The Alpha Who Bought Me

Kyra's POV.

I woke up before the sun, my heart already moving too fast. For a moment, I didn't know why then I remembered that the Moon Match was tonight.

The thought sat heavy in my chest,not excitement exactly,something closer to fear the kind that makes your stomach tight.

I lay there staring at the ceiling, listening to the house breathe around me. I shouldn't care this much, because girls like me didn't get miracles. But I had waited for this night for years, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop myself from wanting it. this was the first year omegas were allowed to attend tge moon match.

They never let us before, like we did not deserve mates or the Moon's blessing, but the pack was losing numbers and the elders started caring about pups again, so suddenly they remembered omegas existed, and they called it a "new tradition," as if they were doing us a favor.

I did not care about what their actual intentions were, I only cared that I could stand in that hall tonight and maybe, for the first time, someone would look at me and not see me as the wolfless girl but as their fated mate, yes my wolf never came.

In Silver Fang, most people shifted before they were eighteen. When it happened, they said you could feel your wolf all the time, pressing against your skin, guiding you but I felt nothing , just silence and that silence followed me everywhere. I was slower, weaker, always guessing instead of sensing. When others smelled danger or lies, I had to read faces and hope I wasn't wrong and because of that they lowered my rank.

My father was the pack Beta, that should have protected me. Instead, it made me a disappointment people liked to talk about, the Beta's daughter who couldn't shift. "Omega."

That word followed me like a shadow.

I swung my feet onto the floor and dressed quickly, because if I stayed in bed too long the house would wake, and I would have to face my stepmother and Laura and all the small ways they reminded me I did not belong.

Laura was my twin sister, same face, same hair, same eyes. When we were little, people mixed up our names and laughed. Now no one mixed us up, Laura's wolf was strong, her rank safe, her future bright. Mine was chores , silence and side eyes. Some days it felt like the Moon had made one good twin and one leftover twin.

I slipped out of my quarters with a laundry basket at hand while it was still quiet and headed for the river. The air was cold, and the ground damp under my feet. This was where omegas washed things that weren't worth dirtying the pack house with. The water moved slow and dark, quiet except for the soft sound of it hitting the rocks. I knelt and dipped the clothes in, rubbing fabric together until my fingers went numb.

I kept thinking about tonight and about my mate.people said mates didn't care about rank and that they saw what others didn't. I didn't need a perfect future I just wanted out of this life. if my mate wanted me, maybe I could leave this place and maybe I could breathe.

Footsteps crunched behind me and I froze, I knew that walk, since I had no wolf I had mastered the walks of people around the pack. Laura stopped close enough that I could feel her presence before I even turned. A bundle of clothes hit my back and slid into the water. " Wash these," she said. "They're for tonight," she said. "Make sure to rinse them well, I don't want them smelling like you."

I looked at the fine fabric floating beside me, I wished I had such dresses too. "I'm already busy," I said, my voice low. She laughed softly and stepped closer. "You're always busy. That's your job."I reached for the clothes, trying to keep them out of the mud. "Find someone else." I went back to scrubbing, hoping she would get bored and leave sadly she didn't.Her hand shoved into my shoulder without warning, the world tilted and coldness hit me all at once as I fell into the river. Water rushed into my mouth and nose, my body panicked before my mind did. I kicked and flailed, coughing, my dress dragging me down.

I scrambled back to the edge, soaked and shaking, my chest burning as I dragged air in. My teeth chattered, I could feel my tears build up but I couldn't cry, crying only made things worse.

Laura stood above me, " Awwww look at you shaking like the dog you are. I thought you learnt a few lessons from the swimming lessons I gave you." She yanked my hair and made me face her. "Don't get brave," she whispered. "It doesn't suit you."

My stomach tightened, because of those words.I remembered too many things, this wasn't the first time she did something like this and she had done worse more. She always called it a lesson, I called it hatred.

