Forsaken by the Alpha, Chosen by Fate

I woke up before dawn to slice strawberries for my husband, Gabe, excited to finally tell him I was pregnant. As a "Wolfless" Omega, I had always been looked down upon, but I thought this baby proved I wasn't broken.

But Gabe didn't come home alone. He walked in with Harper, a woman wearing the silk robe he had bought for me, reeking of his scent.

He didn't kiss me. He didn't ask how I was. Instead, he sat her in my chair.

"Make more pancakes," he ordered. "Harper is hungry."

When I refused, demanding he explain why another woman was wearing my clothes, he didn't apologize. He used the Alpha Command.

The pressure slammed me to the floor, crushing my bones and threatening the life inside my womb. I had to crawl out of the room while they laughed.

My adoptive parents didn't save me; they sold me out for a council seat and a diamond necklace.

Then came the public execution of my heart. At the Ascension Ceremony, Gabe took the microphone and rejected me in front of the entire Pack to make Harper his Luna.

But they didn't just kick me out. They dragged me to a dirty, back-alley clinic. His mother ordered them to "remove the parasite" inside me.

I screamed as they strapped me down. But as the needle touched my skin, the steel door was ripped off its hinges.

The Alpha King stood in the debris, his eyes burning with golden rage as he looked at the necklace I wore.

"Who dares touch my daughter?" he roared.

I wasn't a defect. I was the lost White Wolf Princess. And the man standing behind the King wasn't just a guard-he was my true mate.

Chapter 1

Charlotte POV

The kitchen of the Sullivan Pack house was cold, a sterile chill that made the sweat on my hands feel clammy.

It was five in the morning. The sun hadn't yet broken the horizon, yet I was already awake, slicing strawberries with the precision of a surgeon. Gabe liked them thin. He liked his toast golden, never brown, and his coffee black enough to wake the dead.

I paused, placing a hand on my stomach. It was barely a bump, just a tiny, secret swell hidden beneath the fabric of my oversized apron.

"Good morning, little one," I whispered into the silence. "Daddy is going to be in a good mood today. I can feel it."

My wolf was silent. In truth, she had always been silent. In our world, a wolf that didn't speak, didn't shift, and didn't manifest by the age of eighteen was considered a defect. A "Wolfless." An Omega in the truest, most pathetic sense of the word.

But this baby... this baby felt different. A warm hum of energy radiated from my womb, a quiet promise that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't broken after all.

Heavy footsteps echoed on the stairs. My heart did that foolish little skip it always did when Gabe was near.

Gabe Sullivan. The Alpha of the Sullivan Pack. My husband. My mate.

He walked into the kitchen, his fingers busy buttoning the cuffs of his Italian suit. He didn't look at me. Instead, he checked his watch.

"Coffee," he said, his voice rough with sleep.

I poured the mug instantly, sliding it across the granite island. He took a sip, grimaced, and set it down hard.

"It's too hot, Charlotte."

"I'm sorry," I said quickly, reaching for the mug. "I'll add an ice cube-"

"Forget it. I don't have time." He grabbed a piece of toast, took a single bite, and tossed the rest into the sink like garbage. "The IPO launch is in three days. The board is breathing down my neck about the expansion plans."

He walked past me, heading straight for the door. He didn't kiss me. He didn't touch my shoulder. He didn't even ask how I slept.

"Gabe," I called out, my voice trembling. "I... I made your favorites."

He paused, hand on the doorknob, and finally looked at me. His eyes, usually a warm amber, were flat and unseeing.

"The house is messy, Charlotte. Mother says the dust on the banister is visible. Fix it before tonight."

The door slammed shut.

I stood there, the silence of the kitchen wrapping around me like a suffocating shroud. I looked down at the perfectly sliced strawberries.

"He's just busy," I told the empty room, my voice hollow. "He's stressed."

