Rejected by the Alpha, The Princess's Confession

The grand council chamber of the Blackwood Pack House buzzed with activity as pack members filed in for the monthly meeting. I sat in the back corner, keeping to my role as the modest omega kitchen assistant, though my eyes missed nothing. Alpha Nathan stood at the front, his posture rigid as he surveyed his pack with practiced authority. Beside him, Samantha Rivers wore a new designer dress that probably cost more than my supposed monthly salary.

I smoothed down my simple cardigan, a nervous habit I couldn't shake. Something felt wrong. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife, and several pack members kept glancing in my direction, then quickly looking away.

*Victoria.* Aura, my inner wolf, nudged me. *They know something.*

Before I could respond, Nathan's voice thundered through the pack mind-link, his Alpha tone reverberating inside every pack member's consciousness.

*ATTENTION, BLACKWOOD PACK. I SPEAK TO YOU ALL AS YOUR ALPHA.*

The room fell silent as everyone froze, the power of his mind-link command impossible to ignore. His eyes found mine across the room, cold and accusing.

*It has come to my attention that my supposed mate, the omega Victoria, has STOLEN $50,000 from our pack treasury!*

Gasps echoed through the chamber. Dozens of eyes turned to stare at me, some with shock, others with vindication, as if they'd expected nothing less from an omega.

*The evidence is clear. Since I generously opened our resources to her, our accounts have been systematically drained. This gold-digging omega has betrayed not only me but every member of this pack!*

My heart pounded against my ribcage, but I kept my face carefully neutral. This was a test—not one I had planned, but one that would reveal everything I needed to know about Nathan Blackwood.

*I demand she either repay every cent or formally reject our mate bond before the entire pack. No thief will bear the title of Luna in MY territory!*

The council chamber erupted in whispers. I stood slowly, feeling the weight of every stare. With deliberate movements, I pulled my phone from my pocket and accessed the pack's financial portal—a system I had legitimate access to as Nathan's mate.

I responded through the mind-link, my voice calm despite the fury building inside me.

*Alpha Nathan, I respectfully submit these records of my expenditures.*

I projected the images of my receipts—$18 for flour, sugar, and eggs to bake treats for the pack pups, and $14 for ingredients for the communal Sunday dinner. Two transactions. Thirty-two dollars total.

*As you can see, my total spending amounts to $32, not $50,000. Perhaps there has been a misunderstanding.*

Nathan's jaw clenched, a muscle twitching beneath his skin. He glanced at Samantha, who whispered something in his ear, her hand lingering on his arm possessively.

"Do you think I'm a fool?" he snarled, switching to verbal speech so the entire room could hear his contempt. "These receipts prove nothing. An omega like you wouldn't understand the complexities of pack finances. The money is gone, and you're the only new variable in our pack."

"But Alpha—" I began.

"SILENCE!" His Alpha tone made several weaker wolves whimper. "The evidence speaks for itself. You have until the full moon to repay what you've stolen, or publicly reject our bond."

I stood my ground, feeling Aura's rage mirror my own. *If only you knew who you're speaking to,* she growled within me.

*Patience,* I cautioned her. *We need to see this through.*

As the meeting continued, I noticed Samantha slide into the seat reserved for the pack's Financial Administrator—a position that had been vacant for months. She placed a leather portfolio embossed with the pack crest and her name in gold lettering on the table, catching my eye across the room with a triumphant smile.

"As your newly appointed Financial Administrator," she announced to the council, her voice dripping with false concern, "my first priority will be conducting a complete audit of our accounts to determine the full extent of the... damage."

She wore a new diamond bracelet that glinted under the council room lights—one I was certain hadn't been on her wrist yesterday. As she detailed her plans for financial reform, her fingers traced the expensive jewelry absently.

I watched in growing alarm as the pack members nodded along with her every word, completely blind to the true thief sitting before them in plain sight.

Aura growled low in my mind. *How long will we allow this farce to continue?*

*Just long enough,* I promised her silently. *Just long enough to reveal every player in this game.*

But as Nathan's contemptuous gaze burned into me from across the room, I wondered if I had underestimated the danger of my mission—and whether the daughter of the Lycan King might soon find herself truly powerless in a den of wolves.