Betrayed By My Alpha, Desired By His Rival

Sable

"Dammit."

I yanked the elastic band from my hair, watching my dark waves tumble back over my shoulders in a tangled, frizzy mess. My fingers were shaking too much to form a simple ponytail. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, hating the pale, exhausted girl looking back at me.

Eighteen.

Today was my eighteenth birthday. The day everything was supposed to change. And yet, nothing. No heightened senses, no bone-deep ache of an inner wolf clawing to get out, no sudden surge of pack power. Just the same, fragile, half-human disappointment staring back at me.

My biological father was human. He was a mechanic with a loud laugh and kind eyes, and when a pack of rogues slaughtered him ten years ago, my mother did the only thing she could to survive in this brutal world. She married Richard Blackwood, the Alpha of the Crestwood pack.

And Richard made sure I paid for my human blood every single day of my life.

The bedroom door opened.

Richard stood in the frame. His broad shoulders blocked out the hallway light, his face twisted in a familiar sneer.

"Still trying to make yourself look presentable?" "Don't bother. A cheap dress won't hide what you are, Sable."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, keeping my eyes glued to the mirror.

"I'm just getting ready. I'll soon be done Richard."

"Ready for what?" He took a step into my room. "You think you belong down there tonight? You think my pack wants a mateless, shiftless half-breed standing among them on the most important night of the decade?"

"My mother…"

"Your mother is my mate, which is the only reason you aren't sleeping in the woods," he cut in, his tone turning venomous.

"I tried to tolerate you. I tried to wait it out, hoping you'd at least manifest a runt of a wolf. But look at you. You're exactly like your weak, pathetic father. Dead weight."

The mention of my dad felt like a physical slap. My vision blurred, tears I refused to let fall burning the back of my eyes.

"Don't talk about him."

"I'll say whatever the hell I want under my roof," Richard snapped, leaning closer. "Listen to me very carefully. If you don't shift by midnight, you're out of the pack house. I won't have a human freak rotting my bloodline and embarrassing me in front of the elders. Keep to the shadows tonight. Don't speak to anyone. Just stay out of the way."

He turned on his heel and walked out, leaving the door wide open.

A choked sob finally broke past my lips. I gripped the edge of the mirror, trying to hold myself together. I was a disgrace. He was right. I didn't belong here. I never had.

"He's a miserable old bastard, you know."

The deep, raspy voice pulled me out of my misery.

I looked up at the mirror. Rhett was leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest.

Rhett Blackwood. My stepbrother. The future Alpha of the Crestwood pack. And the only reason I hadn't run away years ago.

He was dressed in a white suit that screamed power, the top two buttons of his shirt undone, revealing the edge of the dark ink tattooed across his collarbone. He looked dangerous. He always did. But when he looked at me, the harsh lines of his jaw softened just a fraction.

"I didn't hear you come up," I whispered, hastily wiping under my eyes so I wouldn't ruin my mascara.

"You're crying." He uncrossed his arms and stepped into the room.

"I'm fine, Rhett. Just... frustrated with my hair."

He scoffed.

"Don't lie to me, Sable. I heard him. I heard what he said about your dad."

He stopped right behind me. He was so tall I had to tilt my head entirely back to see his face. His presence was overwhelming cedar, rain, and something purely intoxicating that always made my head spin.

"He's right though," I said quietly, looking down at my shaking hands. "I'm eighteen. I haven't shifted. I'm just a human in a house full of wolves. I'm empty, Rhett."

"Shut up."

His hands came down on my shoulders, his long fingers gripping me with grounding pressure. The heat of his touch seeped right through the thin fabric of my dress.

"Don't ever call yourself empty," Rhett murmured, bending down so his lips were mere inches from my ear.

"My father is a dying breed. His opinions mean nothing. Tonight, the pack becomes mine. And I don't give a damn if you shift into a wolf or a bear or stay exactly as you are. You belong here."

A shiver raced down my spine. The way he spoke to me fierce and possessive, always messed with my head. We fought like enemies, we bickered, and we pushed each other's buttons, but when the world closed in, Rhett was my only shield.

He reached out, his thumb catching a stray tear that had slipped down my cheek. His skin was rough, calloused from years of combat training, but the motion was devastatingly gentle.

"You look beautiful.”

"Better than anyone down there. Understand?"

I let out a shaky breath. "Okay."

"Good." He stepped back, offering me his hand. A smirk played on his lips, that cocky, arrogant smile that always drove me crazy. "Come on. Let's get you out there."

I slipped my hand into his. His grip was firm and electric.

As we walked down the staircase, the noise of the pack hall rushed up to meet us. The ballroom was packed with hundreds of wolves.

He was their new king. Tonight was his coronation.

And tonight, he was supposed to choose his Luna.

I stayed close to his side as we waved to the crowd. Women from every neighboring pack turned their heads, their eyes raking over Rhett with blatant hunger, and then glaring at me with open disgust. I usually shrank under their stares, but with Rhett's hand firmly wrapped around mine, I felt a strange, intoxicating spark of confidence.

I felt special.

Maybe I was crazy. Maybe I was reading too much into his touches, his midnight visits to my room, the way he would tear apart anyone who looked at me wrong. But as we reached the edge of the dais, a dangerous thought crossed my mind.

I should tell him.

I should tell him how I feel. Before he takes the oath. Before some high-ranking Alpha's daughter steps up to claim him.

Rhett let go of my hand as Richard walked to the center of the stage, holding the ceremonial blade. The ceremony began. The elders chanted, the blood oath was spoken, and Rhett took the blade, slicing it across his palm without a flinch.

"I claim the Crestwood pack," Rhett's voice boomed. "I claim the territory, the bloodline, and the future."

The crowd erupted into a deafening howl.

I stood near the bottom step, smiling up at him. He did it. He was finally the Alpha.

Then, the clock chimed midnight.

It happened so fast.

A scent slammed into my chest. It was a physical force. Deep, rich cedar wood, rain, and dark, burning spice. It flooded my lungs, overriding every rational thought in my brain, vibrating straight down into my bones.

My breath hitched. The room started spinning. My dormant, half-human biology screamed to life, tearing through my veins like liquid fire.

Mate.

The word echoed in my skull, not as a thought, but as a biological command.

I gasped, my hands flying to my chest.

On the stage, Rhett froze. The ceremonial cup slipped from his fingers.

He slowly, mechanically, turned his head.

Our eyes locked.

His irises had bled from pitch black to gold. He felt it. The bond was snapping into place between us, pulling us together with a gravity so intense I took a step forward without even realizing it.

Rhett. My stepbrother. My mate.

"Rhett..." I breathed out, a desperate, relieved smile breaking across my face. I took another step toward the stairs, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm of joy. We were mates. The Moon Goddess had chosen us.

His jaw tightened. He looked at me, then looked at his father, and finally scanned the hundreds of elite wolves watching us in silence.

Rhett looked back down at me, his face a mask of stone.

"No.”