The Alpha's Rejected Omega is the Hidden White Wolf

Araminta POV:

I pushed open the heavy oak double doors of the England Group headquarters, and a cold draft mixed with white lilies and the oppressive pheromones of high-ranking werewolves hit my face. I pulled my five-year-old daughter, Eulalie, closer under my black coat, curling my five fingers tight into my palm.

Eulalie's thin fingers clutched the hem of my dress. Born with severe autism and perceived by the clan as a wolfless defect who lacked an inner wolf after the normal sixteen-to-eighteen shift age, she could not process the noisy mourning in the hall. Her breathing turned shallow, and her small face went as pale as paper.

I crouched down and covered her ice-cold ears with both hands. I tried to soothe her shivering with my own body heat, keeping my hidden White Wolf aura suppressed so no one in this Alpha-dominated building would notice.

"It's okay, sweetie. Mommy is right here," I whispered, looking past the crowd in bespoke black suits and past the buffet tables set strictly with titanium cutlery, since silver was the only fatal poison that burnt our kind and destroyed our inner wolves.

In front of the memorial platform stood my husband, Carlo England, the hereditary Alpha and billionaire CEO of the England Pack. His broad back was ramrod straight, projecting the stern authority of a grieving leader.

I held Eulalie's hand and took half a step forward. Just then, Carlo turned sideways, took off his suit jacket soaked in his signature cedarwood scent, and draped it over the shoulders of a frail she-wolf standing beside him.

The woman turned her head, revealing Dallas Bauer's tear-stained face. With red-rimmed eyes, she leaned her head right onto Carlo's shoulder, and my mated husband did not push her away.

I froze in place. On the side of my neck, the permanent marking bite Carlo had left on me throbbed with a dull ache. In our world, once a male marked his mate, their souls bound permanently, and betrayal would cause physical agony that could even kill a wolf.

Dallas's son, Gael, stood by their legs in a tailored miniature suit. Carlo reached down and rubbed the boy's head with a gentle smile, looking every bit like a loving father in a family of three.

Eulalie followed my gaze. A trace of confusion flickered in her blank eyes before she shrank further behind my legs, yanking my coat so hard her knuckles whitened.

Several Pack Elders and socialites nearby spotted us. They cast open looks of disdain our way and did not even bother lowering their voices.

"Look at that useless Omega clinging to the Luna title." A sharp female voice sounded from the front row. "She can't even keep her Alpha's attention. Now that the old Elder has passed away, she has zero backing left while Carlo's first love, Dallas, is clearly taking over."

I ignored the cold whispers that felt like ice water pouring over my head. Holding Eulalie's hand, I walked straight toward the memorial platform, my heels clicking against the polished marble floor.

Hearing my footsteps, Carlo looked back. The dark green eyes of the Alpha frosted over with impatience the second they landed on me.

"Why did you bring her here?" Carlo snapped in a low voice, tugging impatiently at his tie without a single word of comfort. "The scents here are too chaotic. Who is going to take responsibility if she goes feral?"

I took a deep breath, forcing down the bitter lump in my throat.

"She is the Elder's granddaughter. She has every right to say goodbye."

Dallas shrank back behind Carlo, releasing a wave of artificially sweet pheromones as she spoke in a syrupy voice.

"Araminta, please don't blame Carlo. Given Eulalie's condition, he's only thinking what's best for her."

I shot Dallas a cold glance, catching the flash of smugness at the corner of her eyes.

"This is family matter. An outsider like you has no place commenting," I said, my voice quiet but icy.

Carlo's face darkened. He took a heavy step forward, blocking Dallas completely behind his tall frame like a shield.

"Apologize to Dallas right now, Araminta," Carlo warned, his back teeth grinding. "She has worked tirelessly on this funeral for days. She has done far more than a Luna in name only like yourself."

Looking at him defend another woman over his own wife, I felt as if an invisible hand had been squeezing my heart so hard, I tasted blood in my mouth.

Sensing my surging distress, Eulalie let out a short, terrified scream and dropped to the floor with her face buried between her knees and her hands locked over her head.

The hall went dead silent. Every gaze turned on us like spotlights, and every face was filled with either disgust or sheer amusement.

Carlo's brows twisted into a tight knot at the loss of face, and he pointed a long finger toward the side exit.

