The Alpha's Rejected Mate

Chapter 7: The Throne Still Bleeds

The hall was silent.

Not the good silence. Not the kind after a storm when everything feels clean. This was the silence of a grave. The silence of people holding their breath, hoping the monster wouldn't look their way.

I sat on the golden throne.

Damian's blood was still warm on my skin. His screams were still echoing in my ears. Good screams. Honest screams. The kind of screams he never let my mother have.

Sarah was crying in the corner. Not loud. Just tears. Silent. Pathetic. The perfect mate with the perfect face and the perfect life... now kneeling in someone else's blood.

"Get up," I said.

She flinched.

"I said... get up."

She stood. Her legs were shaking. Her hands were shaking. Everything about her was shaking. Good. Let her shake. Let her remember this feeling every time she closes her eyes.

"Come here."

She walked. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Each step was a small victory. For me. For my mother. For every Omega who ever scrubbed floors while Sarah laughed.

She stopped in front of me. Close enough to touch. Close enough to kill.

"Look at me."

She raised her eyes. Red. Puffy. Ugly.

"You were his mate," I said. "You knew what he did. You knew he killed my mother. And you still smiled. You still sat on his lap. You still let him touch you while my mother's blood was still in the ground."

Sarah opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

"I... I didn't—"

"Liar."

My voice cracked like thunder. She fell to her knees again. Crying. Begging without words.

I looked at the pack. They were watching. Scared. Waiting for my next move.

"What do I do with her?" I asked them.

No one answered.

"I asked you a question."

Still no answer.

I stood up. Walked to Sarah. Grabbed her chin. Made her look at the pack. Made them look at her.

"She helped him," I said. "She knew. She watched. She enjoyed it."

I let go. Her face hit the floor.

"Take her to the dungeons," I said. "Put her next to Damian. Let them listen to each other cry."

Two warriors moved. Fast. Scared. They grabbed Sarah and dragged her away. She didn't fight. Didn't scream. Just cried. Quiet. Dead. Like a doll with broken strings.

I walked back to the throne. Sat down. Looked at the pack.

"My name is Lila," I said. "You knew me as the Omega. The weak one. The girl with no wolf and no future. But that girl is dead. She died the night Damian rejected me. She died in the cold mud while you all watched."

I looked at each face. One by one.

"What rose from that mud... is something else. Something old. Something hungry. And something that does not forgive."

I leaned back. The throne felt different now. Colder. But mine.

"This pack has a new Alpha now. Not because I want the throne. Because someone has to clean the mess Damian made. And none of you had the spine to do it."

I pointed at the door.

"Go home. Think about what you did. Think about every time you laughed at me. Every time you looked away. Every time you knew the truth and said nothing."

They didn't move.

"GO."

They ran. Like rats from a fire. Leaving me alone in the great hall. Alone with the blood. Alone with the silence.

And alone with the voice.

"You did well," it whispered. "But this is just the beginning. The pack will not accept you. The elders will move against you. And Damian... Damian has friends."

I smiled. Blood on my teeth.

"Let them come."