Rejected, Abused, I Fall for the Forbidden Alpha (by Riley Scott) novel Chapter 230

Chapter 230

Damien POV

“Isn’t this just beautiful?” Alice murmured, clutching my arm tightly as I nodded, my jaw clenched as I forced myself to endure her touch.

My whole body would instantly feel chilly whenever her fingers stroked my skin, as though repelling her. She never noticed. If she did, she never let on.

Luckily, she doesn’t expect an answer as we step into the function room, her deep green dress hugging tightly to her curves and leaving little to the imagination. She’s in her element, already scanning the crowd for signs of those who are familiar to her.

My focus is elsewhere. All I can think about is Marissa lying in that hospital bed, her body still, her face ashen as she struggled to recover from her near-death experience.

I hadn’t wanted to leave her, but Aaron had insisted and I’d forced myself to, reminding myself as Alpha of the Shadow Pack I had responsibilites.

“Come on, Damien, smile for heaven’s sake,” Alice purred at me, “it’s a party, and you look like you’re about to face the guillotine,” she teased.

I feel my lips go flat. I’m not in the mood for jokes. She sighs and rolls her eyes, sashaying away, her eyes fixed on an old friend of hers, and promptly vanishes from my sight.

“Ah, Damien,” I hear Hade’s voice and swiftly turn, surprised to see him.

“I didn’t think you would be coming this year,” I said in shock, “what with Raven’s pregnancy and all.”

“She insisted,” Hades said with a grimace, “and once she’s set her mind on something, there’s no changing it.”

I laughed despite myself.

He sounded exasperated, but there was a fondness in his expression as he smiled at the memory. The man was so in love with my sister that it was almost sickening.

He frowned, and I tensed, knowing instinctively what he was about to ask.

“Where’s Marissa?”

His tone was casual but had an underlying bite to it.

My eyes slide away as guilt consumes me. He grabs me by the shoulders and stares directly into my eyes as I try hard not to flinch.

Since when did he give a shit about Marissa? I thought he hated her as much as I thought I did.

“Damien, you’re like a fucking open book. Clearly, something has happened between you both. I might not like Marissa, but Raven has already forgiven her. So if you’ve done something reckless like banished her…” he gritted

out.

Shit. He was furious. I guess Raven had managed to convince him that Marissa had changed after all. Fuck.

I shook my head at him. I would never have banished Marissa. That had only been an empty threat to frighten her. He should know me by now. He stared at me, folding his arms across his chest, and I knew I had to tell him everything. There was no choice. If I didn’t, then Raven would just harass me until I folded.

1.2

+15

By the time I was finished explaining, he looked stunned and even more enraged, which I hadn’t thought was possible.

“You think Marissa attacked this Alice girl first?” he said incredulously, “Damien, forgive me for saying this, but are you out of your damn mind! You put her in the dungeon without any proof!” he snapped.

“I know it was wrong, but Alice….” I trailed off, knowing that my excuses were pathetic.

“I get it. Marissa has a past, but I still think you might have been overzealous and too eager to believe the worst in her. How can you tell Alice was speaking the truth about her?” he demanded, “as Alpha, you have a responsibility to look into the incident first instead of reacting without evidence.”

“I’ve known Alice for years. She’s never shown any inclinations to attack an innocent pack member before,” I ran a hand through my hair in frustration and exhaled loudly, “but I’m beginning to have my doubts.”

He sighed and shook his head at me.

“Better hope you haven’t screwed up with your mate because if Alice is responsible, then by god, you’re going to have a lot of grovelling to do,” he warned, “and judging by the way you say her name, I think you’ve already realized what Marissa means to you, even if you’re in denial about it.”

I frowned at him even as his words hit a nerve.

He winked and headed into the crowd, looking entirely too confident for my liking.

Asshole. He’d always been an arrogant prick.

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