Alpha Ricardo
The cool chill from the air conditioner in the room did little or no good to calm the storm raging within me.
Hot sweat beaded across my forehead, mingling with the desire that weighed more heavily than anything else right now.
I mean, how do I sit here, drowned in agony, confined to the confines of a wheelchair, with the knowledge of being incapacitated for the longest time, while the very source of my nightmare walked freely like one devoid of sin?
It burned more severe than fire, and the sting was like a thorn unable to be scraped off my skin.
I had thought giving her the least bit of sympathy was worth it, but right now, I regretted ever giving the order to have her bathed.
"Can you please repeat what you just told us?"
My voice was sharp, and I spared no glance at the stranger who had identified himself as Neto, her ex-boyfriend.
"Thank you, Alpha," he responded, bowing slightly.
His burning gaze lingered on the treacherous lady before me for the longest time, only broken by the clearing of Nathan's throat.
"It was all a mistake. She wasn't herself when she left the house that afternoon." He paused, turning towards me.
"I followed her just after I got the call about her driving in such a mood, but I stopped a few meters away, only to find her car crash into an unknown person who lay unconscious by the side of the road…"
"That's not true," Amanda interjected, causing my brows to rise.
Mind you, I was informed of her name shortly after I was discharged from the hospital, and ever since, that name had been the ugliest of all I had to hear, not when it was a constant reminder of my pains.
"Silence," I ordered, forcing her lips shut instantly.
"To be sure enough, I watched her step out of the car and run to the bruised stranger," Neto continued, and as he spoke, the words struck every fiber of my being.
I could hear the angry grunt of my brother Nathan behind me, his fists clenched tightly by his side.
"After the ambulance came, I had to…"
"Oh, shut up, Neto," Amanda interjected again.
At that instant, the raging storm in me could no longer be tamed, not when my teeth gritted, and my arms clutched the wheelchair so fiercely that my knuckles turned white in its wake.
"How dare you speak?" Nathan growled.
Her body visibly trembled as she clutched her garment, her head lowered in dread, hiding beneath her outer cloth as though it could shield her from the storm she had created.
It would have been better if she had just shut that trash she called a mouth. But no, she was still lying, even after being caught. How pathetic.
My arm reeled over the side of the chair as I clutched her neck tighter. She squirmed, her fingers digging into the tiled floor for support.
"I see you still know how to talk." My voice dripped with pain, but also with so much command that even the floor beneath trembled in its wake.
"I will make sure you never use that voice again." I spoke more like a promise than a threat.
My eyes burned, my heart raced, and my grip tightened on her fragile bones. My grief threatened to strip the life from her.
To inflict pain on her until she begged for death. To make her rot in hell, or something far worse, which still felt insufficient to soothe my soul.
She had made an attempt on my life. She had left me incapacitated and worthless.
Not when the pain burned hotter than the highest furnace.
My grip tightened more. Her face turned pale, devoid of life. But I didn't care. It never mattered, not right now. I just wanted her to pay the hard way.
Not until familiar arms seized mine, making my breath hitch.
"Don't you think she needs to live?"
I turned, holding Nathan's gaze as he nodded.
My heart boiled. My confusion rose.
My eyes burned deeper into his, seeking answers. He was supposed to be furious, as he had been moments ago.
So what changed? Why was he suggesting she live?
"Yes, she needs to live, to pay for her sins. Don't you think so?" Nathan cut through my raging thoughts.
For the moment, I thought he was right. My arms burned, unable to let go of her. But his hands held firmly, his eyes assuring me I should release her.
Amanda dropped to the floor, her body lifeless, her limbs motionless. I spent no time staring at her crumpled form as I wheeled away from the room.
Leaving behind the cause of my misery, and whoever else lingered there.
More than ever, I wanted to clear my head, clear my thoughts, to wake up from all this. My hand paused on the armrest of the wheelchair, my eyes rolling, a tear threatening to fall, but I held it back.
I wasn't meant to show weakness. I wasn't meant to sob. Not when my predicament weighed more than the assumption that I was in charge. I was an Alpha, meant to lead, to guide, not to show vulnerability.
But that, I could not hold strong. Not when a tear slipped down. My hand quickly wiped it away before it made its way lower.
The silent steps behind me made a gulp escape my lips, my eyes fixed on the beautifully crafted rose flowers, the ones I had cherished most out of all the plants in the garden.
I had once thought my life was as beautiful as that flower. I had thought about the future, how bright it was, and the hopes it held for me with my mate Veronica and my wolf by my side.
My throat clicked, my eyes burned, struggling to hold on.
But now, my life was worse than the worst of all nightmares.
"Don't you think you should be grateful?" Nathan's sharp voice cut through the fog in my heart.
I raised a brow, my gaze questioning his words. I mean, what should I be grateful for? What was there to be grateful for, that I wasn't capable of ruling, of doing anything, while my legs were forever damaged?
His arm rested over my shoulder.
"At least you're still hanging on."
My eyes dropped, trying to wrap some meaning around those words. But then Jayson, our Beta, moved closer.
A grimace twisted his face, an indication that something was wrong…