Steal

The council of the Crimson Crescent Pack was so unfair, and Amelia knew it. Just because Lucas said he still loved her, they believed him immediately—even without any proof from their Alpha—while she had to risk her life just to prove she no longer wanted to be with him.

Lucas hadn’t even marked her as his chosen mate yet. They didn’t have a strong bond as lycans, yet the council was already enforcing such strict rules.

Omegas in a pack like Crimson Crescent, based solely on strength and rank, truly had no right to make decisions.

“He deceived me… he has feelings for my stepsister,” Amelia said, dropping the first bomb she brought, not knowing what the outcome would be.

“What? Alpha Lucas? For Amelia’s stepsister? Olivia?” Whispers roared through the Rejection Hall.

“Amelia! What are you saying!” Lucas asked irritably, unable to believe Amelia could publicly betray him like this.

“It’s true! Isn’t it that every time you come to our house, it’s Olivia’s scent that drives you crazy?” Amelia questioned, fully aware of what Lucas felt when he saw his fated mate.

“Because she is your fated mate, right?” Amelia asked firmly, shocking everyone watching—especially Olivia, who had not expected this revelation.

“Amelia!” Lucas shouted. He didn’t know how to stop her from revealing the truth in front of everyone.

“Is what Amelia said true, Alpha Lucas?” the council asked. Lucas glanced at Olivia, who was staring at him. He quickly averted his gaze and nodded as his answer.

But why was it like this? He still couldn’t let go of Amelia, even in front of his fated mate. Was it pride? Or was it because Amelia was the only one he could see truly loving him, even if they weren’t meant for each other? That thought stopped him from releasing her, knowing he would never find anyone like Amelia again.

“That’s true. Olivia is my fated mate, but she doesn’t know it yet because she isn’t a full she-wolf. But I have no intention of letting go of my chosen mate,” Lucas said, crushing the hidden smile on Olivia’s lips.

Olivia thought that with the rejection ceremony and the fact that she was Lucas’s fated mate, she would finally have him—but why wasn’t Amelia disappearing from her path?

Meanwhile, Amelia was growing angrier at everything Lucas was saying. She couldn’t understand where he got the nerve to act like this.

“What right do you have to make decisions about this? You’re not the only one in this relationship! You need to consider my opinion!” Amelia snapped, lifting her head and removing the veil covering her face and shoulders.

The crowd gasped when they saw Amelia’s skin—bruises and wounds covered her face, neck, and arms. Many were dark violet, and her right eye was bloodshot.

“Aren’t all the abuse and injuries enough reason for you to let me out of this relationship?!” Amelia demanded angrily of the council, and Lucas immediately responded.

“I didn’t do that! Amelia, what are you saying!” Lucas defended himself against the accusations, as almost all the pack members stared at him with suspicion and fear.

“Do you think I would do this to myself, especially knowing I’m wolfless and have no healing abilities like you? You hurt me because I wanted to leave you. I ran away from home last night to escape you, knowing you’d still come after me,” Amelia said, glancing at Olivia and Fernanda, knowing they favored her side.

“You can even ask my stepmom and stepsister—I wasn’t home when they returned earlier, because they thought I was at Mia’s and crying,” Amelia added, looking at the council.

“Is what Amelia saying true?”

Startled and confused, Fernanda and Olivia quickly nodded. “Ye-yes. Amelia wasn’t home when we got back this morning, and she even messaged that she’d be sleeping at Mia’s,” Fernanda said, though still confused, she knew the outcome favored her.

“What are you saying?! I even caught Alpha Lorcan and Amelia in her room! They’re the ones causing mischief behind my back! And I can’t hurt Amelia,” Lucas said, feeling sorry for her condition but even angrier because she had framed him.

“Is the accusation true, Alpha Lucas? Alpha Lorcan?”

All eyes turned to Lorcan, who stood quietly at the side of the room with Lucien, watching the rejection ceremony.

“I went there to pick up Amelia. Mia sent her to me because they were both afraid Lucas might hurt her again,” Lorcan explained, splitting the opinions of the people in the hall.

Seeing Lorcan, some still doubted him, siding with Lucas, the pack’s Alpha, because Lorcan was known as the black sheep of the Crimson Crescent pack and contributed nothing good to the pack or the Wests.

“Ahahaha, you don’t believe me because it came from me, right? But believe what I say now,” Lorcan said, walking toward the stage where Amelia and Lucas stood.

“Believe that the reason I went to pick up Amelia from her house is because I like her and it’s true what my brother said, that I was causing mischief behind her back because I planned to steal her chosen mate.”

Amelia was stunned by Lorcan’s words. She didn’t know whether this was part of their plan or if there was another meaning behind it. She felt nervous—Lorcan was far too good at acting in front of the pack members, so convincing that even she almost fell for his words.

Lorcan looked in Amelia’s direction. Their eyes met, and she saw the mischievous smile on the Alpha’s face. Once again, that strange sensation spread through her body, as if she were being set on fire from within.

“Let’s stop this ceremony,” Alpha Luthor said, drawing everyone’s attention. The anger on his face was obvious as he dealt with the chaos caused by his two sons. Luthor held his head, overwhelmed by everything happening within the Crimson Crescent Pack. He couldn’t understand Lucas—why his son couldn’t let go of an omega like Amelia.

“But Alpha Luthor, we can’t! I can’t let—”

“That’s enough, Lucas. This madness ends now,” Alpha Luthor commanded firmly. Then he turned his gaze toward Amelia.

“Lucas, say it now. Reject Amelia as your chosen mate. Let her go before I lose all patience with your foolishness,” Alpha Luthor added. Lucas had no choice but to clench his fists.

Even though he was already an Alpha, his father still held greater power over the pack, their businesses, and their family’s connections. In front of his father, Lucas’s title felt meaningless, and that was what infuriated him the most.

“But Dad…” Lucas tried to protest, but he couldn’t fight against the overwhelming aura his father exuded. Alpha Luthor’s authority was so strong that even Lucas’s wolf, Dexter, instinctively recoiled whenever it sensed it.

“Don’t make me repeat myself, Lucas,” his father warned quietly.

“I—I, Alpha Lucas Reed, a-accept your rejection, Amelia Blake,” Lucas said, his voice trembling as the words left his mouth. Letting Amelia go went against his heart—he knew he wouldn’t survive losing her.

Amelia walked toward him. She offered him a gentle smile, thinking that while she once wished Lucas would mark her as his chosen mate, now her heart felt unbearably light hearing his rejection.

“I, Amelia Blake, accept your rejection wholeheartedly, Alpha Lucas West,” Amelia replied cheerfully. She made sure Lucas saw how happy she was, crushing both his pride and his heart even further.

Lucas lowered his head as Amelia stepped down from the stage. She was the first to leave the ceremony hall, followed by Lorcan and Mia. Once Amelia disappeared from sight, whispers erupted—confirming that the couple was truly over.

But even with his head bowed, Lucas couldn’t accept that Amelia had abandoned him. He felt betrayed, replaced by his own brother. He swore to himself that he would take revenge—that he would reclaim Amelia by any means necessary and return the pain he felt now to both Amelia and Lorcan.

Yet the anger and pain Lucas felt were nothing compared to what Amelia had endured when she discovered the betrayal between Lucas and Olivia. Amelia knew this wasn’t enough. She wanted to destroy Lucas, Olivia, and Solana the same way they had destroyed her life and her child’s.

She would take revenge, not only for herself, but for the child she lost too soon because of them.