The Alpha Who Never Loved Me (Serena and Kieran) novel Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Serena

“You think I’m that bored?” I stared at him. “You think I have nothing better to do than go after your precious Sophie?”

“She was almost hurt today.” His voice was easing slightly, clearly disturbed by whatever he was told. “Because of you.”

I hadn’t gone near her. I hadn’t called her, texted her, breathed in her direction. Jenna and I had walked away from the mall without laying a finger on her, and somehow I was still the villain.

A laugh ripped out of me.

“So that’s why you rushed back.” I pressed my palms into the mattress. “In the middle of the night and cutting your trip short. Because something might happen to your precious Sophie.”

“I know how you are.” He said it softly, as if trying to placate me. “Sophie isn’t like you. Her health is agile1:10

She has a child to tolze

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again.”

My vision went white.

I grabbed the pillow behind me and hurled it at his chest. It bounced off him and hit the floor, and I was already on my feet, standing on the mattress, looking down at him.

“You bastard!”

Kieran bent down and picked up the pillow. He set it on the chair like we were having a civilized disagreement.

I snatched the textbook from my nightstand and threw it. It sailed past his shoulder and cracked against the wall.

“You cheated on me!” My voice shredded itself raw. “You betrayed me, you destroyed everything we had, and you have the audacity to stand in this room and defend your mistress to my face?”

He sidestepped, calmly watching me.

I spun and grabbed the next thing my hand found. It was heavier than expected, and some distant corner of my brain recognized the shape of my laptop, but the rage had swallowed me whole and I didn’t care.

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He moved fast. His hand closed around my wrist and pried the laptop free before I could swing it. He set it down on the dresser without a word.

I kept swinging.

Open palms, fists, nails, anything that could connect. I was screaming through sobs that blurred my vision and burned my throat.

“Guard her!” I shoved against his chest. “Guard Sophie and her son twenty-four hours a day, because if I see her again, I will hurt her. I mean it!”

My voice cracked down the center. Tears scorched tracks down my face.

“My family lost everything!” The words tore out of me. “I have nothing left to lose. Nothing! I will burn everything to the ground, do you hear me? I’ll take you to court. I’ll get the divorce. I’ll make sure everyone knows you cheated, and I will tag Sophie as a homewrecker for the rest of her miserable life!”

Kieran stood at the edge of the bed. He didn’t argue nor did he defend himself.

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I staggered sideways, my knees buckling, and his hand shot out to steady me.

My hand connected to his in a quick slap.

He wrapped both arms around me instead, pulling me against his chest, locking me there.

I thrashed, kicked. I clawed at his forearms and screamed into his collarbone until my throat gave out.

When none of it worked, I sank my teeth into his shoulder.

He didn’t let go.

I bit harder. Tasted the cotton of his shirt, then salt beneath it. He didn’t flinch, didn’t release me, didn’t make a sound.

Even when I tasted the blood. There was still no response

from him.

When the fight finally drained out of me, he spoke into my hair.

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“Are you done?”

I couldn’t answer.

“Rest.” He lowered me back onto the bed and pulled the

covers over me.

My body had nothing left. My head felt weightless.

I needed to see a doctor. I needed to make sure my baby

was safe.

Even after the screaming and the throwing and the biting, I felt hollow. The anger hadn’t filled the emptiness. It never did.

Every fight since the betrayal ended the same way. He’d push me to the edge, watch me unravel, then tuck me in like I was a child who’d worn herself out from crying.

No explanation. No remorse. No apology. Just maintenance like I was a task to be completed before he

moved on to the next item on his schedule.

He moved around the room. I kept my eyes shut and

listened to drawers opening and closing, the bathroom :11 57 712 faucet running, the click of a lamp.

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The mattress dipped as he climbed in beside me. His arm reached across the space between us.

I shifted to the far edge of the bed.

He did not follow.

The distance between us wasn’t just physical anymore. There was a time when I could feel his heartbeat through the bond, when Aina would curl around Cora and I’d fall asleep wrapped in warmth that had nothing to do with body heat.

Now it was like shouting across a canyon. The more he refused to speak, the wider the gap stretched.

His silence wasn’t peace. It was a wall, and I was tired of throwing myself against it.

In the morning, I woke to an empty bed.

He must’ve left for work already.

I got off the bed and the second I was on my feet, my vision blurred. The room tilted, and I grabbed the headboard until the walls stopped swaying.

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I got dressed, got in the car, and drove straight to the hospital.

Before clocking in at Gerald’s department, I took the elevator to the maternity ward.

A nurse drew blood for the HCG test and told me results

would take a few hours.

I spent those hours buried in work. Gerald had me running some analyses all morning, and for the first time in weeks, my brain had something to chew on that wasn’t

Kieran.

After my shift, I was gathering my things when Raymond appeared in the hallway with someone I didn’t recognize.

The man beside him was tall, dressed in a way that was somewhere between casual and professional, a fitted. jacket over a plain shirt, no tie, glasses with thin frames that highlighted his good looks.

“Serena.” Raymond gestured between us. “This is Misha. He trained under Gerald years ago. He runs his own practice now.”

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Misha extended his hand and I took it. His grip was warm and firm.

“So you’re Gerald’s new victim.” His smile reached his eyes. “What’s your focus?”

“Wolfsbane pathology. Shifting disorders.”

His eyebrows lifted. “That’s Gerald’s bread and butter. He doesn’t take apprentices in that track unless he sees something. What’s your background?”

“Traditional healing. I studied years ago, then took a break, and I’m starting over.”

“Starting over takes guts.” He adjusted his glasses. “How are you finding it so far?”

“Exhausting.” A tired laugh slipped out. “But in a good way.”

“That’s the only way Gerald knows how to teach.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out a card. “If you ever need resources or want to pick someone’s brain who survived his training, reach out.”

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Raymond grinned. “Misha’s being humble. His pack runs

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one of the most advanced healing clinics on the West

Coast.”

I’d heard the name before, from coworkers, in passing conversations. Misha was an Alpha in his own right, his pack well-known and respected.

Meeting him in person didn’t match the image they had painted. He looked simple.

“It looks like you are going home, can I offer you a ride?” He nodded toward the exit. “It’s late.”

“I drove, but thank you.”

“Then drive safe.” He smiled once more and walked off with Raymond.

I headed back to the maternity ward.

The doctor was a woman in her late forties with reading glasses pushed to the top of her head. She pulled up my file on her tablet.

“Your baby is growing well. HCG levels are exactly where they should be.”

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