"Take her to the lounge at once! Stop embarrassing me in front of the whole Pack!"

I said nothing. I bent down, scooped my trembling daughter into my arms with all my strength, and turned my back on their malicious stares.

As I turned away, I heard Dallas whisper softly to her son, "Don't be scared, Gael. That little lunatic is gone."

I carried my daughter out of the main hall and down the corridor toward the side lounge. With every step I took, the marking on my neck continued to throb until it went completely numb and I couldn't feel the pain anymore.

Inside the quiet lounge, I set Eulalie down on the leather sofa. Looking into her panicked eyes, I made up my mind to sever this rotten marriage once and for all.

Just as I turned toward the dispenser to pour her a cup of warm water, the lounge door was kicked open from the outside with a loud crash.

Araminta POV:

I spun around as the wooden door slammed against the wall. Gael stood in the doorway wearing a nasty grin that did not belong on a child's face, with a mug of steaming hot cocoa in his hands.

Startled by the loud bang, Eulalie screamed again. She curled into the corner of the sofa, pressing her palms over her ears and shaking uncontrollably.

Gael strutted into the room and pointed a mocking finger at her.

"Useless, wolfless freak! You can't even talk or use the mind-link!" Gael sneered, repeating the cruel words he had clearly learned from his mother, "You don't belong in the England Pack!"

My eyes turned freezing cold. I strode forward and planted myself right in front of the sofa like a mother wolf guarding her pup, cutting off his malicious line of sight.

"Get out," I ordered, staring down at the spoiled brat Dallas had raised.

Gael was not afraid of me at all. Relying on Carlo's favoritism, he raised the mug and flung the boiling hot cocoa straight toward Eulalie's face.

My pupils contracted. Moving on pure instinct, I swung my right arm out and blocked the splash of scalding brown liquid.

The intense heat soaked through the fabric of my sleeve and burned my wrist. My skin blistered with a searing ache, though I kept my face completely blank while my hidden healing bloodline quietly began repairing the tissue.

Seeing that he had missed Eulalie, Gael flew into a tantrum and lunged forward to scratch me.

"Who do you think you are, you lowly Omega!" he yelled. "Uncle Carlo said my mom and I are the smartest ones in this Pack!"

My patience snapped. I shot my hand out and clamped my fingers around his flailing wrist, squeezing with enough force to make his bones creak.

Gael let out a sharp cry of pain, tears springing straight from his eyes.

"Touch my daughter one more time, and I'll show you what real pain looks like," I said, looking down at him as a sliver of ancient White Wolf pressure leaked from my gaze.

In werewolf society, genetic rank is fixed at birth, and a true White Wolf stands above every ordinary Alpha. Terrified by the sudden pressure, Gael went pale, his knees buckling before he burst into an ear-splitting wail.

Hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway outside. Seconds later, Carlo rushed into the lounge with two security guards, his eyes locking immediately onto the crying boy and my hand gripping his wrist.

"Araminta! Have you lost your mind?" Carlo roared.

He strode over and wrenched Gael out of my grip, pulling the boy behind his back while glaring at me like a sworn enemy. He did not even glance at the hot cocoa still dripping from my soaking sleeve.

"He kicked the door in and threw boiling cocoa at Eulalie," I stated flatly. "If I hadn't blocked it, her face would have been ruined right now."

Hiding behind Carlo's legs, Gael sobbed and twisted the truth.

"Uncle Carlo, I just wanted to bring Eulalie something to drink, and Aunt Araminta grabbed my arm and pinched me for no reason!"

Carlo didn't bother checking the wet stains on my coat. Dark fire blazed in his eyes, and his heavy Alpha pheromones exploded across the small room like a suffocating storm.

"Enough of your lies!" Carlo barked at me, the volume rattling the window glass. "Not only are you insanely jealous of Dallas, now you're beating a defenseless pup?"

I looked at the man bound to my soul and felt a wave of pure disgust in my stomach.

"You'd rather believe a lying brat than look at how terrified your own biological daughter is?"

Enraged by my defiance, Carlo stopped holding back his genetic dominance and unleashed the Alpha's Command, a bloodline compulsion that forces any lower-ranking wolf in his Pack to obey without question.

"On your knees!" he growled from deep in his chest.

The invisible force slammed onto my shoulders like a falling boulder. My knees bent an inch under the crushing weight, my joints popping under the strain.

