Chapter 1: Not Your Secret

⋅ ⋅ ⚘ALEXIA'S POINT OF VIEW⚘ ⋅ ⋅

"Hold still, Tommy, or I'm going to stitch your ear to your shoulder," I muttered, my fingers moving with practiced precision as I pulled the silver-threaded needle through the jagged tear in his arm.

Tommy winced, gripping the edge of the metal examination table so hard his knuckles turned white. "Easy for you to say, Alexia. Your hands don't even shake. Are you made of stone?"

"I'm made of coffee and five hours of sleep," I replied dryly, tying off the knot with a swift snip of my shears. "Now stop squirming. A rogue claw to the shoulder builds character anyway."

"He doesn't need character, Doc. He needs a brain," mocked Kaia, my lead assistant, as she tossed a tray of sanitized scalpels onto the counter. "He got hit because he was busy watching the treeline instead of his flank."

"Hey! I was on high alert!" Tommy protested, his cheeks flushing red beneath his dirt-streaked skin. "The Alpha's regiment is due back today. I wanted to be the first to see them march in!"

I smiled softly to myself, turning my back to wash my hands in the basin. At the mention of the Alpha, a familiar flutter bloomed in my chest, warming me from the inside out.

Drake.

Just hearing his name was enough to make my heart race.

It had been four long months since he gathered the warriors and marched out to crush the rogue strongholds along our border.

Four months of silence, restless nights, and terrifying quiet.

Before he left, he had slipped a moon-silver ring onto my finger beneath the full moon.

He had kissed me until I was breathless, swearing that no matter what the ancient stories said about fated mates, I was the only woman he would ever love.

He promised he would return and make me his Luna, wolfless omega or not, and had made me believe that being wolfless didn't make me less worthy of his love, that fate couldn't decide who he would choose.

I had built my future around those promises.

"Alexia!"

The doors of the infirmary slammed open.

One of the guards stood in the doorway, breathing heavily, his eyes wide. "They're back! Alpha Drake's regiment just crossed the gates! The warriors are back!"

Tommy practically leapt off the medical table, forgetting his fresh stitches entirely. "Yes!" he yelled, dashing past the guard toward the square.

Kaia chuckled, throwing a clean towel over her shoulder. "Well, go on, Doc. Don't keep our Alpha waiting. We can clean up here."

I didn't need to be told twice.

The central courtyard was already drowning in chaos. Hundreds of pack members flooded the dusty paths, cheering and throwing wildflowers into the air as the armor-clad warriors marched in.

I pressed forward through the crowd, pushing past bodies, my eyes wildly searching the front line for his familiar dark hair and broad shoulders.

"Drake!" I called out, my voice swallowed by the roaring crowd. "Drake!"

Then I saw him.

He rode at the head on his black warhorse, looking every bit the ruthless Alpha he was.

My heart swelled to near bursting, a smile breaking across my face.

But as I took a step closer, the smile froze.

Drake was not riding alone.

He held a woman in his lap, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, her pale face buried in the crook of his shoulder.

She was small, dainty, and wrapped in a rich crimson cloak that stood in stark contrast to his bloodied armor.​

And Drake wasn't looking for me. His gaze remained fixed on her, filled with a gentle, fiercely protective possessiveness I had never seen on his face before.

As they drew nearer to where I stood, he whispered something in her ear, and she let out a soft, melodic laugh, tilting her head back to reveal bright, striking emerald eyes.

I recognized her.

She was Lena, the daughter of Alpha Logan from the neighboring, powerful Bloodfang Pack. I had seen her before, though we'd never spoken.

As if sensing my gaze piercing through the noise, Drake snapped his head in my direction for just a second.

His expression was unreadable.

And he didn't dismount to hold me, nor did he even call my name.

He rode past me, carrying her toward the private entrance of the pack house as if I were nothing more than a ghost standing in the dirt.

I stood there frozen, unable to move.

My fingers closed around the silver ring.

The same ring he had placed there beneath the full moon.

The cheers around me continued, but they sounded distant, muffled beneath the deafening silence inside my head.

What about the promises?

What about the ring on my finger?

I needed answers.

────୨♡୧────

I slammed the door of his private office behind me as I walked in.

My chest heaved, every breath burning like hot ash in my throat.

Drake stood behind his desk, pouring himself a crystal glass of amber whiskey. The clinking of the bottle was the only sound in the suffocating room.

He didn't look up.

"Drake, what is the meaning of this?" My voice cracked despite my attempt to steady it. "Who is she? Why were you holding her like that in front of the entire pack?”

He set the glass down and finally met my eyes.

The warmth that used to make me melt was gone, replaced by a distance that chilled me to the bone.

