Betrayed by My Alpha Mate

I woke to the sound of shouting and heavy footsteps thundering down the hallway of the Omega quarters. My arm still throbbed from Victoria's 'accident' with the scalding coffee three days ago, the blisters having barely begun to heal. The burn seemed like a cruel metaphor for my life—raw, exposed, and treated with indifference by everyone around me.

The door to my tiny room burst open without warning. Beta Ronan stood in the doorway, his massive frame blocking the light from the hallway, two Delta guards flanking him with stern expressions.

"Omega Isabella Hayes," he announced, his voice carrying that official tone that made my stomach clench. "You're summoned to the council chamber immediately."

"What's happening?" I asked, pulling my thin robe tighter around my nightgown.

Ronan's eyes narrowed. "The Alpha's sacred moonstone artifacts are missing. A routine search has been ordered for all Omega quarters."

My blood ran cold. The moonstone artifacts were ancient relics passed down through generations of Sterling Alphas. They were said to hold the pack's collective power, symbols of the Alpha's divine right to rule.

"Search all you want," I said, stepping aside. "You won't find anything here."

The Deltas tore through my few possessions without ceremony—upending my mattress, emptying my small dresser, scattering my clothes across the floor. I watched in stunned silence, the mate bond in my chest twisting with anxiety. Something was very wrong.

Then one of the guards straightened, holding up a small velvet pouch with trembling hands. "Beta Ronan," he said, his voice hushed with reverence and horror. "The moonstones."

"That's impossible," I whispered, staring at the pouch. "I've never seen those before in my life."

Beta Ronan's expression hardened. "Seize her."

Rough hands grabbed my arms, twisting them behind my back. The guard holding my burned arm squeezed deliberately, making me cry out as pain lanced through the raw skin.

"I didn't take them!" I protested as they dragged me from the room. "This is a mistake—someone planted those!"

But my words fell on deaf ears.

---

The council chamber was packed when they brought me in. Word had spread quickly through the pack, and dozens of eyes watched with barely concealed disdain as the guards forced me to my knees before the raised dais where the pack leadership sat.

Alexander occupied the center seat, his face a cold mask of authority. Victoria sat beside him, her lips curved in a smile that didn't reach her eyes. My mother—Luna Ashford—was there too, her gaze sliding over me as if I were nothing but an unpleasant stain on the floor.

"Isabella Hayes," Beta Ronan's voice echoed through the chamber as he stood to address the gathering. "You stand accused of stealing the sacred moonstone artifacts of the Sterling Pack—a crime punishable by exile or death."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. I struggled to my feet, ignoring the guard who tried to force me back down.

"I didn't steal anything," I said, my voice stronger than I felt. "Those stones were planted in my room. Anyone could have done it."

"And why," Victoria asked sweetly, leaning forward, "would anyone want to frame a worthless Omega?"

I met her gaze directly. "You tell me, sister."

Gasps echoed through the room. Victoria's face flushed with anger.

"Enough," Alexander commanded, his Alpha tone reverberating through the chamber. Everyone fell silent immediately. He turned his cold eyes to me. "The evidence is clear. The sacred moonstones were found in your possession."

"Alexander," I pleaded, reaching for our bond, trying to make him feel my sincerity. "You know me. You know I wouldn't—"

"Alpha Sterling," he corrected sharply. "And I know only what the evidence tells me."

He rose to his feet, towering over the assembly. "For the crime of theft against the Alpha and the pack, I sentence you to public flogging. Twenty lashes."

The room spun around me. Twenty lashes could kill a human—and without my wolf, I was dangerously close to human in my physical resilience.

"Additionally," Alexander continued, his voice devoid of emotion, "to ensure the lesson is properly learned, Healer Elias will administer wolfsbane."

A collective intake of breath swept through the room. Wolfsbane was toxic to our kind—especially to someone wolfless like me. In small doses, it caused excruciating pain. In larger ones, it could be fatal.

I looked up at Alexander, searching his face for any sign of the man who had once held me through nightmares, who had whispered promises against my skin under the light of the moon. There was nothing there but the cold, implacable mask of an Alpha protecting his pack.

"Take her to the cells," he ordered. "The sentence will be carried out at dawn."

As the guards dragged me away, I caught Victoria's triumphant smile and the subtle nod she exchanged with my mother. In that moment, I knew with absolute certainty—this was no random act of cruelty. This was a carefully orchestrated plan to destroy me completely.

And Alexander, my mate, my once-beloved, had just become their willing executioner.