After My Alpha Rejected Me, I Stole His Pack

The Omega quarters were little more than a dungeon. Cold stone walls wept with moisture, and a narrow cot with threadbare blankets was the only furniture. The air reeked of mildew and despair.

"Mama, I'm scared," Mabel whispered, her small fingers clutching my shirt. Her amber eyes, so like mine, were wide with fear.

"Me too, my little moon," I admitted, wrapping my arms around her trembling body. "But we'll be okay."

I didn't believe the words even as I spoke them. How could we be okay when everything we'd hoped for had crumbled?

The door crashed open without warning. Maverick stood in the doorway, his massive frame blocking the dim light from the hallway. My traitorous heart leapt at the sight of him—five years of captivity had not dimmed the pull of our mate bond.

"Lilith." My name on his lips sounded like poison.

He strode forward, and I instinctively backed away, pressing Mabel behind me. But there was nowhere to run in the tiny cell.

"You've caused quite the commotion," he said, his voice cold and distant. "The pack is unsettled by your return."

"I never wanted to leave," I said, my voice breaking. "I was taken, Maverick. I was—"

"Silence!" he roared, his Alpha tone vibrating through my bones.

Maverick reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver collar studded with moonstones—a grotesque parody of the Luna's ceremonial necklace.

"This will help you remember your place," he said, advancing toward me.

I backed against the wall, Mabel clinging to my legs. "Maverick, please—"

He grabbed my throat, his fingers digging into my skin as he forced the collar around my neck. The silver touched my skin and immediately began to burn.

"Ah!" I cried out as pain seared through me.

The collar tightened, then clicked into place. The silver began to work its way into my skin, sending waves of agony through my body.

"Silver and moonstone," Maverick explained, his voice clinical. "It will suppress your wolf and remove your access to the pack mind-link."

I gasped as I felt Silver retreating deep inside me, her presence fading like a distant echo. The mate bond didn't break—it simply became muffled, like shouting through water.

"You're no longer fit to be Luna," he said, stepping back to admire his handiwork. "This will ensure you remember that."

He turned and left without another word, leaving me collapsed on the floor, the collar burning against my throat.

Hours passed in a haze of pain. Mabel curled beside me, her small hand resting on my chest as if trying to comfort me. The silver collar made it impossible to reach Silver, impossible to call for help through the mind-link.

I must have fallen unconscious at some point, because the next thing I knew, someone was gently touching my shoulder.

"Lilith," a familiar voice whispered. "Lilith, wake up."

I forced my eyes open to see Talon kneeling beside me, his amber eyes filled with concern. The pack's Lead Warrior looked exhausted, his usually immaculate uniform rumpled.

"Talon," I whispered, my voice hoarse.

"I shouldn't be here," he said, glancing nervously at the door. "Maverick ordered everyone to stay away from you."

He pulled a small bag from his jacket and opened it to reveal fresh meat, medical supplies, and a small wooden carving of a wolf pup.

"For Mabel," he explained, offering the toy to my daughter.

Mabel's eyes widened with delight as she accepted the gift. "Thank you," she whispered, clutching the carving to her chest.

Talon's scent—cedarwood and earth—filled the small space, immediately soothing my panicked wolf. Silver stirred within me, responding to his presence.

"I've brought food and medicine," he said softly. "And I'll keep coming, no matter what he says."

Before I could respond, voices echoed from the corridor outside.

"Talon," I warned, panic rising in my throat.

He squeezed my hand once before standing. "Stay strong," he murmured. "This isn't over."

The door closed behind him just as footsteps approached.

The next morning, Amora's voice drifted through the pack mind-link—a link I could no longer access, but Mabel could still hear through her developing abilities.

"Join me in the main hall," Amora's voice cooed. "I have something important to share with our elders and closest pack members."

I pressed my ear against the door, straining to hear.

"My heart is heavy with the recent events," Amora began, her voice breaking with perfectly timed sobs. "When Lilith disappeared five years ago, we all feared the worst."

Mabel looked up at me, confusion in her eyes. "Mama? Why is she crying about us?"

I had no answer for my daughter as Amora continued her performance.

"Some of you may have heard whispers that Lilith was taken against her will," she said. "But the truth is far more painful."

My blood ran cold as I realized what was happening.

"Lilith chose to leave us," Amora continued, her voice dripping with false grief. "She chose the rogues over her pack... over her mate."

Gasps and murmurs rippled through the gathered crowd.

"And now she returns with a child—a child born of her choice to abandon everything we hold sacred."

I pounded my fists against the door, rage and despair threatening to consume me. "Liar!" I screamed, though no one could hear me through the silver's suppression.

"She has brought shame to the memory of our former Alpha and Luna," Amora declared, her voice hardening. "And for that, we must never forget what truly happened."