Once I was sure his car had left the driveway, I retreated to the study. This was my secret sanctuary. I sat at the desk, pushing aside Gabe's chaotic notes, and opened a hidden folder on the laptop.

Blueprints filled the screen. The "expansion plans" Gabe was so worried about? I had finished them weeks ago.

The towering glass structures, the eco-friendly pack housing, the community center-every line, every calculation was mine.

Gabe couldn't draw a straight line if his life depended on it. But the Pack believed he was a visionary. I let them believe it. A Wolfless Omega wife was useless, but a brilliant Alpha? That commanded respect.

Suddenly, a sharp static buzzed in my head. It was the Mind-Link, the telepathic web that connected every member of the Pack.

Did you see the Omega tripping over her own feet in the garden? a voice sneered. It was Sarah, one of the warriors.

Useless thing, another voice answered. If Gabe wasn't so charitable, he would have thrown her to the Rogues years ago. Imagine having a Luna who can't even Shift.

She's not a Luna, Sarah laughed. She's a pet.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Block it out. Just block it out. I slammed my mental walls up, severing the connection. The silence returned, but the sting remained.

"Charlotte!"

The shrill voice of Eleanor Sullivan, Gabe's mother, pierced the air.

I hurried out of the study. Eleanor stood in the hallway, running a white-gloved finger along a picture frame. She inspected the tip of her finger, then looked at me with pure disgust.

"Filthy," she spat.

"I was just about to clean it, Eleanor," I said, keeping my head bowed. Submission was survival.

"You are a stain on this Pack, Charlotte," she said, walking around me as if I were an inanimate object. "When we ascend to a Top Tier Pack after the IPO, we will need a celebration. A real celebration."

She stopped and smiled-a cruel thinning of her lips that showed too many teeth.

"We need to prepare for the future Luna."

My blood ran cold. "I... I am the Luna."

Eleanor laughed. It was a dry, brittle sound. "You? You are a placeholder. A charity case my son picked up because he has a soft heart. But soft hearts don't rule empires. We need a strong female. A wolf."

She leaned in close. "Don't get comfortable, dear. Change is coming."

She swept away, leaving the scent of expensive perfume and malice in her wake.

I clutched my stomach. They don't know, I thought desperately. They don't know about the baby. Once they know I'm carrying his heir, everything will change. He won't leave me.

I spent the afternoon at the Pack orphanage, the only place where I felt human. I was helping design a new shelter for the influx of Rogues-wolves without packs-who were seeking asylum.

"This is amazing, Charlotte," said Old Martha, the orphanage matron, looking at my sketches. "You have a gift. You understand how to make a space feel safe."

"Safety is important," I murmured.

When I returned to the main house that evening, the air felt heavy with unspoken tension. I went to my private study to put away my sketches, but stopped.

My papers were scattered. My laptop was open.

Someone had been here.

My heart hammered against my ribs. I quickly checked the files. The architectural plans were moved, but nothing was deleted.

The front door opened downstairs.

"Gabe?"

I ran down the stairs. He was standing in the foyer, loosening his tie. But as I got closer, I stopped dead.

The smell.

It hit me like a physical blow. It wasn't the woodsy, musk scent of my husband. It was floral. Sickly sweet. Like rotting lilies masked by heavy perfume.

It wasn't my scent. And it was all over him.

"You're late," I whispered, gripping the banister for support.

Gabe looked up. His eyes were glassy, unfocused. "Meeting ran long."

"You smell like... flowers."

He flinched. Just a fraction, but I saw it. "I was at a florist. For the ceremony."

"A florist? At ten at night?"

"Drop it, Charlotte!" His voice didn't just boom; it vibrated with the Alpha's Command.

My knees buckled instinctively. The Command was absolute; an Alpha's order forced submission on anyone lower in rank. My body obeyed before my mind could even protest.

I sank to the floor, gasping for air.

He didn't help me up. He simply walked past me, ascending the stairs. "I need the itinerary for the Ascension Ceremony on my desk by morning. Don't disappoint me."

