He Lost His Alpha Status After Turning Me Down Chapter 03
I forced myself to breathe. Steady. Even. Then I packed up my personal belongings as fast as I could.
When I turned to leave, Geirolf was standing in the doorway. His expression was complicated, caught somewhere between guilt and frustration. “Altalune, I can explain…”
“I don’t want to hear it,” I said flatly.
He stepped closer, letting his pheromones unfurl slowly through the room. “Altalune, you really shouldn’t have been there just now. Some pack members were talking about us, about our relationship. If you show up and then leave without a word, it’ll only make them blame Ulva. She’s battling severe depression. If she hears people talking about her, what if it pushes her over the edge?”
I looked him straight in the eye.
“First, you should never have accepted those flowers from Ulva. Second, you should never have given her the necklace and handed me the freebie that came with it. And if you heard pack members questioning our relationship, the right thing to do was shut it down on the spot, not come find me afterward and tell me to stay away from my own workplace.”
Geirolf went rigid. His mouth opened, then closed. Shock and guilt flickered across his face. “I just… Altalune, you’re still the one I love the most.”
Before the last word left his lips, a scream tore through the corridor.
We both turned at the same time.
Ulva was curled against the wall, clutching her knee, cowering before a rough-looking pack member who loomed over her. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t have feelings for you. Please stop following me!”
The man bent down and seized her shoulder. “Bitch, you weren’t singing this tune when you were leading me on!”
Alpha pheromones erupted through the hallway like a shockwave. Every werewolf in range flinched.
Geirolf’s veins stood out at his temples. He charged forward and slammed his boot into the man’s chest. “Get the hell out! I will not tolerate anyone in my pack who harasses an Omega!”
“Alpha!” The man hit the floor, stunned. He opened his mouth to beg, but the pack guards were already dragging him away.
Geirolf crouched beside Ulva and helped her to her feet with painstaking care, like she was a crystal glass that might shatter at any moment. His eyes were full of pity.
Funny. He’d never once looked at me that way.
Ulva collapsed against his chest, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. Geirolf held her tight, the two of them locked together like lovers in a movie who had just survived a disaster.
I shook my head and turned to leave.
“Altalune!” Geirolf called out. His voice snapped into a command. “Go get Ulva her medication. I need to stay here and watch over her.”
I didn’t move.
His brow creased. He exhaled a sharp sigh. “Altalune, calm down. Ulva needs me right now. Don’t let your jealousy cost someone their life.”
“I’m not jealous,” I said calmly.
Ulva looked up from his arms, eyes still streaming, voice quivering. “Please don’t hate the Alpha just because he pays attention to me instead of you. Luna, I know I’m younger than you, but you’ve been with him so much longer.”
I kept my tone even. “I don’t need to play the victim and beg for sympathy just to steal one man’s attention.”
“What did you just say?” Geirolf glared at me.
I met his gaze without flinching.
Ulva clutched the front of her dress with white knuckles. “What are you so proud of? Everything you have, the Alpha gave you. Without him, you’d be worse than a rogue!”
Geirolf looked startled by the venom in her words. He told himself she was simply upset, that she didn’t mean something that extreme.
But his anger locked onto me instead.
Because I said: “Before I became Luna of Ravenhowl Pack, I was the best healer in two packs. I can provide for myself without any Alpha’s help.”
I looked directly at Ulva. “Instead of scheming how to hunt an Alpha’s love, you might want to spend that energy learning how to survive on your own.”
Ulva bit down hard on her lip. She said nothing.
I turned to leave.
A wall of Alpha energy slammed me back against the corridor wall.
