30 Days with The Ruthless Alpha King

No to the Alpha King

The square fell silent.

It was the kind of silence that felt impossible after all the carnival noise. The distant fiddle music still floated in from somewhere behind us, but right here, everything stopped. My heart pounded hard against my ribs, so loud I could hear it in my ears. The guards stared at me. The villagers stared. Even Elara looked stunned, her hand frozen halfway to my arm.

Jace stayed on his knees in the dirt, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His chest heaved as he lifted his head and looked straight at me. For a second, nobody moved.

Then one guard frowned. “My lady,” he said carefully, “step aside.”

“No.”

The word flew out before I could think. The guard blinked like I’d slapped him.

“I said step aside.”

“And I said no.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd like wind through dry leaves. The second guard shifted uncomfortably. “This slave publicly insulted Alpha Lucian and refused a direct order from the fortress.”

I glanced at Jace’s swollen face. Blood soaked the front of his shirt. One eye was already puffing shut, turning purple. My stomach twisted at the sight.

He had never been nice to me back at my pack. In fact, he knew all that his brother did and yet never once spoke up for me. But in this moment I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t bear seeing him mistreated like this.

“You’ve already punished him enough.”

The guard’s face hardened. “That isn’t your decision.”

“No?” I snapped back. “Then whose is it? Yours?”

The crowd gasped. Elara grabbed my arm. “Cressida…”

But I couldn’t stop. I kept looking at Jace, seeing Kael’s face in his, seeing my old life, the chains, everything we’d lost.

Jace suddenly let out a rough, bitter laugh. Blood stained his teeth. “I heard the news,” he said.

My stomach dropped. His gaze moved over me slowly. He fully accessed me. The fine dress, the necklace at my throat, the expensive cloak Elara had thrown over my shoulders before we left. “I heard you became Lucian’s woman.”

I flinched. He laughed again, the sound raw and painful. “I didn’t believe it.”

“Jace—”

“Looks like the rumors were true after all.”

Pain sliced through my chest. “It’s not like that.”

“Isn’t it?” His eyes flicked to Elara, then back to me. Contempt dripped from every word. “Standing beside nobles. Wearing their clothes. Living in their fortress. You became one of them. The very one who killed your mate and destroyed your pack!”

The words hit harder than any guard’s fist. “You betrayed your pack.”

Something inside me snapped. “Betrayed them?” I shouted. The crowd jumped. Jace looked startled. “You think I wanted this? You think any of this was my choice?”

Silence fell again. I pointed at myself, my hand shaking. “I’m still a slave.” The words echoed across the square. Several villagers exchanged wide-eyed looks. “I’m still owned by them.” My eyes burned with hot tears. “My pack is gone. And every single day I wake up in a place I never wanted to be.”

Jace’s expression faltered for a moment. Beside me, Elara went completely still. I realized then that she had never truly understood. Nobody here really had.

Before anyone could say another word, a familiar voice cut through the tension. “What is going on here?”

The crowd parted fast. Thorne strode forward, his heavy boots kicking up dust. His face darkened the second he saw me. “Lady Cressida.”

Thorne didn’t seem to like me very much and did little to hide it“What are you doing?”

I folded my arms tight across my chest. “Stopping your guards from beating a man to death.”

His jaw tightened. “That is none of your concern.” He stepped closer. Instinctively, I moved back. His hand lifted slightly.

Before he could touch me, Elara moved between us. “Don’t.”

Her voice was sharp as a blade. Thorne froze. Elara crossed her arms. “Don’t you dare put your hands on her.”

Something like annoyance or maybe embarrassment flashed across Thorne’s face. “It wasn’t my intention.”

“Good.” Elara’s eyes narrowed. “Because it seems you’re beginning to forget yourself.”

The crowd suddenly found the ground very interesting. No one wanted to watch a confrontation between Lucian’s sister and his Beta. Thorne scoffed, then turned to the guards. “Enough.”

The beating stopped immediately. Relief washed over me, cool and sweet for one brief moment.

Then Thorne looked at Jace. “Take him to the fortress prison.”

