Alpha Hale

Arabella POV

My room felt smaller than it ever had.

I leaned against the door, pressing my palm flat against the wood as tears blurred my vision, slipping down my cheeks before I could stop them. I didn’t bother wiping them away. I was tired of pretending I was strong when everything inside me felt like it was breaking apart.

Lucas.

The name alone tightened my chest.

I remembered the first time I met him, it was at a pack gathering three years ago. I was 19 and he was 21.

Being the alpha’s cousin, Lucas was already a rising star in the pack. Tall, handsome and charming. He had that kind of presence that drew people in without him even trying.

And me?

I was the shy and awkward girl who didn’t belong anywhere.

Our eyes met across the gathering and I’d felt a jolt of electricity run through my body. Lucas had smiled and I’d looked away instantly, my heart racing so hard I thought everyone around me could hear it. That was the beginning of our love story.

Over the next few months, we spent every spare moment together, exploring the woods and talking about our dreams. Lucas was kind and gentle, the only person who treated me like a human.

When the pack realized we were together, whispers followed us wherever we went. Surprise glances, curious stares, some looked at me as if I were something that had crawled out of the dirt and dared to reach too high.

Even my own family didn’t hide their disbelief. An omega like me? With him?

The rumors spread quickly, growing sharper and crueler. I heard them in hushed voices that were never hushed enough, that I wasn’t good enough for him. That I was a mistake he would soon grow tired of. That I should be grateful for the attention and not expect it to last.

Some even said I had trapped him.

But Lucas never listened.

When I tried to pull away, embarrassed, he only tightened his grip on my hand. When I asked if the whispers didn’t bothered him, he laughed it off saying the rumors were nothing more than dust.

“Let them talk” he’d said easily “they don’t matter”

And I believed him.

Because when he looked at me, there was no doubt in his eyes. No shame. No hesitation.

For the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged somewhere.

He had promised to make me his mate on the day of the succession ceremony, where his uncle would pass on the title of the Alpha to him.

“I’ll make you my Luna, Arabella. I promise you”

He had whispered.

I’d held onto that promise, waiting patiently for three long years, enduring my family’s cruelty and abuse, knowing that soon i would be free to be with Lucas, the love of my life. And now…

I curled my fingers into my palms as the truth settled heavily in my chest.

He had abandoned me just like everyone else.

I wiped my tears with the back of my hand, drawing in a shaky breath. Crying wouldn’t change anything. It never had.

Slowly, I pushed myself away from the door and knelt beside the bed, reaching underneath until my fingers brushed against something cold and solid.

I dragged out the old box and one by one, I began pulling out the contents in the box.

A folded hoodie… Lucas’s, but always left behind in my room.

Old notes tucked between book pages. A cheap necklace he’d won for me at a pack fair, grinning like it was a treasure.

I dropped each item into the trash bag at my side.

Whatever Lucas had been to me, he wasn’t that anymore.

“Arabella!”

My stepmother’s voice cut through the quiet room.

“Now!”

I closed the box, shoved it aside before leaving the room.

The living room was chaos when I entered.

Two large boxes sat on the floor, wrapped in an elegant white paper stamped with the packs’s crest. Sophia stood beside them, her eyes bright with curiosity. And my stepmother was smiling.

That alone made my stomach tighten.

“What’s this?” I asked.

My stepmother held up an envelope, thick and cream colored, sealed with wax.

“An invitation” she replied, excitement evident in her voice. “From the alpha”

“The alpha?”

I couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes, there’s a formal ball tonight and we’re invited” she squealed softly and I narrowed my eyes.

The words didn’t make sense. Families like ours weren’t invited to events like this.

Sophia tore open the first box before anyone could stop her and a dress was revealed. Deep sapphire, elegant and beautiful tailored.

Then my stepmother opened the second box. Inside laid another gown.

Red. Beautiful and bold.

Both dresses had cards attached. One read Sophia and the other…

Arabella.

Sophia’s smile vanished instantly.

“I want that one” she snapped pointing at mine. “Red suits me better”

My stepmother turned sharply “No”

Sophia stared at her shocked, this was the first time she had ever been denied.

“That gown was labeled and sent by the alpha himself” my stepmother said coldly “you will not embarrass this family by behaving like a child”

Sophia’s lips pressed into a sulk but she said nothing.

“I’m not going” I said quietly.

The room fell silent.

My stepmother turned slowly, her smile now replaced with a frown. “What did you just say?”

“I’m not going” I repeated.

Not tonight, not after everything that happened.

My chest tightened as Lucas’s face flashed in my mind, I hadn’t even begun to recover from the humiliation.

I didn’t want to see him.

As if reading my thoughts, Sophia scoffed. “Don’t be dramatic”

“You spoilt child” my stepmother exploded. “You should be grateful, all of this…” she gestured to the dresses and the boxes. “Is thanks to your sister’s position as the future Luna”

“But…”

“You will go” my father finally spoke and I turned to look at him, stunned.

“You know the kind of man Alpha Hale is” he continued. “We can’t afford to offend him”

Alpha Hale.

The name alone sent chills down my spine.

He was rarely seen in the pack, almost a myth more than a man. People spoke of him in hushed voices, with careful words and lowered gazes. He ruled from the shadows, appearing only when necessary and when he did, the entire pack bowed.

Even I had never truly seen him.

All I knew was what everyone else knew, He was Lucas’s uncle, the man who held the real power. A man known for ruthlessness, for making examples out of those who crossed him. A man families like mine couldn’t refuse.

The formidable Alpha Hale.

“You’ll wear the gown” my stepmother said coldly “you’ll attend the ball and you will remember your place”