Slapped by Her Fated Mate

My daughter Mallory’s condition worsened suddenly, and she desperately needed her parents with her. Yet, at that moment, Alpha Leo decided to leave to attend the birthday party of Beta Marina’s daughter, Brynleigh. I didn’t stop him, letting him go.

In a past life, I had kept him home with our daughter. Meanwhile, Beta Marina and her daughter were left waiting for him on the street and became the target of kidnappers. After her child was taken, Marina was so distraught that she took her own life. Alpha Leo blamed me, vowing I should experience the pain of separation.

He began locking Mallory and me in separate rooms during her episodes, forcing me to watch her in distress from a distance. Occasionally, he demanded that we kneel at his beloved Marina’s grave as an act of atonement. Eventually, Mallory succumbed to her illness, and I slipped into depression. In this life, I won’t interfere with Alpha Leo’s choices.

Alpha Leo was gone all afternoon. Mallory trembled incessantly, asking me where her daddy had gone. I could only give her a sad smile and hold her close, soothing her with, “Daddy has something important to do; he’ll be back later.” She wrapped her arms around me tighter, tears streaming down her cheeks as she whimpered, “Does Daddy not love us anymore?”

My heart ached, leaving me speechless. Mallory was only three, but her condition made her far more sensitive than her peers. She could tell something was wrong. In our previous life, when I forced Alpha Leo to stay, he was present in body but his mind was with Beta Marina and Brynleigh, neglecting Mallory and growing irritated at her cries.

When Brynleigh was kidnapped, Alpha Leo vented all his anger on Mallory and me. Mallory, exhausted from her pain, couldn’t even cry and could only look at me from the other room. She asked then, “Mommy, does Daddy hate us?”

The memories of Mallory’s pale face during her episodes and her fragile form in my arms, slipping away, replayed in my mind. It was heart-wrenching. This lifetime, I will not stop Alpha Leo from making his own decisions; I only wish to protect Mallory.

By evening, I could hear the pack gossips outside our house:

“That pup Mallory has such a strange condition. It must be frightening when she has an episode; even her own father doesn’t want her!”

“Your grandpup is about her age, right? Make sure he stays away from her, or who knows what he might catch!”

Mallory, who had just calmed down, started trembling again upon hearing their words. I softly patted her shoulder, trying to comfort her, but the voices outside grew louder. Unable to take it any longer, I stormed out the door and shouted at the pack women.

“What nonsense are you spreading? My Mallory is just a bit timid, so stop telling lies around here!”

The woman in charge scoffed, sneering with her hands on her hips, “If it weren’t for her episodes, why would your mate run off? Everyone knows he doesn’t like you or your pup; it’s not because of her condition!”

“Our pack matters are none of your business! Just leave us alone…”

Before I could finish, Alpha Leo’s voice rang out behind me, reprimanding me, “Sabrina! What are you yelling about? Look at you, acting like this!”

I clenched my fists, my eyes burning as I stared at him. Despite being my mate, he didn’t care about defending the truth when scolding me in front of others. The women glared arrogantly, smirking, “See? Even your mate doesn’t want to defend you, no wonder you have a troubled pup.”

I didn’t argue further with them. Instead, I focused on Alpha Leo, asking him, “Did you hear that? They called Mallory a freak!”

Alpha Leo glanced at me with indifference, dismissing my anger, and said, “They’re elders, just making jokes. Why are you getting so worked up?”

I struggled to keep my emotions in check and chose to say no more to him, turning back inside the house. The women’s chatter outside soon shifted to Beta Marina’s pup.

“I heard Alpha Leo is always at Beta Marina’s place, looking after her pup.”

“That pup doesn’t even have a father, probably causing trouble everywhere. Nobody dares to mess with him; he’s just as bad!”

Upon hearing this, Alpha Leo turned and stormed back out, yelling at them, “Who are you calling a troublemaker? Brynleigh’s not out of control! I won’t tolerate anyone bad-mouthing them!”

The women, taken aback by his anger, muttered vague apologies. I stood there, a bitter smile forming, realizing he wasn’t indifferent to pups—just indifferent to mine.

To him, whatever was said about Mallory or whatever hurtful things were done to her didn’t matter. He could scold me for being petty over a few remarks but couldn’t hold back his fury when it came to Beta Marina’s family.

Even knowing how detached he was, it still hurt. After dismissing the women, Alpha Leo came inside with an expensive-looking bag. He approached Mallory, trying to smile as he reached to hold her, asking, “Mallory, feeling better? Daddy brought your favorite spiced honey cake.”

His smile didn’t falter as he looked at me, his voice warm, “It was a good thing you let me rush to Beta Marina’s. There was an attempted kidnapping on the street, and thankfully I was there. Sabrina, it’s nice having you understand me.”

He leaned in to kiss me, but I turned away. His smile faded, yet he didn’t lose his temper. Instead, he pulled out the contents of the bag—a partially eaten cake. I chuckled, realizing he couldn’t even get Mallory a whole cake, simply bringing back leftovers from Brynleigh’s celebration.

I picked up Mallory and headed inside, coldly ignoring him. Irritated, Alpha Leo threw the cake to the floor, shouting after us,

“Sabrina, why are you so hard on me? I didn’t call your pup a freak!”

“Eat it or don’t. I shouldn’t have bothered bringing the cake for you!”

He slammed the door behind him, and the sound echoed through the house.