A Rogue For The Quadruplet Alpha's.

Galen.

I walked away from Daniel as fast as my legs could carry me.

I didn’t stop, nor did I look back.

I couldn’t.

If I looked back even once, I was afraid he would see everything written across my face—the hurt, the disappointment, and the humiliation I had tried so hard to hide from him.

The garden quickly disappeared behind me as I rushed through the hallways.

My chest felt tight.

Every breath seemed harder than the last.

I kept moving until I was certain Daniel could no longer see me, not even my shadow.

Only then did I finally allow myself to run.

I ran straight to my room.

The moment I reached the door, my trembling fingers fumbled with the handle before pushing it open.

I stepped inside and immediately slammed it shut behind me.

Click.

The sound of the lock sliding into place echoed through the room.

And just like that, the wall I had built around my emotions shattered completely.

The tears I had been suppressing in front of Daniel finally escaped.

One drop.

Then another.

And another.

Soon they were pouring down my cheeks uncontrollably.

A broken sob escaped my lips.

My knees gave out beneath me, as I slid down the door until I hit the floor, my back pressed firmly against the wood.

The tears wouldn’t stop, no matter how hard I tried to wipe them away, more kept falling.

The ache inside my chest felt unbearable.

It was as though someone had reached inside and squeezed my heart with cruel hands.

"Why can’t Daniel understand my feelings?" I whispered brokenly.

My voice cracked halfway through the sentence.

I lowered my head and shut my eyes tightly.

"Why?"

The question wasn’t directed at anyone in particular.

Maybe I was asking fate.

Maybe I was asking the Moon Goddess.

Or maybe I was simply asking my wolf because I desperately needed an answer.

Any answer.

"He is a blind brat!" my wolf growled immediately, the irritation in her voice was impossible to miss. "There is no way after everything you’ve done for him, he wouldn’t know you like him!"

She let out a frustrated snort.

And damn it...She was right.

The realization only made the tears fall harder—I had done so much for Daniel, far more than I had ever done for anyone else.

I had stood beside him when it wasn’t convenient. I had defended him when others questioned him.

I had worried about him constantly.

And worst of all...I had even gone against my own brother once just to save him.

The memory made my chest tighten painfully.

At the time, I hadn’t hesitated, not even for a second, because Daniel mattered that much to me.

Foolishly, I had believed he would eventually understand, I thought he would see it, see me and see how much I cared, because ever since that day...ever since the day he saved me from that attack...something inside me had changed.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get him out of my mind, especially the way he looked at me, everything seemed permanently etched into my thoughts.

Just being around him had become enough to brighten my day.

That was why I had asked my brother for permission to accompany him on the mission to Moonbridge.

I had used every excuse I could think of, but the truth was simple—I just wanted to be near Daniel and I wanted more time with him, more chances for him to finally notice me, yet none of it had mattered.

Because in the end, Daniel had fallen for Maria.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips before another sob followed. The unfairness of it all made my stomach twist.

"What’s so special about that bitch?" I muttered through clenched teeth.

Fresh tears blurred my vision.

"Why does everyone suddenly want her?"

The question burned inside me.

Daniel wanted her.

The other Alphas wanted her.

And now...even my own brother seemed drawn to her. The thought hurt far more than I wanted to admit.

As I sat on the floor with my back against the door, tears streaming endlessly down my face, one painful truth echoed through my mind.

No matter how much I loved Daniel...his heart had never belonged to me.

"Maria."

Her name echoed endlessly inside my head. The more I thought about her, the more my chest tightened with frustration.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to push the thoughts away, but it was impossible.

I had tried.

Moon Goddess knew I had tried.

From the very beginning, I had done my best to tolerate her. I had convinced myself that she wasn’t worth hating, because she was naive and innocent.

And because of Vincent, I had forced myself to accept it. After all, there was a chance she could become my sister-in-law someday.

If Vincent l truly wanted her, then eventually I would have to learn how to get along with her.

That was what I had told myself countless times, to be mature.

Yet now, sitting alone with my thoughts, I felt all of that patience crumbling into dust.

I was completely losing it.

At this point, all I wanted was for Maria to disappear from our lives.

The thought was cruel.

I knew it was.

But I couldn’t stop myself from thinking it.

Why had she even ended up in Moonbridge territory in the first place?

Why?

Without her, everything would have gone smoothly, every mission and every plan.

Instead, every single time something needed to be done, Daniel found a reason to hesitate.

A reason to delay.

A reason to interfere.

And somehow, the reason was always Maria.

He was constantly worried she might get hurt, constantly protecting her and constantly defending her.

"She is innocent," he would say.

"She doesn’t deserve this."

"Leave her out of it."

The memories only fueled my anger.

I clenched my jaw tightly.

At first, I had tried to understand.

But now?

Now I couldn’t help questioning everything.

What exactly was Maria using to attract every male Alpha around her?

Because it couldn’t be normal.

One Alpha becoming interested in her was understandable.

Two was possible.

But almost every male around her?

No, something wasn’t right. The more I thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.

"She definitely isn’t innocent," I muttered bitterly.

"She isn’t!" my wolf immediately growled in agreement, her voice echoing through my mind like thunder. "She isn’t innocent at all." A low snarl followed. "And stay away from Daniel."

I frowned.

My wolf continued without hesitation.

"He’ll come to miss us eventually. But you keep throwing yourself at him."

The words struck a nerve and my chest tightened painfully and I lowered my gaze to the floor, as part of me wanted to argue, part of me wanted to insist that Daniel cared.

That he simply hadn’t realized his feelings yet.

But deep down.. I knew my wolf wasn’t entirely wrong.

Still, I shook my head.

"No." My voice came out barely above a whisper. "Staying away from Daniel won’t work."

I knew that better than anyone.

If distance truly made people realize what they had lost, then things would have been different already.

After leaving Moonbridge Pack as a fugitive, I had been gone for so long....but Daniel didn’t even bother to check on me.

The realization hit me like a punch to the chest every time I thought about it. My fists tightened until my nails dug painfully into my palms.

"Arrrrghhhhh!" The scream tore from my throat before I could stop it.

The sound echoed through the room and my entire body trembled, as tears burned behind my eyes again.

"It is all because of you, Maria!"

I spat her name like poison.

If she had never appeared...If Daniel had never met her...none of this would have happened.

None of this pain would exist.

My breathing became heavier as resentment filled every corner of my heart.

I clenched my fists even tighter.

"And I will make you pay for it."

The promise echoed through the silence as anger slowly consumed what little reason I had left.