Fated to the Alpha Who Killed Me (by Sherry) novel Chapter 104

Chapter 104

“Thirsty,” I said, because that was easier than trying to articulate the complicated tangle of emotions currently knotting themselves in my chest. “The water’s empty.”

He stood immediately and picked up the plastic pitcher from the small table across the room. I heard water running in the attached bathroom, heard the pitcher being filled, and then he was back, pouring fresh water into my cup with steady hands.

He held the cup to my lips and I drank, too disoriented by this sudden tenderness to protest the intimacy of it, and when I’d had enough he set it aside and settled back into his chair without comment. The silence

stretched between us.

“Connor and Dylan,” I said finally, because I needed to know, needed to understand what came next. “What’s

going to happen to them?”

Something dangerous flickered across Daemon’s face, there and gone so quickly I might have imagined it. “The pack council convened an emergency session this afternoon. Both of them have been charged under pack law for assault, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit fraud.”

“Connor will undergo spirit severance at the next full moon. The elders will use ancient magic to forcibly separate him from his wolf. After that, he’ll be exiled to human territory.”

My breath caught. Spirit severance. The cruelest punishment in wolf society, worse than death itself. The severed lived on as broken shells, haunted by phantom pain, most choosing suicide within years.

“And Dylan?”

“Stripped of pack membership and marked as rogue. Every allied pack has been notified to deny him entry. He can be killed on sight without legal consequence.”

A heavy silence fell between us, and then his expression shifted into something darker, more controlled. “Why did you give your contact information to a stranger? Why did you go to a musical with him, to that

remote restaurant?”

The question caught me off guard, the sudden shift from pack justice to personal interrogation.

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Chapter 104

“Daemon,” I said quietly, meeting his blood–red eyes directly. “Are you jealous?”

His face went rigid, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “Jealous? I’m embarrassed. My Luna gets tricked by some

omega con artist, nearly gets herself killed and dumped in a river. If the media found out, the entire Frost

Pack would become a laughingstock.”

The words hit like a slap, and I felt something in my chest turn to ice. Of course. Of course it was about

appearances, about pack reputation, about how my near–death experience reflected on him rather than any

actual concern for my safety or wellbeing.

I took a deep breath, forcing my voice to stay steady. “Then let’s schedule the rejection ceremony as soon as possible. Once it’s done, whatever stupid things your former Luna does won’t be your problem anymore.”

“I don’t want anything. No property, no territory, nothing. Consider it payment for saving my life tonight. Oh, and those photos-” I paused, then added, “Those are the originals, right?”

His face had gone pale, then flushed with something that looked almost like rage, but he didn’t respond. Instead, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a large manila envelope, throwing it onto the

blankets with barely controlled force.

“The originals. All of them.”

Then he turned and walked out, the door closing behind him with a sharp click that echoed in the sudden silence, leaving me alone with the damning evidence that my father was finally, truly safe.

I must have dozed off again, because when I woke the envelope was still clutched against my chest and early morning light was filtering through the blinds in soft gray tones that turned everything ghostly and unreal. My phone was buzzing on the bedside table with an incoming call, and I grabbed it without looking at the screen, my voice coming out hoarse and rough from sleep.

“Hello?”

“Violet!” My father’s voice burst through the speaker with an excitement I hadn’t heard from him in months. “Sweetheart, we did it! We actually did it! Kayla’s been arrested on charges of extortion and fraud, and Caleb is going down with her. The police found at least four other victims of their scheme, built a complete case.

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We’re free, honey. We’re actually free.”

I sat up too fast, the room spinning slightly from the concussion, and tried to make sense of what he was saying through the fog in my brain. “Dad, slow down. What happened?”

“I asked Dominic for help. Well, Dominic passed the case to Daemon, and Daemon went all in on it. He personally went to Riverside and tracked down Caleb, interviewed the other victims, gathered enough evidence that the district attorney is calling it one of the most solid extortion cases they’ve seen in years. Kayla was arrested this morning, and Caleb is in custody too. They’re both looking at serious prison time.”

The words hit me in waves as the full scope of what Daemon had done became horrifyingly clear. He’d built an entire case from scratch, gone to another pack’s territory personally, made sure Kayla and Caleb would

be put away permanently.

And I’d accused him of using that evidence to blackmail me into a faster rejection.

“That’s… that’s wonderful, Dad,” I managed, my voice barely working properly. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

When we finally hung up, I just sat there staring at nothing, my mind racing through every interaction I’d had with Daemon over the past few weeks.

The door opened and Sienna walked in carrying a bag that smelled like bacon and eggs, her face brightening when she saw I was awake. “Morning, sunshine! I brought breakfast from that place you like, figured hospital food wasn’t going to cut it after-” She stopped mid–sentence, taking in whatever expression was on my face. “Oh no. What happened? Did you have another nightmare? Is it the concussion? Should I call

Evan?”

“Sienna,” I said, and my voice cracked on her name, everything I’d been holding in suddenly threatening to spill over. “I think I completely screwed up. I think I’ve been wrong about Daemon in the worst possible way, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

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