My relief vanished like smoke. Jace laughed weakly, the sound broken. The guards hauled him up roughly. Blood dripped from his chin onto the dirt. As they dragged him away, his eyes found mine one last time. Pain and accusation written all over his face.

Everything else, the crowd, the noise, the bright carnival sun faded away. Then he was gone, swallowed by the sea of people.

I couldn’t breathe.

The walk away from the square felt endless. Elara and I didn’t speak for a long time. The carnival didn’t feel bright anymore. The music sounded tinny and far away.

Eventually Elara broke the silence. “Who was he?”

I stared straight ahead, my throat tight. “He’s… Kael’s younger brother.”

Elara stopped walking. “Oh.”

That one small word carried everything. I looked away. The tears came hot and fast before I could stop them. “I hate this,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “I hate being here.”

Elara’s face softened. “Cressida—”

“My people are slaves. My mate is dead.” I wiped angrily at my cheeks. “Everyone expects me to smile and act grateful. And today I had to stand there while Kael’s brother looked at me like I betrayed him.”

She pulled me into a tight hug and I didn’t bother to pull away. I just stood there in the middle of the path, crying into her shoulder while the carnival swirled around us.

The carriage ride back to the fortress was painfully quiet. I stared down at the folded caricature in my lap the ridiculous version of me with the stiff posture and perfect fake smile. A bitter laugh slipped out. What a joke. Nothing about my life was graceful or perfect. I tucked the portrait away and looked out the window. The hills rolled by in a blur. Jace’s words kept replaying in my head: You betrayed your pack.

By the time we reached the gates, my chest felt hollow and empty.

The The moment I stepped into our chambers, the air felt thick and cold. Lucian was already there, waiting by the hearth. He knew. Of course he knew. His broad shoulders were tense, firelight flickering across his sharp face.

He didn’t shout about me leaving the fortress. No, his voice came out low and lethal, vibrating with Alpha power that made my heart tighten in my chest “You publicly challenged my guards in the middle of the village square. Humiliated them in front of my people. What the hell were you thinking, Cressida?”

I lifted my chin, though my knees felt weak. “They were beating an innocent man.”

Lucian’s eyes hardened into something terrifying. He stalked toward me, each step heavy and deliberate, the scent of cedar and smoke suddenly sharp and overwhelming.

“And who says it was your place to interfere? Who is he to you?” The question dripped with jealousy, dark and possessive, like the thought of me defending another man had ignited something feral inside him.

I bowed my head low as I could not look at him due to his oppressing alpha aura.

“I asked a question….who the f**k was he!” He thundered and I shrieked in fear. This was who he really was. A monster. I couldn’t believe I was falling in love with a monster.

Before I knew what was happening, he closed the distance in two strides and grabbed my arm harshly, fingers digging into my flesh with bruising force. “Take off your clothes. Now.”

Spear spiked through me, cold and choking, but something deeper. Anger. weeks of buried pain pushed the word out. “No.”

He paused for a moment then laughed, a harsh, dangerous sound that sent ice down my spine. His grip tightened painfully. “What do you mean, no?”

“I’m not undressing,” I whispered, voice trembling even as tears burned my eyes. “And I won’t be mating with you tonight.” The dam broke.

All the anger, the grief, the helplessness poured out in a rush. “Just who do you think you are? Who do you think you are attacking different packs and killing people just because you are powerful enough to. You took I and my people as slave, I am broken and suffering every day. I wake up pretending this life with you is what I want, but it’s not. I’m still your slave, Lucian. And I’m so tired of pretending it doesn’t destroy me.”

His face twisted into something truly frightening. His wolf eyes flashed gold, lips pulled back in a snarl that revealed sharp canines. The ruthless Alpha stared back at me, the man who had conquered kingdoms without mercy. I was shaking, terror clawing at my throat, but I didn’t look away.

His voice dropped to a deadly growl. “The terms of our contract haven’t changed. The night you refuse to satisfy me is the night you die.”

I looked straight into those terrifying eyes, my heart shattering even as fear choked me. “Then kill me.”