My Alpha Made Me Rescue His Mistress Instead

The shrill ring of my phone pierced the darkness at 3:00 AM, jolting me from a fitful sleep. I fumbled for the device on my nightstand, my heart already racing. Only one call comes at this hour.

"Olivia Spencer," I answered, my voice steady despite the adrenaline flooding my system.

"Beta Olivia, we've got a reported drowning victim in Puget Sound," came the urgent voice of one of our pack's sentries. "Witnesses say someone went under near the north pier about twenty minutes ago."

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, already mentally calculating the critical window. "I'll be there in ten minutes. Alert Ty to meet me at the equipment room."

"Already done, Beta."

I moved with practiced efficiency in the darkness, pulling on thermals and layering them with my diving gear. The clock on my wall ticked mercilessly as I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.

The equipment room was my sanctuary—a place where I held authority and purpose. Underwater body recovery was more than just a job; it was a sacred duty. I'd just finished checking my oxygen tanks when the door burst open with enough force to rattle the metal shelves.

"Where do you think you're going?" Daniel's voice filled the space, his Alpha tone vibrating with authority.

I straightened, meeting his gaze steadily despite the way my stomach twisted. "There's a drowning victim in the sound. I need to—"

"I don't care," he cut me off, stepping aside to reveal Adrianna hovering in the doorway. "We have a more pressing matter."

Adrianna stepped forward, her perfectly manicured hand resting on Daniel's arm. Even in the dim light, I could see the smug satisfaction in her eyes.

"I lost my locket," she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "It's extremely valuable—sentimental, really. It was my grandmother's."

I glanced at the clock on the wall. Fifteen minutes had passed since the call. "I'm sorry to hear that, but we have a potential drowning victim—"

"The locket is in the shallow area near the marina," Daniel interrupted. "You'll retrieve it first."

I felt my professional demeanor cracking. "Daniel, someone could be dying out there. The longer we delay—"

"Are you questioning me?" His eyes flashed dangerously, and I felt the weight of his Alpha status pressing down on me.

"The chain of command is clear," he continued, his voice dropping to that commanding tone that made my wolf whimper inside me. "As Alpha, I order you to recover Adrianna's locket immediately."

I swallowed hard, feeling the familiar burn of humiliation. Eight years of this—eight years of being forced to submit to a man who resented every breath I took.

"And if I refuse?" I whispered, already knowing the answer.

Daniel stepped closer, his voice low and menacing. "Then you'll no longer be Beta of this pack. Ty will be exiled—his training record marked as unsuitable for any pack in the region."

The threat hung in the air between us. Ty was just twenty-one, with his whole future ahead of him. I couldn't let my pride destroy that.

"Fine," I conceded, the word tasting like ash in my mouth.

Twenty minutes later, I stood at the edge of the dock, the icy water of Puget Sound lapping against the wooden pilings below. The temperature gauge on my wrist read forty-three degrees—cold enough to kill a human within hours.

"I'll need the exact coordinates," I said, adjusting my comms unit.

Adrianna leaned against the railing, her phone clutched in her hand. "It's somewhere near the third buoy. I was wearing it when I took the jet ski out yesterday."

I nodded to Ty, who stood nearby looking miserable. "I'll be back soon. Keep an eye on the rescue coordinates in case we need to redirect after I retrieve the locket."

The water hit me like a thousand needles as I dove in, my dry suit offering only minimal protection against the bone-deep chill. I switched on my underwater light, its beam cutting through the murky darkness as I descended.

"Find it quickly," Adrianna's voice crackled through my comms. "We wouldn't want the drowning victim to suffer any longer than necessary."

I ignored her, focusing on the seabed below. The mud was thick here, visibility poor. Finding a small locket would be challenging enough without the time pressure.

"Oh, Olivia," Adrianna's voice came again, casual and cruel. "Did I mention I heard the victim was wearing a custom dress? Something about a gift from Paris?"

My blood turned to ice in my veins. My mother was visiting from Paris just last month. She had mentioned wanting to see the sound at night...

"Is it someone's mother out there, I wonder?" Adrianna continued, her voice taking on a singsong quality that made my skin crawl. "How terrible that would be."

Panic clawed at my throat as I scanned the murky bottom, my professional training warring with the sudden, terrifying doubt. Could it be? No, it couldn't. My mother was safe in Paris.

But what if?

The cold seemed to seep deeper into my bones as I continued the search, Adrianna's words echoing in my mind.