They Don't Want Me? It's the Other Way Around

"As the only daughter of the Alpha King of Northaria, it's only right I choose to ally with the strongest pack—the Pyraxis pack." My voice was calm and unwavering.

Dad's gaze was heavy with concern. "Even so... not one of the three pledged Alphas I chose for you stirred your heart?"

Dad had loved Mom deeply, but she died the year I was born, ambushed and fatally wounded by our enemies. Since then, he had refused to take another Luna Queen.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to entrust all of Northaria to a daughter born an Omega—especially one who hadn't yet awakened her wolf.

On his second-in-command's counsel, he had selected three orphaned pups of Alpha blood from our allied packs. They were raised alongside me, groomed to be my future mates—our so-called "pledged Alphas".

He even issued a royal decree, declaring that whoever marked me in the future would stand beside me and rule the packs of Northaria as equals.

Dad loved me, but he didn't believe an Omega could bear the weight of the throne of Northaria alone. Love and doubt—he carried them both, and they were not contradictions.

"Heath's wolf might be brutal and impossible to control, but I don't need to live in peace with his wolf. I only need to take the potion during mating to put his wolf to sleep.

"That's all it takes to conceive our pup. He's a powerful Alpha—young, wealthy, and far more capable than those three half breed Alphas you raised.

"Better to ally with a dominant pack than waste years trying to mold those three into something they're not, right?" I kept my voice measured.

Dad was quiet for a moment before nodding slowly. "If none of them could win your heart... there's no reason for them to remain at the palace."

If I had told Dad the truth—that Quin Lawson rejected the bond, he would've dragged him to his knees and demanded an explanation.

After all, what right did a wolf raised under the Alpha King's protection have to turn down the princess of Northaria?

However, I didn't want Dad to use his power to guilt or force Quin into submission. And I didn't want to trap a man whose heart clearly already belonged to another.

What he whispered to Silvia under the moonlight during the Moon Goddess Festival… that was the moment I felt my heart shatter.

This alliance with Heath was the last shred of dignity I could offer him.

Dad cast Quin a sharp, icy look as I left the council chamber.

Quin bowed respectfully in farewell—but the moment Dad was out of sight, he turned toward me with his brows drawn tight.

"What did you say to the Alpha King?"

His eyes were thick with anger and disgust, as if I'd just committed some unforgivable sin.

Before I could answer, Mason Lawson scoffed beside me. "Let me guess—the usual? She's upset none of us coddled her, didn't give her what she wanted," he sneered.

Kayden Lawson's face was cold as frost as he sneered. "You're nothing but an Omega, Evelyn. Do you seriously think you're a queen?

"A few shiny coins and some empty commands, and you think you can make all of Northaria bow?"

The three of them stood there, united in their scorn, and their words were like blades meant to cut me down.

"If none of you ever planned to accept the mate bond, then why didn't you have the spine to tell my father yourselves?" I countered.