Alpha's Regret: The Mad King's Precious Breeder

LILLIAN

I run through the forest, my lungs burning as branches whip against my face and arms. My feet pound against the earth, but I can't stop. I won't stop. To stop would be worse than death.

They're hunting me like an animal. The official story is that I stole something precious from the pack-some treasure that belongs to them. But that's a lie. The real reason they want me back is that I discovered a secret. A secret they'd kill to protect.

'Lillian!' My father's voice roars through our telepathic link, making my head throb. 'Stop running, you foolish girl! You're only making this worse!'

I grit my teeth against the pain of his mental assault. I don't have the strength to sever the connection-I've never been strong enough for anything. That's what they've always told me, anyway.

'You will come back and face what you've done!' His voice thunders in my mind again.

I stumble over a root but catch myself, forcing my legs to keep moving. My heart hammers so hard I think it might burst through my chest.

I have to keep running.

I push through another wall of branches, ignoring the sting as they rake across my arms. But no matter how hard I run, I can't outpace my own mind. The memory crashes over me, vivid and relentless-the day everything fell apart.

It had started so ordinarily. Just another morning of being invisible...

I scrub the wooden floor of Dylan's bedroom, my knees aching from kneeling on the hard surface for the past hour. The bucket of soapy water beside me has turned gray with dirt, but I'm not done yet. His room is huge-because of course the Alpha's son Dylan deserves the biggest room in the pack house, and he's a slob who never picks up after himself.

You'd think being a Beta's daughter would make my life easier, but having a human mom changes everything. My dad never loved her. He looked down on humans as mates and thought he was too good for her. So when she died giving birth to me, he didn't grieve. He remarried, poured everything into his new wife and her two children, who were pure wolf blood, and forgot I existed. All seventeen years of my life.

In a pack obsessed with blood purity, I'm worse than nothing. I haven't shifted yet, so they treat me like I'm less than a half-blood. Even the Omegas look down on me. I work as a servant just to earn my keep, just to have a roof over my head and scraps to eat.

That's why even though I'd rather die than clean this asshole's room, I have no choice. Every part of me burns to make him pay for making my life a living hell since we were children, but what can I do? Just thinking about the times he's pushed me, tripped me, laughed at me, and called me weak and worthless makes my blood boil. And the worst part? Everyone just watched. No one ever stopped him.

I'm waiting for my eighteenth birthday. Just a few more days. Once I turn eighteen, I might find my mate. Maybe-just maybe-he'll be from another pack. Maybe he'll take me away from here, and I'll never have to see any of these people again.

The door suddenly bursts open.

I freeze, my hand still gripping the scrub brush. Heavy footsteps enter the room, followed by lighter ones. Then I hear it-a woman's breathy giggle.

"Dylan," she purrs.

My eyes widen. I know that voice. That's Julia. My half-sister.

I'm still kneeling behind the bed, hidden from view. My heart starts to race. I need to get out of here, but if I move now, they'll see me. They'll know I was here.

"You smell so good," Dylan's deep voice rumbles.

I clap my hand over my mouth, forcing myself to breathe as quietly as possible. Please don't let them notice me. Please.

The sounds start almost immediately-the rustle of clothing hitting the floor, the creak of the bed, then the moans. My face burns with humiliation as I hear my sister fucking Dylan. I squeeze my eyes shut, wishing I could disappear into the floor.

"We have to be careful," Julia gasps between moans. "At least until after you reject that pathetic half-breed."

My blood turns to ice.

"Don't worry about Lillian," Dylan grunts. "She's nothing. I'll reject her the moment the bond snaps into place."

"Good," Julia breathes. "Because I overheard something yesterday. Father didn't know I was listening."

My heart pounds so hard I'm afraid they'll hear it.

"The Alpha received a confidential message from the Alpha King," Julia continues, sounding almost gossipy despite what they're doing. "A political marriage alliance. The King wants our pack to provide a suitable female to marry the Alpha of the Silver Fang Pack-to cement the alliance."

"And?" Dylan sounds bored.

"And it should be the Alpha's daughter, but you don't have a sister. So the duty falls to the Beta's daughter." Julia laughs, breathless. "They were planning to send me. Can you imagine?"

My stomach drops.

"That's insane," Dylan says. "You're mine."

"Not yet, I'm not. That's why you need to reject Lillian and mark me as soon as possible. Once we're mated, they can't send me away. They'll have to send her instead." Julia's voice drips with satisfaction. "The weak little half-breed can go marry that monster."

"What monster?" Dylan asks.

