Bound Mate to the Formidable Alpha

Anora’s POV

His hand clenches on my arm, a grip like a poisoned steel band. My heart hammers against my ribs, a shiver that has nothing to do with desire tracing its way down my spine.

“No, Alpha, don’t,” I mutter, turning away, but Alpha Liam’s face is too close, his breath rapid and hot against my ear.

Dreading my return to the Pack’s settlement, I find myself dragged back by Adriana’s imperious insistence that I serve as her “favorite maid.” This entire charade serves one purpose: her engagement ceremony—an order delivering me into the devil’s nest. For a year, Alpha Liam has made his interest in me clear, though always in secret. His hard eyes flick with lust whenever I toil past him with the other maids. How foolish I am to ever dream a lowly Omega like myself could be the Alpha’s mate—a cruel jest. The moment he lays eyes on Adriana, my stepsister, after her return from studies abroad, he casts me aside like a soiled rag, a stain on his precious hands.

His threat still echoes in my mind: “Never speak of what happens between us, Omega filth, or you’ll rot in the dungeons.” But the cruel heartbreak isn’t the end of his betrayal. Alpha Liam, believing an Omega wouldn’t survive the trainings, then orders me to the Gamma Academy.

“Nora,” he murmurs, his voice a low, husky rasp that used to make my heart flutter like a trapped bird. A ghost of that old feeling stirs within me, a faint echo of a girl who foolishly believed his moonlit promises. “Don’t pretend you don’t remember. You used to look at me with such… innocent desire. Kiss me like you used to.”

His fingers trace my jawline, and I flinch, pulling away. The rough fabric of my worn dress scrapes against my skin. “That was a long time ago, Alpha,” I manage, my voice barely a whisper. The memory of his sudden coldness, the way he dismissed me as soon as Adriana, his Beta’s daughter, returns, still stings. My bastard status, my Omega designation—suddenly those things outweigh the stolen kisses and whispered affections.

He chuckles harshly. “Oh, but you still feel it, don’t you? That spark? You would have given yourself to me then, without a second thought, if I had asked. You loved me, Nora.”

The accusation hangs in the thickened air, heavy with a past I desperately want to bury. Guilt twists in my gut. He’s right, in a naive, heartbroken way. I would have given him anything. But that girl is gone, lost beneath layers of disappointment and the constant reminder of my place—at the very bottom of this Pack.

My chest pounds, trapped in an impossible situation. Alpha Liam’s calmness is a thin veil over a volatile temper; his anger, a shadow lurking behind his lust. I have to tread carefully. And if Adriana finds us like this, I am as good as dead.

“Things are different now, Alpha Liam,” I say, trying to steady my trembling voice. “You’re engaged to Adriana, my own sister.”

His eyes darken, a flash of anger flickering within their stormy depths. “Don’t throw her in my face. You know she was always expected.” He takes another step closer, and I instinctively back against the cold stone wall. “But you… you were special, Nora.”

“Special enough to be discarded,” I retort, the bitterness I usually suppress seeping into my tone.

Before I can even blink, Liam’s hand snaps out, his fist connecting with my face. A sharp sting erupts on my cheek. “How dare you speak to your Alpha like that, Omega runt?”

Just then, the door swings open, and Adriana stands on the threshold, her perfectly coiffed hair gleaming under the dim light. Her glimmering green eyes widen slightly before narrowing into slits as she takes in the scene. The loose neckline of my dress, a result of Alpha Liam’s earlier unwelcome exploration, only worsens my case.

A heavy silence descends upon the room, stealing my breath.

Alpha Liam immediately shifts, morphing his expression into one of wounded indignation. “Adriana! This Omega runt dared to come in here and try to seduce me!”

“What?!” Shock jolts through me, but I wouldn’t dare call the Alpha a liar.

“Take care of her,” Alpha Liam orders with conviction, his voice laced with fury, his face contorting into a scowl as he storms out, leaving me alone with Adriana. Though I am more skilled than her, as an Omega, I can never lift a finger against the Alpha’s betrothed, my future Luna, unless I have a death wish.

I quickly adjust the strap of my dress, covering my exposed skin.

“You rotten bitch!” Adriana’s face twists with rage and jealousy. “I knew it! I know you’ve always held a bitter grudge, Anora. Ever since Alpha Liam chose me over you! You think you can just waltz in here the night before our engagement ceremony and try to steal him away?”

“Adriana, it wasn’t… it isn’t true. I swear I’d never do anything to hurt my younger sister.”

“Are you accusing Alpha Liam of lying?” she yells, and suddenly, two gamma guards rush into the room, heading straight for me. My breath catches, my chest pounding.

“N-no… it’s not like that,” I mumble, tears welling in my eyes, knowing my fate is sealed. Who would ever believe me over the Alpha?

As their hands grab me, a cough escapes my lips as the first fist slams into my stomach, sending me to my knees.

“Tell me the fucking truth. You tried to seduce my man, your Alpha,” she growls, ordering the gammas to land another blow. “You Omega whore! You have no shame, Anora. You think your beauty is irresistible? I’ll take it from you permanently!”

She reaches her claws towards my face. But before she can scar me, a strong hand grips her arm, pulling it away. Beta Stannis, Adriana’s father—my stepfather by a cruel twist of fate—stands behind her, his face a mask of cold fury.

