The Blind Alpha's Rejected Savior

Five years. That's how long my Mate, Alpha Courtland, locked me in the Silver Mines for killing his "true love," Kinsley.

But Kinsley wasn't dead. She was hiding in the pack house, living in luxury while I rotted.

When I was finally released, broken and dying, Kinsley framed me again. To protect his "pregnant" mistress, Courtland stood by and watched as she threw my ten-year-old brother off a bridge.

That was the moment my love died. I climbed to the hospital roof, accepted Courtland's rejection, and jumped to my death right before his eyes.

It took my suicide for him to find the truth-that I was the White Wolf who had healed his blindness, not her. That he had tortured his innocent Mate.

He spent three years drowning in regret, his brain rotting from Bond Decay, praying for death.

Until he saw me at a gala.

I wasn't Ana anymore. I was Amelia, the fiancée of a rival Alpha.

He knelt, begging for six months of my time to soothe his dying bond, offering me his entire pack as inheritance.

I agreed. Not to save him, but to watch him die.

And to secure the legacy for the secret son I was carrying-his son.

Chapter 1

Ana POV

Five years.

That's one thousand, eight hundred, and twenty-five days of inhaling silver dust.

In the world of humans, silver is jewelry. In our world, for the Blood Moon Pack, silver is poison. It burns the skin like acid and keeps the wolf inside us sedated, screaming in silent agony.

I coughed, and the taste of metal filled my mouth. My skin was gray, covered in sores that refused to heal because the air in the Silver Mines didn't allow for regeneration.

"Prisoner 304. Front and center."

The warden's voice was rough. The heavy iron gate creaked open. The sunlight hit my eyes, and it felt like a physical blow. I had forgotten what the sun looked like.

I stumbled out, my legs trembling. I was twenty-three now. I went in when I was eighteen, just a girl who had been accused of pushing Kinsley, the Alpha's savior, off a cliff.

The warden didn't look at me. He shoved a small, framed photo into my hands.

"Alpha Courtland's orders," he grunted. "You are to wear this around your neck. Always. If you take it off, you go back in the hole."

I looked down. It was a picture of Kinsley, smiling her perfect, innocent smile. The woman I supposedly murdered. The woman whose death sentence I had been serving.

My fingers trembled as I put the chain around my neck. It felt heavier than the shackles I had just lost.

"Where is... is anyone here for me?" I asked, my voice raspy from disuse.

The warden laughed. "For a murderer? The Alpha sent the transport. That's more mercy than you deserve."

I climbed into the back of the old van. The driver was a Beta I used to know. Thomas. He didn't look at me. He rolled down the partition window immediately to block my scent.

I smelled like rot and sulfur. I smelled like the mines.

As we drove through the territory of the Blood Moon Pack, I pressed my face against the dirty glass. The forests were lush. I could sense the life out there. My inner wolf stirred, weak and pathetic. She was a Latent White Wolf, a rare bloodline, but five years of silver had nearly killed her.

We arrived at the Pack House. It was a mansion that looked more like a fortress.

Thomas stopped the van at the main gate. "Get out. I'm not driving garbage up the driveway."

I stepped out. My clothes were rags. My feet were bare and bleeding.

A group of Omegas-the lowest rank in our hierarchy, usually servants-were sweeping the leaves near the gate. They stopped. Their noses wrinkled.

"Oh goddess, what is that smell?" one whispered.

"It's the Killer Luna," another sneered, covering her nose. "She smells like death."

I kept my head down. I just wanted to see Aspen. My little brother. He was only ten when I was taken. He would be fifteen now. Unpresented. Vulnerable.

Suddenly, a roar tore through the air.

It wasn't a beast. It was an engine.

A sleek black sports car came tearing down the driveway, heading straight for the gate. Straight for me.

It didn't slow down.

My eyes widened. I tried to move, but a crushing weight slammed into my shoulders. It felt like gravity had increased tenfold.

Alpha's Command.

When an Alpha uses his aura, lower-ranking wolves are paralyzed. It is the absolute law of our biology.

I stood frozen, watching death approach at a hundred miles an hour.

The tires screeched. Smoke billowed. The bumper stopped an inch from my knees. The heat from the engine burned my shins.

The door opened.

Alpha Courtland stepped out.

He was taller than I remembered. His shoulders were broader, his power suffocating. He wore a tailored black suit that cost more than my life was worth. His eyes, once blind and milky in our childhood, were now sharp, piercing blue.

Because I healed them. I used my Moonstone and my blood to heal him when we were kids. But Kinsley took the credit. And now, the eyes I saved looked at me with pure, unadulterated hatred.

"You flinched," Courtland said. His voice was deep, vibrating in my chest. "I thought five years in hell would have made you tougher, Ana."

"Courtland..." I whispered.

"Alpha," he corrected. The command in his voice forced my knees to hit the pavement. Snap. I felt skin break.