I dragged myself to our bedroom an hour later. He was already asleep, sprawled across the bed.

I saw his jacket thrown on the chair. A silk scarf was peeking out of the pocket.

I walked over, my hands trembling, and pulled it out. It was red. Expensive silk. And it reeked of that sickly sweet lily scent.

Tears blurred my vision. I looked at Gabe, sleeping soundly.

"You promised," I whispered into the dark. "You said it didn't matter that I couldn't shift. You said I was enough."

Gabe shifted in his sleep. He frowned, mumbling something into the pillow.

I leaned closer, holding my breath.

"Harper..." he groaned, a sound of raw, agonizing longing. "Harper..."

The scarf slipped from my fingers. The name hung in the air like the blade of a guillotine.

Harper.

Outside, the moon hid behind a cloud, plunging the room into total darkness.

Charlotte POV:

I woke up screaming.

In my dream, I was running through a dense forest, heavy with child, while a pack of faceless wolves snapped at my heels. But the horror wasn't the teeth; it was the eyes. Every time I looked back, the wolf leading them had Gabe's eyes.

I sat up, gasping for air, clutching my chest as if trying to force my heart back into rhythm. The bed beside me was empty. The sheets were cold.

I showered quickly, scrubbing my skin until it was pink, desperate to scrub the feeling of dread from my body. When I walked downstairs, the sound of laughter drifted from the dining room.

It was a light, tinkling laugh. Glassy. Unfamiliar. Not Eleanor's.

I rounded the corner and froze.

Sitting at the head of the table-my seat-was a woman I had never seen before. She was stunning, with cascading blonde hair and eyes the color of ice. She was wearing a silk robe that looked suspiciously like one Gabe had bought for me for our anniversary-one I had never even taken out of the box.

Eleanor was pouring her tea. Gabe was sitting next to her, staring at her as if she were the sun and he was a planet caught in her orbit.

The air in the room was thick with a scent that made my stomach churn. It was lilies. But underneath the perfume, there was something else... something distinct. Something rotten.

Mate.

The word whispered through the room, though no one spoke it. The air around them vibrated with the magnetic pull that only Fated Mates shared. But Gabe... Gabe was my mate. We had felt the bond years ago, even though I couldn't shift.

"Good morning," the woman said, spotting me. Her smile didn't reach her eyes.

Gabe jumped, guilt flashing across his face before his expression clouded over again. "Charlotte. This is... Harper Nicholson. She's a consultant for the IPO."

"Consultant," I repeated, my voice flat. "Is that why she's wearing a robe at breakfast?"

Harper giggled. "Oh, Gabe, she's feisty. You didn't tell me your little helper had claws."

She looked at me, her gaze raking over my simple cotton dress with amused disdain. "I spilled coffee on my blouse. Gabe was kind enough to lend me something comfortable."

"Get out of my chair," I said.

The room went silent.

Eleanor slammed the teapot down. "How dare you! Harper is a guest of honor. She is the daughter of Alpha Nicholson from the Northern Pack. You will show respect, Omega."

"I am his wife," I said, my voice shaking but loud. "And she smells like him."

Harper stood up. She was tall, athletic-a warrior's build. She walked over to me, invading my personal space. She raised her hand, pretending to inspect her nails, and I saw it.

A ring. On her index finger. It was gold, with a ruby set in the center.

It was the Sullivan family ring. The one meant for the True Luna.

"Gabe gave it to me for safekeeping," Harper whispered, leaning in close so the others couldn't hear. "He said it didn't fit you anyway."

My breath hitched. "Gabe?" I looked at him, pleading. "Tell her to take it off."

Gabe looked at the table. He looked at his mother. He looked at Harper. He looked everywhere but at me.

"Charlotte," he said, his voice low. "Don't cause a scene. Go to the kitchen and make more pancakes. Harper is hungry."

The betrayal hit me harder than a physical blow. "You want me to serve her?"