I bit down hard on my lower lip until I tasted copper, calling upon the dormant White Wolf power in my veins to push back against his compulsion. Because my true genetic rank was far higher than his, his command could not break my spine.

I did not get on my knees. I stood with my back slightly bowed, lifting my head to look at him with the cold, dead eyes of a stranger.

Shock flashed across Carlo's face. He clearly couldn't fathom how the weak Omega wife of his could resist his direct order.

While he stood stunned, I straightened my posture, walked back to the sofa, and lifted the trembling Eulalie into my arms.

"From today on, you don't deserve to be her father," I said calmly.

Carlo froze, his mouth opening slightly as if my deadpan tone had struck a nerve, but no words came out.

Holding Eulalie tight against my chest, I walked straight toward the open door, passing right by him without sparing him a single glance.

Araminta POV:

As soon as I stepped out of the lounge into the hallway with Eulalie in my arms, I ran straight into a crowd of core England Pack members who had gathered to watch the commotion.

They parted to make way for me, their eyes filled with open contempt and schadenfreude.

"Defying the Alpha's direct command at an Elder's funeral-she really is a disgrace to our Pack," an older Beta executive scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

I ignored him, pressing Eulalie's face gently into the crook of my neck as I hurried down the carpeted hallway toward the elevators.

Just as I reached out to press the down button, thunderous applause and cheering erupted from the main hall below.

I paused, turning my head toward the massive one-way glass wall at the end of the corridor that overlooked the ground floor below.

Down in the hall, the service had been hastily wrapped up. Carlo stood high on the central platform holding a glass of red wine, with Dallas smiling brightly right beside him.

Carlo's deep voice echoed through the sound system across the entire building.

"For the future prosperity of our Pack, I hereby announce that the England Group has formed a strategic medical alliance with the Bauer family!"

The crowd below cheered wildly. Countless executives raised their glasses to toast Dallas, treating her like the true Luna of this corporate empire.

I stood by the glass and watched coldly as the medical network I had spent five grueling years building from scratch was handed over to his first love as a welcome gift.

The marking scar on my neck throbbed again, yet I didn't even blink. It felt as though the lingering bond were peeling away from my soul layer by layer.

Instead of grief, a strange sense of relief washed over me, as if I were finally waking up from a five-year nightmare.

The elevator chimed behind me, and the steel doors quietly slid open.

I pulled my gaze back, stepped into the elevator with Eulalie, and pressed the button for the underground parking garage.

As the metal doors closed, Carlo's triumphant face and Dallas's smug smile were shut out completely.

The drop of the elevator made Eulalie whimper softly. I lowered my head and kissed her forehead.

"Don't be afraid, baby. Mommy is taking you home."

When we reached the quiet underground garage, I walked to my black sedan, opened the back door, and buckled Eulalie securely into her child safety seat.

Climbing into the driver's seat, I didn't start the engine right away. Instead, I opened the glove compartment and pulled out a pack of sanitizing wipes.

I tore the seal open and scrubbed my wrist where Gael had touched me and where the cocoa had splashed, rubbing hard until my pale skin turned raw and red.

I tossed the used wipes into the trash bin outside the window, disgusted by every trace of this Pack.

Starting the engine, I pressed the gas pedal and drove the sedan out of the garage into the pouring rain.

Cold raindrops hammered against the windshield as the wipers swung back and forth. Holding the steering wheel with one hand, I tapped the dashboard screen with the other and dialed my personal assistant's encrypted line.

"Ms. Wright, what are your orders?" my assistant's crisp voice came through the speakers.

"Initiate the extraction protocol," I ordered calmly. "Package all core research data inside the Miracle Bio-Pharma lab and sever the physical connection to the external servers."

"Understood. However, Alpha Carlo just signed an executive directive ordering us to hand all administrative clearances over to Ms. Bauer," my assistant hesitated.

"Then we will," I said, a cold sneer curling my lips. "Without my underlying Sacred Healers' algorithms, that entire neural system is nothing but scrap metal-a shiny, empty shell."

"Got it. I'll handle it immediately."

The call disconnected just as the traffic light ahead turned red. I stepped on the brake, looking into the rearview mirror at my pale, determined eyes as I steered the car toward the hillside villa to draft the final document that would end my marriage.