first? Why did someone steal your stuff, Catrina?"
Rowan looked at Derek thankful, then turned back to me, his voice softer now.
"Yeah, Derek's right. We can talk about our fight later, but right now, making sure you're safe is most important."
I wanted to yell at him more, ask him a million questions, but deep down I knew he had a point.
Whoever stole my money could be really dangerous, and we had to stop them first.
Taking a deep breath, I agreed. "Alright, fine. But this isn't over, Rowan. I need to hear everything, the whole truth, if we're ever going to be okay again."
Rowan looked determined. "You will, Catrina. I promise. No more secrets, no more lies. But first, let's find the thief and get them in trouble."
As Rowan spoke, I saw a flicker of the guy I'd fallen for.
The strong, protective one who wouldn't let anything bad happen to me. Even though I was still mad and confused, a part of me still trusted him.
A tiny voice inside whispered that maybe, just maybe, we could work things out.
Derek, ever the mood-killer, piped up in a sarcastic voice. "Oh yeah, true love conquers all, right?"
We both rolled our eyes at him, a small laugh escaping my lips to lighten the tension. It helped a tiny bit.
But as we were about to head upstairs, we were about to leave the basement, we saw the most unexpected visitor ever.
"Alpha Rowan, we need to solve some important matters now..."