The alpha who chose me

Aya

My fingers trembled as I walked past the pack hall, some of the maids and pack members gathered around in groups and gossiped about the situation between myself, cliffe and Evelyn. I never thought hateful remarks about me would affect me the way they did.

I didn’t know which hurt more, the pain in my feet or the one in my heart.

“Does anyone else think Aya looks a bit like Beta Evelyn? She has freckles under her eye, too!” One pack member chimed.

“Really? Freckles aren’t rare. If every girl with one looked like Beta Evelyn, we’d have a thousand knockoffs running around.” Another person replied in irritation.

“Let’s make Alpha Cliffe see sense and send her packing. À lowly human girl like her doesn’t belong anywhere near him!”

“If she won’t leave, we’ll stage a protest outside their house. She won’t dare show her face.” À maid said loudly and all the others cheered in agreement.

Each cruel word felt like a dagger to my chest. I quickly rushed over to the alpha’s cabin where me and cliffe stayed and immediately I went inside, I knelt to the floor crying and my eyes drifted to the old photograph on my desk, a group of children from the orphanage, smiling despite our worn clothes. At the center stood Cliffe, his arm protectively around my small shoulders. We had both been abandoned, but Cliffe’s quiet strength had carried me through those dark days.

Now, the man who once shielded me had allowed me to be exposed. The photo’s leak could only have come from two people, him or Evelyn.

The betrayal was suffocating.

My phone rang.

“Aya, are you okay?” Caroline’s voice crackled through the phone, brimming with concern.

“I’m fine,” I lied, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me.

“Don’t lie to me,” she pressed. “Do you want me to come over? I can catch the next train.”

“No,” I said firmly. “I need to handle this alone.”

After hanging up, I dialed Cliffe’s number. The first call went unanswered. By the third attempt, my frustration morphed into desperation. Finally, his deep, detached voice came through.

“Aya, I’m busy. What’s the matter?”

“Did you see the photo?” I asked, my voice trembling. “The one Evelyn posted online?”

There was a pause, then a sigh. “Aya, Evelyn didn’t mean anything by it. She was just reminiscing about our past.”

“Reminiscing?” My voice broke. “That picture has people calling me a parasite, Cliffe! How can you defend her?”

“I’m not defending anyone,” he replied, his tone calm, almost disinterested. “I’ll handle it when I’m back.”

“Handle it?” My grip on the phone tightened. “You’ve already let her tear my life apart. What else is there to handle?”

Cliffe’s voice cooled. “Don’t be dramatic, Aya. I’ve always taken care of you, haven’t I? Don’t let this get to you.”

The words stung worse than the hateful comments online and around the pack house . “Taken care of me?” I whispered. “So you keep a record of everything you do for me?.”

But the line went dead.

I didn’t know him anymore.

That night, I tossed and turned, memories flooding my mind. Cliffe had once been my rock, my protector. Now, he seemed like a stranger.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through my window, but it felt cold. My phone buzzed with unread messages:

[caroline: Aya, the photos are gone. Someone must have pulled strings. Maybe Cliffe does care more than you think?]

[Evelyn: Did Cliffe clean up your mess? Must be nice to have him wrapped around your finger.]

My jaw tightened. Cliffe didn't have the power to do that, he was only the newly ascended alpha of the crimson moon pack and not the alpha of the obsidian pack or the darkcrest pack—the top packs. He didn’t have the power to hush the wolf and human communities.

My phone went off.

It was my sister.

“Hey baby sis. Are you good?” Vivian’s voice came from the other side and I felt like bursting into tears because of the warmth in her tone.

“Yeah, I am," I said, managing to keep my emotions in check as I walked into my bathroom to wash my face.

“Do you need me to book a flight ticket for you or can you do it yourself?” She said and I could hear the sharp clicking of keyboard keys from her end.

“It’s fine I can do it myself, I’ll be back soon I just need time to round up here.”

The clicking stopped and silence ensued for a while before she continued “Ok… I love you.”

“I love you too.”