The Alpha's forbidden omega mate - Chapter 51: Chapter 51

Catrina POV:
I couldn't believe Alpha Marcus. He actually said my dad was Rowan's uncle?
My brain felt like it was short-circuiting. How could that even be true?
Isabelle's voice, sharp as broken glass, snapped me out of it.
"Why are you here?" she screamed at Marcus, her eyes burning with fury.
"Guards! Get him out of here!"
As the guards moved in on the crazy Alpha, Marcus locked eyes with me, a creepy smile twisting his face.
"You have no clue what you've gotten yourself into, girl. Just you wait..." he cackled right before they dragged him away.
A shiver ran down my spine. What did he mean? What else were they hiding from me?
But suddenly, the room started to tilt, and I felt lightheaded and sick.
"Catrina? Are you okay?" Rowan's voice sounded far away.
That was the last thing I heard before everything went black.
I woke up in my bed, Rowan by my side, his warm hand holding mine.
"Oh thank goodness, you're awake!" he exclaimed. "How do you feel?"
I stared at him blankly for a second, my mind still foggy.
Then, all the awful memories slammed back: Marcus' insane claim about my dad, his ranting, his creepy threat.
A knot of fear twisted in my stomach. What was going on? What dark secrets were the Magnus alphas keeping?
Without thinking, I yanked my hand away from Rowan. I needed space to wrap my head around this.
"I'm sorry... I just need some time to think about everything," I mumbled, avoiding his gaze.
Rowan started to protest, but I cut him off. I couldn't handle any more drama right now.
"Don't believe everything your crazy father says!" he insisted.
"I promise, I'll figure this out and explain every-"
"Stop!" I blurted out, my voice sharper than I intended. My heart was racing with anxiety.
Rowan looked confused, his eyes wide. An awkward silence filled the room.
I took a deep breath to calm down. When I finally spoke again, my voice was strained.
"We can talk about it...tomorrow. Please, just give me some space to process everything."
The hurt on Rowan's handsome face made my chest ache, but he simply nodded and got up.
"As you wish," he murmured softly, turning to go.
Just as he reached the door, he paused and looked back at me, his eyes full of sadness and something deeper. In that moment, I saw the full extent of his love for me.
"I'm here for you, Catrina," he said, his voice low and intense. It made my pulse jump.
"Always. No matter what happens, you can count on that."
And with that heavy promise hanging in the air, he left, leaving me alone with my tangled thoughts and growing fear.
I fell back against the pillows with a sigh. Marcus' words had turned my world upside down.
My brain froze. My dad...related to Rowan's family? That was impossible, totally insane.
We were rogues, loners who lived outside any pack. There was no way Marcus was telling the truth...right?
But as much as I tried to convince myself his words were crazy ramblings, a tiny seed of doubt had already sprouted in my head.
And if I was honest, there were some weird things about my childhood that made me question everything.
Back then, their rules felt super annoying. We were always moving, never staying in one place long enough to make friends.
Every time I got close to a kid from another pack, my parents would yank us away again, saying it was "too dangerous."
"But Mom," I'd whine, "they're just like us! Can't we at least have a pack sleepover or something?"
Mom would mess up my hair with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Honey, trust me, it's better this way. We can't have anyone getting too close, understand?"
Dad would always say the same thing, his voice all serious.
"There are people out there, Catrina, who would try to use you because of your...family history. We have to stay hidden."
Family history? It was a word they used all the time, but it never really meant anything to me.
Now, lying there staring at the ceiling, a scary thought hit me.
Maybe my parents weren't just being overly cautious. Maybe there really was something about our past, something about my connection to Rowan's family, that they were trying desperately to keep secret.
The idea sent shivers down my spine, and my heart felt heavier by the second.
If even a little bit of what that jerk Marcus said was true, then everything I thought I knew about my life, about my family, could be a complete lie.
My head spun with a million questions. Tears filled my eyes, hot and blurry. I tried to blink them back, but they just kept coming.
Before I knew it, I was sobbing uncontrollably, burying my face in the pillow to muffle the sound.
Everything was a mess, and I just let the tears wash it all away until I finally fell asleep, a restless sleep filled with memories and creepy echoes of Marcus' laugh.
Hours later, I woke up. My eyes felt scratchy and my throat was sore from all the crying.
But for a brief moment, before everything hit me again, my mind felt strangely calm.
Then, the doubts Marcus planted and the memory of Rowan's sad goodbye came flooding back, making my stomach churn.
I needed answers from Rowan, real answers, and fast. No more secrets, no more running away. I had to deal with this, for our baby's sake at least.
"Snap out of it, Catrina," I muttered to myself.
"Rowan loves you. He wouldn't lie about something this big. Besides, my parents always said..."
Suddenly, something they used to say all the time popped into my head: "Don't trust anyone, especially those who claim to be kind."
My breath caught in my throat.
Was that why they kept me away from other packs? Did they know something about Rowan's family, the Magnus pack, that they never told me?
I groaned and rolled over, frustrated. This was way too much to handle. Talking to Rowan was the only way to sort this mess out.