The Alpha's forbidden omega mate - Chapter 42: Chapter 42
You are reading The Alpha's forbidden omega mate, Chapter 42: Chapter 42. Read more chapters of The Alpha's forbidden omega mate.
Rowan POV:
The trees were dark as we ran deeper into the forest. My paws hurt, but I kept going. I had to find Catrina.
I heard someone coming towards me. I got ready to fight, growling as I turned to face them.
"Easy, easy," a deep voice said. It was a man, and he sounded strong and confident like Maggie. "I don't want to get bitten."
A big, older man came out from the trees, holding his hands up to show he wouldn't hurt me. He looked tough, but his voice was calm.
My wolf instincts said to be careful. I watched him as he looked me over curiously.
"Looks like Maggie's found a stray to take care of," he said.
Maggie appeared next to him. She gave the man a look that told him to be quiet, then turned to me.
"This is Henri," she said, nodding her head.
"Sorry if you felt trapped before. We wanted to talk somewhere private."
Private? I growled softly. Being alone with these two rogues made me nervous. What were they planning?
Henri seemed to know I was worried. He held up a hand to calm me and stepped a bit closer to Maggie. He wasn't being aggressive, but he was putting himself between me and her.
"Relax, pup," he said in that calm voice.
His amber eyes watched me closely. "We’re not here to cause trouble. You’ve been through enough already."
"He means we won't hurt you," Maggie said, giving Henri a look that said he was talking too much.
"You have every right to be cautious after what the Magnus pack did to you," she continued, her face serious.
"We understand that feeling."
Henri grumbled but stayed quiet. There was a lot left unsaid as Maggie figured out what to say next.
"We haven't been totally honest with you," she finally admitted, frowning.
"The truth is, we know about Marcus and his cruelty because it happened to us, too."
What did she mean? I was even more uneasy now.
Maggie must have known she had my attention. She continued, her voice careful.
“Years ago, before we left the pack, Henri and I...we had a baby girl. Our first."
I looked at Henri. He met my gaze, his face hardening just a little.
"A beautiful baby," Maggie said, her voice full of longing. "We named her Catrina."
My world stopped. I gasped, my breath catching in my throat. Catrina. I stared at them, my head spinning.
"You...?"
I choked out, my throat tight. It was hard to speak with all the emotions swirling inside me.
Maggie's face softened with sadness. "I see you know that name, son. I thought you might, when I figured out who you were."
"How..." I croaked, finally able to speak. My voice was full of confusion and disbelief.
"How is that possible? Catrina's parents..."
"...were dead?" Henri finished my sentence. "That's what they tell you?"
His jaw clenched the only sign of the emotions he was holding back.
"We had to keep it a secret to keep her safe."
"But if Marcus ever found out, that she was the child of two rogues who ran from his pack..." She shook her head.
"Let's just say we know how cruel he can be to those who disobey him."
I shivered, imagining the horrible things my father must have done. Henri squeezed Maggie's hand and spoke in a low voice.
"We were young and foolish back then," he said sadly. "We believed in Marcus and his ideas. But after Catrina was born..."
He choked on his words, lost in a painful memory. Maggie continued, her voice rough with pain.
"The way the pack...the way Marcus treated omegas, his own mate Vivian especially. He was so cruel..." She stopped, breathing shakily.
"We couldn't let our little girl grow up like that, where female omegas were just used for breeding."
My heart ached. I remembered snippets of conversations I had overheard as a pup. Things about "getting rid of the weak" and "making the pack stronger." Things that made me shiver now.
How could I have been so blind? What had my father done to the omegas, all for his twisted breeding program?
"So you hid Catrina away," I rasped, my voice dull. "To keep her safe from that...."
Maggie's eyes were wet, but she lifted her chin defiantly.
"We did what we had to do to protect our daughter. We wanted her to grow up free, to make her own choices."
Henri placed his hand on her shoulder, his face grim but strong.
"It was the only way to keep her away from Marcus. Even though it hurt to let her go."
I must have shown my doubt because Henri smiled tightly and shook his head.
