My Alpha Announced His Luna Before the Pack

Two days after the announcement, I stood outside the Alpha suite with a stack of fresh linens in my arms. My knuckles whitened as I knocked softly, hoping Sofia had forgotten her demand from yesterday.

"Enter," came her voice, honey-sweet with an edge of steel.

I pushed open the door to find Sofia lounging on the chaise lounge, her silk robe barely covering her thighs. She looked up with calculated boredom.

"You're late," she said, though I was precisely on time. "The bed needs changing."

My stomach twisted as I approached the massive four-poster bed. The sheets were rumpled, bearing the unmistakable scent of Jayce and Sofia's intimacy. My wolf whimpered, clawing at my insides.

"Those sheets are fine," I managed to say, my voice barely audible.

Sofia's eyes narrowed. "Are you questioning my order, Omega?"

"No, but—"

"Then do as you're told." She rose, moving to stand directly behind me. "Or perhaps you'd prefer I tell my father about your... attachment to our Alpha?"

I flinched. She knew. Of course she knew.

With trembling hands, I began stripping the bed. Each movement released more of their scent, and my body reacted with violent revulsion. My wolf howled in agony, the mate bond screaming in protest at this ultimate humiliation.

I made it halfway through fitting the new sheet before my stomach lurched. I barely made it to the bathroom, collapsing to my knees as violent heaves ripped through me.

"Pathetic," Sofia's voice floated from the doorway. "Can't even handle a little scent? What kind of Omega are you?"

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, trying to steady my breathing. "I'm sorry, Miss Gonzales."

"Sorry?" She laughed, the sound like breaking glass. "You're a disgrace to this pack. No wonder Jayce keeps you hidden."

---

Later that evening, alone in my tiny servant's room, I pressed my palms against my temples and reached for the one connection I had left.

*Jayce... please... I can't do this anymore...*

I pushed through our bond, seeking any warmth, any compassion from the man who had once held me so tenderly.

*Please reassign me to the kitchens... anything but this...*

The response was immediate and brutal. A psychic wall slammed down between us, so violent that I gasped aloud, clutching my head. The pain was excruciating—like having part of my mind torn away.

Through tears, I sensed the message attached to the blockage:

*Do not disturb the Alpha with Omega complaints. Learn your place, or leave.*

A soft knock at my door made me look up to see Marcus Reid, Jayce's Beta, standing awkwardly in the hallway.

"The Alpha asked me to deliver his message," he said, not quite meeting my eyes. "He doesn't want to be disturbed by... pack matters below his concern."

I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat.

Marcus hesitated, then added quietly, "For what it's worth, I think this is wrong, Violet."

Before I could respond, he was gone, leaving me alone with the psychic bruise throbbing in my mind.

---

Three days later, I was sweeping the corridor outside the pack treasury when I heard a commotion. Voices raised in alarm, footsteps running.

"Theft! Someone call the Alpha!"

I froze as Sofia burst from the treasury doors, her face pale with shock—or a convincing facsimile of it.

"Stop her!" she cried, pointing directly at me. "She attacked me!"

Two Delta warriors seized my arms before I could even speak. Through the open door, I could see the treasury in disarray, a pouch of silver coins and rare medicinal herbs missing from their locked cabinet.

"I didn't—" I began, but Sofia cut me off with a dramatic cry of pain as she clutched her arm. Blood seeped between her fingers from a deep gash.

"She's been stealing from the pack for months," Sofia declared, her eyes gleaming with triumph. "Selling resources to rogues beyond our borders!"

"That's impossible," I protested, struggling against the warriors' grip. "I've never—"

"Search her quarters," Sofia commanded, her voice carrying the authority of a Luna-to-be. "You'll find the evidence there."

One of the Deltas nodded grimly and left. My heart sank as I realized what was happening. This wasn't random—this was calculated destruction.

Twenty minutes later, the Delta returned with a small pouch—the exact one missing from the treasury—and a handful of medicinal herbs. My herbs. The ones I'd collected from the forest to help treat minor injuries among the lower-ranked pack members.

"Found under the loose floorboards in her room," he reported, his face impassive.

Sofia's smile widened as she watched my world collapse around me. "Treason against the pack," she said softly. "What do you think the punishment for that should be, Violet?"