The Alpha Who Faked Our Bond

“She is fading. Do not be selfish. Be useful for once. Be her blood bank.”

The Alpha’s command slammed into my mind like iron shackles.

“No,” I growled, wrenching my arm free from Alpha Sebastian’s grip, my wolf’s heartbeat thrumming fiercely beneath my skin. “I will not give her my blood.”

Alpha Sebastian’s amber eyes darkened, glowing faintly as his wolf stirred. “Amara, don’t start this again. She carries blood-sickness. The healers cannot save her without you. You are her match.”

“That is not my fault,” I snapped, planting my feet as though I stood in front of a rival Alpha. “She is not the only one who bleeds in this family. She is not the only one who suffers.”

Erol stepped forward, his dominance pressing against me like an unwanted weight. “Why are you always so selfish? She is dying!”

“She is not dying,” I hissed, my wolf clawing at my chest, demanding release. “She has been faking weakness her entire life. Even as children, she played at being fragile just to escape her duties. And you all still coddle her like she is the Moon’s chosen.”

Luis’s voice cut through the air, sharp as steel. “Enough. You are embarrassing yourself.”

Before I could shift my stance, before I could draw on what little strength remained, the three of them lunged as one. Hands gripped my arms, their combined dominance suffocating my wolf. I struggled, teeth bared, nails clawing against flesh, but I was weak from weeks of manipulation and hunger, still recovering from wounds no one bothered to heal. They dragged me like a criminal, forced me into the steel confines of the car, ignoring my growls, ignoring the fury that thundered inside me.

They hauled me to the pack infirmary.

Within the hour, I was strapped down like a rogue, silver buckles biting into my wrists, the sterile reek of the room smothering the wild in me. My pleas meant nothing. They silenced me as the healers drained me, vial after vial, blood filling bag after bag. I watched my life seep out of me, feeding a lie, while nurses shook their heads at the unnatural quantity demanded by my own kin.

The world dimmed, shadows closing in, until everything was swallowed by darkness.

When I woke, my body felt hollow, my wolf curled deep within me, snarling weakly, starved and betrayed. My veins felt like ice. My vision cleared only enough to see the one face I least wished to behold.

Vera.

She sat perched at the edge of the bed, fragile as a wilting flower, a tray balanced in her lap. “You’re awake,” she said softly, her voice wrapped in false honey. “I brought you food.”

For the briefest flicker of a heartbeat, my chest ached to believe her. That perhaps she cared, perhaps she wanted me whole.

Then memory struck, sharp as claws to flesh.

I shoved the tray aside, porcelain shattering as the plate clattered to the floor.

The door burst open. Alpha Sebastian. Erol. Luis. Their scents rolled in like smoke and ash, oppressive and suffocating.

“What in the Moon’s name is wrong with you?” Erol barked. “She brought you food!”

“You’re unbelievable,” Alpha Sebastian snarled. “She is trying to make peace, and you spit on her kindness?”

“She forced me!” My voice cracked into a scream, fury spilling out like blood from a wound. “You all forced me! You strapped me down like a traitor to my own pack!”

“Amara…” Vera’s voice softened, sweetened, a serpent coiling in silk. “Please. Don’t be like this. You are my sister. I only wanted to heal what is broken.”

She leaned closer, her lips brushing my ear, her breath warm against my skin.

“You see now?” she whispered. “They do not want you anymore. So behave.”

I froze, a shiver of rage sparking through me.

Alpha Sebastian’s gaze burned into me. “Apologize. Now.”

“I did nothing wrong,” I spat, but my voice trembled with exhaustion.

“Amara.” Luis’s tone carried the warning of an Alpha command.

I swallowed back every scream, every howl clawing at my throat. “Fine,” I whispered. “I’m sorry.”

Not out of guilt. Not out of surrender. But because I was too weary to fight all of them at once.

They nodded, satisfied, as though I were some disobedient pup who had finally learned obedience. I turned my face away, closing my eyes, feigning sleep while they comforted Vera, soothing her crocodile tears. I remained that way until their scents faded from the room.

Later that night, the vibration of my phone broke the silence.

Xavier Moonveil: Tomorrow is the day. Still ready?

My breath steadied. My fingers trembled, then moved with resolve.

Me: Yes.

The morning came with dread. My body ached, hollowed by loss, but my heart ached more. I longed to stay in the infirmary, to vanish into shadow, but Alpha Sebastian’s command had been absolute.

“We need this,” he had said, voice flat, Alpha command threaded through his words. “You owe it to Vera, and to us, to stop behaving like a child. You promised me a date. You will go.”

And so I went. Not because my heart longed for him. Not because hope lived in me anymore. But because saying no meant more chains, more blame, more voices pressing guilt into my skull until even my wolf was silenced.

I wore the dress I had worn on our first night together, back when I believed in things like mates and forever. Back when his hand had felt like a vow, not a shackle. Back when I thought I was chosen.

He said we would meet at the restaurant, just the two of us, to begin again. So I waited.

I arrived early. I sat. The waitress brought water. Time dripped like poison. Minutes turned to hours. My phone remained silent. My heart remained still.

Until it buzzed.

Vera: Oops. Seems they can’t see you today, sister. They are occupied with me. Enjoy your meal. Alone.

Attached was a photograph of them together. Smiling. Radiant. Whole.

Once, I might have wept. But my wolf was stirring now, no longer lulled to sleep by their chains.

I rose, steady, head high. I called for the manager and left behind a bundle wrapped in worn parchment and quiet finality, a copy of the false marriage certificate, the report of the pup I lost, and the ring he had pressed into my hand five years ago.

“If they ever come searching,” I told him, “tell them Amara is gone. That she belongs to them no more.”

The bell above the door chimed as I stepped into the night air.

Xavier Moonveil was waiting at the curb, his presence calm yet fierce, his hand outstretched. “Ready?”

“More than ever,” I said, my wolf lifting her head within me, restless at last.

Together we drove, the city lights fading into the distance. At the airport, I removed the SIM card from my phone, a lifetime of chains condensed into a sliver of plastic. I tossed it into the bin without hesitation.

As I boarded the plane beside Xavier, calm spread through me like the first breath of a storm. Tomorrow, when they search for me, when they finally realize I am gone, they may call me.

But the Moon had heard my vow.

And I swear they would never find me again.