Rejected by the Son, Claimed by the Alpha Father

I had been the true mate of Alpha George for three years when his adopted son came to propose to me. "Susan, Rachel saved my life. Now that she has a respectable status, I’m here to claim you as my true mate." I couldn't even be bothered to look at him, but Chris had absolutely no shame. "You proposed to me ninety-nine times in the past. I know in your heart, I’m the only one worthy of being your mate." "Don't worry. In seven days, I'll take you to our mate ceremony. From then on, the three of us will be a family." I slammed the door right in his face. How pathetic. He had no idea I had just given birth to his father's true heir. Chris blocked the door, a smug smirk on his face. "Still as feisty as ever. No one can get the best of you." Then, his tone softened, turning sickeningly sweet. "Rachel is different from you. She's fragile and can't handle the rumors. To the public, she has to be my mate." "Even though I can't give her the same ceremony I'm giving you, in my heart, you are both the most important people to me." "I, Chris, will either stay single, or I will marry both you and Rachel." Maybe it was because I had survived the harsh Northern Wastes for too long, but I actually had the patience to listen to his ridiculous speech. "Chris, you weren't the only one pursuing me back then. What makes you think I haven't married someone else?" Chris sneered arrogantly. "You proposed to me ninety-nine times. The entire Pack knows your devotion to me." "Besides, we grew up together. Who in our circle would dare touch Chris's woman?" Chris raised his voice, his tone dripping with condescension. "Susan, I know your pride makes it hard to accept sharing me with Rachel. But your mother's illness is getting worse." "I know you're broke after the decline of the Miller Pack. If you marry me, I'll get the top Healer from the Ironclaw Pack to save your mother." I clenched my fists. Did he still think I was the helpless orphan girl he could bully? Three years ago, on the day of my mate ceremony with Chris. Rachel had spread rumors at the gathering, claiming she saw me holding hands with a rogue on Pack territory. Hearing this, Chris went mad and tried to run away from the ceremony. I desperately tried to stop him. "Chris, my mom's condition is worsening. The only Healer who can save her only treats relatives of the Ironclaw Pack. Please, just finish the ceremony before you leave." But my begging only met Chris's cold, patronizing gaze. "Rachel saved my life. I can't let her ruin her own happiness." "Your mother treats me like her own son. She won't mind." "Just wait for me to marry Rachel. In a few years, I'll find a way to claim you too. It’ll be the same." The night Chris abandoned me at our ceremony, I stood in front of Alpha George's car, begging him for a chance. Since then, I focused entirely on saving my mother. I didn't fight for a title and quietly stayed in Alpha George's shadow. But somewhere along the way, I walked straight into his heart. "I found out you've been returning to the old house we lived in for the past three years. You don't have to say it—I know you still miss me." Chris smiled, completely confident that he was in control. I was so angry that I actually laughed. That old house was a wedding home my mother had designed for me. After she passed away, I often stayed there simply because I missed her. I never expected Chris to mistake my grief for obsession with him. I couldn't take it anymore. I slammed the door hard against his face. "Get lost!" Through the door, Chris’s arrogant chuckle echoed. "I know you still love me. In seven days, I'll see you at the Pack territory to seal our mate bond!" I immediately called the patrolling Pack guards. "Expel this stalker from our territory. Never let him in again." After calming down, I went to the Pack territory as usual. Passing by the assembly hall, I saw Chris passionately kissing Rachel. When Chris saw me, his face tightened with arrogant impatience. "You're already struggling financially. Why waste money hiring someone to track me? I told you I'd mate with you, and I keep my word." "In public, Rachel is my partner. Now get out. Don't make things difficult for me." "Look closely. This is my Pack ID." I pointed to my chest. Chris didn't react to the Pack ID, but when he saw the Luna ring on my finger, his face completely changed. His voice trembled. "You... you couldn't have bought that. That's the ancestral Luna ring of the Ironclaw Pack!" "Susan, do you have another man?!"I replied calmly. "Of course. Our mate ceremony is in seven days." Chris's voice suddenly screeched. "Which bastard? Some