After My Alpha Rejected Me, I Stole His Pack

My hands were raw and blistered from the scalding water as I finished my second shift in the kitchens. The skin around my silver collar had turned angry red, the metal biting deeper into my flesh with each passing day. But none of that mattered now. All that mattered was getting back to Mabel.

I'd managed to steal a small wool blanket from the laundry room—one of the extras meant for the Alpha's guests. It wasn't much, but it might be enough to keep my little moon warm through another freezing night in the Omega quarters.

"Running somewhere, Omega?" Beta Marcus called as I hurried across the courtyard.

I kept my eyes downcast. "Just returning to my quarters, sir."

He sniffed disapprovingly but waved me away. "Make sure you're back for the pre-dawn cleaning. The Summit guests will be inspecting the grounds tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," I murmured, quickening my pace once I was out of his sight.

The Omega quarters loomed ahead—a stark, stone building set apart from the main pack house. No firewood, Maverick had ordered. No warmth for the daughter he refused to acknowledge.

I pushed open the heavy wooden door, the familiar smell of damp stone and mildew washing over me. But beneath it was something else—something that made Silver rear up in alarm inside me.

*Danger!* my wolf snarled, clawing against the silver collar's suppression.

The scent hit me full force as I stepped inside—acrid, bitter, and unmistakably toxic. Wolfsbane.

"Mabel?" I called, my voice rising with panic. "Mabel, where are you?"

The room was dark, save for a thin shaft of moonlight from the small window. I rushed toward our cot in the corner, the stolen blanket clutched to my chest.

"Mama?" came a weak voice from the shadows. "Mama, I don't feel good."

I dropped to my knees beside the cot. Mabel lay still, her small body rigid beneath the threadbare blanket. Her lips were stained purple, her skin ashen in the dim light.

"Oh, my little moon," I whispered, gathering her into my arms. "What happened?"

"The nice lady brought me soup," she murmured, her eyes unfocused. "It tasted funny."

My blood turned to ice. Kira. Amora. The wolfsbane.

"Stay with me, Mabel," I said, laying her flat on the cot. I began compressions on her tiny chest, counting desperately under my breath.

"One, two, three, four..." My tears fell onto her still face. "Please, Moon Goddess, please."

Silver howled within me, her anguish matching my own. *Fight, pup! Fight!*

"Five, six, seven..." I tilted Mabel's head back, pinched her nose, and breathed into her mouth. "Eight, nine, ten..."

Nothing. No response. Her small hands clutched the wooden wolf pup Talon had carved for her, the toy now staining with purple from her fingers.

"No," I sobbed, collapsing beside her. "No, no, no!"

I gathered her lifeless body into my arms, rocking back and forth on the cold stone floor. My tears fell onto her peaceful face, but there was no answer.

*Mine!* Silver roared inside me. *They took ours!*

The door creaked open sometime later. Talon's scent—cedarwood and earth—filled the room before he did.

"Lilith?" he called softly. "I brought some food for—"

He stopped dead in the doorway, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. "Moon Goddess, no."

I looked up at him, still cradling Mabel's body. I felt hollow, emptied of everything but a cold, growing certainty.

"They poisoned her," I said, my voice eerily calm. "Wolfsbane. Amora ordered it."

Talon dropped to his knees beside me, his face contorted with grief and rage. "We need to leave," he urged, reaching for my arm. "Now, tonight. Before they realize what they've done."

I stared down at Mabel's peaceful face, then back at Talon. Something had shifted inside me—the last remnant of hope extinguished, replaced by something darker, colder.

"No," I said, my eyes glowing with an unnatural amber light. "I'm not leaving."

"Lilith—"

"I'm going to burn this pack to the ground," I continued, my voice steady and terrible. "I'm going to take everything from them, just as they took everything from me."

Talon's eyes widened as he saw the change in me—the tears dried up, the grief crystallizing into something lethal.

"Starting with Maverick," I whispered, clutching Mabel tighter. "I will not rest until he pays for what he's done."

Silver's agreement rumbled through my bones, her bloodthirsty roar finally breaking through the silver collar's suppression.

*Vengeance,* she growled. *Blood for blood.*