My Alpha Forced Me to Take My Sister’s Crime

The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed two a.m., the sound echoing like a death knell through the silent Pack House. My wolf was restless, pacing in the back of my mind, keeping me from sleep. I slipped out of the guest room, intending to get a glass of water, when the click of a latch froze me in place.

Down the corridor, the heavy oak door to Nicholas’s private office creaked open. A beam of moonlight cut across the darkness, illuminating a slender figure slipping out.

Jessica.

She jumped when she saw me, her hand flying to her chest. In her other hand, she clutched a silver flash drive tightly against her silk robe.

“Jessica?” I whispered, stepping into the light. “What are you doing in Nicholas’s office? That room is restricted.”

Her eyes darted around, wide and frantic. For a second, the mask of the sweet younger sister slipped, revealing something sharp and ugly beneath. But just as quickly, she smoothed her expression into a pout.

“Shh, Olive! You’ll wake him,” she hissed, shoving the flash drive into her pocket. “It’s… it’s a surprise. For Nick’s birthday next month. I was leaving a digital card on his desk, but I got scared I’d get caught.”

I inhaled deeply. The air around her didn’t smell like anticipation or love. It smelled sour. Metallic. It was the scent of fear and deceit, barely masked by her overwhelming vanilla perfume.

“You’re lying,” I said, my voice hardening. “Show me the drive.”

“You’re just jealous,” she sneered, brushing past me. “Go back to bed, Olive. Nobody wants you wandering the halls like a ghost.”

Before I could stop her, she vanished into her room, locking the door behind her. My wolf growled, sensing a threat I couldn’t yet name.

***

Three days later, the threat realized itself in blood.

A patrol unit—five of our best Delta warriors—was ambushed near the northern ridge. It was a blind spot, a ravine that was supposed to be secure. They were slaughtered before they could even shift.

The Pack House was in chaos. Screams of grieving mates tore through the walls. Nicholas was a storm of rage, pacing the living room while Beta Marcus conducted a security sweep.

“The routes were leaked,” Marcus announced, his face grim. “Someone sold us out to the Rogues.”

He came down the stairs, holding a plastic evidence bag. Inside sat a silver flash drive.

My stomach dropped.

“I found this in the Luna’s jewelry box,” Marcus said, his voice devoid of emotion. “Hidden beneath her pearls.”

Every head in the room turned to me. Jessica stood by the window, weeping into a handkerchief, looking for all the world like a fragile flower.

“That’s not mine!” I cried, stepping forward. “Jessica had that drive! I saw her leaving the office three nights ago!”

“Liar!” Jessica wailed, shrinking into the curtains. “How could you blame me? I don’t even have a wolf! I couldn’t betray our pack!”

Nicholas grabbed my arm, his grip bruising. “Upstairs. Now.”

He dragged me into our bedroom—the room I hadn’t slept in for months—and slammed the door. I wrenched my arm free, rubbing the red marks.

“Nicholas, you have to believe me,” I pleaded, searching his eyes for the mate I once knew. “She planted it. You know she did. Smell the drive! It will have her scent!”

Nicholas didn’t look at the drive. He looked at me, his expression unreadable, cold as ice.

“I know,” he said quietly.

The air left my lungs. “You… you know?”

“I know Jessica was in the office. I smelled her traces there days ago.” He ran a hand through his hair, looking agitated. “But Olive, look at her. She’s a late bloomer. She has no wolf to heal her. If she is convicted of treason, the punishment is the whip, followed by exile. She wouldn’t survive the first ten lashes.”

I stared at him, horror dawning on me. “So?”

“So, you will take the blame.”

The world tilted on its axis. “What?”

“You are a Luna wolf,” Nicholas said, his voice dropping to a desperate growl. “You are strong. You can survive the punishment. Jessica cannot. We have to protect the family, Olive.”

“Protect the family?” I laughed, a broken, hysterical sound. “She got five of your men killed, Nicholas! She is a traitor! And you want me to confess to her crime?”

“I am your Alpha!” he roared, his eyes flashing gold. “And I am telling you that I will not watch Jessica die! You will go down there, and you will tell the Elders you stole the routes. If you do this, I will ensure your life is spared. I will show mercy.”

“No,” I whispered, backing away. “I won’t do it. I will tell them the truth.”

Nicholas’s face hardened. The conflict in his eyes vanished, replaced by a terrifying resolve. “I didn’t want to do this, Olive.”

***

The Council Chamber was cold, lit only by flickering torches. The five Elders sat on a raised dais, their faces stern. The entire pack had gathered in the gallery above, their murmurs sounding like angry bees.

I stood in the center of the stone circle, my hands trembling.

“Olive Bennett,” Elder Catherine intoned, her voice echoing off the stone walls. “You stand accused of high treason. Of stealing pack secrets and selling them to our enemies, resulting in the death of five wolves. How do you plead?”

I looked up at the gallery. I saw Jessica, peeking through her fingers, her eyes gleaming with malice. I looked at Nicholas, who stood to the right of the Elders.

I opened my mouth to scream the truth. *It was Jessica! Check the security logs! Check the scent!*

But before I could speak, a crushing weight slammed into my mind. It felt like an iron collar snapping around my throat, choking off my free will.

**“CONFESS.”**

The Alpha Command.

It tore through our mate bond, weaponizing the very connection that was supposed to be sacred. My wolf whimpered, forced into submission by the overwhelming power of her Alpha. My jaw locked. My tongue felt heavy, like lead.

Tears streamed down my face as I fought it. I tried to shake my head, to mouth the word *no*, but my body was no longer mine. Nicholas was puppeteering me, his will overriding my nervous system.

“I…” The voice that came out was strangled, alien.

*Fight it, Olive!* my wolf screamed.

I couldn’t. The pressure increased, a migraine-inducing spike of pain that threatened to shatter my skull if I disobeyed.

“I… stole the routes,” I forced out, the words tasting like ash. Sobbing, I collapsed to my knees, my resistance breaking. “I gave them… to the Rogues.”

A gasp went through the room.

Elder Catherine stood up, her face twisted in disgust. “By your own admission, you are found guilty.”

She raised her staff, pointing it directly at my heart.

“Olive Bennett, I hereby strip you of the title of Luna. You are a disgrace to the Blood Moon Pack. You are no longer one of us.”

As the gavel came down, I looked at Nicholas through my blur of tears. He didn’t look away. He stood tall, his face impassive, watching his mate burn so his mistress could stay warm.