low-life werewolf from the slums?!" Rachel chimed in, trying to play the peacemaker with a fake sweet voice. "Chris, Susan probably had to sell herself because she was desperate for money. The 'mate' thing is just an excuse to save face." "Don't rub salt in her wounds." "Susan, you shouldn't keep things from sketchy men. It'll only upset Chris." With that, Rachel snatched the Luna ring from my finger and tried to throw it into the fireplace. I grabbed Rachel's wrist. In the struggle, the ring slipped and fell to the floor. Chris quickly picked it up. His eyes widened when he saw the birth years engraved inside the band. 1975. "You slept with a forty-year-old Alpha just for money?!" "Who is he? I'll put him in a grave right now!" Chris's eyes turned icy as he stepped closer to me, cornering me. "Even if you don't tell me, I'll find out. Anyone who dares touch my woman—I'll dig up his ancestors' graves!" I looked at him and burst into laughter. I wondered what Alpha George would think if he heard his adopted son's disrespectful words. I straightened my clothes and looked Chris dead in the eye. "He is your Alpha father." Chris punched the wall beside me, his teeth gritting. "You're lying! My dad has seen all kinds of beautiful women. Why would he ever look at a plain, backgroundless girl like you?!" Rachel seized the opportunity to fan the flames. "Susan, Chris kept the position of his official mate open for you. How could you degrade yourself like this?" Chris’s eyes turned red, his voice a mix of fury and twisted betrayal. "You couldn't even wait three years? You chose to degrade yourself and become some old man's toy! Did you think I would always be there to clean up your mess?" "My reputation is completely ruined because of you!" He took a deep, ragged breath, acting as if he was making a massive sacrifice. "Since you have no shame, stay away from the Pack house. Move into a villa in the northern suburbs. I'll visit you once a week." "Once you're my woman, I'll reward you with a new villa for every child you bear me." I was so angry that I laughed out loud. So, I went from his "future mate" to a hidden side chick, and now, a breeding tool? Rachel leaned in close to my ear, her voice dripping with venomous triumph. "Just have his baby. You get the houses, and we get the child. Once we have an heir, we can easily kick out the tramp who's been seducing the Alpha, before she threatens Chris's inheritance." My expression turned incredibly strange. The "tramp seducing the Alpha" she was talking about... wasn't that me? After all this drama, Chris wanted me to breed a child just to use it against me and my own son? Just then, Chris spotted Beta Tom. He pointed at me and ordered arrogantly. "Demote her to a low-ranking Pack member. We don't want her sneaking into the territory with a stolen ID and embarrassing me!" But Beta Tom didn't even look at him. He walked straight past Chris, stood in front of me, and bowed respectfully. "Luna. Alpha George ordered that you have full authority over all Pack affairs." I nodded calmly. "Thank you, Tom." Chris stood frozen, looking like he had just seen a ghost. "Susan? Why is Tom listening to you?" While Chris was in shock, I snatched my Luna ring back and said casually, "I am Alpha George's Luna. Of course he listens to me." "Luna?" Chris burst into laughter. "You bought a cheap knockoff and think you can play the part? I’ve seen my dad’s ring since I was a kid. It looks nothing like that!" Rachel giggled behind her hand. "Susan, even if you want to climb the social ladder, at least make your lies believable." Tom’s face darkened, and he was about to speak, but Chris shoved him aside and roughly dragged me into the meeting hall. "I want to see what other lies you can spin!" With that, Chris pulled out his phone, connected it to the projector, and the next second, a video started playing. The speakers filled the room with gasps, and the screen showed a heavily edited close-up of Chris and me in bed.Chris looked at me with pure mockery. "You used to act so pure, saying we had to wait until marriage. Now, just for money, you're willing to make up lies about being with my dad?" "If I release this video to the public, everyone will know you're just a social climber who will do anything to get to the top!" I clenched my fists. "Chris, Alpha George has already marked me. If you can't smell his scent on me, that's your own nose's problem." "Marked?" "I'll mind-link my dad right now and see if he even knows his so-called 'mate'!" Fueled by confidence, Chris raised his hand to initiate the mind link. I stepped forward to stop him, not wanting him to cause a scene, but