The Alpha king Took His Son’s Mate

Kaela pov The fairy lights strung between the pine trees cast bright shadows across peoples laughing faces. I stood at the center of it all, my heart so full I thought it might burst. "Eighteen years old today." Ethan's voice was warm in my ear as his arms wrapped around my waist from behind. "My beautiful mate." I leaned back against his chest, breathing in his scent. "I still can't believe this is real." "Believe it." He pressed a kiss to my temple. "You're mine, Kaela. Forever." The pack had gathered in the clearing behind the Alpha's mansion—my new home, though the thought still made me dizzy, low born healers didn't become the future Luna. But the Moon Goddess had other plans. Liora squeezed through the crowd, her blonde hair catching the light. "There's my best friend!" She threw her arms around me, nearly knocking me off balance. "The mate of the Alpha's son. I told you everything would work out." "I couldn't have done this without you," I said, squeezing back. Ethan's phone buzzed. He glanced at it, his jaw tightening. "I need to handle something, it’s pack business." "On my birthday?" I turned in his arms, trying to keep my voice light. "Five minutes." He kissed my forehead. "I promise." I watched him disappear into the crowd, that familiar knot forming in my stomach. He'd been distant lately. But tonight was supposed to be different. "Let him go," Liora said, linking her arm through mine. "Men and their pack business. Come on" But an hour later, Ethan still hadn't returned. The party continued without him, and the knot in my stomach twisted tighter. I slipped away from the celebration, heading toward the cabin we'd been sharing for the past six months. Maybe I could surprise him. Light some candles, wear the silk nightgown he liked. The path through the forest was familiar now, my wolf, Seraphine, stirred contentedly in my chest. Our mate, she whispered. Our home. I pushed open the cabin door, my smile already forming. Then the world shattered. Ethan was on our bed but he wasn't alone. Liora's blonde hair spilled across his chest. Her laugh—that same laugh that had comforted me through my father's death—rang out. "Oh gods, Ethan, you should have seen her face at the party." Liora's voice dripped with amusement. "So grateful, so pathetically in love." My breath stopped. This wasn't real, this couldn't be real. Ethan ran his fingers through her hair. "She was easy to fool. Did you really think I'd choose a low-born healer as my Luna?" The floor tilted beneath me. I grabbed the doorframe, my knuckles white. That's when Liora saw me. Her eyes widened, and for a split second, something like guilt flashed across her face. Then it was gone, replaced by cold triumph. "Ethan." He turned then his eyes met mine and he smiled. "Kaela." He sat up slowly, not even bothering to cover himself. "You're early." "What" My voice cracked. "What is this?" "This?" He stood, utterly casual in his nakedness. "This is me correcting a mistake." Seraphine howled in my mind, a sound of pure agony. The bond between us—that golden thread connecting our souls—pulled taut. "A mistake?" I whispered. "You were never my mate." Ethan walked toward me, and I stumbled backward. "Not really. The Moon Goddess must have been confused or testing me. Either way, I'm done playing along." Liora wrapped the sheet around herself, moving to stand beside him. "It was fun though, watching you try so hard to be something you're not." "Liora." Tears burned my eyes. "You're my best friend." "Was." She examined her nails. "Past tense, you really thought you could rise above your station? The pack needed entertainment." The cabin door burst open behind me. More pack members crowded in—drawn by the commotion or maybe summoned deliberately. I saw their faces: shock, pity, disgust, amusement. Beta Eden stood at the back, his expression grim. "Ethan, this isn't the way" "Silence." Ethan's voice rang out. He turned back to me, and his eyes glowed with wolfish power. "Kaela Varyn, I, Ethan Wolfe, reject you as my mate." The words hit me like a punch to my gut. "No," I gasped. "No, please" "I reject your bond." His voice grew louder. "I sever our ties. You were never worthy of being a Wolfe." The golden thread between us didn't just snap, it exploded. White-hot pain tore through my chest. I screamed, falling to my knees as the bond ripped itself apart. My left wrist burned, and I watched in horror as a moon-shaped scar branded itself into my skin. Seraphine's howl shattered through the pack link, and wolves throughout the territory would feel the backlash of a broken bond. I collapsed on the cabin floor, my body convulsing. The pain was everywhere—my chest, my head, my soul. Through blurred vision, I saw pack members watching. Some looked away while others smiled but no one helped me. "Get her out of here," Ethan said, his voice bored now. "She's embarrassing herself." Strong hands grabbed my arms, hauling me up. I couldn't stand. I couldn't think. The world was nothing but pain and the sound of Seraphine's broken howling. They dragged me outside and threw me on the ground. "You should leave," someone said but the voice seemed far away. "Before this gets worse." Worse? How could anything be worse than this? But I knew the answer. I'd seen what happened to rejected wolves who stayed. The madness, the slow death as their wolf gave up. So I ran. I didn't know where I was going. I just ran, my bare feet pounding against the forest floor. Blood dripped from my wrist where the scar still burned, tears blinded me. Seraphine had gone silent in my mind—a terrifying, empty quiet. I ran until my legs gave out. Until I couldn't breathe, until the only sound left was my own sobbing in the darkness of Silverwood Forest. And somewhere behind me, I heard laughter carrying on the night wind. You were never worthy of being a Wolfe. The words echoed in my skull as consciousness slipped away. Maybe Ethan was right. Maybe I'd been a fool to believe in fairy tales. Maybe I deserved this. But as darkness took me, one thought burned through the pain: I'll make them pay. Every single one of them. I'll make them pay.