Rejected by My Alpha Husband

The water in the bucket was already gray, swirling with the grime of the dungeon floor. My knees ached against the cold, unforgiving stone, the damp chill seeping into my bones. I was the mate of the Alpha, yet here I was, scrubbing the cells like an Omega, while the real power in the pack wore heels and watched me with a smirk.

"You missed a spot, Nellie," Jessica Stevens said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. She stood just outside the iron bars, looking pristine in a white dress that seemed out of place in the gloom of the underground prison.

I dipped the brush back into the water, fighting the urge to tremble. "I'll get it, Jessica."

"Good girl. Silas hates a dirty house, you know. We all just want him happy."

She leaned against the lever that controlled the heavy iron door of the adjacent cell. I froze. Inside that cell was the rogue—a feral, maddened wolf she claimed was a "rescue," though everyone knew she kept it like a twisted pet. I could hear its heavy breathing, the scratch of claws on concrete.

"Oops," Jessica whispered.

There was a metallic *clank* as the lever slipped. The heavy door swung open.

I didn't even have time to scream. The rogue was a blur of matted gray fur and yellow teeth. It hit me with the force of a freight train, slamming my back against the wall. Pain exploded in my shoulder as its jaws clamped down, tearing through my shirt and skin.

My hands flew up, not to my neck, but to my stomach. It was an instinct I hadn't understood until that very second. A sudden, fierce realization washed over me amidst the agony: *I am not alone in this body.*

I was pregnant. After five years of silence, the Moon Goddess had given me a miracle.

"No!" I shrieked, curling into a ball to shield my abdomen. "Please, no!"

The rogue didn't care. It shook me like a ragdoll, its teeth sinking into my side, dangerously close to the life I had just discovered. I felt warm blood pooling beneath me, soaking my jeans. My vision began to spot with black.

Suddenly, the heavy dungeon door burst open. A wave of power—Alpha power—flooded the cramped space. It was the scent of rain and ozone. Silas.

"Silas!" I gasped, my voice a wet gurgle. I reached a bloody hand toward him. *He came. He felt my pain through the bond. He’s here to save us.*

The rogue released me, backing away with a low growl as warriors swarmed in behind the Alpha. Silas stood tall, his eyes sweeping the scene. He looked at the rogue. He looked at Jessica, who was pressing her hands to her mouth in theatrical horror. And then, for a fleeting second, he looked at me.

I lay in a pool of my own blood, clutching my stomach.

"Silas," I whispered, "the baby..."

He didn't hear me. Or maybe he didn't care. He stepped over my outstretched hand—literally stepped over me—to reach Jessica.

"Oh, Silas!" she sobbed, burying her face in his chest. "It was terrible! The poor thing just got confused! Nellie frightened him!"

Silas wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair. "Shh, it's okay. You're safe."

"Don't hurt him!" she cried, pointing at the snarling rogue. "He didn't mean it!"

Silas turned to his warriors, his voice commanding and cold. "Sedate the rogue. Gently. We need to know where he came from. Do not damage him."

"Alpha?" one of the warriors asked, gesturing to me. "What about Nellie?"

Silas glanced down at me again. His expression wasn't one of horror or love. It was annoyance. "Patch her up," he said dismissively, turning back to comfort the woman who had tried to kill me. "Take her to the infirmary."

The darkness finally took me then, simpler and kinder than the look in my mate's eyes.

***

When I woke, the smell of mold was replaced by antiseptic and bleach. The harsh fluorescent lights of the pack hospital burned my eyes. I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in my side pinned me to the mattress.

Dr. Evans stood by the window, reviewing a chart. He was an old man, kind but bound by the pack's brutal hierarchy. When he turned to face me, his eyes were filled with a pity that made my blood run cold.

"Nellie," he said softly.

My hand went instantly to my stomach. It felt... empty. The tiny spark of warmth I had felt during the attack was gone, replaced by a hollow, aching void.

"No," I whispered.

"Your body took too much trauma," Dr. Evans said, his voice heavy. "Without a wolf to speed up your healing... the damage was too severe. You lost the pup, Nellie. I'm so sorry."

A scream built in my throat, but it never made it out. It died in my chest, turning into a sob that racked my entire body. I had been a mother for five minutes. Just five minutes.

The door opened. I looked up through my tears, a foolish, broken part of me hoping Silas was coming to grieve with me. To hold me.

Silas walked in, looking crisp and clean. He stopped at the foot of the bed, his arms crossed over his chest.

"You're awake," he stated. Not a question.

"I lost the baby," I choked out, the words tasting like ash. "Silas, I was pregnant."

He didn't flinch. He didn't drop to his knees. He just let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"This is a mess, Nellie," he said, his tone scolding, as if I had broken a vase rather than lost our child. "Jessica is beside herself. She's been crying for hours because you provoked her pet."

I stared at him, the air leaving my lungs. "I... I provoked it?"

"You know that rogue is skittish. You shouldn't have been so loud with your cleaning supplies," he said, narrowing his eyes at me. "Next time, try to be more careful. I have enough headaches dealing with the council without you causing scenes in the dungeon."

He checked his watch, already bored of the conversation. "Get some rest. You have work to catch up on when you're discharged."

He turned and walked out, leaving the door slightly ajar. I stared at the empty space where my mate had stood, and for the first time in five years, the hope in my heart didn't just crack. It shattered completely.