My Alpha Left Me for a Fake Princess

The silence in the kitchen was deafening, broken only by the hum of the refrigerator and the frantic thudding of my own heart. My eyes were locked on the small, broken body of my dog. Luna wasn’t moving. Her little chest, usually rising and falling with excited breaths, was still. Blood pooled around her muzzle, staining the pristine white tiles a horrific crimson.

"No," I whispered, the word scraping against my raw throat. "No, no, no..."

I scrambled forward, ignoring the glass shards of the moonstone dagger that sliced into my knees. I didn't care. I reached for her, my hands trembling so violently I could barely touch her soft fur. She was still warm.

"Get away from it," Luna Austin’s voice cut through the air, sharp and disgusted. "Don't get that filth on my floor."

I didn't listen. I couldn't. I pulled my little Luna into my lap, cradling her head against my chest, sobbing into her fur. She was the only one. The only living thing in this entire cursed pack that had ever looked at me with love instead of disdain. And now she was gone because of *her*.

I looked up, my vision blurred with tears, locking eyes with Emelia. She was feigning shock, pressing a hand to her mouth, but her eyes were dancing with cruel delight. She was enjoying this. She had taken my identity, my mate, and now the only innocent thing I had left.

"You monster," I choked out, my voice thick with grief.

"Katherine!" Leo barked, stepping forward. But he didn't move toward me. He moved toward Emelia, placing a protective hand on her shoulder. "Watch your tone. Emelia is a guest. A Royal guest."

"She killed my dog!" I screamed, the sound ripping out of me. "She murdered her!"

"It was an accident," Emelia whimpered, leaning into Leo. "My wolf... she's just so powerful. I sensed a threat. I thought the beast was going to attack me."

"A threat?" I laughed, a broken, hysterical sound. "She was a ten-pound terrier! She loved everyone!"

I tried to stand, clutching Luna's body to my chest, a fire igniting in my belly that I hadn't felt in three years. It wasn't just anger. It was something ancient. Something primal. My inner wolf, who had been curled in a ball of misery for so long, suddenly stood up. She shook off the chains of my suppression. She didn't howl. She *roared*.

*Kill them,* she whispered in my mind. *Burn it all down.*

"You need to leave," Luna Austin snapped, stepping into my personal space. "Take that carcass and get out."

"I'm not going anywhere until she pays for this," I growled. The sound didn't sound like me. It sounded like gravel grinding together, deep and resonant.

Luna Austin’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second, but her arrogance quickly returned. "You dare threaten a guest in my house?"

She shoved me. Hard.

I wasn't expecting the physical attack. I stumbled back, my feet slipping on the blood—my dog’s blood. My shoulder slammed into the rough stone of the decorative pillar in the center of the kitchen. Pain exploded in my arm, radiating down my spine. The impact knocked the wind out of me, but it did something else, too. It cracked the dam.

The suppression barriers I had carefully maintained for three years shattered.

A growl ripped through the room. It wasn't a human sound. It was the sound of a predator, deep and vibrating, shaking the very foundation of the house. The lights overhead flickered violently. The fine china on the drying rack rattled against the metal.

I looked up. For a heartbeat, the kitchen vanished. All I saw was red. I felt my eyes burn, the gold of my true lineage flashing so bright it illuminated the dim corner where I had fallen.

Leo took a step back, his face draining of color. He looked at me, really looked at me, and for the first time, I saw fear in his eyes. He sensed it. He sensed the power rolling off me in waves, a power that dwarfed his own Alpha aura.

But his fear quickly turned to defensiveness. He looked at Emelia, who was now genuinely cowering behind him, clutching his arm.

"Leo!" Emelia shrieked. "She's going to shift! She's crazy! Save me!"

Leo’s jaw tightened. He didn't see his mate in pain. He didn't see the injustice. He only saw a threat to his new prize.

He squared his shoulders, his chest puffing out with false bravado. He drew in a deep breath, channeling his Alpha command.

"KATHERINE!" he bellowed, his voice laced with the heavy, crushing weight of an Alpha order. "SUBMIT, OMEGA!"

The command hit me like a physical blow. It was a sledgehammer to my skull. Because I was still fighting my own wolf, still trying to keep the Royal beast from tearing the house apart, his command caught me in the middle. It forced my human side to bow while my wolf fought back.

The pain was blinding. I screamed, clutching my head, my knees hitting the floor hard. It felt like my bones were being ground to dust. Blood trickled from my nose, dripping onto the floor to mix with Luna’s.

"down!" Leo roared again, pointing a finger at me. "Stay down!"

My forehead touched the cold tile. I was panting, gasping for air, my body trembling uncontrollably. My wolf was snarling, thrashing against the command, but the years of suppression had weakened my connection to her. I couldn't break the Alpha tone. Not yet.

"Look at her," Leo sneered, his voice dropping to a disgusted whisper. "Unstable. Violent. You provoked this, Katherine. You brought that filthy animal in here knowing Emelia’s wolf is sensitive to threats."

I couldn't speak. I could only glare up at him through my hair, hate burning in my chest where love used to be.

"She's dangerous, Leo," Luna Austin said, smoothing her skirt as if she hadn't just assaulted me. "We can't have her running loose. Not with the Alpha's Gathering tomorrow night. She'll ruin everything."

Leo nodded, pulling Emelia into his side. He kissed the top of her head, soothing her fake sobs. "You're right. We can't take chances."

He looked down at me, his eyes cold and empty. "Guards! Take her to the cellar. Lock her in. She stays there until the ceremony tomorrow."

Two burly enforcers stepped forward, grabbing me by the arms and hauling me up. I didn't fight them. I couldn't. My body was broken, my heart was shattered, and my only friend was dead in my arms.

"I'll deal with you publicly tomorrow," Leo said, turning his back on me to walk Emelia out of the room. "I'll make sure the whole pack knows exactly what you are."

As the guards dragged me toward the dark stairwell, leaving a trail of blood behind me, I stopped crying. The tears dried up, replaced by a cold, hard resolve.

*He wants everyone to know what I am?* my wolf hissed, pacing in the cage of my mind. *Fine. Tomorrow, we show him.*