And worst of all since people failed to tell the difference between her and I, she'd frame me and get away with her evil deeds, while I got punished and locked up. I prayed we did not share the same mate, I did not even know if that could happen, but I prayed anyway, because the idea of being tied to anything Lyra touched made my skin crawl.

By afternoon, I finished chores with hands that stung. Sage found me near the storage rooms with a piece of bread hidden in her sleeve. "Eat," she said softly, pushing it into my palm. Sage was the only person who acted like I was still a girl and not a rank. If she wasn't here, I think I would have gone hollow a long time ago. "I'm nervous," I admitted.

"You should be excited," she said. "This is your chance." I nodded, because I wanted to believe it. When the sun fell, the pack house shifted into a different kind of energy. Wolves moved faster, voices louder. Females braided hair and pinned shiny pieces into place. Males cleaned weapons even though no fight was coming, like their hands needed something to do while they waited for fate.

I dressed alone, I wore the dress I made myself, stitched from leftover cloth I'd saved from mending work. It wasn't ugly, but it was plain, and everyone would know I was an omega the moment I walked in. I smoothed it anyway, because it mattered to me.

In the hall, torches lit the walls, and the air was thick with all kinds of wolf scents warm and sharp. The Alpha sat at the front with the Luna beside him, and on the right stood Sean Valen, the future Alpha of silver fang pack. tall and deliciously handsome. His presence pulling attention without effort.

I had seen Sean before, from a distance most of the time we barely crossed paths. Tonight, something about him made my stomach dip and I couldn't comprehend why. Sage squeezed my hand once, then let go as the shaman stepped into the circle.

The shaman spoke the rites, calling on the Moon Goddess, calling on the bond that tied mates together. The crowd quieted, but not fully, because everyone was restless, waiting to hear names and pairs began to form. A warrior male and a healer girl. Two mid-ranks who had always looked at each other anyway. Even an omega pair, both crying in shock, clinging like they couldn't believe they were chosen.

My heart beat faster with every name, then the shaman's voice rang out again,"Laura."Laura stepped forward, chin high, already shining like she expected the Moon to hand her the best. The second name came, and the hall went quiet, it was a regular wolf, a low-ranked male, good enough but not special, not someone worthy of Lyra's dreams and demands. I saw Laura's smile freeze.

For one second, relief flooded me so hard my knees felt weak, we didn't share the same mate. Thank the Moon, we didn't share. Laura's eyes flashed, and she turned her head slowly, scanning the crowd like she was hunting for someone to blame. When her gaze landed on me, something shifted in her expression, like she'd found a new plan.

The shaman lifted his hands again," Kyra." The hairs on my back stood and my heart pounded hard against my rib cage. The whispers started right away, I stepped forward anyway, because I had wanted this day too long to run from it. My palms were sweatier than usual and my chest felt tight, I stood in the ash circle trying to breathe. The shaman's next words dropped into the silence like a rock.

"Sean Valen." And the hall went still, my mind stumbled, like it couldn't catch up. I looked at Sean his face changed, not with wonder, not with that soft look I'd seen other mates give each other, but with hard disbelief, like the Moon Goddess had just insulted him in front of everyone he ruled. His eyes locked onto mine and in that look, before he even spoke, I understood. Tonight was not going to save me, it was going to break me

Laura was still seething when the Moon Match ended, and it showed in the way she walked out of the hall with her chin high and her hands clenched at her sides, her eyes too bright with rage for someone who had just been given a mate. She didn't cry or scream or cause a scene, but I knew her well enough to understand that the Moon pairing her with a regular wolf, someone she considered beneath her, had humiliated her more than any insult ever could.

I stayed close to Sage as we slipped away from the crowd and headed back toward the omega quarters, keeping my head down even though I could feel the stares pressing into my back. Everyone had heard my name spoken alongside Sean Valen's, and no matter how hard I tried not to think about it, his face kept replaying in my mind, the way his mouth had twisted when the shaman said it, like he'd tasted something rotten, like he wanted to spit.

