The Alpha Chose Her, I Took His Pup

"Are you really okay with leaving the pack-owned company after everything you’ve invested in it?"

Scarlett, who had been under my guidance for years as my trusted Delta, was clearly upset by my decision to leave. Her loyalty was unwavering, but even she couldn’t understand why I’d walk away from something I’d built from the ground up. I rested my chin on my hand and took a light sip of bourbon, the sharp burn grounding me.

At peace?

After a decade tangled in love and hate with Alpha Kohen Rice, I’d once envisioned a different future. A future where I stood by his side as his Luna, where our bond was unshakable. But when faced with a critical choice—when he’d chosen Miriam Meyer, a Beta, over me—there were no victors in this situation. You can’t turn back time; the best move in such a dire predicament is to cut your losses and move on.

Seeing my resolve not to revisit the past, Scarlett began to vent her frustrations. Kohen, in an effort to placate Miriam, had given her a cushy executive position at the company. Miriam, paranoid and suspicious, interrogated every unmated female in the pack, creating absurd rules and even banning makeup and dresses at work. Her paranoia extended to clients too, resulting in the loss of several accounts. The pack’s reputation was suffering, and Kohen seemed blind to it.

I hadn’t seen that coming. The usually composed and dependable Alpha allowing such irrational behavior. Maybe the Kohen I thought I knew never existed. Or perhaps Miriam was the exception for him. But none of that mattered to me anymore. I was done with the pack politics, done with the hierarchy that had always made me feel like an outsider.

The day I left the territory, a light drizzle was falling, the kind that clung to your skin and made everything feel heavier. My mother, ever the social climber, was busy nurturing her relationship with her new mate’s son. She ended our phone call with a few hurried reminders, her voice distant, as if she’d already moved on from me.

Just before I boarded the plane, Luciano Gordon, a Delta and one of Kohen’s childhood friends, called me. We’d met a few times during pack gatherings and were on good terms. Somehow, he’d heard about my plans to move abroad.

"Brooklyn, you don’t have to run away," he said, his voice steady but tinged with concern.

"I’ve arranged a get-together, and the Alpha will be there," he continued, as if that would change my mind.

"Let’s clear the air; we can still be friends."

I almost laughed. Friends? After everything? After he’d rejected me in front of the entire pack, after he’d chosen Miriam over me, after he’d let her turn the pack into a paranoid nightmare? There was no friendship left to salvage. The bond between us was broken, and I was done pretending otherwise.

"I’m not running away, Luciano," I said, my voice firm. "I’m moving on. Tell the Alpha that."

I ended the call before he could respond, the weight of my decision settling over me like the rain outside. It was time to leave the past behind, to find a life where I wasn’t just an Omega, a pawn in someone else’s game. I had a future to build, one that didn’t involve Kohen Rice or the pack that had never truly been my home.