MATED TO THE ALPHA KING AND HIS SON

ALESSIA ♡ "Get your filthy hands off me!" I screamed at the top of my voice, fighting the iron grip on my arms, but the pack guards only tightened their hold. My knees scraped against the stone path as they dragged me away from my mother's grave where I'd been all morning. "Stop fighting, omega," one of them growled. "You're only making this worse for yourself." "Making what worse? What are you even talking about?" My voice cracked. I'd been crying for hours, and my throat felt the dryest it had ever been. "I haven't done anything!" "That's what they all say." The second guard yanked me forward so hard I stumbled. "Tell it to the Alpha King." My heart skipped. "Alpha Jared? Why would he…" "You know exactly why, thief." Thief? The word hit me like a physical blow. I tried to dig my heels into the ground, but the guards were too strong. Pack members stopped to stare as we passed, their expressions ranging from curiosity to disgust. I recognized some of them…wolves who'd offered condolences just days ago when my mother died. Now they looked at me like I was nothing. "Please," I begged, still struggling. "There's been a mistake. I'm not a thief. I would never…" "Save it for the Alpha King." They dragged me through the pack grounds, past the training fields and the communal dining hall. Whispers followed behind us. “Who is that?” “Probably one of those nasty omegas always causing trouble” By the time we reached the pack house, my heart was about to jump out of my chest. The guards shoved me through the large doors and into the grand hall, dragging me further until I was in the center. At the far end of the room, seated on a throne-like chair that seemed to command the very air around it, was Alpha Jared. The Alpha King himself. I'd seen him before, of course. Everyone in Black Paw Pack had. But I'd never been this close, never felt the full weight of his presence, his sharp eyes assessing me slowly. He was devastatingly handsome in that dangerous way that made your wolf whimper in submission; sharp features, dark hair with streaks of silver, and eyes that were sharp enough to bring even the most high ranked wolves to their knees. Standing beside him was his son, Lucian. My chest tightened at the sight of him. Even now while I was terrified and confused, my heart still skipped when I looked at him. Those golden eyes that used to smile when he saw me now had a hint of disgust. "Alpha King." The guard on my right forced me to my knees. The ground was hard and my knees were already bleeding from a slight wound. "We found her at the graveyard, as you instructed." "Good." Alpha Jared's voice was hard. He stood finally, descending the three steps from his throne slowly. "Alessia, isn't it? The omega who works in the pack kitchens." He faced me now. "Yes, Alpha." I could barely whisper at this point. "But I don't understand why I was brought here. I haven't…" "You haven't stolen anything?" He stopped directly in front of me, close enough that I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. "Is that what you were about to say?" "I haven't! I swear on my mother's grave…" "Don't." Lucian's voice cut through the air very sharply. He moved to stand beside his father, and the look on his face made my wolf cower. "Don't you dare bring your mother into this. She was a good woman. She'd be ashamed of what you've become." My eyes began to well up with tears. "Lucian, please. Whatever this is about, I didn't do it. You know me. We've talked, we've…" "We've what?" He laughed dryly. "Had a few conversations? That means nothing. I was wrong about you. I thought you were different. Turns out you're just another conniving omega looking for a way up." His words came like a punch to the gut. Just last week, he'd seen me in the pack courtyard, and we had talked for hours, and I'd let myself hope that maybe someone like him could see someone like me. I was foolish. "I don't understand," I whispered. "What am I supposed to have stolen?" Alpha Jared pointed to a picture frame above his little throne, and in the frame, a delicate silver bracelet with traces of diamonds. It was breathtaking. And I'd never seen it before in my life. "This," the Alpha King said coldly, "is a family heirloom. It belonged to my late mate, Lucian's mother. It's been missing since yesterday. And you, Alessia, were seen near Lucian's quarters around that time." "I was delivering linens! That's part of my job!" My voice rose in desperation. "I didn't go into his rooms. I left everything outside the door like always. I would