"Alpha Courtland," I choked out. "Please. I just want to see Aspen."

He walked around me, inspecting me like a piece of livestock. "Aspen? You think you have the right to ask for things?"

"He is my brother. Please."

"He is a member of my pack. You are a criminal." He leaned down, his face close to mine. I could smell him-rain and dark chocolate. The scent of my Mate.

My wolf whimpered, Mate. Mate is hurting us.

Courtland grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at the photo of Kinsley hanging around my neck.

"She is dead because of you," he hissed. "Do you know what it's like to lose your mate, Ana? To feel the bond snap?"

"I didn't kill her!" I cried out, the tears finally coming. "I tried to save her! And Courtland, remember the forest? Remember the girl with the white wolf who licked your eyes? It was me! It was never her!"

He released me with a shove, wiping his hand on his handkerchief as if I were contagious.

"Lies," he said coldly. "Kinsley described the ritual perfectly before she died. You are nothing but a jealous, power-hungry bitch who killed her own stepsister."

He turned to the warriors standing guard.

"The Silver Mines made her soft," Courtland announced. "She thinks she can still make demands."

He pointed to the far edge of the property, where the rusted iron cages for Feral Wolves-wolves who had lost their minds to madness-were kept.

"Put her in the cages. Let the Ferals teach her some manners."

"No!" I screamed as two warriors grabbed my arms. They dragged me across the asphalt. My skin scraped away, leaving a trail of blood. "Courtland! Please! I'm your Mate! Look at me!"

He didn't look back. He just got into his car and drove away, leaving me to be dragged into the darkness.

Ana POV

They threw me into the cage like a sack of garbage.

The floor was cold iron, sticky with old blood and excrement. The smell was enough to make my empty stomach heave.

In the cage next to me, a Feral Wolf slammed against the bars. His eyes were yellow and wild, drool dripping from his muzzle. He had lost his human side completely.

Growl.

My Inner Wolf curled into a ball deep in my mind. She was too weak to even project a defensive aura.

I'm sorry, I whispered to her. I'm so sorry.

I reached into my rags and pulled out the only thing they hadn't taken from me-a small, cloudy Moonstone pendant. It was hidden under the photo of Kinsley.

This stone was the source of my latent power. It was what I used to channel energy to heal Courtland's blindness fifteen years ago. Now, it was dim. Dying. Just like me.

"Pathetic."

The voice was sharp and old. I looked up.

Standing outside the cage was Eleanor, Courtland's mother. The former Luna. She wore pearls and a look of absolute disgust.

"Get up," she ordered.

The warriors opened the cage. Eleanor didn't touch me. She used a cattle prod to poke my shoulder. "Move."

She marched me not to the house, but to a small stone building in the garden. The Shrine.

Inside, it was filled with white lilies. In the center was a massive portrait of Kinsley, looking angelic.

"Kneel," Eleanor commanded.

I fell to my knees. The stone floor was unforgiving.

"Apologize to her," Eleanor hissed. She grabbed the back of my hair and slammed my forehead against the floor.

Thud.

Pain exploded in my skull. Warm blood trickled down my nose.

"I... I am sorry you died," I whispered, my voice trembling.

"Louder!" Thud. Again.

"I am sorry!" I sobbed.

The door opened behind us. The air pressure in the room dropped. Alpha Courtland had arrived.

He walked in, holding a small vial filled with a thick, purple-black liquid.

My blood ran cold. I knew what that was. Every wolf knew what that was.

"Mother, leave us," Courtland said.

Eleanor gave me one last kick in the ribs and left.

Courtland stood over me. He looked at the blood on my forehead, and for a second, I saw a flicker of something in his eyes. Pain? But it was gone instantly, replaced by ice.

"You keep asking for your brother," he said, swirling the purple liquid.

"Is he okay?" I gasped. "Please, tell me he's okay."

"He is unpresented. Weak. Like you." Courtland crouched down. "I can let you see him. But there is a price."

He held out the vial.

"Wolfsbane," I whispered.

"Concentrated," he corrected. "This version doesn't kill you. It severs the connection between your human soul and your wolf. Permanently. It also destroys your womb."

I stared at him in horror. "You... you want to sterilize me?"

"You killed my Mate," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "You think I will let you bring more monsters into this world? Your bloodline ends with you, Ana."

"But I am your Mate!" I screamed, the truth tearing at my throat. "If I drink this, you will never have a true heir! You will feel the pain too!"

"I rejected you in my heart five years ago," he sneered. "Now, drink it. Or Aspen goes to the mines in your place."

My heart stopped. Not Aspen. He wouldn't survive a week.

I looked at the vial. It was death. Not of the body, but of the spirit. It meant I would never run again. Never feel the moonlight. Never have children.

"If I drink it," I choked out, "I see Aspen?"

"You have my word as Alpha."

I didn't hesitate. For Aspen, I would burn the world.

