Fated to the Alpha who Hates me

"Did you just put chili oil on strawberries?"

Daniel looked at me like I'd committed a culinary crime.

I grinned, balancing the bowl in one hand as I hopped onto the kitchen counter. "It's a thing. Sweet, spicy, tangy. Try it before you judge."

He raised a skeptical brow, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled to his elbows as he reached for a berry. "If I die, I'm haunting you."

"Don't be dramatic."

He bit into it and paused. Then his eyes widened. "Okay, that's... weirdly good."

I nudged his side with my knee. "Told you."

Our little apartment smelled like roasted coffee and spring rain, windows cracked open to let in the breeze. The city hummed outside-car horns, laughter, a distant siren or two. But in here? It was peace. Warm, humming, real.

Daniel walked over to his laptop, pushing aside a mess of blueprints and client sketches. "Remind me again why you're not bottling your chaos genius into a restaurant?"

"Because chaos genius doesn't pay the bills," I said, hopping down. "But freelance recipe development does."

"You mean, sending spicy berry salad to food bloggers?"

"Exactly."

He laughed, the sound soft and safe and as always it made my stomach flutter.

God, I loved that sound.

Three years ago, I was still scrubbing diner floors and sleeping in a hostel.

Then I met Daniel-the architect who ordered tea instead of coffee and forgot his sketchbook at my booth. He smiled like the sun. He didn't look at me like I was broken.

Now? We shared a rent-controlled apartment with mismatched furniture, a two-burner stove, and a balcony full of struggling herbs. I had a job. Friends. A future.

And a ring on my finger.

He'd proposed last month-on a ferry ride across the bay, with city lights flickering behind him and his hands shaking. I didn't even let him finish the speech.

I said yes because he made me feel like I belonged somewhere.

Like I was human.

I was halfway through editing a new recipe draft when my phone buzzed.

Unknown Number.

I almost didn't answer, but the call came again.

With a sigh I picked it up.

"Hello?"

A pause. Then a voice, rough and unfamiliar came from the speakers , "Ayla Rowan?"

My body went still. No one had called me that name for four years now.

"...Yes?"

"This is Elder Nora. From the Bloodhowl Pack."

If I wasn't sitting down I would have staggered back a few paces.

"I-why are you calling me?"

"It's Mae," she said. "She passed last night. Peacefully."

Oh my dear goddess, "What?"

"Her final wish was that you attend the burial. You were like a daughter to her."

Mae. Gods.

The old wolf who made sure I had soup when I was sick. Who taught me to braid my hair and scolded me gently for stealing honey bread. The only softness I'd known in that place. That hell.

"I don't..." I cleared my throat. "I haven't been back in years. I don't think it's a good idea."

"It's tradition," Nora said. "And respect."

"I'll think about it," I whispered.

The line went dead.

I didn't say anything for the rest of the day. I moved through my routine like a ghost-shopping, cleaning, writing, editing-until night fell and Daniel came home.

He brought Chinese takeout and kissed my forehead.

I didn't kiss him back.

We sat on the couch, some random show playing in the background.

He passed me the rice and I refused to touch it.

"Okay," he said eventually, voice low, "what's going on?"

I stared at the TV, words crowding my throat.

Mae was dead. There's no way I'd refuse going to pay my last respect.

That woman had showed my love when I thought it was impossible to get it.

"Ayla," he said, gently this time. "Talk to me."

"I got a call today." My voice cracked. "From someone I used to know. From... home."

His brows lifted. "You never talk about your home."

"Because it's not a place I like remembering."

He shifted to face me. "Okay. So why now?"

I exhaled, staring at my fingers. "Someone died. Mae. She raised me after my parents were killed. The pack elder called to say I should come to the burial."

"Pack?" Daniel frowned. "Like a community?"

I looked at him, really looked-and knew this moment would change everything between us.

And I had prayed - really wished that this day would never come - the day Daniel would discover that I wasn't human like he thought I was.

"No," I said softly. "Like... wolves."

He blinked. "I'm sorry?"

