The Alpha I Built Betrayed Me

The stranger with the icy eyes cut through the silver wolves like they were nothing. One moment we were surrounded, the next he was dragging me into the deep woods and the compound was already far behind us. He left without a word.

Now, three days later, I stood at the edge of Ashgrove.

I leaned heavily on a thick oak branch. My right leg throbbed with every heartbeat.

The pack hall loomed ahead, its massive double doors cracked open. Light spilled onto the dirt path. A low hum of voices drifted outward.

I dragged my injured leg up the stone steps.

"We cannot leave the position empty," Elder Thorne's voice echoed from inside.

I paused by the heavy doorframe.

"Ivy has proven herself," Thorne continued. "She spent the last two years tending to the pups. She cares for the elders. She is gentle. Submissive. She knows how to follow."

My grip tightened on the rough bark of my makeshift crutch.

"Isn't it too early to discuss this?" Declan asked. His tone carried a sharp edge.

"The pack needs stability," Thorne countered. "Especially now, with Elara's status in question."

*Status in question.* I leaned against the doorjamb. They thought I was dead. Or worse, a traitor who never returned from patrol.

Inside, Declan stood at the center of the raised platform. He turned his head, his golden eyes sweeping over the gathered crowd. He was looking for someone. For two seconds, his gaze searched the shadows near the back rows.

Then Ivy stepped to his side. She wrapped her hands around his bicep, anchoring him in place.

"The Alpha needs a Luna who understands her place," Thorne announced to the room. "Ivy is ready."

It hit me then.

Ivy didn't just panic in the woods. She didn't simply stumble into a trap. She spent two years playing the perfect, obedient caretaker, waiting for the right moment to eliminate her only competition—me.

I pushed the heavy door open. The hinges whined.

The entire pack turned. Silence slammed into the hall.

Ivy saw me first. Her eyes widened. The color drained from her cheeks, leaving her pale and rigid. For a fraction of a second, raw terror twisted her features.

Then she smiled.

"Elara!" she cried out.

She released Declan's arm and took a step toward me.

Declan reacted instantly. He threw his arm out, planting himself firmly between me and my sister. His broad shoulders squared. He braced his weight, treating me like a threat.

I stopped walking.

My own mate shielded the woman who set me up to die.

"Elara," Declan said. His jaw flexed. "You survived."

I didn't scream. I didn't demand an explanation. I just stared at the space between them. A cold, empty laugh scraped the back of my throat, but I swallowed it down.

"I did," I answered flatly.

"You're injured," Ivy whispered, peering out from behind his shoulder.

"Step aside, Declan," I told him.

He didn't move. "We are in the middle of a council vote."

"I heard." I shifted my weight onto my good leg and limped down the center aisle.

Pack members scrambled out of my way. They averted their eyes. No one offered a hand. No one welcomed the First Warrior home.

I reached the base of the raised platform. The wooden stairs looked like a mountain. I forced my ruined right leg upward. Agony flared from my knee to my ankle. I dragged my left foot up to meet it.

"Elara, stop right there," Thorne ordered from his high seat.

I ignored him and took another step.

"Three years ago, you rejected the Luna candidacy," Thorne's voice boomed across the silent room. "You chose the First Warrior title yourself."

"I did," I agreed.

"You abandoned your post." Thorne pointed a weathered finger at me. "You vanished during a border patrol, leaving your sister unprotected."

"Is that what she told you?" I kept my eyes on Declan.

Declan held his ground. "She told us you were overwhelmed. She barely escaped."

"She barely escaped," I repeated.

Ivy shrank back, pressing her hands against her chest. "I tried to get help, Elara. I really did."

I finally looked at her. Her perfect, tear-filled eyes. Her spotless dress. Not a single scratch marred her skin.

"Save the tears, Ivy," I said. "You're going to ruin your makeup."

A murmur rippled through the crowd.

"Watch your tone," Declan warned, taking half a step toward me. "She mourned you."

"She replaced me."

I reached into the collar of my torn jacket. My fingers found the heavy silver chain resting against my collarbone. At the end hung the First Warrior insignia—a snarling wolf cast in iron.

I yanked the chain. The metal links snapped.

"What are you doing?" Declan demanded.

I tossed the broken necklace onto the wooden planks. It clattered against the floorboards and slid directly to the toe of his boot.

"Keep it," I told him.

He stared at the iron wolf. "You can't just throw away your honor."

"I never need the title to know who I am."

"Elara," he started, his voice dropping an octave.

"Congratulations on your new Luna, Alpha."

I turned my back on him.

The pain in my leg flared into a blinding white heat. I leaned hard on the oak branch and started back down the aisle.

"Where are you going?" Thorne shouted. "This meeting isn't over."

I didn't answer. I didn't stop.

The heavy wooden doors stood open at the end of the hall. The night air rushed in, carrying the scent of pine and coming rain.

"Let her leave," Declan ordered.

His voice sounded strange. Tight.

I kept my eyes fixed on the tree line outside. I refused to limp. I forced my spine straight, biting the inside of my cheek until copper flooded my mouth.

I didn't look back.

If I had, I would have seen Declan ignore Ivy's reaching hand. I would have seen him crouch down and pick up the iron wolf. I didn't know his fingers curled around the metal so tightly his knuckles turned entirely white.

I didn't care.

I crossed the threshold and stepped into the dark.

A shadow detached itself from the side of the pack hall.

"That was dramatic," a low voice murmured from the dark.

I stopped. The stranger from the cellar leaned against the stone wall, spinning a silver dagger between his fingers.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Collecting a debt," he replied, stepping into the moonlight. "You need a new pack. And I need a mate."