My Alpha Marked a Rogue in Our Mating Den

The wolfsbane burned through my skin like liquid fire, but I refused to cry out. My eyes remained locked on Colton as he knelt beside Chloe, his hands gentle on her trembling shoulders. The contrast between his tenderness toward her and his indifference to my pain was a knife twisting in my chest.

"Colton," I said through gritted teeth, my arm throbbing with each heartbeat. "I need medical attention."

He didn't even look up. "Beta James will see to it."

Selene growled within me. *Our mate is choosing her over us.*

"Chloe," Colton murmured, his voice soft in a way it hadn't been with me for weeks. "You're safe now. No one will hurt you here."

The pack warriors shifted uncomfortably, their eyes darting between us. Some looked confused, others embarrassed. None dared speak.

"I want her removed from the grounds," I demanded, my Luna authority cutting through the murmurs. "Now."

Colton's head snapped up, his eyes flashing with irritation. "Enough, Rosalie!"

"Enough?" I repeated, disbelief coloring my voice. "She deliberately spilled wolfsbane on me!"

"It was an accident," Chloe whimpered, burying her face in Colton's shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I'm just so scared around crowds."

Colton's arm tightened around her as he stood, lifting her effortlessly. The protective gesture made my stomach turn.

"Your lack of compassion for a traumatized wolf makes you unworthy of Luna status," he declared, his Alpha tone pressing against my consciousness.

The words hit like physical blows. Selene whimpered, instinctively submitting to the Alpha command before I could stop her.

I stared at him, at the man who had once worshipped my strength now using his power to humiliate me. "Colton—"

"That's Alpha Colton to you," he corrected coldly.

Before I could respond, a commanding presence cut through the tension. Former Luna Wright—Colton's mother—strode onto the training field, her silver-streaked hair gleaming in the sunlight. The elder wolves behind her formed a solemn backdrop to her approach.

"Mother," Colton acknowledged, his tone instantly deferential.

Former Luna Wright's eyes swept over the scene—my burning arm, Chloe nestled against her son, the shocked expressions of the pack warriors. Her lips thinned into a tight line.

"Release the rogue," she commanded, her voice carrying the rare power of elder wolf authority.

Colton hesitated. "Mother, she's—"

"I said release her." Former Luna Wright's aura flared, actually pushing back against her son's Alpha presence.

To my astonishment, Colton found himself stepping away from Chloe, who stumbled slightly before catching herself.

"Look at what you've become," Former Luna Wright said, her voice carrying across the now-silent training ground. "Ignoring your injured mate for a rogue wolf. Dishonoring our bloodline and pack traditions."

Colton's face paled. "Mother, you don't understand—"

"I understand perfectly." She stepped closer, forcing him to lower his gaze. "I've been watching from the elder pavilion. We all have."

The pack elders nodded solemnly from their positions at the edge of the field.

"You've brought shame to your father's memory," she continued, her voice like ice. "To think our Alpha bloodline has fallen to such weakness."

Selene stirred within me, her pride momentarily soothed by Former Luna Wright's defense.

---

After Pack Healer Elena treated my burn, wrapping my arm in cooling bandages scented with healing herbs, I retreated to our private Alpha-Luna quarters. The pain had subsided to a dull throb, but the emotional wound remained raw.

"Just rest," Elena had advised gently. "The wolfsbane was diluted, but it will still take time to heal completely."

I nodded my thanks and dismissed her, needing solitude to process everything that had happened.

Our private quarters had always been my sanctuary—the one place where pack politics couldn't touch us. As I pushed open the familiar door, Selene suddenly stiffened within me.

*Something's wrong,* she warned.

I paused in the doorway, my Luna senses immediately picking up what had disturbed her. A foreign scent lingered in the air—musky and sharp, with undertones of forest and something artificially sweet.

Chloe's scent.

I moved through the room slowly, following the trail. It led to the walk-in closet where Colton kept his ceremonial robes and formal clothes. There, deliberately rubbed onto his Alpha cloak, were Chloe's scent markers.

"Selene," I whispered, my voice shaking with rage and violation.

But the worst discovery was yet to come. As I turned toward our bed—our sacred mating den—the scent grew stronger. Deliberate streaks of Chloe's markers stained the sheets where Colton and I had shared our most intimate moments.

She had been here. In our most private space.

The invasion was so calculated, so brazen, that for a moment I could barely breathe.

Selene's growl reverberated through my chest. *This is war.*