I stood up, wrapping my arms around myself. "I'm not what you think I am, Daniel."

"Okay..."

"I'm not just a girl who grew up off the grid. I'm a werewolf."

He laughed.

He actually laughed, like I'd cracked a bad joke.

I didn't.

The silence that followed was the loudest thing I'd ever heard.

"You're serious."

"Yes."

He stood too, shaking his head like he could throw the words off. "Come on, Ayla. This isn't funny."

"I'm not joking."

"Werewolves don't exist."

"I exist."

He stared at me like I'd grown horns. "No. No, this is insane. You're telling me... what? You turn into a wolf every full moon?"

"That's not how it works," I said quietly. "We shift. By will. Not the moon. It's-complicated. But it's real."

Daniel took a step back. "How long have you been lying to me?"

"I wasn't lying. I was protecting you."

"From what?"

"From them. From that world. From the part of me that isn't safe."

His voice rose, sharp with disbelief. "You're saying we've been engaged for a month and you never thought maybe I should know you're not human?"

"I am human, Daniel. Just not hundred percent one - and I wanted to leave it all behind. That part of me. It never brought anything but pain."

"And now you're going back?"

"I have to."

He nodded slowly, jaw tight. "Three years we have known each other and you have been hiding something like this to me? It never occurred to you to let me know that I was marrying an animal?!"

His words made me flinch like it was a slap across my face but I knew I deserved it.

"Daniel..."

"He turned away, pacing toward the window, then back again. "I can't do this."

"Daniel-"

"I love you, Ayla. But this? This is too much. I don't even know who you are."

I stepped forward. "I'm still me."

He looked at me-and for the first time, I saw fear in his eyes.

"No, you're not."

He took off the ring, - the promise ring I've gotten him after our engagement - set it gently on the coffee table, and walked to the door.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I can't marry a stranger."

The door shut behind him.

I stood there for a long time.

Until the silence crawled into my bone, Then I sat on the floor beside the coffee table, picked up the ring, and stared at it.

This was the life I built.

And now it was already starting to fall apart.

(CADE's POV)

The smell of blood hit me before I stepped into the clearing.

Two bodies. Ripped open. Limbs twisted at unnatural angles. The third was barely clinging to life, breathing in ragged wheezes as the medic tried to keep pressure on the wound.

"Rogues again?" I asked.

Riven nodded, jaw clenched. "Same claw patterns. Same north ridge. No scent trail, though. Like they're masking themselves."

I knelt beside the younger wolf. Jonas. Eighteen. Barely out of training.

His eyes found mine. "Alpha..."

"Save your strength," I said quietly.

He smiled. Smiled, gods damn him. "You should've seen the way I blocked that first hit..."

His chest shuddered, then stilled.

I stood, blood soaking into my boots, and something inside me twisted. Not with shock. Not even anger.

With exhaustion.

How many more young wolves do I have to lose for this to be over?

Later, I sat in my office with a glass of whiskey I wasn't even drinking and a map littered with red pins.

The pack was fraying.

We were losing lives every week, patrols sent out and not returning.

My people were starting to whisper, starting to wonder if I was strong enough to hold this together.

Maybe they were right.

I wasn't built for this. Not like my father- who was ruthless, decisive, terrifying. I'd spent too long pretending to be untouchable, back when I thought power meant pushing others down.

Back when I thought making Ayla's life hell was... harmless.

I squeezed the glass tighter.

"Alpha?"

Nora, the elder, poked her head in. Her gray braid was damp from rain, her tone as calm as ever.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Ayla Rowan is coming back. She'll arrive tonight."

The words hit like a blow I didn't see coming.

I blinked. "What?"

"She was contacted about Mae's death. Said she'd return for the burial."

Mae. The old she-wolf who had more heart than half the damn pack combined. Of course Ayla would come back-for her.

My fingers curled around the edge of the desk.

"Thank you," I said flatly. "You can go."

Once the door shut, I sat back and let the silence breathe.

Ayla.

Seven years gone, and the second I heard her name, every buried memory clawed its way back.

