I Left after The Alpha's Mate Tortured Me

I'm Aurora Lane, the only she-wolf who followed Alpha Edgar Whitmore when he was sent as a hostage to the enemy pack's territory.

Three years in that hellhole, every step fraught with danger.

I tasted poisoned food meant for him, took arrows from the shadows meant to pierce his heart, and when fever burned through him, I stayed up all night, wiping him down with cold water to break the heat. To get him a scrap of medicine, I knelt outside the enemy pack's healer den for a full day and night, begging.

The coldest winter of those years, I tore my own coat to wrap his feet. He grabbed my hand, his voice raw, and asked, "Why follow me into this misery?"

I looked at him, steady as ever, and said, "Wherever you are, Alpha Edgar, that's my home."

He went quiet for a long time. Finally, he said, "When we get back, I'll make you second only to me."

He kept his word.

Less than a year after we returned, he claimed the Alpha title. The treasures he showered on me could fill three rooms-jewels that sparkled like stars. Everyone whispered I'd be his Luna, his destined mate, eternally bound to him.

Then Diana Rowe stepped into the den.

It was snowing that day. Diana leaned into his arms and purred, "If you truly love me, Alpha Edgar, make that she-wolf who followed you for three years kneel on the ice lake for a day and a night."

Alpha Edgar didn't even blink. "Done."

The enforcers dragged me to the frozen lake. From the pavilion, I heard laughter.

"Is Alpha Edgar really making Aurora kneel on the ice just because I said so?" Diana's voice carried, teasing. "Don't you think I'm spoiled?"

"I'm the Alpha," Alpha Edgar replied, his tone indulgent. "I can afford to spoil you."

I knelt there, silent, the ice biting into my knees, sending sharp, freezing pain through my bones. My body shook, but I didn't make a sound.

In the warmth of the waterside pavilion, Diana nestled closer to Alpha Edgar. Her voice turned curious. "Why me, Alpha Edgar? Why do you care for me so much?"

He paused, then spoke, his voice softer than I'd ever heard. "Years ago, I was just an overlooked Alpha heir, beaten and bruised by the others, curled up in a corner of the cold den. You slipped me a healing salve. That moment, I swore-if I ever had the chance, I'd repay you a hundredfold, a thousandfold."

On the ice, my heart jolted.

A single salve?

That's it?

What about me? I'd thrown myself into danger for him, taken blades and bullets meant for his heart, ruined my health nursing him through those brutal years. All my real, raw sacrifices-did they mean nothing compared to Diana's fleeting act of kindness?

Their voices drifted on.

Diana's tone turned smug. "Are you really going to make me your Luna? Announce to the great pack that I'm your one and only, forever? Won't the pack elders object? Won't the wolves whisper?"

Alpha Edgar's voice was firm, unyielding. "Don't worry. Seven days from now, at the golden hall's merit ceremony, you name your desire for the Luna's place. I'll make it official, proclaim to all packs that you're my only mate, for life."

"And if Aurora uses her years of loyalty to ask for the Luna's place?" Diana pressed.

Alpha Edgar didn't hesitate, his words cold and clear. "The Luna's place is for the one I love. I don't love her. How could I give it to her?"

As his words landed, the ice beneath me cracked with a sharp snap!

I'd knelt too long. The surface gave way.

Splash-

The icy lake swallowed me whole, its cold like a thousand steel needles piercing every inch of my skin.

"Aurora's fallen in!" a pack servant shouted from the shore, panic in their voice.

The pavilion's curtains whipped open. Alpha Edgar appeared at the doorway, starting toward me.

"Alpha Edgar." Diana's weak moan stopped him. "I'm so dizzy."

He glanced at me, thrashing in the icy hole, sinking deeper, then back at Diana, limp in his arms. His brow furrowed, but he growled, "Call the healers! Now!"

He chose her, turning away as I sank into the freezing depths.

Water flooded my nose and mouth, my vision blurring. The wolves on the shore-Diana's lackeys-didn't lift a finger to help. Instead, they hurled stones, their voices dripping with venom.

"Pfft! Three years at Alpha Edgar's side, and for what? Not worth one of Diana's fingers!"

"Thought she'd rise to Luna? What a joke!"

A sharp rock struck my forehead. Pain exploded, blood gushing, staining the icy water red.

My strength gave out. Darkness closed in, and I lost consciousness.

When I woke, I was in my familiar side den, a cool touch on my forehead. Someone was tending my wound.

I forced my eyes open. Through the haze, I saw Alpha Edgar's sharp, handsome face, cold as ever, sitting by my bed, applying salve to my injury himself.

My heart lurched. I flinched away, struggling to sit up, my voice hoarse. "Alpha Edgar. I can do it myself."

His hand froze midair, his brows knitting in displeasure. "Since when are we so distant?"

I lowered my eyes, hiding the storm inside, and murmured, "I just. don't want Diana to be upset."

He stiffened, caught off guard.

Setting the salve down, his voice returned to its usual cool detachment. "Aurora, I didn't claw my way to Alpha for the title alone. It was so I could claim Diana openly. Seven days from now, at the merit ceremony, she wants a bond for life, just the two of us. I'll give her that. As for you."

He paused, looking at me. "Anything but joining my inner den-I'll grant it."

I opened my mouth, but a servant's voice cut through from outside. "Alpha Edgar, Diana's awake. She's asking for you."

He stood without hesitation, striding out without a backward glance.

Watching his retreating figure, I closed my eyes, but no pain came.

Truth is, I never wanted to be bound to him.

He didn't make me his Luna? I didn't care. He let Diana force me to kneel in the snow? I didn't hate him for it.

Because all I've been waiting for is that merit ceremony in seven days.

I lifted my hand, pressing it to my chest, where a small, worn jade pendant rested.

A memory flickered-a young wolf, bold and bright, his smile always warm. Raymond Hale, my young general.

I was sold into the pack's den as a pup, enduring endless hardship. Once, when cruel elder she-wolves tormented me, Raymond, a young general visiting the den, stepped in and saved me.

From then on, despite his high rank, he looked out for me, a lowly den she-wolf. He'd sneak me treats from beyond the pack lands, find medicine when I was sick.

Feelings grew between us, quiet but real. But he was the son of a warrior line, and I was just a servant. Worlds apart.

Still, Raymond took my hand, his eyes fierce with promise. "Aurora, wait for me. Once I earn my merits, I'll ask Alpha Edgar for a decree to bond with you, bring you home with pride."

I waited. And waited. Until word came that he'd died in battle, his body lost to the wilds.

My world shattered.

But I'd promised him-I'd be his, in life or death, a Hale forever.

So when I learned Alpha Edgar was being sent as a hostage, I saw my chance. Alpha Edgar, despite his lowborn mother, was brilliant, ruthless. I bet on him-bet he'd rise, become Alpha, and give me the chance to honor my vow.

I followed him into that den of vipers.

And I won my bet.

Alpha Edgar became Alpha, and now the merit ceremony was coming.

I didn't want the Luna's place or riches. I'd kneel in the golden hall and ask for one thing: a decree to bond with Raymond, the fallen general, to join the Hale clan's ancestral rites as his widow, to honor him for life.