Inside my small room, Sage shut the door and leaned against it, then turned to face me. The space smelled faintly of soap and damp stone, familiar and small, the only place in the pack where I ever felt even slightly safe.

"Kyra," she said gently, "breathe."

I sat down on the edge of the bed, pressing my hands together, trying to still the shaking in my fingers but it wasn't working. "Do you think he'll come?" I asked, my voice barely louder than a whisper.

Sage's expression softened in a way that made my chest ache, like she already knew how fragile my hope was. "Mates are mates," she said carefully. "Maybe he just needs time."

I nodded because I needed that to be true, because believing it felt easier than facing what might happen if it wasn't.

Then a knock on the door came hard and fast.

Sage froze, then pushed herself away from the door and opened it, sean Valen stood there.

He looked wrong in the omega quarters, too tall and broad for the narrow hallway, too clean and powerful for the thin walls and cold floors. Power and authority clung to him naturally, like the world had shaped itself to fit him. His dark hair was slightly messy, his jaw tight, and when his eyes landed on me, there was no softness in them at all, then his scent hit me.

Warm pine and clean rain filled my chest in a way that made my breath hitch, something deep and dizzy pulling at me before I could stop it, like my body had been waiting for him even when my mind knew better. My stomach twisted painfully.

My mate, he was my mate . A big strong Alpha like him was my mate, that thought ran through my mind over and over.

Sage stepped back and swallowed. "Alpha you're -"

Sean didn't even look at her,his eyes yes we're still on me. "Leave." She hesitated, her eyes flicking to me, worry written all over her face. "It's fine," I said quickly, even though my heart was racing and my hands were shaking again. I didn't want him to see me like this before he even spoke.

Sage stepped out, and Sean shut the door behind her. The sound of it closing made the room feel smaller, like the air itself had left the room too.

He stared at me for a long moment, and without thinking, I stood and smoothed my plain dress, hating myself for the instinct, for the foolish hope that maybe looking composed could make me worth choosing.

"Sean," I said quietly.

He laughed, not in surprise and not in warmth, but in disbelief, like the Moon itself had played a cruel joke on him, something inside me faltered.

"This is sick," he said, the laugh still lingering in his voice. "This is a sick joke, the Moon pairing me with you." My throat tightened, I could feel my tears rising at the back of my eyes. "Why?" I asked, my voice breaking despite my effort to hold it together. "I didn't do anything. I'm your fated mate-"

He crossed the room so fast I barely had time to register it before his hand closed around my throat and slammed me back against the wall.

Pain shot through my shoulders and spine as the air vanished from my lungs. My hands flew up, clutching at his wrist, but it was useless, like trying to move iron with bare fingers. His grip tightened as I struggled, black spots dancing at the edges of my vision.

"There's no way I'm accepting you," he said quietly, his eyes dark and unforgiving. "A filthy omega. A wolfless cunt."Tears burned in my eyes, born of panic and shame, and my body began to give in, my strength slipping away as he showed no mercy at all.

When he released me, it was sudden. I sucked in air violently, coughing as he shoved me aside, and I hit the floor hard, pain flaring in my hip and shoulder. Before I could even try to move, his hand tangled in my hair and yanked my head back. I cried out, tears spilling freely now, my scalp burning.

"You don't deserve the bond," he hissed. "You don't deserve my name. You don't deserve to stand in the same circle as me you mutt."

My chest ached so badly it felt like it was already breaking apart. He straightened, his voice rising, loud and clear, as if he wanted the Moon itself to bear witness.

"I, Sean Valen, reject Kyra Hale as my mate."

Something inside me tore open, the pain came sharp and sudden, like claws ripping through my ribs, stealing my breath and blurring my vision. I screamed because my body couldn't hold it in, because the bond breaking felt like my heart was being split in two.I collapsed forward, shaking and sobbing, the cold floor biting into my palms as Sean looked down at me with nothing but disgust, he spat on me and walked out.

