Ruthless Alpha, and his Curvy Saint-Chapter 32

Angel’s POV

I sat alone under the tree, my back pressed against the rough bark, tears still streaming down my face in an endless river.

Pathetic.

That’s what I was. Pathetic and weak and stupid for ever thinking someone like Uriel could actually...

Voices.

Raised voices coming from the direction of camp, cutting through the evening air with an urgency that made my tears pause.

At first, I tried to ignore them. Tried to keep wallowing in my misery like I deserved.

But the voices grew louder. More insistent. And beneath them, I could hear something that sounded like... pleading?

Against my better judgment, curiosity won over hurt.

I wiped my face with the sleeve of Uriel’s coat - his coat that I should take off, should throw away, should stop wearing because it smells like him and makes everything hurt worse - and slowly made my way back toward camp.

The scene that greeted me made me stop in my tracks.

The travelers - Zach and his two daughters - were kneeling in front of the monstrous Alpha. All three of them had their heads bowed, hands clasped in supplication.

Begging.

"Please, my lord," Zach was saying, his aged voice filled with desperation. "Please reconsider. We meant no offense. We’ll cause no trouble, I swear it."

The Alpha stood over them, his scarred face impassive, arms crossed over his massive chest. His warriors stood on either side of him, forming an intimidating semicircle.

"Someone gave you an order to leave," the Alpha said, his voice cold and measured. "Who was it?"

"One of your warriors, my lord," Lyra spoke up, still on her knees. Her earlier confidence had evaporated, now replaced by fear. "He said we were no longer welcome. That we had to pack our things and go immediately."

"Which warrior?" The Alpha’s tone sharpened. "I gave explicit orders that you were to join us. Who countermanded my authority?"

My stomach dropped.

Uriel.

It had to be. He’d sent them away because of what Lyra said to me. Because she’d mocked my body and made me cry.

He’d risked everything to defend me.

And now he might die for it.

Panic seized my chest. I scanned the gathered warriors frantically, searching for him.

He wasn’t there.

Where was he? Had they already taken him away? Was he...

Kade appeared suddenly beside the Alpha, leaning in close to whisper something in his ear.

The Alpha’s expression darkened immediately. Without a word, he turned and strode away with Kade, disappearing into the shadows at the edge of camp.

The travelers remained kneeling, heads bowed, waiting.

Zach reached over to squeeze his daughter’s hand in what looked like an attempt at reassurance. Sera was crying silently. And Lyra...

Lyra’s face had gone pale, her earlier beauty transformed into something pinched and frightened.

Good, a vicious part of me thought. Let her be scared.

But the better part - the part that had been raised in the church, that had been taught forgiveness and mercy - felt a twinge of guilt at the satisfaction.

Minutes passed like hours.

Then the Alpha returned.

And the rage radiating from him was palpable, a living thing that made the air itself feel heavy.

He crossed the distance to where Lyra knelt in three long strides.

The slap came so fast I barely saw it.

CRACK.

The sound echoed through the camp like a gunshot. Lyra’s head snapped to the side from the impact, and she crumpled to the ground with a cry of pain and shock.

Everyone froze.

Even the horses seemed to still, as if the entire world was holding its breath.

"I heard what you said about my mate," the Alpha said, his voice deadly quiet. "Tell me - is it true?"

Lyra pressed a hand to her reddening cheek, tears now flowing freely down her face. "No... no, my lord. I would never... why would I insult the Luna of this pack? I haven’t even met her!"

The Alpha’s eyes narrowed. "You haven’t met her?"

"No, my lord, I swear..."

"Very well. Let me educate you." The Alpha’s voice took on a dangerous edge. He raised his head, his gaze sweeping the gathered crowd. "Angel. Come forward."

The world tilted.

No.

"Angel," he repeated when I didn’t move. "Now."

My legs felt like lead as I forced them to carry me forward. Every eye in the camp tracked my movement - curious, assessing, judging.

I stepped into the firelight, into full view of everyone, and fought the urge to shrink into myself.

The Alpha’s gaze locked onto me, and I saw something flash in his eyes. Something I couldn’t identify.

"This is my mate," he announced to the camp. Then, turning back to Lyra, "Does she look familiar now?"

Lyra’s face had gone from pale to ashen. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.

The Alpha took a step toward me. "What do you want done to this family?"

The question came as a big shock. I hadn’t expected him to put me on thespotlight like this.

Around me, voices rose immediately.

"Execution!" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Burn them alive!"

"Flay the girl and her for the crowd!"

"Make an example of them, Alpha."

Horror crawled up my spine at the suggestions - each one more violent than the last. These people were calling for death as casually as they might ask for bread.

The Alpha raised a hand, and silence fell immediately.

"Well?" he asked me. "They insulted you. Mocked you. Made you cry. What punishment fits their crime?"

I looked at Lyra, still on the ground, her cheek already swelling from the Alpha’s strike. At Zach, elderly and terrified, trying to shield his daughters with his frail body. At Sera, who’d done nothing wrong except be related to someone cruel.

Killings and violence aren’t always the answer.

My mother’s voice echoed in my memory. The lessons from the church, from the nuns, from Father Benedict’s sermons about mercy and grace.

We are called to be better. To rise above. To show the kind of love that transforms.

"They should be given another chance," I said quietly.

The camp erupted in shocked murmurs.

The Alpha’s eyebrows rose. "What?"