Her eyes-wide and wary. The way her voice cracked when she spoke, like she was never sure she'd be heard. The tremble in her hands during training... and the way I mocked it.

I'd been cruel. Not just once. Over and over, until she vanished without a word.

And I never looked for her.

I told myself she wasn't important. That omegas like her didn't matter. That she was weak. Forgettable.

But I remembered. Gods help me, I remembered everything.

And now she was coming back.

As if the goddess wasn't already punishing me enough.

Perhaps this wasn't a punishment after all. Perhaps the universe was giving me a chance to make things right.

~~~~~

I waited at the east gate alone.

The forest was dark, quiet, but the tension under my skin buzzed like electricity. My wolf paced behind my ribs, restless. Anxious. I hadn't felt him this alert in months.

Then I saw her.

Walking out of the trees, hood pulled low, bag slung over one shoulder.

I froze.

Her scent hit me first-pine and honey and something wild. My breath caught. My body locked up like I'd been punched in the chest.

She hadn't seen me yet.

But I saw her.

And she looked... different. Older. Stronger. Shoulders straighter. Eyes harder. But still Ayla. Still the girl I drove away.

Her gaze landed on me.

She stopped walking.

"Ayla," I said, stepping forward.

Her lips tightened. "Where should I leave the flowers? Or do you want to make me earn the right to mourn too?"

"Ayla, wait-"

"I'm not here for small talk. I'm here for Mae." She moved to walk past me.

"Let me say what I should've said a long time ago."

She paused. Just enough.

I took a breath. "I'm sorry."

She turned, slow and sharp. "You're sorry?"

"Yes."

"For what, exactly? For humiliating me? For making me feel like trash? For chasing me out of my own home?"

"All of it." My voice didn't shake-but gods, my insides did.

For a moment, she just stared. The rain started falling, soft and steady. Her hair frizzed at the edges, her cheeks flushed.

"I don't need your guilt," she said.

"No," I said. "But I need to give it."

She looked at me-really looked-and something shifted.

Her breath caught.

Mine did too.

And then it hit.

Like lightning under our skin. Like fire and ice clashing in our chests.

The mate bond.

I staggered back half a step.

Ayla's eyes went wide. "No."

I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.

Her hands trembled.

And suddenly, the world tilted. The scent between us thickened, that unmistakable pull thrumming through every nerve.

"No," she whispered again, like she could undo it just by saying it out loud.

I didn't move.

Neither did she.

We just stood there.

Two people with too much history. One bond too powerful to ignore.

And one single truth spiraling between us-

"Mate..." my wolf growled out before I could stop him.

"No. No. No-this isn't happening."

I walked fast. Too fast. The pine needles blurred under my feet, the scent of moss and packland stinging my nose like poison. My lungs heaved, my vision tunneled, and my body burned from the inside out.

Mate.

Mate?

I nearly shifted from the sheer force of panic crawling under my skin.

My mate bond was supposed to be a blessing.

Not a punishment.

Not him.

"Ayla wait!" Cade's voice called behind me but I kept walking.

"Don't follow me you badtard!!"

I really shouldn't be cursing out my Alpha but Cade wasn't my Alpha and I'd be damned if I accept him as my mate too.

My skin crawled just thinking about it.

I found the edge of the burial clearing and collapsed against a tree, pressing my forehead to the bark. The cold bite of the wind did nothing to numb the chaos in my chest.

The pull between us still vibrated under my skin and I could feel him.

I hated it but I could feel him - his presence there with me like a thread tied tight between our souls.

A thread I'd given anything to rip out.

I didn't go to the burial.

Not right away.

I couldn't face Mae's body while my blood screamed Cade's name.

So I waited.

Until the lanterns dimmed. Until the howls faded. Until only the trees were left to whisper over her grave.

I walked to the fresh mound of dirt with numb legs and a hollow heart.

A single white lily rested on top.

Mae's favorite.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, crouching beside it. "I should've come back sooner. You deserved more than this."

My throat burned. My vision blurred. I brushed the damp leaves off the marker.

"You were the only one who ever made me feel... seen. Safe." My voice cracked. "And now you're gone. And he-he's my mate, Mae."

I pressed my hand to the soil. "Tell me this isn't fate. Tell me it's a mistake."

But the dead don't answer.

I didn't need her to speak - because I knew just what I had to do.