"I gave you an order!" Gabe roared.

The Alpha Command slammed into me. It felt like an invisible giant hand crushing my shoulders, forcing my biology to submit against my will. My knees hit the hardwood floor with a sickening crack.

"Ah!" I cried out, clutching my stomach. "My baby..."

The pain radiated through my womb. The Command was too strong; it was hurting the child.

"Stop," I gasped. "Gabe, please... you're hurting... us."

"Us?" Harper raised an eyebrow. "Is the pet sick?"

"Go to the kitchen," Gabe said, though his voice wavered slightly, his eyes flickering with confusion. He didn't release the pressure.

I crawled. I literally crawled out of the dining room, tears streaming down my face, humiliation burning my skin.

Over the next three days, my life became a living hell.

Harper moved in. She didn't just visit; she took over. She redecorated the living room. She fired the staff she didn't like. She threw my architectural awards into the trash, calling them "clutter."

I tried to Mind-Link Gabe constantly.

Gabe, please, talk to me.

Blocked.

Gabe, she's using you.

Blocked.

I was isolated. A ghost in my own home.

On the third day, the doorbell rang. I opened it to see my adoptive parents, Robert and Carol Jennings.

"Mom! Dad!" I sobbed, reaching for them. "Thank the Goddess you're here. You have to help me. Gabe is-"

Carol stepped back, avoiding my touch. She was wearing a new diamond necklace that caught the light. Robert was wearing a brand new watch.

"Now, Charlotte," Robert said, looking at his shoes. "Let's not be dramatic."

"Dramatic? He brought another woman into the house!"

"We know," Carol said. She smiled, but it was tight. "We met Harper. She's... very charming. Very powerful."

My jaw dropped. "You met her?"

"Eleanor explained everything," Robert said quickly. "The Pack needs a strong alliance. The Nicholsons are powerful. If Gabe mates with Harper, the Pack becomes royalty. We... we have to think about the greater good."

"And what about me?" I whispered. "I'm your daughter."

"You're an orphan we took in," Carol snapped, her mask of maternal care finally slipping. "We gave you a roof. We gave you food. Don't be ungrateful. Eleanor said if we support the transition, we get a seat on the new council. If we don't... we become Rogues."

They had sold me. For a council seat and jewelry.

"Get out," I said.

"Charlotte, be reasonable-"

"GET OUT!"

They scurried away like rats. I slammed the door and leaned against it, sliding down until I hit the floor. I was truly alone.

That night, the house was quiet. I knew Gabe and Harper were out "celebrating."

I crept into the guest room-Harper's room. I needed to know what she was. No natural Mate bond felt this... toxic.

I rummaged through her bag. Designer clothes. Makeup. And then, hidden at the bottom, a small velvet pouch.

I opened it. Inside were dried herbs-wolfsbane, crushed dried lavender, and something that smelled like sulfur. There was also a vial of liquid.

I uncorked it and sniffed. It was the scent. The lilies. But concentrated.

Synthetic.

It was a Witch's brew. She was using a glamour spell to mimic a Mate scent. It was forbidden magic. High treason against the Werewolf Council.

And next to the pouch was a paper. A medical report from a human clinic.

Patient: Harper Nicholson.

Diagnosis: Infertility. Uterus damaged beyond repair.

I gasped. I had heard her telling Eleanor just yesterday that she would give Gabe "many strong sons."

She was barren. And she was a fraud.

"Looking for something?"

The voice came from the doorway.

I spun around. Harper was leaning against the frame, holding a glass of wine. Gabe stood behind her, his face thunderous.

"Gabe!" I held up the vial and the paper. "Look! She's using magic! She's tricking you! And she can't have children!"

Harper didn't even flinch. She dropped her wine glass. It shattered on the floor.

Then she screamed.

"Gabe! Help! She tried to poison me!" Harper threw herself into Gabe's arms, sobbing fake tears. "She broke into my room and tried to force this... this poison down my throat! She wants to kill our baby!"