"The Alpha they want me-her-to marry. They say he's already killed two previous mates. Two! He's dangerous, probably insane. But perfect for a political pawn." Julia giggles again. "Poor Lillian. She'll finally get to be useful for once. Even if it's just as a breeder who won't last a year."

Terror floods through me, cold and sharp. They're going to send me away. They're going to force me to marry someone who kills his mates.

I have to run. I have to get out of here. I have to-

My hand slips on the wet floor, and the scrub brush clatters against the bucket.

The sounds from the bed stop instantly.

"What was that?" Julia hisses.

"Someone's in here." Dylan's voice turns deadly.

I scramble to my feet, but it's too late. Dylan appears around the edge of the bed, naked and furious. His eyes lock onto mine, and I see the exact moment he realizes what I've heard.

"You little spy!" he roars.

His hand shoots out and grabs something from the bedside table-a heavy iron bookend. Before I can move, before I can even scream, he hurls it at my head with all his strength.

Pain explodes through the left side of my face as the iron smashes into my ear. I crumple to the floor, my vision swimming with stars. A high-pitched ringing drowns out everything else. I can see Dylan's and Julia's mouths moving-probably screaming at me-but I can't hear the words. The ringing in my ear is too loud, too intense.

Blood trickles down the side of my face.

I don't wait to see what they'll do next. I drag myself to my feet and run.

My backpack catches on a branch and tears open, spilling my few belongings across the forest floor. I don't stop to gather them. I can't. All I want is to get as far away from the Black Stone Pack as possible.

I can see it ahead-the shallow river that marks the boundary between our territory and the Blood Wolf Pack's land. Once I cross that river, Dylan won't have the authority to apprehend me. Border laws are strict. He won't be able to follow.

My legs are shaking, my whole body screaming in protest, but I push forward. The water is cold as I wade into it, soaking my jeans and shoes. It's only knee-deep, and I splash through it as fast as I can.

My feet hit the opposite bank. I'm across. I'm in Blood Wolf Pack territory.

My legs give out, and I collapse onto the muddy ground, gasping for air. My lungs feel like they're on fire. My left ear is still ringing from where Dylan hit me, and dried blood crusts the side of my face.

"There she is!" someone shouts from behind me.

I turn my head weakly. On the opposite bank, Dylan and my father stand side by side, both of them glaring at me with pure hatred.

"Get back here, Lillian!" my father roars.

But they can't cross. The border regulations require formal documentation for entry. Unauthorized crossings are treated as acts of espionage or rogue intrusion-the Blood Wolf Pack guards would attack them on sight.

Relief washes over me, so intense it makes me dizzy. They can't reach me. I'm safe.

I force myself to stand on trembling legs. I need to keep moving, need to get to the human town nearby. I can disappear there, start over-

Something heavy slams into me from the side, tackling me to the ground. My face hits the mud, and all the air rushes out of my lungs.

No. No, no, no-

Strong hands flip me onto my back, and I find myself staring up into Dylan's furious face. He crossed the border. He actually crossed it.

"Did you really think you could run from me?" he snarls.

He grabs a fistful of my hair and starts dragging me backward. I scream, kicking and clawing at his hand, but he's so much stronger than me. He's an Alpha wolf, and I'm just... nothing.

"Stop! Please!" I beg, but he ignores me.

He's dragging me back toward the river, back toward Black Stone territory. Terror crashes over me in waves. If he gets me across that border, I'm dead. I know it with absolute certainty.

I struggle harder, digging my heels into the mud, scratching at his wrists until my nails break and bleed. Nothing works. He's too strong, and I'm too weak.

We're almost at the river's edge when a commanding voice rings out.

"Stop!"

Dylan freezes. I crane my neck and see at least a dozen warriors surrounding us, all wearing the Blood Wolf Pack insignia. At the front stands a man with silver streaks in his dark hair-a Gamma, judging by the authority in his bearing.

"You've violated our border," the Gamma says coldly, his eyes fixed on Dylan. His name tag reads Michael.

Hope flares in my chest. They're going to stop him. They're going to save me.

"This doesn't concern you," Dylan says, not loosening his grip on my hair. "This girl is a rogue from my pack. She broke our laws and stole from us. I'm simply taking her back to face justice."

"No!" I gasp, trying to lift my head despite the pain. "Please, that's not true! He's lying! Please don't let him take me back-they'll kill me!"

Gamma Michael's gaze shifts to me, and for one brief moment, I think he might believe me. I think he might help.

Then his expression hardens.

"Take her," he says to Dylan.

My heart shatters.

"No," I whisper. "No, please-"

But it's over. The last of my hope dies.

