After My Alpha Rejected Me, My Father Declared War

The Silverfang Alliance's healing chambers had done wonders for my body, but my soul remained fractured. I sat on the edge of my bed, fingers tracing the empty spot at my throat where my mother's Luna amulet once rested. The silver crescent moon pendant had been her final gift to me before she died—the last physical connection to both her and my royal heritage.

"I need to get it back," I whispered to myself, my voice stronger than it had been in weeks.

My father appeared in the doorway, his powerful frame filling the space. "You're planning something dangerous," he stated, his golden eyes seeing right through me.

I met his gaze without flinching. "I left my mother's amulet behind."

"You'll have it back," he promised, his voice gentle but firm. "My warriors are preparing to march on the Crimson Fang Pack within the week."

"By then it might be too late," I argued, rising to my feet. "Melody knows what that amulet means to me. She'll destroy it just to hurt me."

I could see the conflict in his eyes—the need to protect me warring with respect for my autonomy. Eight years of separation had created a chasm between us, but in moments like this, I could see the father I'd once adored.

"I don't need an army," I said quietly. "I designed their security system. I know every blind spot, every weakness."

"Jane..." he began, but I cut him off.

"Please, Father. Let me do this one thing myself."

---

The night wrapped around me like a cloak as I approached the Crimson Fang pack house. Three weeks had passed since my escape, and the place looked different somehow—diminished, as if the life was draining from it.

I moved silently through the shadows, my body remembering the paths I'd walked for eight years. The guards followed the same patterns I'd designed, making their movements predictable. I slipped past the outer perimeter with ease, a ghost haunting familiar halls.

The pack house was quieter than usual. Many of the younger wolves had been sent on "training missions"—a fact that had not escaped my notice during my surveillance. Melody was stripping the pack of its future strength, just as she was draining its resources.

I made my way to what had once been my bedroom, heart pounding against my ribs. The door creaked slightly as I pushed it open, and I froze, listening for any response. Nothing.

The room looked the same, yet different—like a stage set rather than a living space. I crossed to the far corner, where a loose floorboard concealed my most precious possessions.

My fingers worked quickly, prying up the board to reveal the small cavity beneath. There, wrapped in silk, lay my mother's amulet—the silver crescent moon catching the moonlight filtering through the window.

Relief flooded through me as I clasped it around my neck, the familiar weight settling against my skin like coming home.

Then I caught it—the subtle shift in the air. My scent. My distress. The unmistakable tang of royal blood.

"Find her!" someone shouted from below. "The rogue is in the house!"

Cursing my carelessness, I bolted for the door, but it swung open before I could reach it.

"Look what we have here," Melody's voice dripped with false sweetness as she stood in the doorway, Kyren at her side. "The disgraced Luna returns."

I backed away, my hand instinctively going to the amulet at my throat.

"Still wolfless, I see," Melody continued, her eyes gleaming with malice. "What a pathetic sight."

Kyren's expression was unreadable, but I could see the calculation in his eyes. "You've come back to die, Jane."

Before I could respond, Melody let out a piercing scream. "Help! The rogue has returned to kill me! The true heir is under attack!"

Heavy footsteps thundered down the hall as Jett, the pack's Gamma, appeared with a dozen warriors behind him. His massive frame filled the doorway, his eyes narrowing as he took in the scene.

"Luna Melody, are you harmed?" he asked, his loyalty to the pack hierarchy evident in every line of his body.

"No, Jett," Melody replied, her voice trembling perfectly. "But she's here to finish what she started. She wants to assassinate the true royal heir!"

Jett's gaze fell on me, confusion and anger warring in his expression. "The Luna said you were dead."

"Clearly not," I replied, straightening my spine despite the odds against me.

Melody's face twisted with hatred. "Execute her," she ordered. "This rogue has come to destroy everything we've built."

Kyren crossed his arms, a cruel smirk playing at his lips as he watched the scene unfold.

Jett hesitated only a moment before his loyalty to pack hierarchy won out. With a nod to his warriors, he advanced toward me.

"Luna's orders," he growled, and lunged forward.