The Alpha's Forbidden Beta.

Ivory's POV.

Muffled, panicked voices dragged me back to consciousness.

"Who is she?"

"Turn her over-Goddess, it's the Beta!"

"Oh my goodness, our Beta? What is she doing out here naked?"

Of course they knew the answer to my situation. No one ended up broken and discarded in the woods the morning after a Matching Ceremony unless they had suffered the ultimate humiliation: a mate's rejection.

A rough cloak was thrown over my shivering body as two pairs of arms lifted me. I kept my eyes tightly shut, faking unconsciousness. I couldn't face their pity.

By the time they laid me down on a cot, the scent of crushed herbs told me exactly where I was.

"I'm wondering how long you intend to pretend to be asleep," a weary, gentle voice murmured.

I exhaled slowly, forcing my eyes open.

"Selene..."

Selene, the pack's head healer and the closest person I had to a mother, sat beside me. Her worn hands brushed the tangled hair from my forehead.

"Easy, child. What happened last night?"

I turned my face away, my jaw tightening.

"I can't."

"You were rejected... weren't you?" she asked softly.

The blunt truth hurt deeper than the physical injuries. I swallowed the lump in my throat, staring at the ceiling.

"...Yes."

Her hand stilled on my forehead.

"Who is he, Ivory?"

"I don't know," I admitted, a tear escaping down my cheek. "His wolf was a massive grey. And... he wore a heavy gold chain around his neck."

Selene froze.

The sudden, absolute silence in the tent made my chest constrict. She knew exactly who he was.

"A gold chain?" she whispered, her voice laced with dread.

"Yes," I replied, sitting up despite the pain wracking my ribs. "Selene, who is my mate?"

"Get some rest, Ivory," she said evasively, standing up and refusing to meet my eyes. "We will speak later."

Her deflection sent a spike of adrenaline through my heart. For fuck's sake, I didn't need rest; I needed answers.

The moment Selene cleared the tent, I threw off the blanket, found a heavy tunic and leather coat, and stepped out into the crisp morning air.

Outside, pups shrieked in innocent play, and women bowed respectfully as I walked past. I was their formidable Beta. But if they saw the fractured, desperate woman beneath the coat, would they still bow?

I marched directly toward the Alpha's lodge to account for my absence during the ceremony.

At the entrance, the Gamma intercepted me, his face drawn.

"The Alpha has been in strict seclusion since last night, Ivory," Zane said cautiously. "He ordered that he not be disturbed."

My brows furrowed.

"Why?"

Zane hesitated, gesturing toward the private, heavily guarded wing of the lodge.

"He didn't say. But... if it's urgent, you know where he is."

I didn't wait for permission.

I strode down the quiet corridor, my boots clicking against the floor. But as I neared the heavy oak door of the Alpha's private quarters, the familiar scent of jasmine and vanilla honey sent my wolf stirring.

My breath hitched.

My mate was in the lodge?

Before I could even process the thought, the door swung open. The air in the hallway instantly thickened with his suffocating presence.

There he stood. Bare-chested, muscular, and exuding pure dominance.

And resting against his collarbone was the heavy golden chain.

My knees nearly buckled.

"Draven... it's you?"

The Alpha of our pack. My childhood friend and my leader.

Fuck, how could this happen?

My eyes took in the sharp lines of his face and the hard contours of his chest. The mate bond flared, demanding I throw myself into his arms.

I stepped forward, completely undone.

"Draven-"

"Stay back, Ivory," he warned, his voice dangerously strained.

His jaw was clenched so tightly a vein throbbed in his temple. His knuckles turned white on the doorframe.

He was fighting it, fighting us.

My wolf snarled in offense.

Mates do not refuse each other.

"No, I'm coming right in."

I stepped past his broad shoulder, slipping into his room before he could shut me out.

"You've lost your mind," Draven groaned, dragging a hand through his dark hair as he slammed the door shut behind us.

He turned to face me, his dark eyes burning.

"You know this is forbidden."

His words hit me like cold water.

He was right.

In the Obsidian Pack, the lineage was absolute. An Alpha and a female Beta mating was considered a taboo-a disruption of the hierarchy due to a historical tragedy that had occurred about a century ago.

But as he stepped closer, the bond pulled us together until I could feel the heat radiating from his skin. His dark, ravenous gaze dropped to my lips.

"Draven, I know this is wrong, but we can't help it, can we?" I whispered, my body betraying my mind as I leaned into his space.

With a groan, Draven lost his grip on his control.

He closed the distance, his hands gripping my waist as his lips crashed into mine.

The kiss was hot, desperate, and punishingly needy. I moaned against his mouth, wrapping my legs around his waist and pulling him against me as his teeth nipped my bottom lip.

A rational voice in the back of my mind screamed:

If anyone opens that door, we are ruined.

I crushed the voice.

Nothing mattered but the fire in his touch.

His mouth trailed down my jaw, leaving a path of sensual heat before burying itself in the crook of my neck. I gasped, tilting my head back to give him better access.

The mating spot ached for his teeth.

"Mark me, Draven," I pleaded, my fingers tangling in his hair. "Please... complete it."

He froze.

His breath hit my sensitive skin, hot and ragged.

Then he forcefully shoved me away.

"No," he breathed out, staggering back. "I can't do this."

My heart plummeted into an icy abyss.

"Draven?"

"Get out, Ivory."

The sheer coldness in his tone sent a shudder through my body. His eyes had flared a dangerous, unnatural red, green veins bulging across his forehead as he fought the internal beast.

The incomplete bond threw a blinding headache straight into my temples.

"Draven, separating will only make this hell!" I shouted, tears finally spilling over.

"You don't understand the cost!" he roared back, his face flushing deep red. "A century ago, when an Alpha and a female Beta fell in love, the pack became nearly extinct," he said.

"But we can choose not to act like them! We can show everyone that this can be a good thing," I countered.

"Ivory, I will not be the one to destroy my family's legacy."

A bitter ache formed in my chest.

"You only care about yourself," I whispered, the tears hot on my face. "We are bleeding out from the same bond, and all you care about is your fucking title?"

"I need time to think!" he groaned, gripping his head. "I have to think!"

"Change the rules, Draven! You're the Alpha!" I screamed, turning on my heel.

I slammed his heavy oak door behind me so hard the sound echoed through the entire corridor.

I hurried out of the lodge, aggressively wiping my face.

On the steps, I collided with a young pack messenger.

"Beta? Are you alright? You're crying," he said, his eyes wide with concern.

"I'm fine," I snapped, keeping my head down. "I just... hit my face against a doorpost. What is it?"

"I have urgent news regarding the Alpha," the messenger whispered.

My stomach dropped with a terrible premonition.

"Speak."

"His formal Mating Ceremony has just been scheduled. It takes place tomorrow evening."

I froze.

"What?!"