Page 66 of Fated Alpha Baby

“What is going on here, Grandfather?” I ask when Clarissa has left. “I have noticed that there is some animosity between you and my mate. And I have not had the time to address it. So, what is it you wish to speak to us about?”

Grandfather clears his throat. “I want to explain what happened eight years ago. From what I gathered from Hannah today, you are both still very much in the dark about what happened.”

I frown. “What are you talking about?”

“If you knew by now, you would have come to me.” He chuckles nervously. “But since you haven’t, then it means you don’t know. And ever since I learned that I have a granddaughter, the guilt has been eating me up. She’s just like you, Conan. Just like you when you were that age.”

“I’m not under—”

“Let me finish, please,” Grandfather interjects as he raises a hand before he sighs. “Eight years ago, some pack members—peers of yours, Conan—came to me with some very shocking news. They said they saw you with an omega. And the thought alone”—he gulps, looking down—”I couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t stand by and see you make a mistake. That’s why I intervened. But I see now that I was the one in the wrong.”

“Quentin, Kayla, and Callum…?” I whisper, and Hannah and I exchange confused glances.

That’s when my grandfather continues, “Yes. They told me how you defended the omega, and then the two of you went into her cabin. They reported Dorothy’s missing gem, and—”

“They were framing her, Grandfather. Those three were bullying her, and they framed her for the missing gem. It was in her cabin because I found it on them.”

“I see…” Grandfather says. “But at the time, I didn’t know that. It didn’t even matter that the gem was missing. All I cared about was preserving your image, and that’s why I banished the omega from the pack. I banished Hannah from Iron Breath.”

My breath catches in my throat, and I turn to Hannah slowly, eyes widening with horror and realization.

She wasn’t lying to Dorothy when she said she’d been banished from the pack. When she said she didn’t run away.

My fist curls at my side.

As I turn back to Grandfather, he continues speaking.

“And after finding out that you and she were…close,” he gulps, his aging eyes flickering between us, “I ensured that you two would have no contact. So, I planted a note from you to her on her fridge, and left one for you on her kitchen table after she’d been banished. That way, she would think you didn’t want her, and you think that she ran away.”

My jaw drops, my heart hammering as anger burns through my veins.

“You did all of that to keep us away from each other?!” I roar, taking a step forward and towering over my grandfather. The only thing that stops me from lunging at him is when Hannah places a hand on my shoulder.

I glance at her and see her eyes brimming with tears, but she shakes her head slowly.

“I am sorry, Conan. Truly sorry. If I had known she was your fated mate, I—”

“It doesn’t matter if you knew that or not!” I snap at my grandfather, glaring at him with all the fury I feel. “I didn’t even know at the time! But I loved her, and I was going to make her my luna the moment I became alpha. You stripped me of that, Grandfather! You made me lose my mate, my fated mate. And you made me lose all this time with my d-daughter!” My voice cracks with the pain I’m feeling. The hurt. The betrayal. It’s a wound that rips my heart to shreds.

The man I’m glaring at is the one who was supposed to take care of me while I grew up. He was supposed to look out for my best interests. And all he’s ever cared about is my image.

Not my heart.

Not what I really wanted in my life.

It’s like he never knew me at all.

And I’ve spent so much of my time trying to appease him, trying to win his validation as if it meant anything.

This whole time, he was the one who betrayed me. He’s the one who manipulated the situation according to what he thought was best. Turns out, it wasn’t.

Perhaps it’s that shame that makes him hang his head and slip to the floor on his knees.

“I know I have made many mistakes, Conan. And I have wronged you both. The alpha and luna of this pack. Please forgive me,” he cries, tears falling onto his lap. “I will accept any form of punishment you choose. You can even banish me from this pack.”

I turn to Hannah, eyes wild with anger, my chest heaving with uncontrollable breaths. She shakes her head again, brows furrowed, and then she whispers, “Forgive him, Conan. He is your grandfather, your blood. And he is old.”

Shocked by her soft spirit despite all he has done to hurt us, I nod once and turn back to him.