"Her name is Lena," Drake said, his tone flat and measured. "I found her in a rogue encampment. She had been taken hostage. They starved and tortured her for days. If I hadn't broken through their lines when I did, she would be dead.”

"That's... that's horrible, Drake. We can treat her. I'll start her on an IV right now, get her nourished, and we can contact Alpha Logan to escort her safely home."

"She isn't going back," Drake cut in.

"What do you mean?"

"She stays here. With me." He stepped out from behind the desk and took a slow, heavy step toward me. "Alexia... she is my fated mate."

The air rushed out of my lungs so fast I stumbled back a pace.

"Your... your what?" I whispered.

"My fated mate," he repeated, without a single trace of hesitation. "The Goddess chose her for me. When I touched her in that cell, the spark was unmistakable. An Alpha paired with his true mate possesses greater strength and authority. With war brewing along our borders, I cannot afford to reject that bond. And her father commands the largest force. I cannot risk offending Alpha Logan by sending his traumatized daughter away."

"You... you promised me." Tears finally spilt over my lashes, scalding my cheeks as I held up my left hand. The silver ring caught the light. "Months ago, you knelt before me! You said fate didn't matter! You said you loved me!"

"I do care for you, Alexia," Drake said, but for the first time, something flickered across his face as his gaze dropped to the silver ring on my finger, and for a brief second, he looked almost conflicted.

Then the emotion disappeared behind a wall of cold resolve.

"But this is politics and nature combined. I have a responsibility to this pack that goes beyond personal feelings.”

"So you're afraid of angering an Alpha you've never even met, but you aren't afraid of hurting me?" I yelled, my voice breaking into a sob. "I'm an orphan, Drake! I have no family left! My father died in the battle lines protecting your parents!"

"Watch your tone, Alexia," he growled, his voice vibrating with warning. "Your parents sacrificed their lives for the pack, but that doesn't mean I owe you anything. A pack cannot be ruled by pity."

The words knocked the breath straight out of me.

I stared at him, unable to reconcile this cruel man with the one I had known.​

This was the man who had once held me through the night after my parents died. The man who had wiped away my tears and promised I would never have to face my grief alone.

The man who had made me believe I was loved.

Now he stood before me as though every promise between us had never existed.

Seeing my crushed expression, Drake softened his posture and stepped closer until he stood just inches away.

He reached out, his thumb tracing my cheekbone as he wiped away a tear.

I shuddered and tried to pull back, but he grabbed my waist, pinning me firmly against him.

"Listen to me," he murmured, his voice dipping into that low, persuasive hum he knew I was weak to. "You don't have to leave. You can still be mine."

My heart gave a painful little flutter.

For one foolish second, hope sparked through the wreckage inside me. "What?"

"My secret woman." Drake's mouth curved into a faint smile. "Even if you're not Luna, you'll be the one I come to for comfort. The one I truly trust. Lena has the title and the bloodline, but you... you have my history. You'll still be important, Alexia. I'll take care of you. You'll have everything you ever want."

Disgust, cold and vile, pooled in the pit of my stomach. "You want me... to be your mistress?"

"Yes," Drake said smoothly, as if he were offering me the greatest honor in the pack. "We can still be together. But secretly. You love me, Alexia—I know you do. And I still want you. You'll always be special to me."

He bent his head down, reaching to press his lips against the exposed crook of my neck.

"Don't touch me!" I screamed, shoving his chest with every ounce of strength in my body.

Drake stumbled back a step, genuinely shocked by my rejection. Then, his surprise quickly curdled into ugly, bruised pride.

"You should feel honored!" he snapped. "Most women in this pack would kill for the Alpha's attention. They would gladly crawl into my bed on their knees. And you dare reject me?"

I stared at him.

In that moment, something inside me finally broke—not my heart, but the last fragile piece of hope that the man I had loved was still somewhere beneath the coldness.

There was nothing left to save.

He stepped into my space again, towering over me, forcing his terrifying aura down until my knees trembled.

"You belong to me, Alexia," he snarled, leaning down so his mouth was inches from my ear. "Look at yourself. Who else would ever want you? No one in this pack would dare to have you. You are a wolfless omega. An orphan. You have nothing without me."

"I'm not yours," I said, my voice eerily calm and steady. "You lost the right to claim me the moment you chose to make me your secret."

I looked down at the silver ring one last time.

Then I pulled it off and threw it at him.

It struck his chest before clattering to the floor.

"We are done, Alpha Drake."

Without waiting for his response, I walked to the door, turned the handle, pulled it open, and walked out of his office—and his life—leaving the echo of his furious roar behind me.