After My Alpha Framed Me as a Rogue

The dull throb in my left leg kept me awake.

I lay on a thin cot in the Ironwood Pack’s healer ward, staring at the peeling paint on the ceiling. Three days ago, a rogue ambush in the Cascade wilderness had nearly torn me in half. My silver wolf, once the fiercest fighter in the Pacific Northwest, curled small and silent beneath my ribs. She was barely breathing.

Then, muffled voices drifted through the vent from the hallway.

"The ambush went exactly as planned," Caiden said. His voice was calm, conversational. "Her wolf is weakening right on schedule."

I froze. Caiden was my chosen mate. For five years, ever since Alpha Edison Brooks publicly rejected me at the Come of Age Ceremony and shattered our fated bond, Caiden had been my shelter. He was the gentle Beta of Ironwood who took me in, bandaged my soul, and marked my neck.

"She should have died the first time," another voice replied.

Edison. Cold, arrogant, dismissive.

My breath caught in my throat.

"Patience, Edison," Caiden murmured. "Sasha picked the rogue mercenaries herself. She timed it perfectly to the patrol route I told Adaline to take. A clean break takes time. No one suspects a thing."

Sasha. Edison’s golden-furred chosen Luna.

The room spun. My five years with Caiden hadn’t been a second chance. It had been an execution in slow motion, designed by the three people I trusted most.

By morning, the shock had calcified into ice.

Caiden walked in with a cup of water, wearing the same soft smile he had worn for five years. "Morning, sweetheart," he said softly, reaching out to adjust the bandage on my thigh. "How’s the pain?"

I pulled my leg away and looked him dead in the eye. "I heard you last night, Caiden. You and Edison."

His hand stopped in midair. For a split second, something cold and calculating flickered across his face.

Then his smile vanished completely.

**"Sit down,"** he barked.

His Beta command hit me like an iron hammer. In my weakened state, my battered wolf couldn't fight it. My muscles locked. Before I could draw breath, Caiden grabbed my throat and slammed me hard against the wall. His thumb dug viciously into the fresh stitches on my wounded leg.

Agony tore through me, but the command choked my scream.

"You think anyone will believe you, Adaline?" he whispered, leaning in until his breath hit my cheek. "You’re a broken she-wolf with an unworthy bloodline. They'll listen to an Alpha, his Luna, and me. You have two choices now. Stay quiet, or disappear."

He dropped me onto the bed. Before I could recover, the door swung open.

Edison walked in, accompanied by Sasha.

Sasha was draped in pristine white, her golden hair spilling over her shoulders. She smiled sweetly at me, looking down like I was a sick stray.

"We brought you an invitation, Adaline," Sasha purred, setting an embossed card on my bedside table. "Our Mate Ceremony renewal. We’re holding it in the sacred forest clearing."

Blood rushed to my ears. That clearing was where Edison had first scented me as his fated mate. It was where he had once whispered promises under the moonlight before throwing me away.

"I thought you'd want something to comfort you," Sasha added softly. She unfolded a silk scarf and draped it directly across my pillow.

The scent hit me instantly—cedar, dark earth, and Edison’s musk. My sensitive nose burned. It was a suffocating reminder of the sacred bond that had been stripped from me, flaunted directly in my face.

Behind her, Edison said nothing. His jaw tightened on the left side—the subtle tell he only showed when fighting the residual pull between us. He turned on his heel and walked out without a second glance. Sasha offered a mock pout, then followed.

I couldn't stay here. If I stayed, I would die.

Late that evening, after the ward emptied, I dragged myself out of bed. Every step sent sharp fire up my thigh. I crept down the darkened hall toward the Ironwood communication console. I just needed one secure line to contact the Lycan Council and report the betrayal.

I reached the terminal and typed in the emergency code.

A hand clamped down over my wrist.

Caiden stood behind me in the shadows, holding a signed packet of papers. "Psychological instability," he read aloud, his voice devoid of warmth. "Signed by the Beta. You've become a danger to the pack, Adaline."

Two rogue mercenaries stepped out from the darkness behind him, carrying zip-ties and heavy syringes.

"Caiden, please," I rasped, struggling against his grip.

A needle slid into my neck. Ice flooded my veins. My limbs turned to lead, and the world tilted sideways. My silver wolf let out one last, fading whimper before sinking into pitch blackness.

The rogues hoisted my limp body off the floor, hauling me toward an unmarked van waiting in the dead of night. Through half-closed eyes, I saw Caiden standing under the porch light. He slid a hand inside his jacket, fingers brushing the edges of a small photograph of Sasha tucked in his breast pocket.

He watched them carry me away into the dark, his face completely blank. Not a single trace of remorse remained.