Chapter 27

Rachel POV

Backstage at The Late Late Show

"---Let her go. Now."

Nathan used his Alpha voice to command Tyler to release me. I wasn't surprised when Tyler let go of my arm. Even other Alphas responded to an Alpha command and Tyler had never had a reason to disobey an Alpha. His father had kept his respect all his life even though Nathan hadn't been born from his fated mate bond with his wife.

I moved closer to Nathan out of a need to distance myself from Tyler more than a desire to be close to Nathan.

Tyler had gotten angry with me in the past. We'd never had a smooth mating. He had never physically abused me, but I knew he was capable of losing control.

Anyone who kept themselves as tightly controlled as Tyler Wright did had to be one bad day away from losing it. A body could only take so much.

"Lewis this has nothing to do with you."

"No," Nathan stated with a cold tone I'd never heard from him before, "This has nothing to do with you, Wright. You had your chance. Fate gave you Rachel. You rejected her. She's got the scar to prove it. Leave her alone. I won't tell you again."

I knew Nathan was a powerful Alpha, but Tyler was bigger than him by a noticeable amount. If Tyler couldn't access his wolf, would he still have the physical advantage over Nathan? Could he still use his Alpha strength without a connection to his wolf?

I didn't know enough about Alpha powers to be certain. Our family had left my education as a wolf lacking in too many ways. I would never stop wishing my mother had been around to raise me with all the knowledge a proper wolf should learn from her luna.

My child would be taught everything they needed to know to function in both wolven society and the human world. I fisted my hand before my belly with the determination to protect my child at all costs.

Tyler looked as if he wanted to reach for me again; I moved behind Nathan out of instinct as much as surprise.

I didn't want him touching me again.

"You don't have the right to tell me anything. House Lewis doesn't have any fight with House Wright. Are you going to change that by trying to take my mate? Your father won't back you against my father."

John Wright was ruthless when it came to dealing with threats to Moonrise Pack. He had made waves when his son William Wright lost the ability to shift and his reaction was to bring forth Tyler Wright to take his place as the future Alpha.

Tyler was John's son, true, but he was the son of Tyler's omega mistress, not his fated mate Claire.

If John Wright was willing to force his fated mate to accept his mistress's child taking the place of hers, what would he do if he thought House Lewis was declaring war over me? Would he want control of my child because it was Tyler's blood offspring or would he feel Tyler could have another heir with his next mate?

"If you keep harassing Rachel, I'll bring you before the Alpha Council for sanction. We'll see if the Council will back you trying to play with your fated mate this way. That won't come down to my house versus yours. It'll be you against the lawmakers."

"Stop it!"

I stepped forward to put my hand on Nathan's arm. I wasn't interested in them fighting. I wasn't interested in anyone fighting because of me.

"There's no reason for any of this! Nathan is trying to help me get on my feet. Tyler, I'm sorry about your wolf. You know how much Rayne and I care for Wynd. I would never wish any harm on you or him. What do you really want from me? Do you care about me, Tyler? Or do you just want things to go back to the way they were because they made you happy?"

Surely Tyler knew I hadn't been happy in our mating. I had been relegated to a housewife position where the only ones who heard my music were the walls or maybe my best friend Bella when she came to visit. He hadn't wanted me to be connected to him in public.

I was very, very public now. Did he think I was going to be willing to go back to hiding away from the world?

"I want a chance to see if I can be happy again."

"Well, I'm sure you do, Tyler, but what about me? Do you care if I'm happy?"

"I want a chance to see if I can make you happy. I thought you were happy. I gave you everything you asked for---didn't I?"

Tyler had a point: I had never asked him for anything in our mating.

We had not been happy together, but I hadn't voiced out loud how unhappy I was and he hadn't been given any reason to believe I was miserable. I didn't spend my days crying. Tears were a wasteful extravagance to me.

I'd tried to make him believe our life was good together. Had I done too good of a job faking being the perfect housewife?

"So you want to see me? Like. Date me?"

We had never gone on dates together.

Public appearances being a problem all on their own; Tyler had never had a reason to have to court me. Fate pushed us together as mates and we accepted our relationship as inevitable.

I'd tried to court Tyler in the beginning by doing silly girlish things to encourage him to love me. I'd brought him lunch every day. I'd cooked for him constantly. I'd focused on learning his favorite foods, how he wanted his clothes pressed, what he needed to get through a day at work, and just being useful to him.

When I looked back on things, I hadn't been setting myself up as a mate as much as a very efficient personal assistant.

I'd never tried to make Tyler love me.

"I do," he finally said, "I do want to date you. If you can give Lewis another chance after all these years, I think you should be able to find it in your heart to give me another chance, too."

Had I ever given Tyler a chance at all? What choice had he had where I was concerned?

I'd thrust myself into his life in a drugged up haze then ran away from him without leaving even my name. I'd lied to him about being pregnant to get him to give me an exorbitant amount of money to bail out my criminal father. I had never went to Tyler with the intention of asking him to see me as his love and not only his lover.

"Fine. I'll go out with you. I have a lot of performances booked though so you'll have to get in touch with me to arrange a date and time. Would you be willing to travel or do I need to arrange to come here to meet you?"

"If he can meet you, I can meet you."

Had Tyler ever went out of his way to be a part of my life?

I'd spent our mating trying to make his life easier in any way I could. I had never asked Tyler to consider my needs. How could I blame him for not offering what I never asked him to give?

"Fine. We'll see one another. Just know I can't promise you won't be noticed. The press is everywhere I am these days."

"You could cancel this tour," Tyler suggested.

I scoffed at him, "Why would I give up my chance to make a life as a musician when I finally have one? I got my degree in music because I love this industry, Tyler. I deserve to have a career I love. My life can't just be about taking care of someone else."

"What about your baby?"

"That's different."

A child never asked to be born. I would never stop wanting for more from my parents and I knew I would do all in my power to ensure my child got from me more than I had gotten from my own mother or father.

"How is it different?"

"This baby didn't ask to be born. They didn't have a choice, Tyler. We have a choice to be together or apart. To live how we want to live or not. This baby will need me to meet all his or her needs. It's my duty as their mother to see they are taken care of and I will do just that. This baby won't want for anything."

"And your music career is going to ensure that? You know they're considering cutting your track from the film sponsoring this tour?"

I gaped at him in shock.

No.

Howard hadn't told me they were considering dropping "Love at the First Sight" from the film's soundtrack.

"How do you know that?"

"Moonrise Entertainment is the primary investor in the film now. We're in control of the production and they come to us with all major changes. The soundtrack is included under 'major changes,' Rachel."

"Are you going to cut my song from the film?"

Tyler sneered at me and a knock came at the door.

"Is everything okay in there?"