My Alpha Chose His Beta Over Me

The holographic display flickered as I stared at the border maps, the red markers pulsing like a heartbeat. Another territorial dispute with the Eastern Packs. My temples throbbed with the constant pressure.

"Alpha, we've reinforced the northern perimeter," Beta Marcus reported, his voice steady but concerned. "But we need your decision on the eastern quadrant."

I rubbed my eyes, exhaustion seeping into my bones. Three nights without sleep. The Shadow Creek Pack's expansion had brought wealth but also enemies.

"Double the patrols," I ordered. "And contact Alpha Wilson. I want to know why his wolves are crossing our boundaries."

The command center hummed with activity—warriors receiving orders, technicians monitoring security feeds. This was what I'd built from the ashes of my father's legacy. A powerhouse pack that commanded respect.

A soft shuffle behind me broke my concentration.

"Alpha," Hattie's voice was barely above a whisper. "I made your coffee."

She stood there, holding a steaming mug with both hands, her thin frame dwarfed by the high-tech surroundings. Her eyes—those wide, vacant eyes that had once sparkled with mischief—now darted nervously around the room.

"Hattie." I kept my voice level, though irritation prickled beneath my skin. "I told you to stay in your quarters."

"I wanted to help," she said, taking another step forward.

Then it happened. Her foot caught on the power cable I'd warned her about countless times. The mug flew from her hands, coffee splashing across my terminal and dripping onto the border documents Marcus had prepared.

A heavy silence fell over the room.

I closed my eyes, counting to five. The pack warriors froze, waiting for my reaction. Hattie stood perfectly still, her face crumpling.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine," I said, though we both knew it wasn't. "Just... be more careful."

I gestured to Annalise, who appeared at my side like a shadow. "Clean this up."

Annalise's smile was sympathetic, but her eyes held something else entirely. "Of course, Alpha. I'll handle everything."

As she efficiently wiped the spill, I caught the look she gave Hattie—a flash of contempt quickly masked by professional concern.

---

Hattie wandered the corridors of the pack house later that afternoon. I'd been watching her through the security feeds, a habit I couldn't break. She moved like a ghost through spaces that should have felt like home.

In the kitchen, she paused near a group of Omega servants who didn't notice her presence.

"The Elders are meeting tonight," one whispered. "They're pushing Alpha Curtis to make it official."

"About time," another replied. "Annalise has been running things practically forever."

"But what about her?" The third servant glanced toward Hattie, not realizing she could hear.

"What about the broken one? She's nothing but a burden. The Alpha only keeps her around out of guilt."

Their voices dropped lower, but Hattie's sharp intake of breath told me she'd heard enough. She pressed her hand to her chest, that strange gesture she'd developed since returning to us.

"I don't feel well," she murmured to herself, though no one was listening.

She slipped away, moving toward the server room at the end of the corridor—her sanctuary. The hum of machines had always calmed her.

Through the camera feed, I watched her sit in front of the main console, her fingers tracing patterns on the screen. Something about her expression shifted—a momentary clarity in eyes that usually seemed lost.

---

The alarm blared through the pack house at midnight.

"Data breach in the archives!" The technician's panicked voice crackled over the intercom.

I raced to the server room, my heart pounding. Hattie sat at the console, her hands hovering over the keyboard as if frozen.

"What happened?" I demanded.

"The red light," she said softly. "I was trying to fix it."

On the screen, a confirmation dialog glowed: "Archive purge complete."

The only backup of my parents' memorial footage. The historical records of our pack. All gone.

Something inside me snapped.

"Hattie," my voice dropped dangerously low. "What have you done?"

She looked up at me, confusion giving way to fear. "I was just playing the game like before..."

"Game?" The word tore from my throat. "That wasn't a game!"

My control shattered. The Alpha Tone ripped through the room, a physical force that made the glass in the trophy case tremble.

"HATTIE!"

The acoustic wave hit her like a physical blow. She flew backward, crashing into the display case. Glass shattered, raining down on her as she crumpled to the floor.

Blood trickled from a cut on her arm, but I felt nothing but rage.

In the doorway, Annalise watched with wide eyes that quickly narrowed in calculation. Behind her, Elder Patricia's thin lips curved into a satisfied smile.

I stood over Hattie, my chest heaving, the Alpha aura pulsing around me like a storm.

"You're not just broken," I said, each word like ice. "You're destructive."

Hattie's eyes met mine, something flickering in their depths—not just fear, but betrayal. And for the first time in years, I wondered if I'd made a terrible mistake.