FATED TO THE ALPHA BROTHERS

Chapter 8

Kira’s POV

The next morning, I woke to the same dim light, the same chill in the air. Just like every other omega on a perfectly normal day. I rose, dressed in the plain cloth assigned to me, and stepped out into the silent hallway. My feet carried me on the familiar path to the Alpha quarters—the same place I was always sent to work, the same place I faced humiliation almost daily at the hands of Alpha Rylan.

Walking there, the memory of my public rejection flashed, sharp and unbidden. Idem himself, surrounded by the pack, had cast me aside simply because I was an omega. The pain of that day still clung to my soul like a shadow. I tried to shake it off, to bury it deep, but some wounds resist forgetting. Yet change is the one constant in life—it must be—and that change had to start within me. Today felt different. The air itself felt charged.

I pushed the heavy door to their quarters wide open. Inside, everything was still, quiet as a tomb. It was early; most of the pack was still asleep. I moved silently to the storage closet, gathered my bucket and brush, and knelt to begin scrubbing the cold stone floor.

That’s when I saw them—two boots, polished and imposing, planted firmly on the stones I was about to clean. My gaze traveled slowly upward, over the fitted pants, past the crossed arms, to meet the sneering face of Alpha Rylan.

“How may I help you?” I asked, my voice calm, almost detached.

He blinked, looking from left to right as if checking for an audience. My tone had thrown him. I knew he expected fear, stammering, submission. For a moment, I saw a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

“Do you even realize you are speaking to an Alpha, you silly omega?” he spat, his composure cracking.

Without warning, he aimed a sharp kick toward my side. Instinct—sharp and new—flared within me. I shifted my weight and dodged it, the movement swift and smooth. He stared, then a slow, unnerving smile spread across his face. Inside, I knew he was reeling. A mere omega had just countered him.

“I’d also like you to notice that I’m working,” I said, returning to my scrubbing. “I’d prefer not to be disturbed until my job is done, Rylan.”

His face darkened. “Where did you get the audacity to talk back to me, you silly, weak omega?”

The word weak hit me like a spark to dry tinder. Something ignited deep in my core—a surge of heat, of anger so pure it was blinding. I didn’t think. I moved.

In one fluid motion, I was on my feet. He barely had time to widen his eyes before I was upon him. It wasn’t graceful or practiced; it was raw, fueled by that burning spark. A push, a twist, a shift of balance—and he was on his back on the hard floor, breathing in sharp, ragged gasps.

I stood over him, my own breath steady. “You don’t call a woman weak,” I said, my voice low and searing. “You don’t dare call an Omega weak.” I let the words scorch the air between us, then turned and walked back to my bucket as if nothing had happened.

My hands resumed scrubbing, but inside, I felt a strange, settling calm. He got up slowly, the sound of his movements heavy in the quiet room. He walked closer, and this time, I could smell it—the sharp, sour scent of fear rolling off him. He didn’t speak. He just stood there, watching me, before finally turning and striding out of the quarters.

Only then did I look up toward the empty doorway. A smile touched my lips—not one of joy, but of grim recognition. Courage. Confidence. They weren’t just ideas anymore; they were a fire now lit inside me.

I wasn’t going to announce it, wasn’t going to proclaim my transformation. But I knew. I was no ordinary wolf. I was an Alpha. A she-Alpha. A silver-ranked wolf in the making. And no one—no one—would manipulate me, bully me, or look through me ever again. I would walk with the weight of my true position. I would allow no more disrespect.

Once my work was finished, I returned to the Omega quarters. In my small, sparse room, I fell into my old habit: gazing out the narrow window at the packhouse grounds. Families moved about, laughing, talking. Their smiles, their ease, once brought me a bittersweet comfort. Today, it felt like watching a play from a distant seat.

My door burst open, crashing against the wall. There stood Helen, her expression a mix of irritation and habitual superiority. In the past, I would have scrambled to my feet, head bowed. This time, I didn’t move. I didn’t even flinch.

