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Mated by Contract to the Alp
Chapter 170
刷品
I felt as if I’d been slapped. He was my brother, I said, struggling to keep my voice steady.
“A brother you got killed,” she replied, her voice rising. You and your… associations. Her gaze flicked to Domini with undisguised loathing. “We found the messages on Jason’s phone. Your flancé–that wolf man William–he introduced Jason to those loan sharks! He led my son right to the slaughter!”
Gasps and murmurs spread through the gathering. I felt Dominic’s hand at my back, steadying me.
“Mom, I didn’t know–I couldn’t have known,” I said desperately. “William and I broke up months ago. I had no idea. he even knew Jason.”
“Liar!” she hissed. “You brought these monsters into our lives! You’ve been with them for five years, and now here you are with another one!” She gestured wildly at Dominic. “What kind of daughter chooses beasts over her own family?”
My father stepped forward, his voice weak but insistent. “That’s enough, Helen. This isn’t the time or place.”
She turned her fury on him. “You always defend her! Even now, when her choices have killed our son!”
I felt tears streaming down my face, shame and guilt warring with anger. “Mom, please listen. William betrayed me too. He used all of us. And Dominic is the one who discovered the truth–he’s been trying to protect me, protect us
all.”
My mother’s laugh was bitter and broken. “Protect? Is that what you call it when wolves use innocent humans as pawns in their power games?” She stepped closer, her finger jabbing at me accusingly. “Look at you–you’re completely brainwashed. How long before you end up like Jason?”
Dominic’s arm slipped protectively around my waist, and I could feel the tension radiating from him, though his voice remained calm. “Mrs. Brown, I understand your grief, but Rebecca is a victim here too. She had no knowledge of William’s actions.”
My mother’s eyes narrowed on him. “Don
speak to me. You’re all the same–predators wearing human skin.”
The whispers in the crowd grew louder. I heard “wolves” and “monsters” repeated with increasing alarm. My cheeks burned with humiliation and distress.
“I think we should go, Dominic murmured close to my ear.
I nodded, turning one last time toward Jason’s casket. “Goodbye, Jason,” I whispered. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect.
you.”
As we turned to leave, my mother called after us, her voice breaking with anger and grief. “Don’t come home again, Rebecca! When these monsters show their true nature, don’t expect any sympathy from me!”
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Chapter 170
My father reached for her, trying to calm her, but she shoved him away. I felt Dominic’s arm tighten around me as he guided me back toward the car, shielding me from the stares and whispers.
“Your family,” I said through tears as we walked away, “will they accept me? After all this?”
Dominic pulled me closer to his side. “My family follows my lead,” he said simply. “And I’ve chosen you. Nothing else matters.”
As we reached the car, I looked back one last time at my family–my father standing helplessly beside my raging mother, the casket containing what remained of my brother. Another life I was leaving behind.
Dominic helped me into the car, then slid in beside me. As Raymond pulled away from the cemetery, I felt Dominic’s fingers intertwine with mine, his thumb gently stroking my skin.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.
I leaned against his shoulder, allowing myself to draw strength from his presence. “She’s grieving.” I said, though the words felt hollow even to me. “She needs someone to blame.”
“That doesn’t make it right to blame you,” he replied, his voice carrying a hint of the Alpha steel that I was coming to recognize.
I closed my eyes, suddenly exhausted. The bond between us seemed to pulse with shared emotion–his protectiveness, my grief, our mutual concern for the tiny life growing inside me.
“Take me home, I whispered, realizing as I said it that I meant his home–our home. The villa by the lake that somehow, despite everything, had become my sanctuary.
Dominic pressed a kiss to my temple, his lips lingering as if to imprint his promise. “Always.”
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