Alpha：No Second Chance

Angel’s POV

The day after Lilian falsely accused me of plotting to have her attacked by stray wolves, my world collapsed in a way I hadn’t thought possible. 

I had expected to answer to the accusations, maybe even get summoned by the Pack Council - but nothing prepared me for the sight that greeted me when I reached the Pack’s courtyard.

My mate, Bastien , stood in the center of the clearing. And beside him, my five-year-old son Finn held a torch. A few of the guards were present as well but they stood further from the duo.

In front of Bastien , inside a reinforced silver cage, was a woman. Upon closer scrutiny, though the face was slightly hidden, I could make out my sister’s form. Her perfume was strong enough that I recognized her instantly.

“Dana!” I screamed, lunging forward, but two guards intercepted me, blocking my path with their massive bodies. Their growls rattled the air around me.

Bastien  didn’t even flinch. “Angel, confess to what you did.”

I stared at him, my heart picking up pace. “Confess what? What did I do?”

He lifted his chin, his expression deadpan serious. “To hiring a pack of strays to harm Lilian. Assault her and do unspeakable acts on her.”

My mind blanked. For a heartbeat, the world around me stopped moving. Hiring a pack of strays? To harm Lilian? Assault her?

“I didn’t!” My voice cracked as I tried to push past the soldiers, only to be slammed back. “Bastien , you know me—you know I would never hurt anyone, much less Lilian!”

“Stop lying!” Bastien  shouted, his face twisted with anger I had never seen in him before. “You have always wanted her out of the way!”

“Bastien , I…”

“ If you don’t spit out the truth, I will tell the guards to kill her and then harvest her organs.” He cut me off

My heart almost skipped a beat. 

“Mom doesn’t like Lilian. I know she did it.” Finn, my son said.

I felt an ache in my chest. This was my child. The child I carried, held and cared for in his tender years. The child who once clung to my skirts and called me his safe place.

Now he looked at me like I was a monster and not his mother.

“Finn…” I whispered, but my voice broke before his name fully left my lips.

He stepped back toward Bastien , clutching his father’s sleeve as if he feared me. And I understood something at that moment.

Now more than ever, I felt like I wasn’t part of their family.

My vision blurred, but I forced myself to look at Dana—my sister. She was slumped in the silver cage, her face pale with exhaustion, her breaths shallow. Silver poisoning seeped into her skin, weakening her more by the second.

This was more than just a punishment. This was torture, the worst kind to any werewolf.

“Bastien ,” I choked out, “please… She’s innocent. Just let her go. I swear, I never plotted anything. Let her out. Please…”

He folded his arms across his chest, unmoved. “If you didn’t hire those wolves, then why did they attack Lilian? And why is she saying it was you? Are you calling her a liar?”

“It really wasn't me.” I said “Why won’t you listen?”

“Because,” he said slowly, “you’ve always hated her. If she hadn’t been rescued in time, she’d have lost her virginity to a pack of strays, and assaulted beyond measure.”

In that moment, a flood of memories flooded my mind.

The three of us, Bastien , Lilian, and I grew up together. The day I turned eighteen and discovered Bastien  was my fate mate, a moment I had dreamed about since childhood, I was so happy and excited.

But to Bastien , the person he had loved all along was Lilian. He married me only because fate bound us. His heart never did.

I recalled the period I even organized his birthday party, helped him plan every detail of it. Though it looked more of a confession party for Lilian, I helped him arrange it anyway. But when the moment arrived, Lilian had vanished without a trace. There wasn’t any trace of her, not anything to tell whether she was either alive or dead.

Bastien  proceeded to get into a drinking spree in an unexpected bout of depression, one that left him withering. In the worst days of his depression, I still accompanied him with love.

For three years after our marriage, I took care of him, tended to his needs, cooked for him, and even handled pack affairs on his behalf. But he was still dejected.

Only when Finn came along did his attitude gradually begin to change. He would softly smile now and then, kiss my forehead before we slept, help me prepare meals at times. Take us out to dinners and play activities. A life I dreamed of.