Chris thought I was scared. "If you don't want me to call Dad, it's simple." "I'm a sentimental guy. Submit to me today, and it'll be a lot better than continuing this pathetic act." I shoved him away with all my strength, snarling. "Get off me! Chris, you will regret this!" Chris sneered, stepping even closer, his eyes dark with lust. "Regret? I only regret not realizing how fake your innocence was sooner!" Before I could strike him, the heavy doors of the meeting hall were slammed open. Rachel rushed in with a crowd of Pack members, her face deathly pale. "Oh my god! Alpha George... Alpha George collapsed in his office!" "Collapsed?" Chris’s eyes lit up. He shoved me aside and shouted to the crowd. "Susan! You came to the Pack to cause trouble, and you literally shocked my dad into a collapse!" Hearing this, Rachel triumphantly held up her phone. The screen showed a video of me and Alpha George "arguing," followed by Alpha George clutching his chest and falling to the floor. She raised the phone high, her voice screeching. "Susan forced Alpha George to give her a title! She knew he was weak from the poison, yet she deliberately provoked him! Now he's unconscious! She's a murderer!" The crowd erupted into furious whispers. Even Beta Tom looked at me with a frown, his eyes wavering. "How could she be so heartless?!" "To harm the Alpha just for money? She has no shame!" Looking at the two liars in front of me, I suddenly felt incredibly calm. Chris never believed I had married his father; he was just using this opportunity to force me to submit to him. I was worried about George's safety and wanted to leave, but Chris grabbed my collar and dragged me into the office. "Susan, I still care about you. If you agree to be my side-mate, I won't press charges about my father... anyway, your lie about being 'Alpha George's mate' is over." *Slap!* The sharp sound of a slap echoed through the room. Chris clutched his burning cheek, his eyes turning wild with rage. He pinned me brutally against the wall. "You dare hit me? Still claiming you married my dad? Let me tell you, even if my dad dies, he would never claim a trashy woman like you!" With a harsh rip, Chris tore the collar of my shirt. The next second, a small, sobbing voice rang out. The back door of the office was pushed open. Three-year-old Andy ran in, crying. He hugged my leg, his tiny hands desperately trying to push Chris away. "Bad guy! Let go of my mommy!" It was Andy! I had dropped him off at the Pack daycare this morning. How did he get here? Chris's hands froze. He looked down at Andy, his face twisting with disgust, and kicked the toddler's leg. "Where did this little brat come from? How dare you interfere!" "Waaah!" Andy cried out in pain, but he refused to let go of my pants, sobbing. "I'm not a brat... I'm Daddy’s pup... You can't hurt Mommy!" "Daddy?" Chris laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. He grabbed Andy by his collar, lifting the boy up to his eye level, and sneered at me. "Susan, you're really something, aren't you? Since you couldn't climb into the Ironclaw Pack, you brought a bastard here to scam us?" "Are you going to tell me this kid is my dad's son, too?" I sobbed, desperately trying to shield Andy. Chris's eyes burned with a vicious fire. "Since you dare to lie to me, I'll ruin this little brat today!" He raised his hand, aiming a heavy blow right at Andy’s face! "Don't touch my son!" I fought like a wild animal, my nails clawing deep into Chris's arms. Tears of rage and terror streamed down my face. "Chris! Andy is Alpha George's biological son!" "If you touch a single hair on his head, Alpha George will tear you apart!" Chris winced in pain from my scratches. He grabbed my neck and roared. "Biological son? Susan, you brought a bastard to play a part, have you no shame?!" "You didn't want to marry me, right? Fine. Today, I’ll not only ruin your reputation, but I’ll also make sure this brat—" "You piece of trash! Touch my wife again, and I will rip your throat out!" The heavy wooden door of the office was kicked open with a thunderous crash! Alpha George, dressed in a sharp, pristine suit, stormed into the room. Chris's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. "Dad...? How are you here? Weren't you unconscious?" Rachel trembled, taking a step back. "Impossible... I saw you collapse with my own eyes..." Alpha George gently took Andy from my arms, holding him close, while pulling me protectively behind his back. He stared at the red marks on my neck, then down at the bruise on Andy’s little leg. His voice was freezing cold. "You called Andy a brat? And you dared to lay your hands on them?"