Dylan leans down, his face so close to mine I can feel his breath on my skin. When he speaks, his voice is low and venomous, his teeth clenched in barely contained rage.

"The Alpha King is arriving in just a few days to witness my ascension as the new Pack Leader," he hisses. "You can forget about ruining my plans, you pathetic little half-breed."

Then he drags me into the river, back toward the hell I tried so desperately to escape.

LILLIAN

The dungeon reeks of mold and blood. My wrists burn where the iron shackles bite into my skin, keeping me chained to the cold stone wall. I can barely see in the darkness-just the faint outline of my father as he steps closer, the whip coiled in his hand.

"You brought disgrace to this pack!" His voice echoes off the walls, making me flinch. "Stealing from your own Alpha's son? How dare you!"

The whip cracks through the air before I can respond. White-hot pain explodes across my back, and I bite down on my lip hard enough to taste copper.

"I didn't steal anything," I gasp, my voice barely above a whisper. "Please, Father, you have to believe me-"

Another lash. Another scream I can't hold back.

"Don't lie to me!" he roars. "Hand over what you took, Lillian. Now!"

Tears stream down my face as I shake my head. "There's nothing to hand over. I swear, I didn't-"

The whip comes down again. And again. Each strike feels like it's tearing me apart from the inside out. I try to explain, try to make him understand, but he won't listen. He's never listened to me.

"Father, please..." My voice cracks. "I'm telling the truth..."

But he just keeps hitting me, demanding answers I don't have, accusing me of crimes I didn't commit. Eventually, the pain becomes too much. My vision blurs, my body goes numb, and I let myself collapse against the chains. It's easier to pretend I've passed out than to keep begging someone who will never believe me.

Through my half-closed eyes, I watch my father pause, his chest heaving. He steps closer, studying my limp form. Seemingly satisfied that I'm unconscious, he lets the whip fall to his side.

Footsteps echo from the dungeon entrance. "Frederick!" Dylan's voice calls out. "The Alpha needs you. Now."

My father doesn't even glance back at me as he leaves. The heavy door slams shut, and for a moment, I think I'm alone.

Then I hear lighter footsteps. The rustle of expensive fabric.

"Well, well." Julia's voice drips with venom. "Look at you now."

I keep my eyes closed, my breathing shallow, but she's not fooled. Her fingers dig into my chin, forcing my head up. My eyes flutter open to meet her cold gaze.

"No matter what you say, no one will ever believe you," she sneers, her perfectly manicured nails pressing harder into my skin. "Do you know why? Because you're nothing but a lowly half-blood. A mistake. Did you really think you could get away with causing trouble?"

"I didn't-"

"Shut up." She releases my chin with a shove that makes my head crack against the stone wall. "You're going to stay right here until the Alpha King leaves. And then you're going to march yourself into that arranged marriage like a good little girl. You should be grateful, honestly. This is your only chance to ever marry an Alpha-even if you'll be nothing more than a short-lived breeder." Her lips curl into a cruel smile. "Just like your pathetic mother."

The words hit harder than the whip. My mother. The way Julia says it-like she knows something, like there's a truth they've all been hiding from me about how she really died.

"Please, Julia," I whisper, my voice breaking. "Please don't do this. We have the same father. Doesn't that mean anything?"

Her face twists with rage. "The same father?" She laughs, but there's nothing funny about the sound. "I should have been his firstborn daughter. Not you. Never you!"

Her hand connects with my cheek in a sharp slap that makes my ears ring. Before I can react, she's storming toward the door, her heels clicking against the stone floor.

The door slams shut.

This time, I really do lose consciousness.

***

When I come to, I'm no longer in the dungeon. My eyes open slowly, adjusting to the dim light filtering through a small, grimy window. I'm back in my room-if you can even call it that. It's barely bigger than a closet, tucked away in the Omegas' quarters where no one has to see me or think about me.

I'm still wearing my wet clothes from the river. They cling to my skin, cold and uncomfortable, making me shiver uncontrollably. But that's not why I'm shaking. Heat radiates from my body in waves. I press my hand to my forehead and feel the burning fever beneath my palm.

I stare at the cracked ceiling and realize what day it is. My eighteenth birthday. The day I've been waiting for my entire life-the day I'm supposed to finally transform, to meet my wolf, to become whole.

"Happy birthday to me," I whisper into the emptiness.

My voice sounds pathetic even to my own ears.

Then the pain hits.

It starts deep in my bones-a burning, twisting sensation that makes me cry out. My body convulses as something inside me tries to claw its way to the surface. I roll off the thin mattress and onto the floor, gasping for air.

