The Alpha King Took Me Away

Diana

I didn’t wake up in my soft canopy bed, and I definitely wasn’t in my home pack’s territory anymore.

I opened my eyes to high vaulted ceilings carved from solid black granite, drapes blocking out the daylight, and the heat of an ancient fireplace roaring in the corner. The room was massive, decorated in dark leather and silver trim—a king’s private chambers.

I threw off the furs and swung my legs over the mattress, rushing toward the towering double doors. I grabbed the cold iron handles and yanked.

Locked.

“Hey!” I yelled, banging my palms against the wood. “Open this damn door!”

The latch clicked from the outside. The doors pushed open, revealing two towering northern sentinels in black combat armor. Behind them stood Zach.

He had changed out of his bloodied trench coat into a loose, dark tunic. His hand—the one that had caught Jax’s silver dagger barehanded last night—was wrapped tightly in clean white bandages, a faint trace of golden healing magic humming beneath the linen.

“Step back, Diana,” Zach commanded quietly.

The two guards bowed and retreated down the hallway. Zach walked into the suite, letting the doors swing shut behind him.

“What is this?” I demanded, crossing my arms. “You snatched me from the town square, dragged me across provincial borders, and now you have your guards locking me in a guest room? Let me out.”

“You’re not leaving,” Zach said, voice flat. “Not until I get some real answers.”

“Answers about what?”

Zach closed the distance between us, his massive frame towering over me. The golden light in his eyes flared with deep suspicion.

“About what kind of game you’re playing, Diana. You spent three years crossing the street whenever I rode into your town. You looked at me like I was a plague rat. You let that spineless coward Jax parade you around like a prized pony, and then out of nowhere you throw a ring in his face, expose an affair on a live microphone, and let me carry you away? The Diana Vance I’ve been watching for years would have cried in a corner. Who the hell put you up to this?”

My chest tightened. He knew me too well—or at least he knew the pathetic, naive girl I used to be.

“Nobody put me up to anything,” I told him, looking dead into his eyes. “I woke up, Zach. I realized Jax was a lying, thieving parasite who never loved me for a single second. I want nothing to do with him, and I’m done letting people walk over me. That’s the whole truth.”

Zach let out a low, dry chuckle that held zero warmth. “Forgive me if I don’t buy it. A person doesn’t change their entire soul overnight.”

Before I could fire back, my phone buzzed violently on the bedside nightstand.

We both looked at the glowing screen.

Jax.

A cold smirk touched my lips. I walked over, scooped up the phone, and turned back to Zach.

“Watch this,” I murmured.

I swiped the green icon, tapped the speaker button, and held the phone out between us.

“Diana? Baby, thank the goddess you picked up!” Jax’s voice poured out of the speaker, trembling with theatrical misery. “Where did that savage take you? Are you hurt? Listen to me, sweetheart, I know you were overwhelmed at the festival. I know the stress broke you. But I forgive you for embarrassing me, Diana. I swear I do! Just tell me where you are and I’ll come get you. We can still fix the wedding. We can still merge our families.”

I looked at Zach. His jaw was clenched so hard the tendons in his neck looked like cables.

“Save your pathetic breath, Jax,” I said into the mic, my tone cold enough to freeze water. “I know exactly why you’re calling. You don’t give a damn about me. You’re panicking because without my signature, you can’t touch a single dime of my father’s inheritance.”

Jax went silent for two long seconds. “Diana… what are you talking about? I love you—”

“I know about the witch, Jax,” I cut in. “I know about the fake bond, and I know about Ivy. And as for fixing our relationship? Don’t hold your breath. I’m in love with someone else now. Someone who makes you look like dirt.”

“Who?” Jax choked out, his voice cracking with rage. “Who are you with?!”

I hung up on his face, tossing the phone back onto the mattress.

The silence in the room was deafening.

Zach was staring at me, golden eyes wide, completely caught off guard. His gaze swept over my face, searching for a lie, but he found nothing except cold resolve.

