The Alpha's forbidden omega mate - Chapter 308: Chapter 308

Derek POV:
“Derek, we need to talk.”
Isabelle’s voice, soft yet firm, a hint of Alpha command woven within the lavender scent that usually calmed me, now grated on my nerves.
I looked up from the reports spread across my desk. Rogue activity, trade negotiations, the endless tasks of Alpha life—a burden that felt increasingly heavy, a responsibility I was starting to resent.
“What is it, Isabelle?” I asked, my voice a low rumble, the warmth she was used to hearing replaced by a coldness I couldn’t seem to control.
She’s weak, Derek, the larva hissed, its insidious voice a constant torment. Vulnerable. A liability.
I clenched my jaw, fighting the urge to snarl, to claim her, to possess her, to bend her to my will. She’s yours, Derek. Take her.
“It’s…Rowan,” Isabelle said, hesitation coloring her voice. “He’s back.”
My eyes narrowed, the larva twisting my surprise into suspicion, my brother’s return a threat rather than a miracle. “Back? But…how?”
“I…I don’t know,” she admitted, her scent tinged with confusion, a hint of… something else… that I couldn’t quite place. “He’s.. waiting to talk with you. With Catrina.”
Catrina.
The name, a spark, ignited a firestorm of emotions within me—jealousy, resentment, a possessive anger that pulsed with the larva’s dark energy.
She’s his, Derek. Always has been. Always will be. She’ll betray you, just like she betrayed him. Take what’s yours. Claim Isabelle. She’s the Alpha. She’s the prize.
“Catrina?” I echoed, my voice a low growl, the larva’s influence twisting my concern into a possessive rage.
“She’s back too? After all this time? After abandoning us? After everything?”
Isabelle’s amber eyes flashed, her Alpha instinct rising to challenge the darkness within me.
“She didn’t abandon us, Derek. She made a sacrifice. For Rowan. For the pack. For all of us.”
“A sacrifice?” I scoffed, the larva’s mockery twisting my lips into a cruel smirk. She’s manipulating you, Derek. Playing the victim. Don’t be a fool.
“She left, Isabelle. Just like Rowan. They both left us. To fend for ourselves.”
“That’s not true!” Isabelle’s voice rose, her scent sharpening with anger, but also with a hint of… fear? “They had their reasons. Damien—”
“Damien is a ghost story, Isabelle,” I snarled, cutting her off, my control slipping, the larva’s influence taking over.
“A bogeyman you use to scare the pups. Rowan is dead. Catrina is a rogue. They're both threats to this pack. To my pack.”
I stepped closer, my scent, tainted with the larva’s sickly sweetness, filling the air, making her recoil, her hand instinctively going to her throat, a nervous gesture.
“You need to focus on what’s important, Isabelle,” I growled, my voice a distorted echo of the warmth she once knew. “On the pack. On… me.”
The larva’s whispers intensified, urging me closer, fueling the possessive hunger. She’s yours, Derek. Take her. Make her obey.
“You’re mine, Isabelle,” I said, my voice a low, menacing purr, my gaze fixed on her, my amber eyes burning with a darkness she couldn’t comprehend.
“And I will protect you. Control you.” My hand, claws partially extended, reached out, tracing the curve of her jaw, my touch making her flinch.
“No,” she whispered, defiance flickering in her eyes, but also a fear that excited me, a vulnerability I craved to exploit. “I won’t let you.”
“Derek, stop this.” Jarrett’s voice, calm but firm, cut through the tension. He stood in the doorway, his amber eyes filled with concern, his scent, pine and woodsmoke, a familiar comfort, now tinged with alarm.
"You're not yourself. This isn't you."
“Stay out of this, Jarrett,” I growled, my wolf bristling at his interference, the larva’s whispers intensifying. He’s weak, Derek. A threat. Eliminate him.
“This is between me and Isabelle. Between… Alpha and… Luna.”
“You’re not the Alpha, Derek,” Isabelle said, her voice gaining strength, her own Alpha power rising to challenge the darkness within me.
“Not anymore. Rowan is back. And he’s the rightful Alpha of this pack.”
Her words, a challenge to my authority, a rejection of my claim, ignited a fury within me, a rage that pulsed with the larva’s dark energy.
I lunged at her, my claws fully extended, ready to silence her, to possess her, to break her.
But before I could reach her, Maggie and Henri burst into the room, their scents a mix of pine and lavender, their eyes blazing with protective fury.
"Don’t you dare touch her, Derek!" Maggie roared, stepping between us, her small frame a surprisingly formidable barrier.
"She's the Alpha! And you're not yourself! The larva—it's controlling you! Fight it!"
Henri, his scent a mix of protectiveness and worry, placed a hand on Isabelle's arm and pulled her gently behind him.
"We're here for you, Alpha," he said, his voice a low rumble.
“Leave now, Derek, before this goes too far,” Jarrett warned, his voice a low growl, his eyes fixed on mine, a mix of fear and a desperate hope that I would hear him, that I would recognize him, that I would… come back.
"We don't want to fight you. But we will. To protect our Alpha.”
The larva’s whispers intensified, mocking Jarrett’s words, fueling my paranoia. They’re lying, Derek. They’re all against you. They want your power. They want… her.
“No,” I snarled, my gaze darting between their faces, seeing enemies, threats, traitors, where there were only friends, family, a pack that was desperately trying to save me from myself.
“You’re… you're the enemy! You're all… the enemy! And I will… destroy you all!”
My roar echoed through the Magnus Packhouse, a primal scream of rage and paranoia, a declaration of war against the very wolves I was sworn to protect. The larva’s influence surged through me, twisting my love, my loyalty, my very being, into a weapon of Damien’s dark design.
I lunged, my wolf a blur of fury, claws extended, fangs bared, ready to tear, to shred, to destroy anyone who dared to stand in my way, anyone who threatened my power, my control, my… destiny.
“Derek, no!” Isabelle’s voice, a desperate plea, a mix of fear and a heartbreaking sadness, was a distant echo, lost in the larva’s whispers, Damien’s insidious promises.
But I couldn’t hear her. Couldn’t see her. Couldn’t feel anything but the burning rage, the insatiable hunger, the overwhelming need to dominate, to conquer, to… kill.
Jarrett, his amber eyes wide with a mix of fear and a reluctant duty, his scent, pine and woodsmoke, a familiar comfort now tainted with the metallic tang of blood, stepped forward, his wolf bristling, ready to defend, to protect, even against his own Alpha.
“Derek, stop this!” he commanded, his voice a low growl, a challenge to my authority, a desperate attempt to reach the wolf I once was, the brother he’d once loved.
“You’re not yourself! The larva… it’s controlling you! Fight it!”
But his words, like Isabelle’s pleas, were lost in the storm raging within me, the larva’s whispers, Damien’s insidious influence, drowning out any semblance of reason.
He’s weak, Derek. The larva hissed, its voice a venomous caress. A traitor. A threat. Eliminate him.
I snarled, my claws raking across Jarrett’s chest, drawing a hiss of pain, the scent of his blood, a familiar, comforting aroma, now a twisted source of pleasure, a fuel for the larva’s insatiable hunger.
“There’s nothing to fight, Jarrett,” I growled, my voice a distorted mockery of the warmth, the gentleness, I’d once possessed. “It’s… who I am now. It’s… our destiny.”
I lunged again, my fangs bared, ready to tear his throat out, to silence his pleas, his warnings, his… love.