She crossed the room in quick strides, her hand shooting out to grab a fistful of my hair. A sharp pain shot through my scalp. A small, involuntary scream escaped me as she yanked me to the floor.

“How dare you talk back to an Alpha?” she hissed, looming over me.

The pain cleared my head, replaced by that same, steady heat. I rose to my feet, slowly, deliberately. “How dare you pull me by my hair?”

She blinked, looking left and right in genuine, stunned confusion. “What did you say?”

“I don’t think you’re confused about what I just said,” I replied, my voice chillingly even. “So, reply. If you can find the words.”

“Kira, you dare talk back to me?” she breathed, disbelief turning to anger.

I glanced around the room. “From here to there, it’s just you and me. And yes, I did talk back. There’s nothing you can do about that.”

“Kira.” She stepped closer until our breath mingled. Her voice dropped to a threatening whisper. “You will regret every single thing you’re doing. Mind you, you are a mere omega. A low-class citizen of this pack. There is nothing you can do.”

The rage bubbled up again, a geyser I could barely cap. I tried to control it, to push it down, but my body acted on its own. My hands shot out, shoving her back with a force that surprised us both. She stumbled, falling hard onto the floor, a scream building in her throat.

I was faster. I was on her, my hand covering her mouth, pressing down. I leaned close, my lips nearly brushing her ear. My whisper was cold, each word deliberate. “Don’t talk to me that way anymore. I’m no longer the old Kira you know.”

I released her, stood up, and calmly dusted off my clothes. I walked back to the window, resuming my position as if nothing had happened. She scrambled to her feet, her eyes wide, her scent flooded with the acrid, unmistakable smell of fear. Without another word, she fled the room.

The moment the door shut, the fiery confidence drained from me. My hands began to tremble. I slumped against the wall.

What was happening to me? Challenging Rylan was one thing. But attacking Helen? She was the Alpha’s right hand, his chosen, the future Luna. I had just made two catastrophic enemies in one morning. I wanted to show strength, to prove I wasn’t a pushover, but this—this felt wild, uncontrollable. Like something else was steering my actions.

I looked back out the window, but the happy scenes no longer registered. My heart was a frantic drum in my chest. Then, a new sensation bloomed inside me—a presence, stirring from a deep slumber. It felt ancient, and warm, and fiercely awake.

A voice, not my own, yet undeniably a part of me, echoed in the quiet of my mind. You are not just a weak woman anymore. You were reborn this time not to be calm, but to be wild.

“Celine?” I whispered to the empty room, giving the presence a name that felt right.

Celine, the voice mused, a hint of amusement in its tone. I’ve never had a sweet name like that before.

I ignored the comment, my focus on the panic still chilling my veins. “I never wanted to be wild. I’ve always been calm. Passive. Even through the suffering, I never fought back like this. I can’t seem to control it.”

Let us start with the fact that you called me Celine, she sidestepped, her voice a soft rumble within.

“What do I do now, Celine?” My question was a plea.

There is nothing for you to ‘do.’ It is already written. You were reborn not to be a quiet girl, but a strong woman. A wild one.

The phrase “strong woman” grated against my nerves. It echoed in my head, a taunt, a pressure. “Can we just… stop calling me that? I hear it every time. It screams in my ear every single time.”

Silence.

Celine didn’t respond. I reached for her in my mind, feeling only a vast, quiet stillness. Five minutes passed, then ten. Nothing. I was left utterly alone, stranded in a growing sea of confusion and despair.

Regret washed over me, cold and heavy. The Alpha was the law. Helen was his shadow. I had struck at both pillars of the pack in the span of an hour. I had wanted a new beginning, but this felt less like a beginning and more like a freefall. What would be next? Retribution? Banishment? Or something worse?

I had asked for a second chance. Now, I feared I had already set it all ablaze.