The room spun violently, my throat burning, my chest feeling empty and bleeding all at once. I tried to lift my head, but the darkness rolled in too fast, too heavy. I couldn't hear or feel anything anymore, all I was met with was a high pitch spun in my ear.

I don't know for how long I was out, but I woke to hands shaking me. "Kyra," Sage whispered urgently. "Kyra, wake up." I blinked, confused, my body screaming in pain as I tried to sit up. I I wished I could all be a dream, but it wasn't, Sean rejected me. "They're coming," she said, her face pale with fear. "You need to run."

"Who?" I whispered, still trembling. "The warriors," she said, her voice cracking. "They're saying you tried to kill the Alpha for Sean rejecting you." I stared at her, disbelief crashing into me. "What? how ? I was here. He rejected me, I-"

"I know," she said quickly. "But Rowan is with them. They want you dead. Kyra, you have to run." A shout echoed outside, close enough to freeze my blood.Sage grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. "There's no time for you to sulk, Go. Now. Out the back."

My legs barely held me, but fear kept me moving. I stumbled through the back door and into the night, the cold air slapping my face as voices rose behind me.

"Kyra!"

More joined in, sharp and hungry. What was going on? And why would they make such allegations against me.

I ran, I had no wolf, my body was weak from the rejection, and my chest still felt torn open, but I ran anyway, throwing myself into the dark because Silver Fang had turned into a hunt.

And I knew, with a sick certainty, that if they caught me, I wouldn't see morning.

I ran and ran until my lungs felt like they were tearing, my throat burned even more but I still didn't stop because the footsteps behind me never stopped either and even without a wolf I knew what it sounded like when hunters were enjoying it.

I could hear them clearer now along with snapping branches and their boots hitting the ground, when I glanced back I saw shapes between the trees. I looked forward again and kept going, not thinking just running where my instincts led me. my head was still spinning from the rejection and my tears kept blurring my sight, I wasnt able to where I was going, until foot caught on a root hidden under leaves.

I tumbled over ,when I tried to catch myself the ground vanished. I went over a small ledge and rolled down hard. The rocks cut into my arms and legs as dirt filled my mouth. The pain sparked through my shoulder and I couldn't even tell where I was tumbling to. It didn't stop until my back hit something solid and the air slammed out of me.

" Ah, " I gasped, hoping no one heard. I lay there for one second, panting and gasping for air but it all just tasted like blood. Everything hurt, but there was no time to feel it the footsteps were still coming. With the strength I had left I forced myself up, my ankle screamed when I put weight on it, but I bit back a sound and limped forward, half stumbling, half running. My eyes darting through the trees like an animal looking for a hole to crawl into and that's when I saw it. A dark opening in a rocky wall ahead, a cave, it was a cave.

I should have been scared of it, because caves were where you got trapped and died in the dark with no one hearing you. But something about it pulled at me, like it was the only place the forest wanted me to go, like the air itself was pushing me toward it. My skin started to prickle and I didn't understand why. I only knew the voices were close now, and I needed to disappear. With that, I staggered toward the cave and squeezed inside.

The moment I stepped in, the air change. The air Inside was cold stone and it felt like the cave was holding its breath. I paused my chest heaving and tried to name the feeling but I couldn't. It was like walking into a place that didn't belong to the world, a whole new dimension.

I moved deeper and crouched behind a large rock, pulling my knees to my chest like that could make me smaller. At first, I still heard them, slowly their voices turned into nothing. I pressed a hand over my mouth and took a careful breath, trying not to sob, trying not to make any sound at all. For one small moment, I thought I was safe,then a voice spoke from the dark behind me.

" Oh my, I haven't had company in years."

My whole body jerked, I scrambled backward on the stone floor so fast I scraped my palms, my heart slamming so hard it hurt. I spun,try to see, but the cave was as black as night and my eyes were still watery, was I just hearing things, my mind refused to accept what I'd heard.

