Surviving the Alpha's Obsession

The pack dinner was a nightmare of forced smiles and watchful eyes. I sat at Alexander's right hand, the white dress Victoria had forced me into feeling like a funeral shroud against my skin. My fingers trembled as I pushed food around my plate, unable to stomach a single bite. The wolfsbane tea from earlier still dulled my senses, Aria's presence a faint whisper in the back of my mind.

My gaze drifted to the visiting Delta wolves seated at the far end of the long table. Their pack was known for their independence, their Alpha one of the few who sometimes challenged Alexander's territorial decisions. If I could just catch one of their eyes, signal somehow...

"Sarah." Alexander's voice sliced through my thoughts. "You've barely touched your dinner."

Every head turned toward me. I swallowed hard. "I'm not very hungry, Alpha."

"Our guests might think you find their presence... distasteful." His words were casual, but I felt the weight of his Alpha tone pressing down on me like a physical force.

I forced a smile. "Of course not. I'm just—"

"Kneel."

The command hit me like a blow. The dining hall fell silent as I slipped from my chair to my knees beside the table, the marble floor cold through the thin fabric of the dress.

"Tell our guests," Alexander continued, his voice pleasant as he sipped his wine, "what your only crime is."

Humiliation burned through me as every eye in the room fixed on my kneeling form. Victoria smirked from her seat across the table.

"My... my only crime is weakness," I whispered, the words acid on my tongue.

"Louder," Alexander commanded. "So our guests can hear."

"My only crime is weakness," I repeated, my voice echoing in the silent hall. "I am a late bloomer, unworthy of an Alpha's attention."

Alexander's hand came to rest on my head, a mockery of affection. "And yet I chose you anyway. Remember that, Sarah."

I kept my eyes fixed on the floor, feeling the pitying glances of the visitors. No one would help me. No one would dare challenge an Alpha in his own territory.

I was truly alone.

---

"You embarrassed me tonight," Alexander said later, his voice cold as he escorted me back to my room. Except it wasn't my room he led me to—it was Catherine's shrine.

"I didn't mean to," I said, panic rising as I realized where we were headed. "Please, Alexander, not this room."

"You need time to reflect on your behavior," he replied, unlocking the door. "Perhaps surrounded by Catherine's things, you'll learn how a proper Luna conducts herself."

He pushed me inside, the cloying lavender scent immediately making my head swim. "Victoria will bring your tea in the morning. Until then, I suggest you contemplate your failures."

The lock clicked behind him, and I was alone in the dead woman's shrine. My fingers curled into fists as I fought back tears. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of breaking down.

I paced the room, examining the photographs that lined the walls. Catherine's face stared back at me from every angle—beautiful, serene, perfect. The woman I had been chosen to replace. The woman whose death had twisted Alexander into the monster he now was.

As darkness fell, despair threatened to overwhelm me. The wolfsbane was wearing off, but Aria remained subdued, exhausted from fighting its effects.

*We need to rest*, I told her silently. *Gather our strength*.

I curled up on the edge of the bed, as far from Catherine's pillow as possible, and closed my eyes.

Hours later, I woke to Aria's urgent voice in my head.

*Sarah! Listen!*

I sat up, heart pounding. "What is it?"

*The wardrobe. Look behind it.*

Frowning, I slipped from the bed and approached the massive oak wardrobe that held Catherine's clothing. It was pushed flush against the wall, too heavy for me to move in my weakened state.

*Not move it*, Aria insisted. *Inside. The back panel.*

I opened the wardrobe doors, pushing aside the hanging dresses that smelled of mothballs and artificial lavender. Running my fingers along the back panel, I felt a slight give in one section.

A false panel.

With trembling hands, I pressed against it, and it slid aside to reveal a narrow ventilation shaft, just wide enough for a person to squeeze through.

An escape route.

Hope, dangerous and fragile, bloomed in my chest as I peered into the darkness beyond.