Rebirth of the Alpha's Slave Mate (Samantha and Kade) novel Chapter 233

“It was an accident,” I muttered.

“An accident that could have been avoided had you simply listened to your elders!”

I flinched. I wasn’t sure if I had ever heard my father yell before. Not like this. Not at me.

“I’m sorry.” He took a deep breath as if to steady himself. When he spoke again, his voice was softer, lower. “Elena, I love you dearly. We already lost so much time together because your mother kept you from me. If you hadn’t been reborn, I might have never even known you existed. But you came back. You came to me. To Tyler. To your family.”

“And yet you want to sell me off to Mason,” I whispered. “Like I’m some kind of prize mare.”

“There was no money involved, I assure you. Mason expressed his interest, and I suggested that he propose. I thought you would be happy. He’s handsome, wealthy, and kind.”

“He didn’t even think about me.” I looked down at the cut on my arm. It was mostly healed now thanks to my wolf, but there was still dried blood on my skin. Mason had been so focused on his own desires that he hadn’t even paid attention to what he was doing. He didn’t care about me. He just wanted me. “I don’t love him,” I whispered. “He doesn’t love me, either. He just wants a wife.”

“Love grows.” My father gestured to the wall that separated his study from his bedroom, where Natasha slept. Or rather, she was likely listening with her ear pressed to the wood. “Natasha and I—”

“Natasha is easily one of the most toxic people I’ve ever met.” I laughed bitterly, moving toward the door. “There is no love between you two. Only duty. If I ever married—if I ever married—that’s not the kind of relationship I would want.”

“Elena. Elena!” my father called, but I was already gone.

I couldn’t see their face. I only saw a silhouette. Messy hair. Stacks of books surrounding them.

By the time I woke, my heart was pounding. I sat up, blinking the sleep from my eyes; my room was still dark, and a glance at the clock told me that it wasn’t even five in the morning yet. But I wasn’t tired anymore.

I looked over at my bedside table, where the note Harrison had given me last night lay waiting. Before I even realized what I was doing, I was moving. I dressed warmly and practically.

“Gone to see a friend,” I scrawled on a piece of paper, taping it to Tyler’s door before I left. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back tonight.”

No one woke as I slipped out. The sky had just barely begun to lighten by the time I shifted and ran off in the direction of the healer’s house.