I Abandoned Alpha Crush

I fell in love with my brother's combat training instructor, the Alpha of Stormfang Pack.

He was six years older than me, so I crushed on him from a distance, careful with every stolen glance.

One night, I couldn't resist. In the dim lighting of his apartment, I leaned in and kissed his sleeping form.

I was about to run when his eyes suddenly flew open.

He lazily lifted his eyelids. "Looking for a kissing lesson? Sorry, I'm not interested in little girls like you."

My face burned crimson, but I gathered my courage. "So you think I'm too young? That's okay, I'll grow up!"

He froze for a second, then broke into a smile. "Alright then, when you turn 22, if you still feel the same way, I'll think about it."

My heart hammered against my ribs. From that day on, I stuck to him like glue until my 22nd birthday.

When I rushed to him to claim his promise, I stopped dead when I heard a baby's cries coming from the private room.

I watched in shock as Stormfang Pack's Alpha, Liam Blackwood, the right person I had secretly fallen in love with for six years, held a wailing child, trying to soothe it.

His pack members surrounding him covered their ears, looking tortured.

"Liam, you're brutal," one of them laughed. "To reject the girl, you actually hired a baby to pretend it's yours?"

My mind went blank.

"What else was I supposed to do?" Liam's voice was the lazy drawl I recognized so well. "She turned 22 today. Came to collect on my promise."

"You really don't like Sera? The girl's beautiful, sweet, and completely devoted to you..."

"It's not about whether I like her or not," Liam's voice suddenly dropped. "You all know who's always been in my heart."

The room fell silent for a moment before erupting into understanding laughter.

"Sylvia! No wonder... If I were you, I'd just ask her out. With your looks, who wouldn't fall for you? It's just that you overthink everything."

"I've never known how to tell her. I was worried it would ruin our friendship. At this time, Sera, whom I could make use of, showed up. Everything worked out perfectly."

A smile played on Liam's lips. "I told Sylvia that there was a persistent girl I couldn't get rid of. Asked her to be my fake mate for a while. Then I'll show up with her and this baby, and we'll pretend to have a mating ceremony. "

"That way, Sera will finally give up, and I can get closer to Sylvia. Right after the ceremony, I'll propose to her for real."

Hearing Liam's brilliant plan, the pack members murmured their approval, laughing and slapping their backs.

In the midst of all the noise, no one noticed me standing outside the door.

The cake box slipped from my hands, hitting the floor with a dull thud.

I couldn't bring myself to push the door open. Tears streamed down my face as I turned and ran.

The rain pounded outside as I sprinted, uncaring as it drenched my carefully chosen dress.

So that's how it was. Liam never liked me. It was all just in my head.

I was fourteen when I first fell for him. During a pup hiking mission in the mountain territory, I'd wandered too far from the group and stumbled into rogue wolf territory. Three rogues cornered me.

I was too young to shift. I screamed for my brother Damine as the largest rogue lunged at me.

Just when I thought I would die, Liam burst through the trees like an angel.

His massive black wolf form tore into the rogues with deadly precision, sending them fleeing with their tails between their legs.

Afterwards, as I sat bleeding and shaking against a tree trunk, Liam shifted back and knelt beside me.

My eyes were swollen from crying and terror. He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around my torn shirt, then handed me two chocolate bars from his pack.

"Little crybaby, your nose is running," he chuckled softly, his voice gentle despite the teasing words. "Your brother is handling the other pups. Come on, I'll carry you back to the pack house."

That day, I tasted the sweetest chocolate of my life and fell for someone for the first time.

Because of my brother, Damine, I saw Liam almost daily. My teenage love bloomed like summer vines.

I learned to make packed lunches, preparing extra portions for my brother to share at pack meetings, all just so Liam might taste my cooking.

I found out everything about his preferences and carefully prepared all kinds of gifts, giving them to him whenever there was an occasion.

I turned down a scholarship abroad to stay in the Stormfang Pack territory, all just to wait until I turned 22...

I waited eight years, believing that finally, my dream would come true.

But today I learned that my feelings were just a burden to Liam.

I don't know how long I ran before I finally calmed down. Shaking, I pulled out my phone and dialed my brother's number.

"Damine," my voice choked, "I've thought about it. I'll go abroad for further studies. And that... good friend of yours you mentioned? I'd like to meet him."

For years, everyone in our social circle knew I was pursuing Liam.

My brother would watch me pine after him, always looking like he wanted to say something but held back.

Then he'd subtly try to set me up with other wolves, hoping I'd finally give up on Liam.

This good friend abroad was the 18th he'd introduced to me.

My brother said this friend was tall and handsome, not a bit different from Liam. Since I studied design, studying abroad for a few years would be perfect...

Now I realized he probably knew all along about Liam's feelings for Sylvia and was trying to get me to let go before I got hurt more.

There was silence on the other end. "You... know everything?"

I closed my eyes, rain mixing with tears on my face. "Does he really love Sylvia that much?"

"...Yes."

"Then I hope he gets his wish," I wiped my face. "And I'll do as he wishes. I won't love him anymore."

Back home, I mechanically opened my suitcase and started packing clothes.

My phone vibrated, the screen lighting up.

[ Liam: Why didn't you come? ]

I stared at the message for a long time until the second one appeared.

[ Liam: Little girl, I have a mate now. We even have a child. We're having our mating ceremony soon. Stop loving me.]

Then he sent two photos.

One was of a tiny baby's foot, the other an elaborate mating ceremony invitation.

I stared at the screen for what felt like an eternity before typing two words.

[ Okay. ]

After sending it, I threw my phone on the bed and pulled a metal box from the back of my drawer.

Inside were movie tickets, amusement park passes, a basketball jersey I'd stolen from his locker, a doll he'd won for me at the pack festival...

Eight years of memories all centered around Liam.

I picked up the box, walked to the trash, and dumped everything without a second thought.