never steal from anyone, especially not…" "Then you won't mind if we search your quarters?" Alpha Jared's eyes lit up. "If you're innocent, you have nothing to fear." "Please, go ahead. You won't find anything because I didn't take it!" He nodded to the guards. "Go. Now." The minutes they were gone felt like hours. I knelt on that cold floor, my knees aching and my mind racing. This had to be a mistake. A horrible, terrible mistake. Maybe someone had seen me near Lucian's quarters and jumped to conclusions. Maybe the heirloom was still in his rooms somewhere, just misplaced. The crowd in the hall had grown. More pack members filed in, drawn by the commotion. I recognized Uma standing near the back, her expression very neutral which was unlike her. She would've normally been angry at this manner of accusations I was facing. She was my best friend. She'd been so supportive after my mother died, bringing me food when I couldn't eat, holding me when I cried. Our eyes met across the room, and I tried to speak with my eyes, but she looked away very quickly. The guards returned too quickly. One of them held something up…the silver bracelet, glistening in the sun rays at the entrance of the hall. "Found it, Alpha King. Hidden beneath her mattress, wrapped in clothes." My heart stopped. The crowd expressed their shock. "No. That's impossible. I didn't…I would never…" I tried to find my voice. "The evidence speaks clearly enough." Alpha Jared's voice was unforgiving. "Alessia of Black Paw Pack, you are hereby found guilty of theft of a royal heirloom. You have one week to gather your belongings and leave pack territory. If you're found here after that time, you will be thrown out in a very disgraceful fashion." "No!" I jumped to my feet, but the guards grabbed me again. "Please, Alpha, you have to believe me! Someone planted that! I didn't steal anything!" "Father." Lucian stepped forward, his eyes hardened. "A week is too generous. She should be…" "A week," Alpha Jared repeated, his tone, final. "She just lost her mother. I'm not completely without mercy." "Mercy?" I almost choked. "You're banishing me for something I didn't do! I have nowhere to go. This pack is all I have left. Please, I'm begging you…" "Begging won't change the facts." The Alpha King turned his back on me, returning to his throne. "Take her away. And let it be known…Alessia is no longer under pack protection. She is a thief, and she will be treated as such until her banishment is complete." "Alpha King, please!" I was sobbing now, fighting against the guards with everything I had. "I'm innocent! Someone set me up! Please, just listen…" But he didn't listen. No one did. The guards dragged me from the hall while pack members pressed their back against the walls and watched, with disgust on their faces. Someone spat at me. Someone else called me a disgrace to omega kind. And through it all, I saw Uma, still standing in that same spot. Still not looking at me even. I couldn't understand anything that was happening anymore. They threw me out the front doors of the grand hall. I landed hard on the stone steps, my palms now bleeding from the scratches alongside my knees. I sat there for a long moment, too shocked to move. This morning, I'd woken up in my small room, grieving but safe. I'd gone to my mother's grave to talk to her, the way I did every day since we'd buried her. And now… Now I was branded a thief. An outcast. I had seven days before I lost everything. I pulled myself to my feet, my legs shaking. Pack members gave me a wide gap as I stumbled down the steps and along the main path. I heard the whispers starting already, spreading like wildfire. "Did you hear? Alessia stole from the Alpha King's son..." "I always knew there was something off about her..." "Poor thing lost her mother and lost her mind..." "Omega trash, that's all she is..." I made it to my quarters, a tiny room in the omega housing building, and shut the door behind me. I let myself collapse, sliding down the wall with my back until I was sitting on the floor. The room looked exactly as I'd left it this morning. Except the mattress had been turned upside down. Just the mattress was scattered, nothing else. Someone had come into my room, planted the bracelet, framed me with the exact place they had kept it, and destroyed my life. But who? And why? I couldn't help myself and I began to cry again. I cried for my mother, who I'd buried just three days ago, I cried for my reputation and most painfully, I cried because I'd lost my only possible connection to a better life, Lucian.