This is it. My first transformation.

Every nerve ending feels like it's on fire. My bones crack and shift beneath my skin. I bite down on my hand to keep from screaming, tasting blood as my canines lengthen. The agony is unbearable-worse than the whip, worse than anything I've ever felt.

Just when I think I can't take any more, a scent hits me.

Pine and rain and something wild and masculine. It cuts through the pain like a lifeline, pulling at something primal deep in my chest. My wolf recognizes it instantly, even though I don't understand what it means yet.

Mate.

My body moves on instinct. I stumble to my feet, following the scent like I'm being pulled by an invisible thread. I can't stop myself. Don't want to stop myself. The pain of the transformation fades into background noise as I stumble through the darkened hallways.

The scent grows stronger with every step, leading me through the pack house. I know where I'm going before I get there-toward the Alpha's quarters.

LILLIAN

The scent hits me again-stronger this time, impossibly intoxicating-and my legs give out beneath me. I collapse onto the cold stone floor outside the Alpha's quarters, my wet clothes clinging to my feverish skin. The realization crashes over me like a wave: the Moon Goddess has really chosen Dylan as my mate.

No. No, this can't be real.

I press my trembling hand against the doorframe, trying to steady myself as another wave of heat rolls through my body. My first transformation isn't finished-I can feel my wolf stirring beneath my skin, restless and confused. But that scent... that damned scent keeps pulling me forward, even as every rational part of me screams to run.

Dylan. The boy who made my life hell for seventeen years. The Alpha's son, who never missed a chance to remind me I was less than nothing. A half-blood. A mistake.

And now he's my mate.

I want to laugh. Or cry. Or maybe both. I know I shouldn't be surprised. After overhearing him with Julia the other day, I should have known. Still, some part of me wanted to believe they were lying about it.

Voices drift through the heavy wooden door. I recognize them immediately-Dylan's arrogant drawl, his father's commanding tone. And there, quieter than the others, is my own father's voice. Of course Dylan's here, probably discussing how to punish me further for daring to run, for daring to exist.

I should leave. I should drag myself away from this door and never look back.

But I can't move. The mate bond-fresh and raw and unwanted-roots me to this spot. My wolf whimpers inside me, drawn to him despite everything he's done. Despite everything he is.

The door swings open before I can move.

Light floods the hallway, and I find myself staring up at three pairs of eyes. Dylan stands in the doorway, and the moment his gaze lands on me, his jaw tightens. He exhales slowly through his nose, as if he's been dreading this exact moment and is only annoyed that it came tonight.

Behind him, his father, Harlow, steps forward, nostrils flaring as he sniffs the air. I see the exact moment it hits him, his eyes moving slowly between his son and me.

"The mate bond," Harlow says quietly. Not a question.

Father goes completely still in the corner. I don't look at him.

Dylan doesn't even glance at his father. He just stares down at me with that familiar contempt.

"I, Dylan Blackwood, future Alpha of the Black Stone Pack, reject you, Lillian, as my mate." His voice rings out, formal and irreversible. "I sever our bond before the Moon Goddess and before these witnesses."

The words hit me like a physical blow. Pain explodes through my chest, sharp and hot and all-consuming. The mate bond-barely formed, barely acknowledged-begins to tear apart. It feels like he's ripping out a piece of my soul.

But somewhere beneath the agony, I feel something else: relief.

Because I don't want this either. I don't want to be bound to him. I don't want a mate who looks at me with hatred instead of love.

"I..." My voice comes out broken, barely a whisper. I force myself to meet his eyes. "I accept."

Two words. That's all it takes.

The bond snaps completely. The pain intensifies for one horrible moment-a searing, tearing sensation that steals my breath-and then... nothing. Just emptiness where that pull used to be.

My wolf howls inside me, confused and hurt. The combination of my unfinished transformation and the severed mate bond is too much. The fever spikes higher. The room tilts sideways.

I hear someone call my name-my father, maybe-but it sounds distant, muffled, like I'm underwater.

Then darkness swallows me whole.

***

There is no pain here.

I become aware of that first-the absence of it. No fever. No aching bones. No ringing in my damaged ear. Just stillness, and a light so soft it doesn't hurt to look at.

I'm standing in a space that isn't quite anywhere. The ground beneath my feet feels like moonlight made solid. The air smells like rain on warm earth.

"Lillian."

The voice comes from everywhere and nowhere. I turn, and she is there.

I don't know how I know it's her. I just do, the way you know the sun is there even with your eyes closed. She is luminous and ageless, draped in silver that moves like water, her eyes the deep, patient gray of a sky just before dawn. She looks at me the way no one ever has.