But I was wrong, a man stood in the centre of the cave. No, not stood, he was held there. Chains wrapped around him thick and dark, crossing his chest, his arms, his waist, his legs, and they were bolted into the rock like roots, like someone had built the cave around him on purpose. There were more restraints around his wrists and biceps, tight enough that even if he moved the metal would bite into skin. Some parts looked like iron, some like stone, and the locks didn't look like normal locks they looked sealed, like they weren't meant to ever open.

Around the chains, a dark fog hovered curling and clinging to the metal. The man , he was big his shoulders were wide, arms thick with muscle he looked like a warrior. His hair was long, falling in tangled waves past his shoulders, and his beard was heavy, hiding part of his face, but I could still make out wat he looked like. He was handsome, even like this,that thought made me feel stupid and sick, because handsome didn't mean safe. His scent hit me but it was faint

"Wh... who are you," I managed, my voice cracking. The man's mouth lifted slightly, not a friendly smile just a curve that made my skin crawl. "I should be asking you that," he said. I swallowed, eyes fixed on the chains like they might suddenly fly at me. "I'm not here to hurt you," I whispered, because I didn't know what else to say.

He watched me like I was something interesting. I shifted back another inch, ready to run, but the cave felt different now. My chest tightened between wanting to get out and wanting to understand why he was here,why would someone chain a man like this.

Before I could think more, a sound drifted from outside, I could hear voices and they weren't too far, that made my blood turned to ice."They're here," I whispered, more to myself than to him. The man's gaze flicked toward the mouth of the cave, then back to me. "I can help you," he said.

I furrowed my brows trying to understand him, it was obvious his state couldn't help any of us . He nodded toward a rock on the ground "set me free ," he said, voice calm, "and I'll protect you."

My hands shook . "No," I breathed. "I don't even know you." The voices outside grew louder for a second, and my pulse raced so hard my chest hurt. His eyes didn't leave mine. "Use it," he said, nodding at the rock again. "Knock out that end. Once I'm free, I'll protect you."

I don't know why but I listened, maybe fear makes you stupid or just maybe part of me wanted to believe someone powerful could stand between me and the pack for once. Whatever it was, my body moved before my mind finished arguing. I grabbed the rock, it was rough and heavy in my hands.

I stepped toward him, close enough to smell him properly now, close enough to see the way dirt and old blood stained his skin, close enough to see his eyes clearly. They were dark, not brown or black, but dark like night water, like something deep that didn't show what was at the bottom.

I lifted the rock with both hands and struck the chain where he had nodded. I hit it once and the sound rang through the cave. I hit it the second time and it hissed like it was angry. My arms trembled but something kept pushing me to strike. I raised the rock above my head and struck it for the third time and the chain snapped.

It loosened and his hand slid free. For a second he didn't move, like he was tasting it, like he was letting the feeling sink into his bone and then he laughed. A low, broken sound at first, then louder, and it wasn't relief, it wasn't joy, it felt wrong, like the kind of laugh you hear right before something bad happens. His eyes darkened even more, and his smile widened, every hair on my body rose.

This man was chained for a reason , that thought hit me so hard it made me dizzy. I stepped back, clutching the rock like it could save me. "No," I said, my voice shaking. "That's enough." He turned his freed hand slowly, flexing his fingers like he'd forgotten how. "Come on," he said, still smiling. "Set me free." He laughed again and again, it echoed off the stone until it felt like the cave was laughing with him.

He tugged at the chains, and the sound of metal groaning filled the dark. He pulled once, hard, and the cuff at his forearm cracked, and then his whole arm slid free like the chains were finally giving up.

My stomach flipped, fear gripped me and I backed toward the cave mouth, panic swallowing everything. "I can't," I whispered, and then louder, "I can't." His gaze snapped to me, my mouth ran dry . I turned and ran, still limping and stumbling out of the cave, not caring if the hunters saw me, not caring about anything except getting away from him.

Behind me, his voice followed,"I'll find you..."

The rest of his words faded as I got near the opening and all I heard was my own ragged breathing and the pounding of my heart as I fled, terrified that I had just made the worst mistake of my life.