The Alpha’s Sharpest Blade Left Him
When I was eighteen, Kael pulled my sister and me out of a rogue auction ring on the northern border.
From that day on, I fought for him, bled for him, and helped him carve out his place among the northern packs.
By the time his name carried weight across the borderlands, everyone knew I was the one who stood closest to his power.
I thought that one day, he might finally look at me and see more than a weapon at his side.
Then he brought home a soft-spoken Omega named Liora.
“Mira, look at you. Covered in blood again.”
“Wash up before you frighten Liora.”
After that, everything changed.
The pack began calling her future Luna.
Kael took my blades away, tied an apron around my waist, and made me responsible for her every need.
Whenever she slipped into places she should not have been, got hurt, and claimed I had frightened her out of jealousy, Kael believed her. Every punishment came with a reason. Neat enough to sound fair. Sharp enough to hurt.
I accepted all of it.
Because years ago, when I asked how I could repay him for saving my sister and me, Kael had said:
“You want to repay me?”
“Then do one hundred things for me.”
I lowered my eyes to the yellowing notebook in my hands.
Only three were left.
When I finished them, I would owe him nothing.
And then I would leave.