My Family Stole My Alpha, I Married Someone Stronger Chapter 04

I couldn’t help turning around, only to see Mom suddenly collapse backward into Brianna’s arms.

Her breathing was rapid, and her face had gone pale, yet her eyes remained fixed on me.

I rushed over, took her hand, and rubbed her palm, trying to calm her down.

It took a long while before she finally managed to draw a deep breath. Then she burst into tears.

“What did I do to deserve this?!”

Something seemed to pierce my heart, and my voice softened despite myself.

“Mom, please don’t do this.”

She hastily wiped away her tears, then suddenly widened her eyes and glared at me.

“Fine! I’ll stop acting this way, but only if you agree to go on that blind date!”

I lowered my eyes and finally told her what I’d originally planned to say.

“I’m already married, and I have two children. Some things happened a few years ago that I couldn’t come to terms with, so I never told you.”

“If you don’t believe me, I can have my husband come here in person tomorrow.”

“That’s why I came home this time. I was planning to tell you.”

Who could have guessed that the moment I sat down, she’d start crying and claiming she couldn’t die in peace without seeing me get married?

Mom opened her mouth to scold me, but Brianna gently squeezed her arm.

Forcing a warm smile, Brianna stepped in to smooth things over.

“It’s okay, Katie. We believe you. Mom was just worried and got carried away.”

“It’s Christmas break, and it’s rare for the whole family to get together like this. If you leave now, you’ll have to face the snowstorm outside, and it’s not safe. Why don’t you stay and spend the holiday with us?”

I glanced at Mom’s face, which had finally regained some color, and eventually nodded.

The next evening, the three of us prepared Christmas dinner together.

Mom and Brianna chatted and laughed in the kitchen, reminiscing about old times.

I occasionally joined in, and for a moment, it was almost as if yesterday’s argument had never happened.

Just as it was time for dinner, the sound of an engine came from the driveway outside the pack house.

Andrew walked through the door, followed by a short, stocky, middle-aged man.

Mom hurried over to greet them, took the gift box from the man’s hands, and smiled as she introduced him to me.

“This is Alpha Derek, the man I told you about. Andrew went out of his way to introduce you two.”

I froze for a moment before looking up at Brianna.

Our eyes met, and the gentle smile on her face never wavered.

“Katie, please don’t blame me. I know you might be upset, but I’m your sister. I can’t just stand by and watch you keep acting so stubbornly. Finding a man and getting married sooner rather than later would be better for you and everyone else.”

She came up behind me and gave my back a gentle push.

“Come on, go say hello! I picked out an outfit for you in advance, but you refused to wear it. That dress looks wonderful on you. It makes you look so sweet and elegant. Derek likes women who know how to behave.”

Derek immediately rubbed his hands together, looking delighted.

“You really know me well, Brianna! So this is Katie? My, what fair skin you have!”

As he spoke, he eagerly reached out to grab me.

I instinctively stepped back, only to find Brianna blocking my way.

Andrew noticed the commotion and strode over, positioning himself in front of Brianna like a knight defending his wife.

“Katie, don’t be so ungrateful. Every woman needs a mate eventually, and Derek is more than good enough for you.”

Only then did Derek realize that I was looking down on him.

His smile vanished, and he gave me a slow, appraising look from head to toe.

“You’re certainly pretty. But you’ve been wandering around on your own for years. Who knows what you’ve been getting up to behind closed doors?”

He turned arrogantly toward my mother.

“Jennifer, I know this might sound harsh, but you know how old your daughter is.”

“I’m not asking for much. I can overlook her past. All she has to do is stay home, do the cooking and cleaning, and take good care of the kids.”

He paused, as if he’d already decided I had no choice but to marry him.

“If you agree, she can come home with me today. We have a deal, right?”

What made the whole situation even more absurd was that Derek had once been a notorious, ruthless Alpha known for his brutality and cruelty.

After violating werewolf law, he’d been stripped of his title by the Council of Elders and permanently banished from the pack.

And now, he actually thought he was entitled to choose a woman like me.

I finally understood. When disappointment piled up high enough, a person’s heart could truly stop caring altogether.

I lifted my head and looked at Mom.

“I don’t want to.”

The room fell deathly silent.

Mom’s shrill voice immediately shattered the silence.

“Katie! What did you just say? How old are you now? What more do you want?!”

“Your sister and Andrew were in love with each other from the beginning, but you just had to get between them! If I hadn’t begged you to let them be together, would they have made it this far? And now you still want to keep torturing me?!”

“Will you only be satisfied when you’ve literally angered me to death?!”

Andrew looked at me coldly, his voice full of impatience.

“Katie, stop clinging to feelings you have no business holding on to. Grow up.”

“If it weren’t for Brianna, I never would have been with you in the first place.”

“Your behavior right now is downright childish.”

I met his gaze, my voice perfectly calm and utterly devoid of emotion.

“You’re imagining things.”

“You…”

“Andrew!” Brianna stepped forward and affectionately linked her arm through his. “That’s not what Katie means.”

Then she turned to me, her voice so gentle and her expression so impeccable that anyone would have thought she was the most considerate sister in the world.

“This is a decision that will affect the rest of Katie’s life. As her sister and brother-in-law, of course we have a responsibility to make sure she’s making the right choice. Alpha Derek is actually a pretty good match for her. It’s not that Katie doesn’t want to marry him. She’s just shy and embarrassed to admit it in front of everyone.”

I stared straight into her eyes.

“When did I ever say I wanted to marry him?”

“Didn’t you just nod?” Brianna smiled as she pulled a thick envelope from her arms and handed it to Derek.

“And you even secretly gave me this to pass along to Derek’s son. You said it was a little welcome gift from his future stepmother.”

Derek took the envelope and opened it right there in front of everyone. Inside were ten neatly stacked hundred-dollar bills.

He grinned with satisfaction.

“When I asked if you were willing, you nodded too, didn’t you? Andrew and Jennifer both saw it.”

Mom hesitated for a moment before nodding along.

“That’s right. I saw it too. You definitely agreed.”

They both turned to look at Andrew.

He glanced from me to Brianna, but in the end, he chose to remain silent.

With no one contradicting them, Derek’s face broke into a smug grin. He stuffed the envelope into his pocket, walked over, grabbed my arm, and pulled me toward him.

“Good! Since Katie is so eager to marry me, I’ll graciously agree to take her…”

“Agree to what?”

A deep, icy voice suddenly rang out from the doorway.

A tall man in a black wool coat strode into the room, radiating such an intimidating aura that no one dared approach him.

He walked straight over to me and positioned himself protectively in front of me. Then he raised his eyes to the others, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips.

“You’re trying to marry off my wife a second time, and no one thought to inform her current husband?”

“Wait… You’re the Lycan King?”