Pregnant and Rejected by My Alpha

One month. That's all it took to bury Delaney Rose and resurrect someone new in her place.

I stood before the ornate mirror in my brother's palace, barely recognizing the woman who stared back at me. Gone was the simple blue dress and gentle smile. In their place stood a figure draped in a tailored charcoal suit that hugged every curve of my body, my hair swept into a severe knot at the nape of my neck.

"How do I look?" I asked Fletcher, who stood behind me with a mixture of pride and concern in his eyes.

"Like a Lycan Princess," he replied, adjusting the platinum emblem of the Royal Court on my lapel. "Remember, you're not just doing this for revenge. You're doing it because they violated our laws."

I nodded, touching the spot where Colson's promise ring once sat. "I know."

The Shadow Ridge Pack House loomed before us as our convoy pulled through the gates. I could see them waiting—Alpha Marcus Sterling, his son Colson, and the pack elders. Their faces showed confusion as they scanned the vehicles for the "Royal Representative" my brother had warned them about.

I stepped out first, feeling the weight of their stares. The whispers began immediately.

"Is that...?"

"It can't be..."

"The Proxy is..."

Their words died as I approached, my aura unfurling around me like a living thing. The power of my royal bloodline—once suppressed for Colson's comfort—now crashed against them in waves. One by one, they lowered their gazes, their bodies instinctively submitting to a higher power.

Colson stood last, his face draining of color as recognition dawned. His eyes widened, mouth opening and closing without sound.

"Delaney?" he finally managed, his voice barely audible.

I walked past him without acknowledgment, my heels clicking against the marble floor of the entrance hall.

"Welcome, Lady Rose," Alpha Sterling said, bowing deeply. "We weren't expecting..."

"The King's sister?" I finished for him, my voice cool and detached. "I am Lady Rose, Proxy to the King. I trust you've prepared the necessary accommodations."

---

"The security protocols for the eastern perimeter are inadequate," I stated, gesturing to the holographic display that hovered above the desk—my desk now. "And these financial reports show troubling discrepancies."

I looked up to find Colson shifting uncomfortably in the guest chair across from me. How strange to see him there, in his own office, relegated to a subordinate position.

"The previous security arrangements were sufficient," Valeria interjected from her place behind Colson. She'd been hovering there for the past hour, her hand possessively resting on his shoulder.

I raised an eyebrow. "The previous arrangements were under your father's supervision, I believe?"

She lifted her chin. "My father has served this pack faithfully for twenty years."

"Twenty years of incompetence, apparently." I tapped the display, zooming in on a section of the border. "These surveillance gaps are large enough to drive a tank through."

Colson leaned forward. "Delaney—"

"Lady Rose," I corrected him sharply. "Address me properly."

His jaw tightened. "Lady Rose, perhaps we could discuss this privately—"

"There's nothing private to discuss." I stood, walking around the desk to tower over them. "Your father's security contracts are terminated, effective immediately. I've reassigned them to Blackthorn Security."

Valeria's face contorted with rage. "You can't do that!"

"I just did." I smiled thinly. "Oh, and the quarterly payments from those contracts? They'll be redirected to fund the pack's medical facility instead of lining your family's pockets."

---

"Emergency pack meeting in ten minutes," I announced, striding through the corridors with two Royal Enforcers at my heels. "Every ranking member is required to attend."

The pack hall filled quickly, murmurs of confusion rippling through the crowd. I took my place at the center of the platform, my enforcers flanking me like statues.

"Three hours ago," I began without preamble, "the northern border was breached."

Gasps echoed through the hall. Colson straightened, confusion crossing his features.

"A simulated breach," I clarified, "conducted by Royal Enforcers on my authority."

The holographic display activated, showing footage of the border checkpoint—unguarded, vulnerable, with no response to the staged incursion for nearly twenty minutes.

"Where was the future Alpha during this crisis?" I asked, though I already knew the answer. My intelligence network had reported Colson and Valeria's spa day excursion that morning.

"I—" Colson started, rising from his seat.

"Sit down," I commanded, my voice carrying the weight of royal authority. "You were indulging in personal distractions while your territory remained undefended."

Valeria's face flushed crimson as whispers spread through the hall.

"This negligence cannot stand," I continued, my gaze sweeping over the assembled pack members. "The safety of this territory is now under direct royal oversight."

As the meeting adjourned, I caught Colson's furious glare. But beneath it lurked something else—fear.

Good. Let him fear. This was only the beginning.