The feared Alpha's Mate

--- The first thing I ever remembered was the cold. The night I was found at the pack borders, I had no name, no family, nothing but the trembling of a little girl who had already learned what loneliness meant. The warriors could have left me there. By law, rogues weren’t to be trusted — especially children, because no one ever knew what blood ran in their veins. But mercy came that night. Mercy, and perhaps pity. They brought me into the pack, fed me, clothed me, and gave me a roof to sleep under. From then on, I was Layla. Layla, the orphan. Layla, the stray pup. Layla, the girl who would never truly belong. I grew up surrounded by laughter that wasn’t meant for me. Other children had mothers who kissed their bruises and fathers who stood proudly behind them during training. I had no one. When I cried, I cried alone. When I smiled, it was because I forced myself to forget the emptiness clawing at my chest. But there was one person who made me feel like maybe I wasn’t completely invisible. Evan. He was the Alpha’s son, destined to inherit the pack one day, and for reasons I never understood, he never looked at me with the same contempt others carried in their eyes. He would train with me, share his food with me, laugh at my dry jokes. When we grew older, we began spending more time together. To the pack, we were inseparable. To me, he was everything I could ever need . Rumors started then — whispers that perhaps fate had destined us for one another. we could be mates and oh, how I wished it was true. For years, I clung to that fragile hope. That maybe, after a life of being unwanted, the Moon Goddess would show mercy and bless me with the one person I had always longed for. And then Emma arrived. She was beautiful in a delicate way that made people want to protect her. Soft golden hair, innocent doe-like eyes, and a smile that seemed to promise purity. Everyone adored her. Everyone except me. Because I saw through her mask . The tilt of her smirk when she thought no one was watching. The way her eyes glittered when Evan was near. The subtle venom in her words when only I could hear. To the pack, she was an angel. To me, she was a snake. And slowly, she coiled herself around Evan. I watched helplessly as his attention shifted from me to her. As he started laughing at her jokes, training with her, walking her home after pack gatherings. Each stolen glance felt like a knife twisting deeper into my chest. But I stayed silent, because I was nothing. The orphan girl. The outsider. The one with no family to fight for her. When the time came for Evan’s eighteenth birthday, the entire pack gathered for the Moon Ceremony. The night where the Moon Goddess revealed mates, binding souls together for eternity. I remember standing in the crowd, my heart pounding so loudly I was sure everyone could hear it. My palms were clammy, my chest tight, my eyes fixed on him. When his gaze met mine, everything stopped. The world blurred, the noise faded, and it was just us. My body trembled as the bond snapped into place, the invisible thread pulling me toward him with undeniable force. I was his mate. I was Evan’s mate. Tears of relief filled my eyes. Finally. After years of being unwanted, after nights of crying myself to sleep, the Moon Goddess had given me the one thing I had always prayed for. My heart whispered: He’s mine. He was always mine. The pack erupted in cheers, congratulating their future Alpha for finding his Luna. People smiled at me, some even apologized for their past cruelty. For the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged. Like I finally had a family. Evan pulled me into his arms that night, his lips brushing mine, his whispered promise sending shivers down my spine. “I knew it was always you, Layla. Always.” I believed him. For a while, I let myself live in the dream. We moved into the Alpha’s quarters together, shared nights filled with stolen kisses and heated touches. We hadn’t marked each other yet — Evan said he wanted to wait, that the right moment hadn’t come. But we had done everything else, and I had given him all of me, body and soul. I thought I was happy. I thought I was safe. But happiness has always been fleeting for me. And safety… nothing but an illusion. Because soon, the Evan I loved began to change. At first, it was little things. His voice sharper when I spoke out of turn. His hand gripping my wrist too tightly when he was angry. The way his eyes followed Emma, even when he was with me. I ignored it. Told myself it was stress. That being the Alpha’s heir came with burdens I couldn’t understand. But then came the bruises. The shouting. The nights when his hands left more pain than pleasure. And the worst part? He would always come back the next morning with soft apologies and gentle touches, and I would forgive him. Because I loved him. Because I was terrified of losing him. Because I didn’t know how to be without him. Some days whereby we he spent in Emma's chamber and he came back smelling of her The pack whispered, of course. Some pitied me. Some smirked, saying it served me right for daring to dream above my station. And Emma… Emma would watch with those innocent eyes of hers, hiding her satisfaction behind fake concern. It didn’t take long before I realized the truth. Being Evan’s mate wasn’t my salvation. It was my prison. And though I didn’t know it then, it was only the beginning of the nightmare that would shatter me… ---