The Alpha Who Faked Our Bond

I stayed in the infirmary longer than I thought I would, partly because of the lingering pain in my fractured ankle, but mostly because no wolf from my own bloodline came to fetch me. Not my so-called mate. Not my brothers who once swore loyalty beneath the Moon. No one, except Xavier Moonveil.

Xavier, who used to be my friend at the Academy of Claws and Shadow, back when our wolves were still learning to hunt beneath the stars. Xavier, who once confessed that his wolf stirred whenever I drew near, and whom I turned down gently, because I had already surrendered my heart to another. To Alpha Sebastian, my chosen mate.

And now, it was Xavier who stayed at my side as I healed. He brought meat seasoned with herbs that my wolf could stomach. He sat beside me while I wept, never demanding an explanation, never asking for more than I could give. His presence was steady, grounding, and his wolf’s aura kept the nightmares at bay.

The day I was about to be discharged, he wheeled me out into the sunlit grove behind the hospital, where the sacred trees whispered with the voices of our ancestors. We sat in silence, the hum of the wind and the rustling leaves filling the heavy space between us.

“I meant what I said,” Xavier murmured, his gaze steady, his wolf flickering golden in his eyes. “You don’t have to stay in that pack house full of vipers. If you want to leave with me… I’ll make sure your wolf and spirit are safe.”

I stared at my hands. They were thinner than before, trembling faintly, the claws refusing to emerge no matter how hard I willed them. So many choices, and all of them had led me here, hollow, discarded, grieving alone.

“Give me five nights,” I whispered. “I need to settle what remains. But after that… I’ll go with you.”

His smile was small, tinged with sorrow. “Then my wolf and I will wait for your call under the Moon.”

--

When I returned to the pack house, it was already past noon. The sun was too bright, the birdsong too cheerful for the kind of storm brewing in my chest. I leaned on the cane the doctor had given me, limping toward the great oak doors.

Each step was a gamble.

Choosing Xavier, a wolf I once rejected, felt uncertain, but it was better than living in a pack house where I had become invisible prey.

I pushed open the doors.

Laughter…

I froze. Inside the hearth hall, I saw them: Alpha Sebastian, Luis, Erol, and Vera. Lounging like royalty, drinks in hand, Vera’s head resting on Alpha Sebastian’s shoulder. My mate. My sister. My brothers.

They looked up at once. Their smiles vanished, as if they had seen a ghost returning from the grave.

“Oh,” Alpha Sebastian said, blinking. “Sorry. I forgot you were coming home today. How are you?”

Forgot? A bitter laugh coiled in my throat. They never visited. Not once.

Before I could speak, Vera leapt to her feet, rushing toward me with a dazzling smile. “Sister! I missed you. I’m so sorry we didn’t visit. I’ve just been so weak, but I’m better now. What about you? Feeling well?”

I stepped back, disgust crawling like spiders down my spine.

“I’m not well,” I said sharply, my voice cold enough to frost the air.

Her smile faltered. She blinked, then reached for me again. “Amara—”

I shoved her hand away. “Don’t touch me.”

“Hey!” Erol snapped, rising, his wolf bristling. “Why would you push her? You know she’s fragile right now.”

Luis followed, his eyes narrowing. “She’s been through so much. You can’t treat her like this.”

“What about me?” I demanded, my voice rising into a growl. “I lay broken in the healer’s ward. I was struck down by steel and fire. And where were you?”

Alpha Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Because you were reckless. Running in the middle of the road without your wolf. But Vera, she battles a sickness that eats her alive, Amara. She is fragile.”

“She is also my sister,” Vera added sweetly, her eyes shimmering with false tears. “Please don’t fight me. We’re both suffering… we should stand together, not—”

I shook my head slowly. “I bled too. I lost my child. But none of you came. Not once.”

The words barely left me before Vera staggered dramatically, clutching her stomach.

“Oh no,” Erol gasped. “She’s ill again.”

As expected, they surged to her side instantly, Alpha Sebastian lifting her as though she were made of glass, Luis fetching a cloth, Erol patting her back with worry.

And I stood there.

Alone.

Again.

My confession was swallowed whole, dismissed like smoke on the wind. I thought of screaming, forcing them to see me, but I was too hollow. Too weary. How could I remain in a pack where no one claimed me?

I turned and limped to the room Alpha Sebastian and I once shared. But when I opened the door, my breath caught.

Everything was gone. My garments, my photos, even the sacred trinkets I had placed upon the nightstand. In their place, Vera’s perfume, her jewelry, her dresses draped near the mirror as though she had already marked this territory as hers.

I staggered back, the cane slipping from my grasp, and when I turned, she was there.

Vera. Smirking.

She no longer wore a mask of sweetness. Only the serpent remained.

“You know,” she murmured, tilting her head, “I used to be soft. But kindness won me nothing. You stole my place, my man, even my brothers’ loyalty. Now, I am merely taking back what was always mine.”

Her smile was venomous.

“But don’t worry,” she added mockingly, “I’ll give you a few days to crawl away. I wouldn’t want the pack to see you tossed out like a stray. That would tarnish our family’s image.”

I stared at her, fury igniting. “Are you truly sick?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Of course I am.”

But I remembered. How Vera once faked fainting spells to draw attention. How she spun lies of headaches and weakness to escape duty.

“You dare accuse me of deceit?” she said louder now, her voice sharpened to carry.

Luis and Erol rushed in.

“She’s at it again,” Vera wailed. “She says my illness is false!”

“You really are the curse in this family, Amara,” Erol spat. “No wonder no one ever liked you.”

Luis stormed forward, and before I could react, he tore the necklace from my throat, the one he gave me when we were pups, a token that he would always protect me.

“You don’t deserve this anymore.”

I stood frozen, numb as ice.

They left, one by one.

And I sank to the floor, clutching my side, every breath a reminder of the pain I had endured.

But I stayed silent.

Because in a few nights, I would be gone.

And when I was, the Moon itself would bear witness to the regret they would choke on.