My Alpha Tried to Kill Me for His Gamma

I stood frozen in the doorway of my small room, watching as Beta Marcus removed the last of my belongings. The space that had been mine for years—close to the Alpha suite, if not actually part of it—was being systematically emptied.

"Alpha's orders," Marcus said, not meeting my eyes. "Your things are being moved to the servants' quarters."

The servants' quarters. In the basement.

"Where will Serenity be staying?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

Marcus finally looked at me, pity flashing across his features before he masked it. "In the suite adjacent to the Alpha's bedroom."

My stomach twisted. The Luna's quarters. My rightful place.

"Alpha says it's for tactical efficiency," Marcus continued, his voice carefully neutral. "Serenity needs to be close for security planning."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. Luna whimpered inside me.

*He's replacing us,* she whispered. *We're being erased.*

As if summoned by my thoughts, Serenity appeared in the doorway, her green eyes gleaming with triumph.

"Is there a problem?" she asked sweetly, though her smile was all teeth.

"No problem," Asher's voice came from behind her. He stepped into view, his hand resting possessively on her shoulder. "Just Autumn moving to more... appropriate accommodations."

His eyes met mine, cold and assessing. "The basement room is better suited to your... station."

Station. As if I were nothing more than furniture to be rearranged.

Serenity stepped past me into the room, her fingers trailing along the wall. "This will do nicely," she murmured. "Close enough to discuss pack business with the Alpha."

I watched silently as she claimed my space, her presence already erasing any trace that I had ever existed here.

---

The basement room was damp and cold. A single bulb swung from the ceiling, casting more shadows than light. I sat on the narrow bed, trying to arrange my few possessions in a way that made sense.

The door burst open without warning.

"Cozy little hideaway," Serenity's voice dripped with false sweetness as she stepped inside, uninvited.

I stiffened, clutching my sketchbook to my chest. "What do you want?"

"Just checking on our pack's... charity case." Her eyes fell on the book in my hands. "What's that?"

"Nothing," I said quickly, trying to slide it under the pillow.

But Serenity moved with predatory speed, snatching it from my grasp. "Let's see what our little cripple dreams about."

The pages fell open under her hands—vibrant landscapes of mountains and forests, cities and oceans. Places beyond the pack territory that I'd only imagined.

"Please give it back," I whispered, reaching for it.

She held it away, her eyes scanning the drawings with growing contempt. "You draw these?"

"They help me... escape," I admitted softly.

Serenity's laugh was sharp and cruel. "Escape? To where? You can't even shift properly."

With deliberate slowness, she tore out a page, ripping it in half before my eyes.

"Stop!" I cried, lunging forward.

She tore another page, then another. "A cripple has no business dreaming of traveling. You'll never leave this pack. You'll never see any of these places."

Luna snarled inside me, but we were too weak to fight back.

"You're just a placeholder," Serenity hissed, dropping the mutilated remains of my sketchbook at my feet. "Once Asher gets tired of your whining and weakness, I'll be there to take your place permanently."

---

"Attention!" Beta Marcus called across the training ground. "Alpha has requested Autumn join today's session."

A hush fell over the gathered pack members. I stood awkwardly at the edge of the field, aware of every eye upon me.

"Autumn will learn resilience from Gamma Serenity," Asher announced, his voice carrying across the grounds. "It's time she contributed something useful to the pack."

Serenity stepped forward, a training blade balanced in her hand. "I'll show her how real wolves fight."

The pack formed a circle around us. I stood trembling, my remaining arm held awkwardly at my side.

"Don't worry," Serenity whispered as she circled me. "I'll go easy on you."

The "easy" part was a lie.

She moved with unnatural speed, her blade flashing in the sunlight. I tried to dodge, but years of wolfsbane had weakened my reflexes.

The blade sliced across my shoulder, drawing blood.

Laughter erupted from the pack.

"Too slow," Serenity said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Too weak."

I looked to Asher, waiting for him to intervene, to show some sign of concern for his mate.

Instead, he nodded approvingly at Serenity. "Good form," he said. Then his gaze fell on me, cold and dismissive. "You should have been faster."

The pack's laughter grew louder as blood seeped through my shirt, staining it red.

"Perhaps," Asher continued, his voice cutting through the noise, "if you spent less time drawing fantasy worlds and more time training, you wouldn't be such a burden to us all."

Luna's whimper turned to a low growl inside me.

*He doesn't protect us,* she whispered. *He never has.*

And for the first time, I began to wonder if she was right.