Mated To The Rogue Alpha

Lira

“You’re just a desperate slut. What made you think you can be my Luna? Have you checked yourself?!”

It felt as if the world had paused for me. My breath seized in my chest, and for a moment I ceased to be sure whether I was still standing or not. My ears rang, while my knees wobbled. I glanced up — towards him — and then I wish I hadn’t.

Caius stood tall, proud and confident. But his eyes… his eyes were not the ones that would smile at me under the stars. Those were not his lips, the ones that used to give me gentle kisses, as if I were something to treasure. No. Those lips now formed a curl in disgust. His voice, was now so loud, so cruel, that it thundered before the assembled town.

A gasp tore through the wolves near us. They were all here, present and withnessing. The omegas, the elderly, the young — all those who mattered and those who didn’t. All of them stared at me now. And all I could feel was shame. “Caius… ” I murmured as my voice shook, my eyes burning with tears I forced to hold back. “What are you saying?”

“What I should have said a long time ago,” he snarled. “That you mean nothing to me. You never did.” My heart twisted.

“I thought…” I said, but the tears wouldn’t let me finish. “You told me—” He snorted, and turned to face the crowd, his voice was louder now.

“This one threw herself at me. Like a dog in heat. I felt sorry for her — allowed her to sleep in my bed for one night after she pleaded. And now she believes she’s my Luna?” He let out a cruel laugh. “She wasn’t even a virgin. Used goods.”

“No —” My voice got caught in my throat and I lurched forward, wanting to prevent him. “Please don’t—” the gasps from the onlookers increased now, as well as the murmurs.

“Disgusting.”

“She dared to dream that high?”

I clutched my chest, my nails biting into my flesh as if pain would wake me up from the misery. My throat closed. I attempted to speak, but the words clung. My legs carried me, reluctantly across to him, wanting to clamp his mouth down, to still the embarrassment from pouring out. “Caius, please,” I breathed. But he shoved me back.

My body slammed to the ground, dragged against my side. Though pain from the floor dugged into my elbow, the sensation didn’t compare to what I felt in my chest. My heart, my pride and my everything broke before their eyes. I laid there for a second feeling cold, and humiliated. I heard the whispers again. “She deserves worse.”

And then, something inside of me snapped. I rose up on my elbow slowly and shaking, but I kept myself still and turned towards him to face them all.

“I was not throwing myself at you,” I said hoarsely. “You told me you loved me. You said you’d claim me after you finished your training. You told me I wasn’t like the others. That I mattered to you.”

He rolled his eyes. “So naive.”

“You swore,” I continued, still trying to override the tremor in my voice. “We were in the forest. You held me. You said we’d make a run for it if they didn’t take us. That your father would never have let you do it. Gees, you swore on the moon goddess f—”

“Shut up!” he barked. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not!” I yelled, my eyes burning now. “You took everything from me! I gave you my trust. I let you have my body because I thought you were mine—”

“And here you stand whining like a broken doll,” he broke in harshly. “No one cares, Lira. You were nothing then. You’re nothing now.”

“You said I would be free,” I murmured. “But I hoped that you’d free me from them. From the pack. The ones who killed my parents.” The crowd hissed.

“You dare call us murderers?” a voice snarled and I turned. The lips of a older warrior — Thane — curled.

“Betrayal is your father,” he spat. “Your mother was a whore. You should’ve burned with them.”

“You lie!” I screamed. “You all do! My father did not give you my mother, in your filthy tradition, and you killed them for that. He stood up for her!” The whispers grew and within few minutes it became ugly.

“She’s mad.”

“She’s delusional.”

“No wonder she forced herself on Caius.”

But I wasn’t done. I didn’t look at Marcus, I pointed to Caius, and I was trembling and crying but this time louder. “You said you’d stand by me. You said you’d fix things. That you never bought into the lies about my family.”

He folded his arms. “You’ve accused the pack. That’s treason.”

“Treason? I am the victim here!”

“You speak like a traitor. Like your father.”

“I speak the truth!”

“Your truth, no one believes it,” he growled. I felt my breath falter. He stepped forward again. “You’ve dishonored yourself. You’ve accused me—your alpha heir. You’ve spoken against the pack. You’ve proven that the blood of a traitor is thicker than the water in you.” Tears were streaming down my face while my whole body was shaking.

“I just wanted to be loved,” I murmured. “I just wanted to be a part of things.” But he didn’t flinch.

“And for that...” he said slowly, turning to the watching pack, “there must be justice.”

My eyes widened. My stomach dropped. “W-What are you saying?”

