Jealousy Alpha's Regret novel Chapter 91

Chapter 91

I listened silently, analyzing the werewolf politics at play. After my

father died, Catherine had refused to hold proper Alpha elections,

weakening our pack for years. Now the consequences were catching

up to them.

“So?” I finally responded. “What does this have to do with me? You

never treated me as real family anyway.”

“How can you be so cold–blooded?” Catherine’s voice cracked with

emotion. “Aren’t you a Stone werewolf? Have you forgotten your

bloodline?”

I spotted a couple walking their dog, the simple domesticity of the scene making my chest ache with longing for something I’d never had

– a normal family.

“Cold–blooded?” I laughed mirthlessly. “After Father died, you refused

to elect a new Alpha. Who weakened our pack, Catherine? Who let us

become so dependent on Grey protection?”

There was a moment of stunned silence before Catherine sputtered,

“Everything I did was for the Stone pack! Without me, how much

territory do

you

think we would have left?”

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“For the pack?” I challenged, feeling a surge of bitter amusement.

“That’s a convenient excuse. You did it for power, to control

everything yourself instead of risking someone else becoming Alpha.”

“You think I wanted to marry you off?” Catherine suddenly blurted,

her voice rising with emotion. “If Grey hadn’t specifically asked for

you, I would have sent Kim instead!”

The words hit me like a physical blow. I sat there, phone pressed to

my ear, completely still as the truth I’d always suspected was finally

confirmed.

“So I was just a bargaining chip,” I whispered, a strange calm washing

over me. “Never family. Just something to trade for protection.”

Catherine seemed to realize what she’d admitted. “Iris, I didn’t mean

– After father died, the pack needed stability—”

—

your

“Tell me the truth,” I interrupted, my voice surprisingly steady. “After

Father died, why didn’t you follow pack tradition and hold Alpha

elections? Was it because you wanted to control everything?”

The silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken truths.

“The Stone pack needed stability!” Catherine finally answered

defensively. “We couldn’t risk other families discovering our

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weakness!”

“So you’d rather let the pack decline than give up your power?” I pressed, a new anger rising in me. “Even using me as a trading piece with the Grey family?”

“You don’t understand what it’s like!” Catherine shouted. “I had to protect Kim and the others! Your father left behind a weakened pack!”

“Protect Kim,” I repeated slowly, the pieces finally clicking into place. “But not me. Because in your heart, I was never truly part of the Stone family, was I?”

The silence on the other end of the line was deafening.

My question hung in the air, met only with Catherine’s ragged

breathing. Then I heard something that made my blood run cold –

Catherine must have thought the call had disconnected, because she

spoke to Kim in a low voice.

“She hung up. That ungrateful bitch definitely won’t help us.”

I remained silent, listening intently as Kim asked anxiously, “What do

we do now? If we lose Grey protection…”

“Don’t worry,” Catherine sighed. “Worst case, we relocate and start

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over. Most of the Stone assets are in your name anyway.”

My grip on the phone tightened as I continued to listen, heart

pounding in my chest.

“You know why I was so desperate to marry her off to Grey in the first

place?” Catherine’s voice dripped with bitterness. “To make sure you

inherited everything! That’s why!”

Kim’s voice was softer, hesitant. “But she’s still your daughter…”

Catherine’s laugh was cold, cutting through the phone line like a

knife. “Daughter? She was nothing but a burden I was forced to

accept! You’re my only daughter, Kim… I never considered her my

child…”

I ended the call, my hand trembling. The park around me continued

as before children laughing, couples walking, life moving forward-

but inside, something had shifted permanently.

As night began to fall around me, I felt an unexpected clarity. All

these years of wondering why my mother never loved me… the

answer had always been simple. She never saw me as hers to love.

For the first time in my life, I felt completely free of any obligation to

the Stone family. They weren’t my family. They never had been.

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