"I know what you're thinking, kid. You're wondering if this is a trick if we’re trying to get back in with the pack now that Marcus is back in power."
I felt a flash of anger at having my suspicions laid bare, but he was right. I wasn't sure I could trust them.
But they didn't seem offended. They just looked tired.
"We don't want to go back," Maggie said firmly. "That part of our lives is over."
Her green eyes stared into mine. "We only care about our little girl's safety. Which is why..."
She paused, thinking carefully. Then she straightened up and lifted her chin defiantly.
"We have to get you back to her, Rowan. We have to get you both away from Marcus before he hurts you."
These Rogue wolves were smarter than I thought. Somehow they knew their daughter was the reason they found me, Catrina, my mate, the one carrying our pup.
And they wanted me to get her back.
Her determined voice touched something deep inside me. Maybe it was the hope of finally having allies who understood the darkness of the Magnus pack.
Or maybe it was just the thought of being with Catrina again, of her love chasing away the coldness inside me.
Whatever it was, I felt myself relax a little. I was starting to trust them.
Henri sensed my change. "We might not agree with what you and Catrina do about the pack later on."
He stopped me before I could react. "But we'll deal with that later. Right now, we need to get you both away from Marcus before he can hurt you."
His words were harsh but true. I knew my father would stop at nothing to get rid of me and Catrina now that our bond was broken.
"I need to know what happens after," I said, trying to sound calm despite all the emotions inside me.
"Catrina is everything to me. You must understand that."
Henri's face didn’t change, but Maggie's softened as she nodded slowly.
"We might disagree on some things, but we all want the same thing - for our little girl to be happy and free to choose her own path, without Marcus’ influence."
She gave me a small smile. "Let's focus on getting her back first. We can worry about everything else later."
I looked at them for a long moment. These two rogues knew my father's cruelty better than anyone. They chose to live in hiding to protect their daughter from him.
Could I really refuse their help, even if I didn’t fully trust them? When the other option was likely death?
I took a slow breath and nodded. Getting back to Catrina was all that mattered, even if it meant trusting these former Magnus defectors.
"Alright then," I growled. "Tell me what to do."
The trees were dark as we ran deeper into the forest. My paws hurt, but I kept going. I had to find Catrina.
I heard someone coming towards me. I got ready to fight, growling as I turned to face them.
"Easy, easy," a deep voice said. It was a man, and he sounded strong and confident like Maggie. "I don't want to get bitten."
A big, older man came out from the trees, holding his hands up to show he wouldn't hurt me. He looked tough, but his voice was calm.
My wolf instincts said to be careful. I watched him as he looked me over curiously.
"Looks like Maggie's found a stray to take care of," he said.
Maggie appeared next to him. She gave the man a look that told him to be quiet, then turned to me.
"This is Henri," she said, nodding her head.
"Sorry if you felt trapped before. We wanted to talk somewhere private."
Private? I growled softly. Being alone with these two rogues made me nervous. What were they planning?
Henri seemed to know I was worried. He held up a hand to calm me and stepped a bit closer to Maggie. He wasn't being aggressive, but he was putting himself between me and her.
"Relax, pup," he said in that calm voice.
His amber eyes watched me closely. "We’re not here to cause trouble. You’ve been through enough already."
"He means we won't hurt you," Maggie said, giving Henri a look that said he was talking too much.
"You have every right to be cautious after what the Magnus pack did to you," she continued, her face serious.
"We understand that feeling."
Henri grumbled but stayed quiet. There was a lot left unsaid as Maggie figured out what to say next.
"We haven't been totally honest with you," she finally admitted, frowning.
"The truth is, we know about Marcus and his cruelty because it happened to us, too."
What did she mean? I was even more uneasy now.
Maggie must have known she had my attention. She continued, her voice careful.
“Years ago, before we left the pack, Henri and I...we had a baby girl. Our first."
I looked at Henri. He met my gaze, his face hardening just a little.
"A beautiful baby," Maggie said, her voice full of longing. "We named her Catrina."
My world stopped. I gasped, my breath catching in my throat. Catrina. I stared at them, my head spinning.
"You...?"