He raised his chin as he spoke loudly over the mumbling of the crowd.

"I, heir to the Alpha, Caius Jayson, have judged and sentenced the unworthy omega in front of us. For her falsehoods, her arrogance, and her deceit… she will be sentenced to death at first light!” I couldn’t breathe. The words reverberated in my skull, iching beneath my skin. I didn’t know that I had fallen to my knees until I felt my palm skim over the ground. I clawed at the dirt, as if anchoring myself to it could somehow stop it all in its tracks. I was gripped by cold hands.

What else had they planned? Would they carry me out to the square? Tie me to a post? Make a show of it? Would they call it justice? Would they let the pups watch, if only to reeducate them on what happens to “traitors”? My thoughts ran.

“You can’t do this to me! You all heard him!” I looked at the crowd, my eyes crazed. “You saw what he did! How he made everything a lie! You heard me speak the truth, and none of you intervened on my behalf!” I managed to stand up on my trembling feet, wiping away my tears on the side of my hand. “Someone—anyone—demand for an explanation from him. Don’t just stand there. He is condemning me for his sins!”

The crowd squirmed, but no one intervened on my behalf. Caius didn’t even flinch. Until I heard one voice from the group — low at first as it muttered, “She’s ungrateful.”

Another followed.

“She should be glad she ever got to lie with an alpha.”

Next a guard came to the fore, and murmured something in Caius's ear which made his face twitch.

I watched him closely. Something shifted in his demeanor and then, he raised a hand and addressed the crowd with tense solemnity.

“I have listened to the plea of our people,” he said. “The daughter of a traitor will not be killed.”

My heart skipped.

What?

“She will be banished instead. Deprived of all rights, driven from this pack and taken to where she belonged — to Blackmoor.” The crowd gasped again.

I staggered, confused and stunned. Banished. That was still death—but slower. No one ever returned from Blackmoor. There were no food there, no warmth and no mercy. He started walking towards me. His steps were slow, deliberate. I looked at him, and hatred burned through me. When he got to me, he bent down — so low only I could hear.

“You pathetic fool,” he whispered. “You thought love meant anything? You really thought I’d ruin my fucking life for a dirty omega?” He chuckled low. “You were so easy. All it took was a few words. A few touches. And you gave me everything.”

I bit my lip so hard it split, and my mouth was filled with blood. He was right there. His face. His scent. His breath. I lifted my hand slowly, shaking at first, not to aim at his throat, no but to feel if he was still real. To ask why. To hurt him? I didn’t know.

“Drag her out,” he commanded. “Now.”

The guards didn’t hesitate. Two of them seized me by the arms and raised me as though I were nothing. My feet barely touched the ground. I didn’t scream. I didn’t fight. I didn't have the power in me to. So instead, I just stared at him.

They pulled me toward the edge of the woods. The pack's howls and soft muttering died away with the thinning of the trees. The sunlight faded, as if even the heavens didn’t want to see what was coming next. One of his men shoved me hard from behind and propelled me forward.

“Walk,” he said. I tripped, braced myself and kept walking. When we reached the border of Blackmoor. The trees were dry, the air motionless. There were no sounds from insects, birds nor animals. The guards made eye contact and the man with the odd grin continued.

“You think she’ll survive the night?” one muttered.

“She’s pretty in the face,” the other added, licking his lips. “That would be a shame to waste.” My blood froze and I turned slowly.

“What… did you say?” They stepped forward.

“You know,” the first one said, too casually, “Caius said something to us before we arrived here.”

The other nodded. “Said we could have our fun. Seems like nobody’s going to give a shit what happens in Blackmoor, anyway.” My heart pounded in my chest as he took another step forward.

“He said we could show you how to break one in you properly. Said that’s what you were good at, didn’t he?”

“No,” I whispered as they lunged but I was faster. I ducked, slammed my elbow into the gut of the first, spun on my heel and hit the second in the throat with the heel of my hand. He gasped, stumbling with wide eyes. I picked up a rock and hit it into the first one’s jaw.

The second came charging back. I snapped him in the knee and saw him go down.

“Do not put your hands on me,” I hissed, my voice soft but trembling in anger. The initial guard coughed, and some blood came out. He made an effort to rise, but I pushed him down with my foot against his shoulder.

“What else did Caius say?” I demanded.

“He said--he said we could tear you apart. Said no one would care. That he’d be better off worrying about you if they never found your body.”

My vision blurred with fury. He gazed up at me, his face bloody but still grinning. “Said we’re supposed to break you before the forest does the rest.”