My Alpha Forced Me to Forget Him Chapter 04

My Alpha Forced Me to Forget Him Chapter 04

Raven and I were halfway through our second round when my phone rang.

Ryker.

I stared at his name for a moment before answering.

“Elara.”

“Where did you put those floral shears I gave you?”

His voice sounded oddly hesitant. Something about his tone immediately put me on guard.

“In the second drawer beneath my workbench. Why?”

“Nothing. I was just asking.”

He didn’t hang up. Neither did I.

A few seconds later, Selene’s voice drifted through the phone.

“Ryker, there’s nothing here. Ask her again.”

My fingers tightened around the glass.

“Ryker.” My voice turned cold.

“I told you before. Don’t let anyone touch my things.”

Silence.

Then Selene called out again, this time deliberately louder.

“Ryker! Come look! Elara has such beautiful dresses!”

The call disconnected.

I stared at the dark screen for several seconds. Then I finished the whiskey in my glass.

“I’m heading back.”

She wanted to say something else, but I waved her off and called for a ride.

The hallway light was still on when I returned to the house.

The moment I stepped inside I froze.

Flowers were everywhere.

Not arranged. Destroyed.

Baby’s breath was scattered across the floor. Rose petals had been crushed beneath muddy footprints. Broken eucalyptus branches lay beside the shoe rack.

As I changed my shoes, I accidentally stepped on a dried sea holly.

The sharp thorn pierced through my sock. My wolf whimpered softly.

I slowly looked up. The bedroom door stood wide open.

I walked inside.

Both closet doors had been flung open.

My clothes were tossed across the bed. The workbench was a disaster. Floral foam had been smashed into pieces.

Scissors, floral wire, ribbons, and tape were scattered everywhere. Every drawer had been pulled open.

None of that mattered.

I hurried to the nightstand and knelt before the bottom drawer.

Inside, I’d kept the dried-flower frame my brother had made for me.

The hydrangeas came from our mother’s garden.

He had carefully pressed every petal by hand before sealing them inside a glass frame.

There had only ever been one.

My trembling fingers pulled open the drawer.

Then…everything inside me went silent.

The frame was shattered. Glass covered the drawer. The dried hydrangeas had crumbled into dust. A muddy footprint was stamped directly across the broken glass.

Someone had stepped on it.

I slowly knelt down.

Ignoring the sharp shards, I reached for the scattered petals.

Glass sliced across my fingers. Blood welled up immediately.

I didn’t stop.

Even if I couldn’t save them, I had to try.

“Elara…I’m so sorry…”

I looked up.

Selene stood in the doorway. Her eyes were red.

She looked seconds away from bursting into tears.

“I didn’t mean to knock it over…”

She never finished. Because I had already seen what she was wearing.

White satin. Delicate floral embroidery around the neckline.

My ceremonial Luna gown.

The gown my mother had sewn by hand after Ryker and I had completed our mate bond.

She’d smiled while stitching every flower.

“Even if I’m gone one day, this gown will stand beside you in my place.”

She had been gone for three years.

My legs nearly gave out.

I staggered toward Selene. My voice shook violently.

“Take it off.”

Before my hand even touched the fabric, Selene suddenly collapsed onto her knees.

Tears streamed down her face. She sobbed like a frightened child.

“I know I shouldn’t have worn it… I was just curious.”

“I begged Ryker over and over. He refused at first…but I kept crying until he finally agreed.”

She looked up at me through her tears.

“Please don’t blame him. It’s all my fault. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“I just…wanted to know what it felt like to be treated like a bride.”

Something slammed into my back. A powerful shove.

I lost my balance instantly.

My knees crashed against the floor. My forehead struck the edge of the bed. White pain exploded behind my eyes.

Before I could even react, Ryker rushed past me.

He didn’t spare me a single glance.

Instead, he dropped to one knee and gathered Selene into his arms, holding her tightly.

Only then did he turn toward me.

His expression was icy. His Alpha aura rolled through the room.

“Can’t you see she’s still recovering? Why would you push her?”

My wolf let out a broken howl.

Not because of his Alpha pressure. Because he hadn’t even asked what had happened.

Tears slid silently down my cheeks. My voice trembled.

“That was my Luna gown. My mother made it herself.”

“You let her wear it! You let her destroy the flowers my brother left me!”

Ryker froze.

His lips parted. No words came out.

He slowly reached a hand toward me.

Before he could touch me, Selene clutched his arm.

“Ryker. I’m dizzy. I don’t feel well…”

Without another glance at me, he withdrew his hand.

Then he lifted Selene into his arms. Carried her straight into the master bedroom.

The bedroom door quietly clicked shut.

I remained kneeling on the floor. Staring at that closed door.

Inside my mind, my wolf growled.

Slowly, I stood up.

Ignoring the throbbing pain in my knee, I gathered every broken hydrangea petal into a tissue. Then I slipped the bundle into my pocket.

I never picked up the Luna gown.

She had already worn it. It no longer belonged to me.

I sat quietly on the edge of the bed.

I had no idea how long I remained there.

Eventually, exhaustion pulled me into darkness.

When I opened my eyes again, only the bedside lamp was still glowing.

Ryker sat beside me. He was carefully changing the bandage on my forehead.

The cuts on my fingers had already been wrapped in clean gauze.

The moment he saw me wake up, he let out a relieved breath.

“Elara. About earlier, I—”

I gently pulled my hand away before he could finish. Then I looked into his eyes.

“I’m sorry…who are you?”