Alyssa POV:
The knock on my door wasn't a request; it was a demand.
"Luna Alyssa," a young Omega squeaked from the hallway. "The Alpha... he ordered that your belongings be moved."
I opened the door. The Omega, a girl named Sarah who I had once protected from bullies, couldn't look me in the eye.
"Moved where?" I asked.
"The basement," Sarah whispered.
Before I could respond, the sound of high heels clicking on the hardwood floor announced their arrival. Brianne strutted down the hall, and beside her was a girl who looked like a porcelain doll.
Debbi.
She was petite, with big, innocent doe eyes and blonde curls. But as a wolf, I focused on one thing: her scent.
Every wolf has a unique scent. Brennan smelled like rain and pine. I used to smell like wildflowers before the silver poison masked it. Debbi smelled... sweet. Sickly sweet. Like vanilla syrup trying to mask the scent of something rotting.
"Oh my," Debbi said, covering her mouth. "Is this the room? It has such a lovely view. Brennan said I would love the morning sun here."
"It's perfect for you, Debbi," Brianne cooed. She looked at me with a smirk. "Pack your trash, Alyssa. The future Luna needs space."
"I am still the Luna," I said, straightening my back. I tried to push my aura out, to assert dominance, but my wolf was deep in a coma. Nothing happened.
Brianne laughed. It was a cruel, barking sound. She reached out and snatched the wolf-tooth amulet hanging around my neck—a gift from my father.
"Oops," she said, tossing it into the trash bin. "Clutter."
"Don't touch that!" I lunged forward, but my bad leg gave way. I stumbled.
Debbi stepped forward, pretending to help, but her heel came down hard on my fingers.
Crunch.
"Ah!" I cried out, yanking my hand back.
"Oh no!" Debbi shrieked, throwing herself backward onto the floor. "She attacked me! Help! Brennan!"
It was a performance so calculated it made my blood run cold.
Within seconds, the air pressure in the hallway dropped. A growl vibrated through the floorboards. Brennan came sprinting around the corner, his chest heaving.
"Debbi!" He fell to his knees beside her.
"I tried to be nice," Debbi sobbed, burying her face in his chest. "I just wanted to say hello, and she... she pushed me! She tried to claw my eyes out!"
Brennan looked up at me. His eyes were flashing gold—his wolf was near the surface.
"I didn't touch her," I said, cradling my throbbing hand. "She stepped on me."
"Liar!" Brianne shouted. "I saw it! She's jealous, Brennan! She's crazy!"
Brennan stood up. He didn't even look at my hand, which was swelling rapidly. He was blind to the distress rolling off me—the scent of his Mate in pain. He only saw the tears on Debbi's face.
"You have forgotten your place," Brennan said, his voice cold as ice. "I thought letting you stay in the house was mercy. I see now that mercy is wasted on you."
"Brennan, please," I begged. "Use your senses. Smell the air. She's lying."
"The only thing I smell is your jealousy," he spat. "Get her out of my sight. Put her in the containment cells."
"The cells?" I gasped. "That's where we keep Rogues."
"Exactly," Brennan said. He scooped Debbi up into his arms, treating her like she was made of glass. "Do you remember the Pack laws, Alyssa? 'Harm to the Alpha's Chosen is treason.'"
He turned his back on me.
Two warriors grabbed my arms. They dragged me backward. I watched Brennan carry another woman into the bedroom that was supposed to be ours, the bedroom where we had marked each other.
They threw me into the basement cell. The floor was cold concrete. The air smelled of mold and old blood.
I sat in the darkness, clutching my broken fingers. In the corner, illuminated by a sliver of light from the high window, I saw something.
It was a framed photo, glass cracked, discarded in a pile of junk. It was from our Mating Ceremony. Brennan was looking at me with such adoration.
I crawled over to it. I touched the glass, cutting my finger. A drop of blood fell onto Brennan's smiling face.
"You promised," I whispered to the photo. "You promised to cherish me."
But promises, I was learning, were just words spoken by liars.