"What? No!" I stepped forward. "Gabe, read the paper!"

Gabe didn't look at the paper. He looked at Harper's tears. The spell she had woven around him was strong, clouding his judgment, twisting his instincts.

"You attacked her?" Gabe growled. His eyes flashed red-the Alpha color.

"No! She's lying!"

"Enough!" Gabe roared. The house shook. "You are jealous. You are spiteful. And you are dangerous."

"I am pregnant with your child!" I screamed, the truth finally tearing out of my throat.

Silence.

Gabe froze. For a second, clarity returned to his eyes. "Pregnant?"

Harper stiffened. Then she whispered in his ear, her voice dripping with venom. "A Wolfless can't carry an Alpha pup, Gabe. It's probably a hysterical pregnancy. Or worse... another man's."

The clarity vanished from Gabe's eyes, replaced by cold fury.

"Get out," he snarled.

"Gabe..."

"GET OUT!" He lunged at me.

I scrambled back, dropping the evidence. I ran. I ran out of the room, down the stairs, and out into the cold night air.

I didn't stop running until I reached the edge of the woods. I collapsed onto the damp grass, clutching my belly.

"It's okay," I sobbed to the baby. "Mama is here. Mama will protect you."

But deep down, I knew. The storm wasn't coming. It was already here.

Charlotte POV

The day of the Ascension Ceremony dawned with a sky like bruised iron-gray, heavy, and oppressive.

The entire Sullivan territory buzzed with a frantic sort of anticipation. Banners in the Pack colors-deep forest green and burnished gold-fluttered from every lamppost, snapping in the biting wind.

I wasn't in the main house. I had spent the night in the gardening shed, curled into a tight ball beneath a scratchy burlap sack, trying to conserve warmth.

Two warriors found me at sunrise.

"Alpha's orders," one of them grunted, his fingers digging into my arm as he hauled me up. "You attend the ceremony."

"I don't have clothes," I whispered, my voice hoarse from disuse.

He tossed a gray bundle at my feet. It was a maid's uniform. Old, stained with grease, and hanging loosely in all the wrong places.

"Wear this."

They marched me to the town square like a prisoner of war. A massive wooden stage had been erected in the center, dominating the space. The entire Pack was there-hundreds of wolves, draped in their finest silks and suits.

I was shoved into the crowd, forced near the back, hidden behind the overflowing garbage bins.

"Look at her," someone whispered, the sound sliding through the air like a snake. "Pathetic."

"I heard she tried to kill the new Luna," another answered, their voice dripping with feigned scandal.

I kept my head down, wrapping my arms around my torso, trying to make myself invisible.

Music blasted from the speakers, vibrating in the ground. The crowd erupted into cheers.

Gabe walked onto the stage.

He looked magnificent in a black tuxedo, his Alpha aura rolling off him in suffocating waves. But his face was pale, drained of blood, and his jaw was set so tight a muscle ticked beneath the skin.

Next to him stood Harper. She wore a white gown that hugged every curve, the fabric shimmering with embedded diamonds. She didn't just look like a queen; she looked like she had already won the war.

And standing beside them, preening like peacocks in the limelight, were my parents.

"My Pack!" Gabe's voice boomed, amplified by the microphone, echoing off the surrounding buildings. "Today marks a new era for the Sullivan Pack. We are strong. We are wealthy. And soon, we will be unstoppable."

The crowd roared its approval.

"But strength requires sacrifice," Gabe continued. The crowd quieted instantly. "It requires cutting off the dead weight."

My heart stopped in my chest.

Gabe turned. His eyes scanned the sea of faces until they locked onto me with the precision of a weapon. Even from this distance, I felt the glacial chill of his gaze.

"Bring her forward," he commanded.

The crowd parted like the Red Sea before Moses. Two warriors grabbed my arms and dragged me toward the stage. I stumbled, scraping my knees raw on the pavement, but they hauled me up without a second thought.