I was only happy for a short while before the illusion was shattered by the surprise return of Lillian. Of course Bastien  got excited, but one thing drove an even deeper wedge between us. Upon learning that Lilian had moon sickness, he gravitated more towards her.

Slowly, I became an outsider as Bastien  spent more time with her. And to make matters even worse, Finn began taking a liking to her too. He would say Lilian was much gentler with him, much nicer. At one point, he even said he wished Lilian was his mother instead of me. As much as it pained me, Bastien  never objected to that notion.

I took a deep breath to drown out the bitter memories. Consequentially bringing my focus to the present.

 “Bastien , stop!” I thrashed against the soldiers restraining me. “Bastien , please, please—don’t do this! Just let her go.”

Dana stirred weakly in the cage.  Her voice was barely audible as she tried to speak but nothing came out.

Bastien  raised his hand.

A wolf stepped forward, holding a gleaming silver dagger.

“No!” I screamed, my voice raw. “Bastien ! She’s my sister! She’s your packmate! Don’t—”

But he didn’t even look at me.

The wolf thrust the blade toward the figure in the cage.

I shrieked so loudly my ears rang.

The soldiers had to hold me as I collapsed to my knees, trembling.

Finn stepped closer, his voice teasing, almost casual. As if it was all just a joke. “Relax, Mom. That wasn’t Aunt Dana. It was just a dummy. Dad was only trying to scare you.”

My head snapped toward him, tears streaking down my face.

“You… did this to scare me?”

Bastien ’s expression didn’t change. “If you ever think of hurting Lilian, I will kill your real sister.”

My chest constricted painfully.

Then Lilian called.

I could hear her voice through the speaker. “Hey Bastien … I’m not feeling well…Can you come over?”

His entire demeanor transformed instantly.

“Don’t worry, Lily. I’ll be right there.”

And he left. Finn tagging closely by.

I sank onto the cold stone ground, unable to breathe. Bastien  just ordered a woman to be stabbed in an attempt to scare me. Even though it wasn’t my sister, it was still brutal and emotionless.

My eyes inadvertently went to the person in the cage who closely resembled my sister. As I studied her further, my phone buzzed. It was a message from Lilian.

“The person in the cage is your real sister, I swapped out the dummy.”

The world tilted.

I don’t remember running. I don’t remember how I broke past the guards. All I remember is blood pounding in my ears as I tore the cage open and pulled Dana into my arms. 

She was shaking violently, barely conscious, silver burns crawling across her skin. When guards leaped from the shadows, I shielded her with my body, fighting them off as best as I could until the attackers scattered.

My arms, legs, and back burned from claw marks. But none of it mattered. Keeping Dana alive was the only thing that did.

At the hospital, I begged for help—screamed for it—but the nurses only shook their heads helplessly.

“We can’t,” one whispered. “All the available doctors are tending to Lilian.”

My breath caught painfully. 

“Please,” I sobbed, “she’s dying…”

But they only shook their heads helplessly. Only offering to put drips on her.

Left with no choice, I tried to reach Bastien  through the pack’s psychic connection nine times.

Nine. Each time, I was ignored.

The tenth time, a cold wall slammed back into me.

“I’m busy, stop reaching out.”

I sank to the ground, clutching Dana’s hand. But the damage was irreversible. The silver poison had burrowed too deep. And when a doctor was free to check on Dana, It was already too late.

Dana could no longer transform. Her wolf was gone. She had sacrificed everything to save me.And I had no one left to turn to.

Three days later, while still recovering in the Pack infirmary, I turned on my phone for the first time. The first image that appeared was Lilian’s social media post. She was beaming in Bastien ’s arms, wrapped in his jacket.

Finn had commented underneath:

“Love Lilian”

Something inside me finally broke. Like a final thread snapping. I wasn't family to them anymore, I was an outsider, an outcast who meant nothing. They seemed like a happy family.

I shut off my phone. And with a lingering pain, I rose slowly from the infirmary bed.

Straight away, I went to the law firm and drafted a divorce agreement. 

Second, I filed criminal charges against Lilian for intentional assault.