Mated With The Alpha Who Killed My Mate

It was everywhere splattered across the snow, smeared on my hands, staining the chest of the only wolf I had ever loved. “Stay with me, Cian!” I screamed, pressing down on his wound. My hands trembled, my heart thundering in my chest. “Please, don’t leave me!” But his silver eyes once so full of fire and mischief were already fading and standing over us was him. Alpha Kael Thorne. Blackfang’s war chief. The executioner in a thousand battles, the killer of my mate. He didn't look away as I wept, nor did he offer mercy. His eyes were unreadable fierce, glacial, inhuman. “I’ll kill you,” I whispered, voice raw with rage and heartbreak. He didn’t flinch, “I know, ”Three days. That’s how long I stayed locked in the Blackfang dungeon, chained and stripped of my title, my freedom, my dignity. Grief hollowed me out like a blade, leaving only burning hatred behind. Then he came for me, Kael opened the cell himself, the scent of power clinging to him like smoke and steel. “You are mine now,” he said, voice low and unfeeling. “By decree of the Council, and by the bond the Moon Goddess herself has chosen.” I spit at his feet, “I’d rather die.” His expression didn’t change, but a flicker, so brief I almost missed it, passed through his eyes. “Then you’ll die as my mate.” The mating ceremony was not a celebration, it was a sentence. I stood in front of his pack, in foreign colors, surrounded by wolves who cheered for the Alpha who had destroyed my heart. The bond tried to pull me to him. My wolf howled inside me, confused, hurting. When Kael stepped forward and pressed his lips to my neck, I froze. I wanted to fight. To claw his face. To scream, But I stood still. And when his fangs pierced my skin, I felt a pain so sharp it made me forget how to breathe. I was his, and he was the man who murdered the love of my life. He didn’t touch me that night, not beyond the bond mark. But he watched me. Every time I turned, his eyes were there. Studying me. Reading me. Silently burning. I refused to speak. Refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing what I was thinking. But I couldn't ignore the way my body responded. The bond was cruel. It made my heart skip when I smelled him. It made my skin crave contact, even as my mind screamed in defiance. "You hate me," Kael said at last, his voice dark velvet, "I do," I whispered. "Good. That means you're still strong enough to survive me."I tried to run. I almost made it past the gates before Kael’s warriors caught me. He didn’t yell. He didn’t punish me with pain. No. He carried me back himself, silent, brooding. When he locked the door behind us, I expected rage. Instead, he said, “You don’t understand what I took from you," I turned on him like a hurricane. “You killed my mate!” He stepped forward. “I killed your mate because he ordered the death of pups in my pack,” Lies. But… my heart faltered. Was everything I believed about Cian… wrong? And why did Kael’s voice sound like it, too, was breaking? The moon hung low, a silver sentinel that witnessed every heartbeat between us. I lay curled on the cold stone floor of Kael’s private chamber, my back pressed against the wall, arms hugging my knees. The mark on my neck throbbed, a constant reminder that I belonged to the man who murdered my mate. Footsteps silent, measured approached. Kael entered without knocking, his dark silhouette framed by the moonlight. For a moment, I braced myself, ready for scorn or indifference. Instead, he seated himself across from me, half in shadow, half illuminated. “You’re in pain,” he said softly. I bit back a laugh. “Yes. That’s the point.” His eyes flickered. “I know what it is to lose someone you love.” A jagged laugh escaped me. “Spare me your condolences, murderer.” He flinched as though struck. “I did not kill him in cold blood. He… ordered the slaughter of my pups. I saved my pack.” My chest tightened. “So you say.” He leaned forward, voice dropping to a whisper. “Will you ever believe me?” I stared at him, saw the ghost of regret in his eyes. Part of me wanted to kill him right there. Part of me wanted to trust him. My wolf howled for vengeance; my heart yearned for truth. Kael rose, stooped to pick up a single white rose from a silken vase. He placed it at my feet. “Peace offering.” I glared at it. “I don’t want your flowers.” He stood tall. “Someday, you will.” And with that, he left me alone with my fractured heart and the chill of the night. Dawn’s pale light seeped through the narrow window as I studied my reflection. The Luna’s face staring back looked hollow, haunted—eyes rimmed with dark sorrow. I traced the scar where Kael’s bite had broken my skin, a cruel gift that bound me to him. My wolf paced within, restless. I knew I couldn’t stay here, caged by my grief and his claim. I would escape tonight. but first, I needed answers. I crept through the corridors, following the faintest echo of voices. Hidden behind an archway, I found two Blackfang lieutenants speaking in hushed tones. “She hasn’t spoken in days,” one murmured. “The bond is too strong.” The other sighed. “Alpha said her mate was a traitor. She killed him to protect us.” My breath caught. Traitor? Cian? The man I loved… could he have betrayed Kael’s pack? I slid away before they noticed. My mind spun with questions. If Cian truly ordered the death of pups, innocent lives, would I still call him my mate? Or was Kael’s truth another lie? That night, under a slivered moon, I crept toward the eastern wall. My heart thundered, but every fiber of my being screamed for freedom. I scaled the stones, tears blurring my vision as I reached the top, only to find Kael waiting. “Running?” he asked quietly. I froze. “I’m leaving.” He stepped closer. “You belong here.” I spat at him. “You don’t own me.” He gently caught my chin. “The bond doesn’t lie, Seraphina.” His words felt like chains. I realized then I couldn’t escape my fate, nor could I escape the man who held my heart in his hands.