They threw me at the foot of the stairs like a sack of refuse. I looked up at Gabe, desperation clawing at my throat.

"Gabe, please," I whispered. "Don't do this."

Harper leaned over the railing, a cruel smile playing on her lips. "Go on, Gabriel. Set yourself free."

Gabe took a ragged breath. He looked down at me, and for a fleeting second, I saw an abyss of pain in his eyes. His inner wolf was fighting him. I could feel it through the fraying bond-his wolf was howling, scratching at the walls of his mind, screaming NO!

But Gabe was a man who loved power more than his own soul.

He raised his voice, ensuring every wolf, every guest, and every spy from neighboring packs could hear him clearly.

"Charlotte Jennings," he began.

The silence was deafening. Absolute.

"You are Wolfless. You are weak. And you are unworthy."

I shook my head, tears flying from my cheeks. "I love you. I built this Pack for you!"

He ignored me. He gripped the microphone, his knuckles turning bone-white.

"I, Gabe Sullivan, Alpha of the Sullivan Pack, reject you, Charlotte Jennings, as my mate."

The words hit me like a sniper's bullet.

Then came the sound. A physical, sickening SNAP that echoed through the square. It was the sound of my soul breaking in half.

"ARGHHH!" I screamed, clutching my chest. It felt as though a rusted hook had been driven through my ribcage and ripped my heart straight out.

The pain was blinding, white-hot and consuming. I curled into a ball in the dirt, gasping for air that refused to fill my lungs. The bond, that golden thread that had tethered our souls for years, shriveled and turned to ash.

Gabe staggered back on stage, clutching his own chest. His wolf was tearing him apart from the inside.

"Accept it!" Harper hissed at him. She grabbed his arm, aggressively rubbing her scent over him to mask the distress, to soothe the shock.

I lay in the dirt, my vision blurring at the edges. By Pack Law, I had to complete the ritual. If I didn't, the rejection sickness would kill us both-slowly, painfully.

I looked up at him through swollen eyes.

"I..." I choked, tasting copper. "I, Charlotte Jennings... accept your rejection."

The connection severed completely. I felt cold. Not just physically, but existentially. It was as if the sun had vanished from the universe, leaving me in eternal winter.

"Take her away," Eleanor's voice rang out, sharp and imperious. "Get that trash out of my sight."

"Wait!" Harper stepped forward. She looked down at me with a performance of pity. "She is carrying a child. Or so she claims."

The crowd murmured, a low ripple of shock.

"A bastard child," Eleanor declared loudly, seizing the narrative. "Probably a rogue's spawn. It cannot be born on Sullivan land."

"No," I moaned, trying to crawl away, my fingers digging into the dust. "No, he's yours, Gabe! He's yours!"

Gabe looked away. He turned to his back on me.

That was the moment I died. Charlotte the wife, Charlotte the architect, Charlotte the dreamer-she died right there in the dirt at the foot of that stage.

"Take her to the clinic," Eleanor ordered the guards. "Clean her up. Make sure she leaves this territory... empty."

My blood ran cold. Empty.

"No!" I screamed, finding a reserve of strength in my sheer terror. "You can't! It's illegal! You can't force me!"

"On my land, I am the law," Gabe said, his back still turned.

My parents watched without flinching. My mother adjusted her diamond necklace, checking the clasp. My father checked the time on his gold watch.

Two burly warriors hoisted me up.

"Don't struggle, girl," one whispered, his breath hot against my ear. "It'll only hurt more."

They dragged me toward a black van waiting at the edge of the square like a hearse. I kicked and screamed, but I was a weakened Omega against trained killers.

As they threw me into the dark interior of the van, I saw Gabe one last time. He was kissing Harper, desperate to drown out the pain of the rejection in her lips.

The door slammed shut, plunging me into total darkness.

"I will kill you," I whispered to the dark, my voice trembling with a new, cold resolve.

"I will kill you all."