The Alpha Chose Her, I Took His Pup

In the pack’s infirmary, I paced the small restroom, my stomach churning with nausea. Kohen, the Alpha, and Miriam, his Beta and fiancée, had been there earlier, their presence suffocating. They thought my condition was repulsive, but I wasn’t faring any better. Once I returned to my quarters, I collapsed onto my bed, exhaustion dragging me into a restless sleep. The next morning, the shrill ring of my phone jolted me awake.

"Brooklyn, you haven’t come home for dinner in ages," my mother’s voice scolded on the other end.

I glanced at the date and reluctantly agreed to visit her. When I arrived at her modest house on the outskirts of the pack’s territory, a new face greeted me at the door.

"Brooklyn, this is Melvin," my mother introduced her latest mate, a man whose aura was far from the polished Alphas she usually surrounded herself with. He was a Beta, his demeanor unassuming, his scent earthy and unrefined.

I sighed inwardly but didn’t comment. During dinner, my mother kept piling food onto my plate, her attempts at motherly concern feeling hollow.

"Brooklyn, Melvin has a son, Raiden, who just graduated from the pack’s training program. Maybe he could help out at your company," she suggested, her tone hopeful.

Though I had braced myself for this, disappointment still tightened my chest.

"I quit," I said flatly.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Why would you do that? Did you get into trouble with Alpha Rice?" she asked, setting her fork down with a clink.

After a moment of thought, she added, "Why don’t you grab some coffee later and go apologize? Kohen isn’t one to hold grudges."

Bang! I slammed my fork onto the table, the sound reverberating through the small dining room.

My mother immediately burst into tears, leaning on Melvin’s shoulder as she wept, "This child has always been so stubborn, making a scene and getting angry when things don’t go her way. If her father hadn’t abandoned us, would I have had to raise her on my own, enduring so much judgment? Do you think it’s been easy for me?"

Melvin wrapped his arms around her, murmuring reassurances that she wouldn’t have to face these struggles alone anymore.

"Yes, the whole world is against you, and you’re the most wronged," I scoffed, turning away from their display of affection and storming out of the house.

Since I became aware of myself, isolation and bullying had pieced together my childhood. I was merely a pawn for my mother to keep my biological father at bay. Repeated confrontations and attempts to hold on angered his family, so my mother and I drifted from pack to pack, like rogues.

No one welcomed us, always trying to take advantage of our vulnerable position. I fought like a cornered wolf to defend our rights, yet they called me a petty, fatherless stray.

"Without a strong Alpha in the house, we orphaned souls will be bullied," my mother would say. Her gentle nature led her to pin her hopes on men, constantly seeking another new mate, each with their own hidden agenda.

I was twelve when I came home to find a drunk Beta beating my mother to the ground. She was the only family I had, lying there, barely conscious. I used all my strength to fight the grown man, my small frame no match for his. Amidst the chaos, he pulled out a knife.

In that moment, I almost sighed in relief, hoping it would all end. But my mother shielded me without hesitation, wrapping herself around me, her white clothes slowly turning crimson.

In that moment, I realized—our lives were destined to be full of nothing but mutual torment.