Alpha's Arrogance, His Downfall

The weekly pack meeting droned on as I sat in my usual spot at the far corner of the grand hall, invisible as always. Eight years of being Alexander's mate, yet I might as well have been a ghost haunting the Blackwood Pack house. My fingers absently traced the silvery scars on my palms—permanent reminders of the healing ritual that had bound us together and saved his life.

I kept my eyes down, focusing on the intricate patterns of the wooden floor rather than the cold, dismissive glances from Eleonora Blackwood across the room. The former Luna never missed an opportunity to remind me of my place—a placeholder, an inconvenience, never truly worthy of standing beside her son.

'So we're agreed on the territory negotiations with the Silver Creek Pack?' Alexander's commanding voice filled the room, his Alpha aura pulsing with authority that made the wolves around him instinctively lower their gazes.

All except me. The mate bond had granted me that small mercy at least—immunity to his Alpha tone. Sometimes I wondered if that was why he resented me so deeply.

'Yes, Alpha. And about the other matter...' Beta Caleb's voice trailed off meaningfully.

I was about to tune out as I always did during these discussions when suddenly Alexander's voice slipped into my mind through our pack link. He wasn't speaking to me—he never did—but to Caleb.

'I've already spoken with Victoria. Once the rejection ceremony is complete, she'll move into the Luna quarters. Make sure everything is prepared.'

My heart stopped. The blood in my veins turned to ice.

'Are you certain about this, Alpha?' Caleb's concerned voice echoed in the mind-link. 'The consequences of rejecting a true mate—'

'She was never my true mate.' Alexander's mental voice was sharp with contempt. 'The bond was an accident, a mistake. Victoria is who I've always wanted. The Moon Goddess will understand.'

I sat perfectly still, my face a careful mask while my soul shattered into a thousand pieces. Eight years of hoping, of enduring his coldness, of telling myself that someday his wolf would recognize me—all of it had been for nothing.

The meeting concluded, and wolves filed out around me. I remained seated, unable to trust my legs to carry me. Only when the hall emptied did I finally rise, moving like a sleepwalker through the corridors of the pack house that had never been a home.

Night fell, and Alexander didn't return to our chambers—he rarely did. I paced the room, my wolf whimpering inside me, urging me to find answers, to understand how he could so casually discard what should have been sacred.

His desk drawer was slightly ajar—unusual for someone as meticulous as Alexander. Something pulled me toward it, a desperate need to find some explanation for the years of suffering.

Inside lay a leather-bound journal I'd never seen before. My hands trembled as I opened it, knowing I was crossing a line but beyond caring.

The entry was dated eight years ago, the night of the rogue attack:

'I almost lost her tonight. Victoria was visiting the eastern border when the rogues attacked. I got there just in time, but one of them had me pinned. I was dying. Then that healer girl appeared—Aria Winters. She used her power on me, saved my life, but triggered an accidental mate bond in the process. The elders say I had to mark her to survive, but they don't understand what they've done. They've trapped me with the wrong woman. Victoria is devastated. I've promised her this changes nothing. Somehow, I'll find a way to break this bond and be with my true love. This mark means nothing—it was only ever about saving Victoria.'

The journal fell from my numb fingers. Eight years of my life, given to a man who had never wanted me, who had marked me only as a means to an end. My wolf howled in anguish inside me, the pain so intense I could barely breathe.

I didn't hear him enter until his shadow fell across the floor.

'What are you doing?' Alexander's voice was deadly quiet.

I turned to face him in the moonlit hallway, tears streaming down my face. 'You were trying to save Victoria that night.'

His expression hardened. 'You had no right to read my private thoughts.'

'And you had no right to lie to me for eight years!' My voice broke. 'Was any of it real? Did you ever even try to accept our bond?'

'SILENCE!' His Alpha command boomed through the corridor, the force of it making the walls vibrate. 'That bond was an inconvenience from the start. You were never meant to be my Luna.'

I flinched but stood my ground. 'Then why not reject me years ago?'

His lip curled. 'Because I needed your healing abilities for the pack. But now Victoria is free, and I don't need to pretend anymore.' He stepped closer, towering over me. 'Keep your mouth shut about this, or I'll make sure you're exiled without a single wolf to call ally. No one defies the Alpha of the Blackwood Pack.'