“I’m not working with him,” I said softly. “I’ll stay here. For a couple of days, at least. To prove to you that I’m not running a con.”

Zach held my stare for a long moment, then nodded once, turning on his heel and leaving the room without another word.

By morning, the sun was peeking over the northern snow peaks.

I found my way down to the royal kitchen, intending to show some basic courtesy. I brewed a fresh pot of dark northern roast, poured it into a silver mug, and was about to carry it into the war room when a hand clamped down on my wrist.

“Halt.”

I turned to see Matthew, Zach’s Beta. He was tall, scarred, with piercing grey eyes that looked at me like I was an assassin.

“What do you think you’re doing, Lady Vance?” Matthew demanded.

“Bringing Zach coffee,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “Is that a crime in the north?”

“Drink it,” Matthew ordered coldly, pointing at the steaming mug.

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Drink it,” Matthew repeated, stepping into my space. “The last time you handed Lord Zach a beverage during the summer summit two years ago, he spent three days vomiting black blood in the healers’ ward while his organs shut down. Drink it first, or I throw you in the dungeon.”

The world tilted under my feet.

Two years ago? Poison?

I stared at Matthew in horror. I remembered that summit. Jax had handed me a glass of spiced wine, smiling sweetly, asking me to take it to the Alpha King as a peace offering from our pack. Jax had told me it was a sign of respect.

Jax had used me to poison Zach. And I had been too blind to realize I was holding an assassination weapon.

Zach stepped into the kitchen archway just in time, his brow furrowed as he saw his Beta holding my wrist. “Matthew, let go of her—”

I didn’t wait.

I lifted the silver mug to my lips and took three large, scalding gulps without a single second of hesitation, staring directly into Matthew’s eyes.

The hot liquid burned my throat, but my hands stayed steady.

Zach froze in the doorway, his mouth parting in genuine shock. Matthew slowly released my arm, his grey eyes wide.

Zach took three long strides toward me, gently taking the silver mug from my fingers and setting it on the counter. He looked down at me, his eyes glowing with an emotion so raw and violently tender it stole the breath from my lungs.

He finally understood. I wasn’t an enemy. I was genuinely willing to put my life on the line to prove I trusted him.

“Diana…” he whispered, his voice rough.

Before I could speak, Zach’s large hands cupped my face. He leaned down and crashed his mouth against mine.

The kiss wasn’t gentle. It was a hungry, desperate collision of raw heat and years of repressed agony. My mark burned beneath my collarbone, a blinding jolt of electricity racing through my veins. Instead of pushing him away, my hands flew to his chest, my fingers curling into his tunic, pulling him closer as my body melted against his.

He let out a low groan against my lips, his arms wrapping around my waist, lifting me against the counter—

“Sire!”

A frantic voice shattered the moment.

Zach pulled back, breathing heavily, resting his forehead against mine for one agonizing second before turning toward the royal messenger kneeling in the doorway.

“What is it?” Zach growled.

“The border packs, Sire,” the messenger stammered. “Word reached the southern council that you brought Lady Vance to the palace and claimed her. Four high Alphas have mobilized at the northern gates. They are calling it an outrage. They demand that Lady Vance submit to the Luna trials to prove she is strong enough to lead the realm, or they will revoke their fealty.”

Zach’s eyes flared into dangerous gold. “Tell them to choke on their fealty. Diana doesn’t need to prove a damn thing to—”

“Zach, stop,” I cut in, stepping around the counter.

He looked at me, frustrated. “Diana, the Luna trials are brutal. They want to break you to humiliate me.”

“I know,” I said, a cold, dangerous smile touching my lips as memories of my past life flashed behind my eyes. In that life, they called me weak. They called me useless. They stood by while Ivy drove a dagger into my stomach because I was too fragile to fight back.

Never again.

I lifted my chin, looking straight into the Alpha King’s eyes.

“Let them test me.”