His Alpha's Greatest Regret

On the day I came of age, the Moon Goddess blessed me with my fated mate, Manuel, the heir to the Riverfell Pack.

My stepbrother, Miller, the future Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, never let me forget that my mixed blood was a stain on his pure Alpha lineage.

With his silent approval, the entire pack turned on me.

At the Blood Moon Pack's annual gala, a single glance from him was all it took for his followers to "accidentally" shove me from the terrace, sending me crashing onto the stone tiles beside the icy pool. I felt my ribs crack with a sharp pain.

He gazed down at me, his golden wolf eyes filled with contempt. "Don't think being Manuel's mate means you belong in our world. An inferior bloodline deserves only to be purged. And I will personally erase you from my life."

Under his direction, they ruined my moonlight ritual, a sacred rite meant to bless our family. They slashed the custom gown for my coming-of-age ceremony with a silver dagger.

Through it all, my mother, the esteemed Luna, only watched me with shame in her eyes. My stepfather, the powerful Alpha, saw me as nothing more than a troublesome part of his marriage alliance.

I tried to make myself invisible, hoping for just a shred of pity.

But that only made me the pack's outcast, despised and utterly alone.

Then, at Werewolf University, my fated mate Manuel—Miller's own brother—showed me a kindness I'd never known.

For the first time, Miller stopped his verbal abuse.

I thought he was my salvation, the love I was destined for. I gave him my all that night—my body, my heart, and my wolf.

The next day, I overheard his conversation with Miller.

Miller's voice was chilling. "So, did you reject her publicly? Get a video of the moment the mutt broke down after you dumped her in front of everyone?"

Manuel scoffed. "Of course. Watching her heart break was satisfying. I have to admit, though, her body has this pull… almost made me lose control. Too bad for her. If it wasn't about helping you utterly humiliate her, I'd never touch someone so low-class."

I clamped a hand over my mouth, tears instantly blurring my vision.

My only hope, my one true love—it was all a lie.

But they didn't know I had already received an acceptance letter from the Valeriana Bloodline Research Institute.

And I was never coming back.

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1

Miller’s office occupied the top floor of the Blood Moon Pack's headquarters.

His grip tightened on his whiskey glass as he stared at the video Manuel had sent him.

He downed the amber liquid in one gulp. "To think she was so eager in bed, only to end up a publicly rejected mutt," he sneered. "Let's see her show her face in the Blood Moon Estate after this."

I pressed myself against the cold wall, my heartbeat deafening in my ears.

"Miller, isn't this a bit—" A hint of hesitation colored Manuel's voice.

"A bit what?" The glass slammed onto the expensive mahogany desk. "Too much?"

The sound of the rain outside masked my trembling breaths.

"She's a half-blood bitch. She and her social-climbing mother are a disgrace to our lineage," Miller's voice was glacial. "I want her gone. I want her utterly humiliated, scorned by everyone, broken so completely she'll never dare show her face to another werewolf again."

My nails dug into the plaster.

After a moment of silence from Manuel, Miller let out a derisive snort. "What? You haven't actually fallen for that mutt, have you?"

"Of course not," Manuel replied without a second's thought. "It was an act. Molly will be back soon. I don't have time to waste on some mutt."

Standing outside the door, my heart plunged into an icy lake.

Molly. Their childhood sweetheart. A pure-blood Alpha female from the Sterling family, and Manuel's first love.

"She's the one who deserves me, the one who deserves to be the future of the Riverfell Pack," Manuel's voice held a disdain I'd never heard before. "As for Nadia, she's just a tool to help you humiliate her."

I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood, my tears finally breaking free.

I had always known Miller hated me.

He blamed my mother’s presence for tainting his own mother’s noble bloodline and aimed all his resulting hatred at me.

After I became Manuel's fated mate, Miller, though still cold, had stopped tormenting me.

I thought he was finally starting to accept me. That I would finally have a family. That we could be like a real brother and sister.

I never imagined it was all just a crueler, more humiliating deception.

He and Manuel were as close as brothers. How could I have been foolish enough to think Manuel truly loved me?

So naive.

I choked back the nausea rising in my throat, turned, and fled into the downpour.

The entire city skyline seemed to be mocking me.

Returning to the estate, drenched and trembling, I emailed my professor from my bloodline studies course.

"Professor, I accept the position at the Valeriana Institute. What is the earliest I can leave?"

He had mentored me during the International Bloodline Studies Competition and was a legend in werewolf genetics.

I knew my inner wolf was weak.

I had desperately tried to be the best, yearning for the pack's approval. I wanted to use my talents to research gene sequences that could strengthen bloodlines—to help the pack, to help Miller.

But no one ever cared. Not my mother. Certainly not Miller.

I had previously turned down the position because the project was classified top secret by the Werewolf Council and required a full three-year commitment.

Now, I had no reason to stay.

The moment I sent the email, the brutal agony of the rejection sickness washed over me.

I collapsed to the floor, my body convulsing uncontrollably, my skin feeling as if it were on fire.

I struggled to reach for my suppressants, but the door was suddenly thrown open with brutal force.

My mother stormed in, holding a tablet, her eyes blazing with fury.

"You shameless slut!"

She hurled the tablet at me. The screen shattered.

But not before the image on the screen was burned into my mind.