Alpha Ryland

Chapter 31

"Maura," he says as he walks into the room and shuts the door, not bothering to lock it back. My eyes widen as I stare at him. I never once thought that he would betray me like this. The whole time, he had been working with Dylan to actively ruin my life. He stops walking toward me and frowns. His eyes are full of sorrow but I don't want his lame excuses and persuasion of how this was for my future.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him, taking a step forward to face my father who I once looked up to. "Shouldn't you be playing father figure to my ex?" Maybe he admires Dylan because he always wanted a son.
He shakes his head and looks down, "What I've done was wrong. I knew it was going to end horribly the moment he came up to me about this." He lifts his head, "and I only made it worse when I tried to resist."

My eyes scrunch up in confusion, "Dylan came up to you about taking me from my real mate and you accepted?" This is ridiculous.

My father's face hardens, "Not Dylan. Alpha Zax." My face loses any and all color it once held. Had Alpha Zax contacted my family while I escaped his jail cell and told them to separate me from my mate as punishment? My father swallows hard, "Do you remember when your mother and I had the idea of the serum?"

"Yeah, you said you had a powerful medication idea and had to get it approved before making it." I recall that I was about pre-school aged and we had a lot less money than we do now. They had to get it approved by the Alpha before starting a new branch of the company.

"Well, we had to make a deal before it could get approved for our launch on the new project. Alpha Zax wanted to be a part of this project in every step and eventually own the company. We said it was going to pass onto you, so he suggested another idea. Once this was ready to use on people, we were to use it on you so we can decide your mate instead of fate. You were to be mated to his nephew." He looks at the white bed and grimaces, "Dylan."

I shake my head, "And you accepted?"

"Your mother and I were quite young still. We did not find anything wrong with it. Eventually when you started school, you and he found each other and became great friends." He bites his lips nervously as I recall my past with Dylan. Was everything not fate, but predetermined? "He knew nothing of it but his family did and pressured him to get closer to you. He had to put up with your attitude, which is our fault for not being around much to teach you to not be conceited, and at some point, he didn't want to be your friend anymore. Me and your mother were glad, but his parents pushed him."

I take offence to be conceited, but ignore it for now as he explains. I don't think I was that bad with my attitude growing up. I turned out just fine. Right?

"My driver came home one day with you and told me that Dylan liked a new girl in school and you told him not to like her anymore and to like someone like you. Dylan's family had mentioned that they knew you were his mate and when he heard those words from you, something in his head clicked and started to pursue you ever since. When it came time to mate you two, our serums were not perfected yet and we told them to wait. He didn't, and ended up stealing it and tried to use it on you. I came in the room and caught him just in time before he infected you with it. He was extremely upset and we were being heavily watched by Alpha Zax."

"When you ran away, we had to send out a missing person alert and send people to find you, yet me and your mother hoped you would stay away for longer to get out of it. You came back with your real mate and Dylan was furious. He demanded you back but we refused to work for him and the Alpha any longer. We are under heat for all of it and I have no choice but to let Dylan do what he wants... for now."

He walks fully up to my shaky body and wraps me in a hug, whispering into my ear, "There are eyes everywhere. Everything I say out loud is toward the cameras, so ignore it. When I stop talking, I will mindlink you what I actually want to say. Act like your life depends on it- because it does." He steps away and crosses his arms. His voice raises a little higher like he is reprimanding me, "We have no choice but to give you to him now. It would be best if you forget your other ex-mate."