Chapter 155

#Chapter 155 – Blow Out “Victor!” I cry, pounding down the stairs after him. He’s already at the back door, ready to pull it open and storm out. “Stop!”

He turns on me then, and I can see that he’s working hard to keep a leash on his rage.

I stop dead in my tracks, my eyes going wide, knowing very well that I should not push him.

An Alpha at the end of his tether is a dangerous thing.

“What, Evelyn,” he growls at me. “What can you possibly have to say?”

I reach out a hand, sorrow and apology written all over my face. “Victor, please,” I say, “we can talk about this -”

“Talk about what,” he says, his voice gruff as he takes three threatening steps towards me. “About how you lied to me for months? Manipulated me? Let me believe that I was speaking to a professional while I spilled my secrets to you?”

I bite my lip, knowing that he is right. I don’t say anything – can’t think of anything at all to say.

“Do you deny it, Evelyn?” he asks, taking two more steps closer so that he his lowering over me.

Slowly, I shake my head, looking up at him, my whole body pleading to him for forgiveness.

“God damnit, Evelyn!” he roars, again putting back his head to release that feral sound.

“Victor, stop,” I say, unthinkingly closing the distance between us and putting my hands on his chest as I glance back towards the stairs. “The boys –“

He swipes my hands off of him, pushing me away. “Don’t touch me, Evelyn,” he growls.

I curl my arms to my chest, clasping my hands just below my chin. “Victor,” I say, my voice soft and sorry and terrified, “please, let me tell you how it all came about – let me explain –“

“Let you explain,” he says, rage lighting anew in his eyes. “Do you think you can explain away this kind of betrayal?!”

“Victor,” I am desperate now, my eyes filling with tears. “It was the only thing I had – we were paired up at random by the agency – and then, when I figured out it was you – you were trying to take my children from me – I would have done anything – I needed the leverage –“

He considers me a moment, his lips lifting in a sneer. “And what about the months after we agreed to coparent, when you were no longer at risk of losing your children,” he says, “when you continued to council me, collecting my secrets for a rainy day. What about that, Evelyn?”

All I can do is shake my head, looking up at him.

Because he’s right. Of course he’s right. I knew it for months, that I was crossing a line, that I needed to stop.

But I didn’t. I kept going, kept influencing him, kept collecting his secrets about Amelia and his life, his inner thoughts, his turmoil. Hell, I had counciled him about his feelings regarding me.

He laughs at me, then, a low, dark thing I hadn’t heard before. “I thought you were so pure, Evelyn,” he says, his voice thick with disgust. “Thought you were good and kind and fair, especially in comparison to someone like Amelia. But at least she didn’t try to play the innocent single mom, so holy that butter won’t melt in her mouth.”

“Victor, I never –“ but I stop, biting my lip. Because that isn’t exactly true, is it? I had been two faced, had let him believe me the morally superior one.

But in reality, Victor reformed long before I did. He started out rough, but began treating me fairly very early on in our coparenting journey, whereas I betrayed him for months.

I hang my head now, unable to look at him, the shame is so rich in my veins.

“Mama?” My breath stops as I hear the timid voice behind me.

Slowly, I turn to see my two boys peeking from between the rungs of the stair railing. Their faces are shocked, frightened. They have never seen their father act like this, not even on his wedding day when he had faced Amelia’s betrayal.

Even though he and Amelia were together longer, I know, in my heart, that this is worse.

“Go upstairs, boys,” I whisper to them. The room is so quiet that they have no trouble hearing me.

“We’re…we’re talking.”

“Mama,” Ian says, concerned, starting to take a few steps down the stairs towards me.

In that moment, spurred by Ian’s tiny act of disobedience, Victor fully loses his grip.

“GO!” his voice booms out, commanding them. An Alpha’s command.

The boys go rigid with it, never having felt the compulsion of an Alpha over their body. It doesn’t hurt, I know, but the feeling of a lack of control – of needing to obey –

It unsettles them, I know.

Still turned towards them, I nod to them quickly, urging them to obey. They do, moving quickly back up the stairs.

I turn back to Victor then – I can’t believe he just did that to my sons – I’ve never seen him use an Alpha’s command before –

He is dangerous, now, I know. I stand frozen in front of him, scared to move. When my father got like this when I was a child –

But no, Victor is not my father –

He looks down at me and I see him realize what he’s done, that he’s lost his temper so much that it’s shattering his family, breaking their faith in him as I have broken his.

Leashing himself, Victor takes a step away from me, still livid, but again in control. I feel my shoulders instinctually relax, just a tick.

“This is done, Evelyn,” Victor growls at me. I feel my mouth drop open.

“Victor, no,” I insist, shaking my head. “There’s –“

“There’s no trust,” he interrupts, sweeping a hand between us. “I can never, never look at you the same way again.”

“Please,” I cry, taking another step forward, forgetting myself, forgetting just how tenuous his grip on himself is right now.

“Come no closer to me,” he growls, his teeth lengthening to fangs. I feel myself quail but don’t back off.

I can’t lose him – can’t let him go – not when we’ve come so far – when there is such wonderful good between us –

I fall to my knees at his feet. “Please,” I whisper. It’s the only word I have left.

“I regret you,” he growls above me. “I regret loving you, regret trusting you, regret…” I know, instinctually, that he was going to say that he regrets having the boys – but that would be too far, a lie.

We both know he’ll never regret them.

“I don’t know why I ever thought I could trust you in the first place,” he says instead, his words low and disgusted. “You kept my sons from me for years, and when I found you, you did everything you could to get them away. Then, when I didn’t let you, you did everything you could to manipulate me so that you could have control.”

I shake my head, tears falling into my lap. It’s not true – that’s not really what happened – it’s just not true at all –

“I have never loved you,” he says. I know it’s a lie – he does, I know in my bones that he loves me – but he can’t see it now, beyond my betrayal.

A beat passes before he speaks. “I never wish to lay eyes on you again.”

My face flashes up at him, aghast. No, no –

“Get out of my house, Evelyn,” he says with a final sneer before moving to the door. “I’ll give you twenty-four hours. And you will leave my heirs behind.”

I watch him go.

Watch him yank the door open, slam it shut behind him. I stare at the door for what feels like an eternity, unable to believe it.

That here, in the early hours of the morning – just days after he had wanted me to be his bride –

Everything is in pieces.

I stare down at my tear-filled hands. Gone. He wanted me gone, banished, again Rogue.

What the hell was I going to do?