“Enough!” his voice booms, silencing Adriana’s furious cries. His bitter gaze flickers my way. “This little viper will not disrupt my daughter’s happiness. She’ll be locked in the dungeons until tomorrow. Perhaps a night in her old friend—that tight pit—will teach her some lesson.”

My heart plummets as an irrational fear washes over me. The tight prisons are beyond my endurance, triggering my claustrophobia after years of being trapped there for days without food or water. “No, no… not the pit, please, Stepfather.”

Without a word, they force me out of the room, and Adriana’s venomous gaze burns into my back. The whispers and judgment of the pack members lining the hallway follow me like shadows.

I cry, fighting to break free, but my strength is no match for two burly gamma guards. The armored silver doors open, and I am thrown inside. Before I can orient myself in the thick darkness, the doors slam shut. Tears pour from my eyes, my breath rasping as I suffocate in the stifling heat of the tight space, sweat slicking my skin. My hand crawls up my neck, gripping my tooth necklace tightly as tremors rip through my veins. It’s an old, relic-looking charm made of local ropes and a wolf’s tooth. Mom says it protects me, but it doesn’t.

Hunger gnaws at my insides, my stomach feeling glued to my spine. I haven’t eaten all day, and I’ll have to endure it until Adriana remembers to release me to resume serving her tomorrow.

Almost twenty-four hours I remain trapped in that dungeon. Hatred seethes in my mind for Alpha Liam. How can he lie so shamelessly? I blame the Moon Goddess for my life, my cruel fate that only seems to worsen with no escape. My life feels cursed from the beginning: my father abandoned my mother when she was pregnant, leaving her shattered. Later, Beta Stannis forced her to marry him, and only three years after, he claimed she mistakenly digested wolfsbane, which has left her in a coma ever since. I was seven. Beta Stannis split the medical bills, and I have to work my ass off to provide my half, clinging to the hope that one day, my mom will wake up again—a hope I can’t let go of. Every day I visit, the healers offer the same shallow comfort—she can hear you, but can’t reply. As if that’s supposed to bring me any comfort when the tears run down my cheeks.

Even in the despair threatening to engulf me, a tiny spark of defiance flickers. I will survive this as I always have.

A sudden flash of light pierces the darkness, sending a chill down my spine. Then the door creaks open. My weak eyes register Adriana behind the guards, her glare filled with deep-seated hatred.

“You should be grateful your Luna enjoys your service,” one guard snarls, dragging me out. My body is stiff and aching as they force me into a simple, ill-fitting servant’s dress.

“Where are your manners, Omega? Thank her!” the other growls, clenching his fist.

Adriana finally looks at me, her green eyes glaring with pride and disgust.

I bite my lip painfully. “Thank you, Luna.”

“You disgust me, Anora. I always hated my father for not throwing you out after your pathetic mother was moved to the healers’ wing,” Adriana hisses, shaking her head. “In twenty minutes, report to me in the dressing room. For now, go eat and take a bloody shower. You look like shit.”

The grand hall is a riot of color and noise, the air thick with anticipation. I move through the crowd like a ghost, serving drinks and clearing plates, my eyes downcast, trying to become invisible even by Adriana’s side.

“Nora?” A gentle voice beckons, and my body twirls around before my brain even gives the command. My heart flutters, and a smile curls my lips. It’s Natalie, Alpha Liam’s sister.

“Princess Natalie.”

“Oh, please, Nora, just Natalie.” She counters with a soft chuckle. Princess Natalie is nothing like Alpha Liam. As far as friends go, she’s my only one. We look so much alike that from a distance we could be mistaken for each other. But Alpha Liam doesn’t really like her, especially because she challenges his cruelty and abuse of power, ultimately leading her to choose a life abroad after she finishes her studies in inter-Pack political science. However, as a princess, typical of their father, former Alpha Marcus, she is used as a seal of alliance—betrothed to Alpha Dane, a cruel but powerful and criminally rich monster she still has never met in person.

“How are you? You still wear that necklace, huh?”

“Anora!” Adriana's yell echoes from downstairs, and I know I have to hurry down.

“It’s okay. You can go.” Princess Natalie nods.

Sharp hatred and malice churn in my stomach as my eyes meet Alpha Liam’s. His undeniably handsome face remains impassive, his blue eyes arching as he deliberately ignores me, as if he truly believes his own lies.

In front of everyone—every important figure, from Elders to trainers, and even Alphas invited from neighboring Packs—they stand to exchange their vows.

Then, it happens.

As Adriana, radiant in her white gown, stands beside Alpha Liam at the flower-draped altar, a sudden, inexplicable pull slams into me—a force so powerful, so visceral, it steals my breath and makes my knees buckle. Freya, my wolf, who has been dormant beneath layers of pain and resignation, surges to the surface, recognizing something primal and undeniable.

My head snaps up, my gaze locking onto Alpha Liam’s. The world around me seems to fade away, the joyous chatter of the pack dissolving into a muffled hum. Before I can even process the thought, a single word escapes my lips. Raw and filled with a primal recognition from Freya, it echoes through the suddenly silent hall, tightening the air with unspeakable tension, turning every eye towards me,

“Mate!”