~~~~~

I found Cade later.

He was sitting on the porch of the elder's lodge, arms resting on his knees, staring at nothing like it was the only thing keeping him upright.

He looked up when I approached.

I didn't stop walking. I didn't let him speak.

"You need to reject me."

His brow furrowed. "Ayla-"

"Now," I snapped. "Before it settles in. Before it gets stronger."

He stood. "You know it doesn't work like that."

"You owe me this."

He flinched.

Good.

"You tormented me. You made me feel worthless. I left my entire life behind to escape you."

"I know."

"Then do it. Say the words. Break the bond. Let me go."

"I can't."

I laughed, but the sound was a sharp and bitter one, "You can. You just won't."

He stepped forward. "I didn't know. Back then. I didn't know you'd be-"

"Mine?" I spat. "Is that the part that terrifies you or excites you?"

He stopped moving.

"I was a scared, lonely girl, and you treated me like garbage. And now you want what? A do-over?"

"I want a chance to be better," he said quietly. "To deserve the bond. You think I haven't paid for what I did? Every damn day I've regretted it. You were right to leave. I was an arrogant asshole. I know that."

"You don't get to rewrite history because fate decided to throw us together."

"No," he said, his voice tight, "but I get to fight for what I should've protected."

I turned away.

"I'm not forgiving you," I said. "You don't get to walk back into my life and expect grace just because the universe played a cruel joke."

"I don't expect anything."

"Good. Because count my words Cade-I will never forget what you did to me. Not in a day, not in a decade. So if you have any sense left in you, break this bond. Because every second it stays, every hour it breathes between us, I'll remember the pain. The humiliation. The hell you put me through. And I'll hate you for it. More and more. I won't forget, Cade. And I swear-I'll make sure you don't either."

Cade's face twisted and he opened his mouth to say something - but before he could speak something hummed between us, unavoidable. Trying to pull us together like an invisible chain and suddenly my anger was gone. The hatred was gone - replaced by the ache to throw myself at him and have him wrap those arms around me.

To breathe in his husky scent.

"Do you feel it too?" Cade gasped out.

He must be feeling the urge like I was and also fighting it with every strength he has like I was too.

I shuddered "Yes."

"And you still want me to reject you?"

"Yes."

He nodded slowly. "It'll hurt. For both of us."

"I've survived worse."

"Do you even want to know what it means?"

"No."

"Ayla."

"What?"

"If I reject you... I lose the chance to ever find another mate."

I blinked. "Good."

He exhaled a laugh that didn't hold any amusement. "You really hate me that much."

"Yes," I said.

But it didn't sound as convincing as it should have.

"I can't do it yet," he said finally. "Not until I've earned the right to. Or proven that I'm not the same person you left behind."

I stood. "You don't get to decide when to let me go."

And that's when a voice cut through the air behind me.

"Ayla?"

I froze.

I knew that voice.

I turned slowly and my heart skipped when I saw Daniel standing at the base of the stairs, rain dripping from his jacket, his hair flattened to his forehead.

His chest heaved like he'd run all the way from the edge of the forest.

"What-what are you doing here?" I breathed. Better question would be how the hell did he get here?

"I followed you." His eyes flicked between me and Cade, sharp with confusion. "I... I realized I was an idiot to walk away. I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"Daniel-"

"I'm not giving up," he said. "I don't care what world you come from. I love you, Ayla. I still want us."

My heart punched against my ribs.

Cade stood beside me now, shoulders tight, jaw locked.

"Who the hell are you?" He growled and Daniel shifted his gaze to him.

"I'm Daniel. Ayla's fiancé. Who are YOU?"

Cade slowly looked at me, his gaze darkening before he bared his teeth at Daniel, "Fiancé my ass!"