I grabbed the vial. My hands shook. I looked at Courtland one last time, hoping to see a shred of the boy I once loved. There was nothing.

I tipped my head back and swallowed the poison.

It tasted like fire and ash.

The reaction was instant. A scream tore from my throat as I felt something inside me-my wolf-being ripped away from my soul. It felt like my spine was being pulled out through my mouth.

I collapsed on the floor, convulsing.

Ana... goodbye... my wolf whimpered, her voice fading into static.

And then, silence.

The beautiful, chaotic noise of the pack mind, the connection to the earth, the strength... it was all gone. I was hollow.

I looked up at Courtland through a haze of tears.

He was watching me, his jaw clenched tight. He rubbed his chest absentmindedly, as if he felt a phantom pain.

"Done," he whispered.

Ana POV

I woke up in a puddle of my own black vomit.

The Wolfsbane had done its job. I felt... light. But not in a good way. Like a kite with its string cut, drifting aimlessly. I was just human now. A broken human.

I was lying on a cot in the Omega quarters. It was a damp basement room.

"Get up, murderer."

A female servant, a young Omega named Sarah, threw a bundle of fabric at me.

"The Alpha is hosting a banquet for a visiting Rogue Leader. He requires entertainment."

I unfolded the fabric. It was a dancer's outfit. Sheer red silk, barely covering anything. It was degrading.

"I can't," I rasped. "I'm sick."

"Alpha's Command," Sarah said simply.

My body moved on its own. Even without my wolf, the Alpha's authority was hardwired into my biology. I dressed, my shaking fingers struggling with the clasps. The silk rubbed against my silver burns, sending sharp stings of pain through me.

I was dragged upstairs to the Grand Hall.

Music was playing. The tables were piled high with roasted meats. At the head table sat Courtland. To his right sat a man who looked like a walking oil slick-Harrison, a notorious Rogue leader.

Rogues were wolves without packs. Usually criminals.

Harrison was tearing into a leg of lamb, grease running down his chin. He stopped when he saw me.

I stood there, shivering in the red silk. I tried to cover my scars, but there was nowhere to hide.

Harrison sniffed the air. "Well, well. What do we have here?"

He stood up and walked toward me. He circled me, sniffing loudly.

"Smells like... old magic," Harrison grunted. "And high blood. Is this a fallen princess, Alpha Courtland?"

Courtland swirled his wine glass. He didn't look at me. "She is a traitor. She is nothing."

"One man's trash," Harrison leered. He reached out and ran a greasy hand down my bare arm.

I flinched, pulling away.

"Feisty," Harrison laughed. He looked at Courtland. "I like her. Let me take her. As part of our trade deal."

My blood froze. To be given to a Rogue was a fate worse than death. They would pass me around until I broke.

"Courtland, please," I begged, forgetting protocol. "Don't."

Courtland looked at me then. His eyes were dead. "You wanted to see your brother? This is how you earn it. Be useful."

He nodded to Harrison. "She's yours for the night."

Harrison grinned, revealing yellow teeth. He grabbed my hair and yanked my head back, exposing my neck.

"Let's seal the deal," Harrison growled. He opened his mouth, aiming for my Scent Gland-the spot where Mates mark each other.

If he bit me there, it was a claim. A violation.

Panic exploded in my chest. I couldn't let him. I belonged to Courtland, even if he didn't want me.

I couldn't fight him physically. So I did the only thing I could.

I bit down hard on my own tongue.

My teeth sliced through the muscle. Warm, metallic blood filled my mouth.

The scent of my blood hit the air instantly.

It wasn't just blood. It was Mate Blood. Even with the bond rejected, even with the Wolfsbane, the biology remained.

Crash!

The high table overturned.

Before I could even blink, a blur of motion slammed into Harrison.

It was Courtland.

His eyes were glowing a furious, neon blue. His canines had extended. He didn't look human. He looked like a monster possessed.

He ripped Harrison off me and threw him across the room. Harrison smashed into a stone pillar, bones crunching.

The entire hall went silent.

Courtland stood over me, his chest heaving. He was growling, a low, rumbling sound that shook the floorboards. Mine. Mine. Mine.

He reached out, his hand trembling, to touch the blood on my lip.

Then, clarity returned to his eyes.

The blue faded. He blinked, looking at his own hand, then at Harrison's unconscious body, then at me.

He looked horrified. Not at what he did to Harrison, but that he had protected me.

He grabbed me by the throat, lifting me off the ground.

"What did you do?" he roared. "What witchery is this?"

"I... I didn't..." I gurgled, blood dripping from my mouth.

"You cast a spell!" He threw me to the ground. "You made me attack a guest!"

He was panting, fighting his own instincts. His wolf wanted to lick my wounds. His human side wanted to kill me.

"Get her out of my sight!" Courtland bellowed to the guards. "Throw her in the scullery. If she dies, she dies. But she does not belong to anyone else. She is my prisoner."