My Alpha Mate Stole Our Son from Me

The summons came at dawn.

A sharp knock on my cell door, followed by Ryan's gruff voice. "Alpha Kenneth wants you in his office. Now."

I'd barely slept, the vial of poisoned juice hidden in my pocket like a burning coal. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Leo's tired face, heard his small voice calling Sara his mother.

Kenneth's office occupied the top floor, all floor-to-ceiling windows and sleek furniture that screamed power. He stood by the glass, his back to me, hands clasped behind him like some corporate king surveying his kingdom.

"Close the door," he said without turning.

I did, my wolf stirring uneasily.

He turned then, and something in his expression made my skin crawl. Not anger. Not the cold calculation I'd expected. Something worse.

Hunger.

"You look different," he said, moving closer. "Stronger. The shift suits you."

I held my ground. "You wanted to see me?"

"I wanted to talk." Another step. "About us."

"There is no us."

"Isn't there?" His voice dropped, taking on that intimate tone he used to use when we were alone. When I'd been stupid enough to believe he loved me. "The bond is still there, Mya. I feel it. You feel it too."

I did feel it—that old pull, like a hook buried deep in my chest. The mate bond didn't die just because you wanted it to. It lingered, a ghost of what the Moon Goddess intended.

But my wolf snarled, rejecting it with every fiber of her being.

"I feel nothing," I lied.

He was close now, close enough that I could smell his scent—burnt cedar and rain, mixed with expensive cologne. His hand reached for my face, fingers brushing my cheek.

"Liar."

The touch sent electricity through me, but it wasn't desire. It was revulsion wrapped in the bond's twisted magic.

His other hand found my waist, pulling me closer. "Sara is Luna. That won't change. But you—you could be mine again. We could—"

"No." I tried to step back, but his grip tightened.

"The bond wants this," he murmured, his lips near my ear. "Your wolf wants this. Stop fighting it."

My wolf didn't want this. She wanted blood.

His mouth found my neck, right where Devon's mark sat, and something inside me snapped.

Power surged through my veins—not the borrowed strength of my white wolf, but something older. Deeper. The Lycan blood I didn't know I carried roared to life, and my hands moved before my mind caught up.

I shoved him.

Kenneth flew backward like he weighed nothing, his body slamming into the wall hard enough to crack the drywall. He slid down, eyes wide with shock, gasping for air.

I stood there, my hands still raised, golden light flickering around my fingers like dying embers.

"I'm here for my son," I said, my voice coming out wrong—layered with power that made the windows rattle. "Not for you. Touch me again, and I'll rip your throat out."

Kenneth stared at me like he'd never seen me before. Like I was something terrifying and beautiful and completely beyond his control.

Good.

I left him there, slumped against his broken wall, and walked out with my head high.

Ryan was waiting in the hallway.

He moved fast, blocking my path to the elevator, his bulk filling the corridor. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Back to my room."

"Your cell, you mean." His lip curled. "That's where Omegas belong. Or did you forget your place?"

My wolf stirred, and with her came that strange power again—the one that had thrown Kenneth like a ragdoll.

"Move," I said quietly.

Ryan laughed. "Make me."

So I did.

The command came from somewhere deep inside, a place I didn't know existed. It rolled out of me like thunder, wrapped in authority that made the air itself bend.

"Kneel."

Ryan's knees hit the floor before he could stop himself. His eyes went wide, his wolf forcing submission even as his human mind fought it. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his whole body shaking with the effort of resisting.

But he couldn't. Whatever bloodline ran through my veins outranked his Alpha's command.

"What—what are you?" he gasped.

I crouched down, meeting his eyes. "Someone who's done playing games."

I pulled the vial from my pocket, holding it up to the light. The purple liquid glowed faintly, damning.

"Wolfsbane," I said. "Mixed with suppressants. Sara's been feeding this to Leo. Your future Alpha. She's poisoning him because she's terrified of what he'll become."

Ryan's face went pale. "That's—that's not possible. Luna Sara would never—"

"Wouldn't she?" I let the question hang. "She's not his real mother. She has no mate bond with Kenneth. She's a fraud, Ryan, and she's destroying the pack's heir to protect her lie."

I stood, releasing him from the command. He stayed on his knees, staring at the vial like it was a bomb.

"You're Beta," I said. "Your loyalty is to the pack's future. Not to a false Luna who's killing it."

I left him there, kneeling in the hallway, the evidence of Sara's crime clutched in his shaking hands.

In my cell, I pressed my back against the cold concrete and reached for the bond.

Devon.

The mind-link was faint, stretched thin by distance, but it held. I felt him on the other end, his presence like a warm hand in the dark.

Mya? His voice came through broken, desperate. Are you okay?

I'm fine. I sent him the coordinates of the pack house, the layout I remembered from my time as an Omega. Kenneth's hosting an Alpha Ball in three days. Security will be focused on the guests. That's when we move.

Silence. Then: I'm coming. Tonight.

No. I pushed as much certainty through the bond as I could. Three days. I need time to get Leo ready. To make sure he's safe when this goes bad.

Mya—

Trust me. Please.

Another pause. Then, reluctantly: Three days. But I'm bringing everyone. Marcus, Elena, every warrior we have. And if Kenneth touches you again, I'll burn his pack house to the ground.

I smiled despite everything. I love you.

Come back to me.

I will.

The bond faded, leaving me alone in the dark.

Three days.

Three days to save my son, expose Sara's crimes, and escape this nightmare.

Three days until Devon came with an army.

I touched the mate mark on my neck, drawing strength from it.

Kenneth thought he'd won by bringing me here. Thought he could control me with threats and the ghost of our bond.

He had no idea what he'd unleashed.