Like I matter.

"Am I dead?" I ask. My voice comes out smaller than I intend.

"No, my child." She moves toward me, unhurried. "You are resting. Your body has been through more than it was ready for tonight."

"Then why am I here?"

She stops in front of me. Her expression is unbearably gentle.

"Because I came to find you," she says. "I have been watching what was done to you. The rejection. The injury." Her gaze moves to my left ear. "I came because you are owed something, and I intend to give it to you."

She reaches out and cups my damaged ear in her palm. A warmth moves through that side of my head, slow and deep, like light filling a room.

"The ear that was hurt will now hear what others cannot," she says. "The thoughts people bury behind their faces. The truths they are too proud or too afraid to speak. You will hear all of it."

I stare at her. "You're giving me the ability to read minds."

"I am giving you the ability to hear the truth," she says, and there is quiet gravity to the distinction. "Use it wisely, my child. Not everything you hear will be easy to carry."

She steps back, and the light around her begins to brighten.

"Wait-" I step forward.

She looks at me for a long moment, her expression full of something-sorrow, maybe, or love, or both. And then the light takes her, and takes everything else with it.

I wake up in the Omega's room.

The ceiling is the same water-stained gray it has always been. The blanket is thin. The room smells like cold stone and neglect. Everything exactly as I left it.

I lie there for a moment, staring up at nothing, letting the dream-if it was a dream-settle into me.

Then I become aware of my father sitting in the chair beside the bed. He reaches out toward my hand on the blanket.

I pull it away before he can touch me.

He withdraws without a word.

"Save it," I say. My voice is flat. "Whatever you came to say, save it. Go back to ignoring me, like you always do."

Dad's mouth tightens. When he speaks, his voice is clipped and official.

"The pack laws are clear. A rejected mate is considered an ill omen." He folds his hands in his lap. "You are to be exiled. You have until tomorrow morning to leave the territory."

A short, empty laugh escapes me. Of course. Of course they're exiling me too.

"There's something else." A pause. "Your first transformation-it didn't go smoothly. Your wolf nature has been severely weakened. There is a significant chance you may lose it entirely."

My breath catches. Everything else-the exile, the rejection-I could survive. But my wolf? She's the only part of me I've waited my whole life for. I just found her.

He stands and moves toward the door. And then I hear something else.

A voice-but not from his mouth. From somewhere closer and quieter, like a sound traveling through water.

I'm sorry I forgot your birthday. I should have been there for your transformation.

I go very still.

He didn't say a word. His lips didn't move. But I heard it-clear as anything.

The door closes behind him.

I stare at the ceiling. Is it real? Or am I still half-delirious from the fever? Did I imagine it?

But it felt real. It felt more real than anything else tonight.

And if it is real, what does it change? He thought the words. He didn't say them. He sat beside my bed and watched me flinch from his touch and said nothing. He's done nothing my entire life.

Does he care about me? I don't know. Maybe somewhere underneath all that indifference, something remains. But it has never been enough to matter. He hit me yesterday. He stood in that room while my mate bond was severed in front of witnesses and didn't make a sound.

A thought, however sincere, doesn't undo eighteen years.

DYLAN

I pace my room like a caged animal.

The rejection should have brought relief. I did what I had to do-what any Alpha in my position would have done. She's a half-blood. She could never be a Luna.

So why can't I get her face out of my head?

I keep seeing her the way she looked in that hallway. Pale and fevered, barely able to hold herself upright. The way she said, "I accept." No fighting, no begging. Just those two quiet words, like she'd already made her peace with being discarded.

I stop at the window.

The rejection was a mistake. I know that now. The moment the words left my mouth, I felt something shift the wrong way. My wolf has been snarling at me ever since, furious in a way I've never felt from him before.

And the exile. The pack's decision to cast her out by morning.

I don't agree with it.

The thought settles in me with uncomfortable clarity. I don't want her exiled. I don't want her running off to some other territory, living as a rogue, vulnerable, and alone. And I especially don't want her shipped off to that neighboring pack-to that Alpha with blood already on his hands. Two mates dead. And they want to send her there.

No.

The word rises in me with a force that surprises me.

She is mine. Rejected or not, the bond chose her for me. The idea of another Alpha anywhere near her makes something dark and ugly rise in my chest.

I won't let it happen.

Not out of care. I'm clear-eyed enough to know the difference. This isn't tenderness. It's ownership. She belongs to this pack. She belongs where I can see her, where I control what happens to her. A servant, maybe-the lowest rank, nothing that compromises my position or my bloodline.

But she stays.