I choked out, my throat tight. It was hard to speak with all the emotions swirling inside me.
Maggie's face softened with sadness. "I see you know that name, son. I thought you might, when I figured out who you were."
"How..." I croaked, finally able to speak. My voice was full of confusion and disbelief.
"How is that possible? Catrina's parents..."
"...were dead?" Henri finished my sentence. "That's what they tell you?"
His jaw clenched the only sign of the emotions he was holding back.
"We had to keep it a secret to keep her safe."
"But if Marcus ever found out, that she was the child of two rogues who ran from his pack..." She shook her head.
"Let's just say we know how cruel he can be to those who disobey him."
I shivered, imagining the horrible things my father must have done. Henri squeezed Maggie's hand and spoke in a low voice.
"We were young and foolish back then," he said sadly. "We believed in Marcus and his ideas. But after Catrina was born..."
He choked on his words, lost in a painful memory. Maggie continued, her voice rough with pain.
"The way the pack...the way Marcus treated omegas, his own mate Vivian especially. He was so cruel..." She stopped, breathing shakily.
"We couldn't let our little girl grow up like that, where female omegas were just used for breeding."
My heart ached. I remembered snippets of conversations I had overheard as a pup. Things about "getting rid of the weak" and "making the pack stronger." Things that made me shiver now.
How could I have been so blind? What had my father done to the omegas, all for his twisted breeding program?
"So you hid Catrina away," I rasped, my voice dull. "To keep her safe from that...."
Maggie's eyes were wet, but she lifted her chin defiantly.
"We did what we had to do to protect our daughter. We wanted her to grow up free, to make her own choices."
Henri placed his hand on her shoulder, his face grim but strong.
"It was the only way to keep her away from Marcus. Even though it hurt to let her go."
I must have shown my doubt because Henri smiled tightly and shook his head.
"I know what you're thinking, kid. You're wondering if this is a trick if we’re trying to get back in with the pack now that Marcus is back in power."
I felt a flash of anger at having my suspicions laid bare, but he was right. I wasn't sure I could trust them.
But they didn't seem offended. They just looked tired.
"We don't want to go back," Maggie said firmly. "That part of our lives is over."
Her green eyes stared into mine. "We only care about our little girl's safety. Which is why..."
She paused, thinking carefully. Then she straightened up and lifted her chin defiantly.
"We have to get you back to her, Rowan. We have to get you both away from Marcus before he hurts you."
These Rogue wolves were smarter than I thought. Somehow they knew their daughter was the reason they found me, Catrina, my mate, the one carrying our pup.
And they wanted me to get her back.
Her determined voice touched something deep inside me. Maybe it was the hope of finally having allies who understood the darkness of the Magnus pack.
Or maybe it was just the thought of being with Catrina again, of her love chasing away the coldness inside me.
Whatever it was, I felt myself relax a little. I was starting to trust them.
Henri sensed my change. "We might not agree with what you and Catrina do about the pack later on."
He stopped me before I could react. "But we'll deal with that later. Right now, we need to get you both away from Marcus before he can hurt you."
His words were harsh but true. I knew my father would stop at nothing to get rid of me and Catrina now that our bond was broken.
"I need to know what happens after," I said, trying to sound calm despite all the emotions inside me.
"Catrina is everything to me. You must understand that."
Henri's face didn’t change, but Maggie's softened as she nodded slowly.
"We might disagree on some things, but we all want the same thing - for our little girl to be happy and free to choose her own path, without Marcus’ influence."
She gave me a small smile. "Let's focus on getting her back first. We can worry about everything else later."
I looked at them for a long moment. These two rogues knew my father's cruelty better than anyone. They chose to live in hiding to protect their daughter from him.
Could I really refuse their help, even if I didn’t fully trust them? When the other option was likely death?
I took a slow breath and nodded. Getting back to Catrina was all that mattered, even if it meant trusting these former Magnus defectors.
"Alright then," I growled. "Tell me what to do."
End of The Alpha's forbidden omega mate Chapter 42. Continue reading Chapter 43 or return to The Alpha's forbidden omega mate book page.