The Alpha's forbidden omega mate - Chapter 36: Chapter 36

"Thank you?" I shouted back, my voice shaking with anger. "Why are you lying, Alpha? You never liked me from the start!"
Isabelle raised her eyebrows, surprised. But I wasn't done. All the anger I'd been holding in just spilled out.
"The minute you found out I was having Rowan's pup, you looked at me like I was gross! Like I was a bad thing that didn't belong in your fancy pack!"
Dakota squeaked in fear, but I ignored her. I was too mad.
I pointed my finger right at Alpha Isabelle and practically growled, "Don't pretend you were doing me a favor by keeping me here! I'm a prisoner!"
The Alpha's face stayed blank, which only made me angrier.
"Well, say something!" I yelled.
"Are you too scared to admit you've been mean and lied to me the whole time?"
That finally got a reaction. The Alpha's eyes turned cold and dangerous. She took a big step closer, her voice low and scary.
"How dare you talk to me like that, omega!"
The Alpha's guards tensed up, ready to grab me if I caused any trouble. But I stood tall, even though my legs were shaking.
"You want the truth?" Alpha Isabelle hissed, leaning in so close I felt her hot breath on my cheek.
"Alright, here it is. I never wanted you here. You messed up my plans with that stupid alpha!"
Her words stung, but I wouldn't back down. "Your plans? You mean marrying Rowan?"
Isabelle's jaw clenched so tight a muscle jumped in her cheek. For a second, I thought she might hit me. But then, she relaxed a little.
"Sort of," she mumbled, sounding stiff. "My late father and Rowan's father planned for us to marry, to join our packs together."
Alpha Isabelle looked away, her voice getting quiet and sad. "It wasn't supposed to be like this..."
"I accepted it, like a good alpha daughter should. Caring more about politics and power than..." She shook her head. "Doesn't matter anyway."
I stared at her, surprised. She never sounded unsure like this before. Before I could say anything, Alpha Isabelle looked at me again, her eyes sharp.
"But then Rowan went and impregnated some...some omega from a rogue family. “
“Showed he didn't take the responsibilities of our union seriously at all."
Her voice sounded hurt and angry now. I almost felt a little bad for her, but then she made a face at me again.
"Of course, he just had to go and claim the first needy omega he could find."
My hands fisted up at my sides, nails digging into my palms.
"That's not true! He used me and then left!"
"Don't even start," Alpha Isabelle interrupted, waving her hand dismissively.
"Looks like we both got tricked by that jerk."
An uneasy silence fell over. It was so tense I could barely breathe. I snuck a peek at Dakota and she looked scared stiff.
Alpha Isabelle seemed to be thinking hard, chewing on her lip for a second. Then she spoke again, but this time she sounded almost hesitant.
"Listen, Catrina," she said.
"Maybe I wasn't very nice to you at first. I guess we both got hurt by Rowan's bad decisions."
I stared at her, not knowing how to respond.
The alpha sighed, looking very tired.
"Rowan's father, Alpha Marcus, is...not well, you see. He's the one who really wanted us to get married so our packs could be together”
My eyes got big when she mentioned Alpha Marcus being sick.
Of course he'd want to join packs with someone strong like the Mondragons, that made sense. But why did it matter to Alpha Isabelle how I got there?
Alpha Isabelle must have noticed my confused face because she waved her hand dismissively.
"Look," she said, "it's not my story to tell. But let's just say messing around with Rowan wasn't exactly helpful when things were already crazy around here."
She stared at me hard, like she wanted me to understand, maybe even agree with her.
I nodded a little, slow and unsure. It made sense that Alpha Isabelle, the leader of a big pack, would want things to be calm and under control.
"So you see why at the beginning I was so… "
Alpha Isabelle said, waving her hand like she was trying to find the right word. "...mean, I guess."
Was that kind of an apology? It probably was the best I'd get from the stubborn Alpha.
"Yeah," I said carefully.
"I get it, Alpha. We both got stuck in situations that weren't our fault."
Alpha Isabelle looked surprised, like she wasn't expecting me to be understanding at all.
Then, she seemed to make a decision and stood up straight, back to being tall and in charge.
When she spoke next, her voice was back to sounding strong and bossy like usual.
"Alright, listen," Alpha Isabelle said, like swallowing her pride.
"Maybe I was wrong about you, Catrina."
My eyes widened a tiny bit. Was this an apology coming on?
Isabelle pressed her lips together in a thin line and gave a small, quick nod.
"I'm willing to... forget about you trying to leave," she mumbled.
"If you both come back inside quietly, no more sneaking around, alright?"
She raised one eyebrow at Dakota and me, like she wasn't asking but telling. I opened my mouth to speak, a million questions and worries bubbling up inside me.
But Isabelle was already turning and barking orders at her guards to leave us alone. She shot a look back at us, then started walking back towards the big house.
I stood there, completely shocked, stuck in place.
Did Alpha Isabelle just... let us go? After catching us red-handed trying to escape?
The look on Dakota's face was like a storm cloud. She leaned in close and whispered urgently.
"Catrina, what just went down?" Dakota whispered, her voice shaky.
Her face looked worried, like she wasn't sure what to do.
"I... I don't know," I admitted honestly.
My brain felt fuzzy, trying to figure out Alpha Isabelle. One minute she was growling like a mad wolf, the next she was kind of… nice?
Whatever she was thinking, it wasn't a good idea to make her mad again tonight. I'd figure out her plan later.
Taking Dakota's arm gently, I whispered, "For now, let's just do what she said."
We followed Alpha Isabelle back towards the house, my head full of questions. But one thing was for sure - I wouldn't be surprised by that Alpha again. Not anytime soon.