Alpha's Games of Lies & Lust

Chapter 9

Zoriana, Scott, and Braydon simultaneously looked up as the physician stepped out of Zoriana’s trailer.

"How is she?" Zoriana asked, her voice tight with nerves.

"No permanent physical damage," the doctor sighed. "She’ll recover quickly enough on the outside, but emotionally... she’s fragile. She’ll need a lot of care. I’d strongly suggest a specialist."

Zoriana nodded and moved toward the entrance. Scott and Braydon moved to follow, but she held up a hand to stop them.

"Guys, let me talk to her first. After what she’s been through, let's not overwhelm her."

She pulled the door handle, her mind racing. Was the rogue attack on me connected to what happened to her? Did they target my friend because they couldn't destroy me?

She stepped inside and her heart clenched. Aella was sitting on the bed, hugging her knees to her chest and rocking slowly, her eyes fixed on the tiny window. Zoriana sat beside her, but Aella didn't even flinch at her presence.

Automatically, Zoriana reached out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind Aella’s ear. Aella had showered, washing away the blood and the filth, but the marks left on her pale skin were terrifying.

"Aella, I am so sorry," Zoriana vowed, her voice thick with emotion. "I will find those rogues and kill them myself for what they did to you."

Aella finally turned, her gaze hollow and distant as she acknowledged Zoriana. "Rogues? Which rogues?"

"The ones who hurt you," Zoriana whispered, pulling her into a hug.

Aella’s body began to shake. "Zori, I wasn’t attacked by rogues." She sobbed, the sound breaking. "I was working when a guard told me I was needed in the dungeons. I rarely interfere in pack business, but I didn't question him. I just followed."

She choked on her tears, and Zoriana held her tighter, stroking her hair.

"When I entered the cell, my heart stopped," Aella continued. "Tom was chained to the wall. Fabian was there with his officials and five warriors. Fabian said he knew everything... that Tom would pay for his sins."

Her eyes widened as if she were seeing a ghost.

"I fell to my knees. I begged for forgiveness, begged him to spare Tom. But the guards held me back while the torture started. They broke his fingers, used hot iron rods to burn his skin... they..." She shook violently, pulled back into the nightmare of that cell.

"He was still alive. Then Fabian turned to me. He said he hadn't touched Tom's eyes because he wanted him to see the real torture. He threw me to the floor and violated me right there, making Tom watch. I fought, I pleaded, I screamed, but he just ignored me. The physical pain was terrible, but seeing the agony in Tom's eyes because he couldn't protect me... that was worse."

She went still for a moment, tears streaming down her face.

"Fabian stripped the rest of my clothes and invited the others to take turns. He said since I loved being a w***e, he’d make sure I had enough. Mouths, hands... everywhere. Biting, scratching, grabbing. Seven men tore me apart, using me like a toy. The humiliation was unbearable until... I just went numb. I couldn't feel. I couldn't see. My vision was blurred.

"Until I heard Tom's piercing scream. I looked up and saw Fabian holding Tom's heart in his hand. That was the moment I died. I don't remember anything after that, or how I even got here. I’m alive, Zori, but I feel dead."

Zoriana rubbed soothing circles on her back. "You are strong. We will get through this together. You’ll recover, and we’ll make every one of those bastards pay."

"No, you don't understand," Aella sobbed. "I can't fight anymore. They broke me. I don't want to live."

As Zoriana tried to pacify her, a commotion erupted outside. Aella turned even paler, trembling as she recognized the voice booming through the trailer walls.

"Give her to me! Now!" Alpha Fabian yelled.

"Alpha, you are trespassing on private property. This is illegal," Scott’s voice rang out, steady but firm.

"Hiding a f*****g w***e who belongs to me is what’s illegal!" Fabian roared. "Private property? What a joke. A shitty piece of ground for an Alpha-slut. Do you think we don't know Zoriana ran away with you? She’s a w***e who taught my mate how to lie and cheat!"

Scott said something else, muffled by the distance, but then Fabian screamed at the top of his lungs:

"Aella! I know you can hear me! You might be a filthy slut, but you’re still my mate. I hope you’ve learned your lesson and you're ready to come home. You have two days to return, or I’ll drag you back by your hair and burn this entire place to the ground!"

Kalina rose within Zoriana’s mind, her hackles raised and teeth bared in a silent promise to tear the throat from any man who dared lay a hand on her sister again. She was ready to attack.

Then, silence fell as he left.

Aella looked like she was about to pass out, her breath coming in ragged gasps. "Don't worry," Zoriana soothed. "I’ll protect you. He can't do anything."

But inside, Zoriana’s blood was turning to ice. She knew the law. As long as the mate bond wasn't severed, Fabian had the legal right to take Aella back. And in Aella’s current state, trying to break that bond could literally kill her.

Zoriana sighed deeply, the weight of the world on her shoulders. The clock was ticking, and she had to find a way out of this nightmare before time ran out.

The following day, the bruises and bite marks on Aella’s body had faded, but the wounds on her soul refused to heal. She trembled at the slightest sound and refused to leave her bed. Zoriana, Scott, and Braydon took turns watching over her, never leaving her side even while she slept.

After finishing her shift, Zoriana stepped outside to let Scott take over. She sat in the grass, trying to clear her head. The sunbeams caressed her skin and birds chirped cheerfully, but her mind was a whirlwind of dead-end solutions. Rejecting the mate bond would likely kill Aella; returning to her pack certainly would. Zoriana flipped restlessly through law books, hunting for a loophole, a prayer—anything. But there was nothing.

Her phone buzzed. Unknown number.

“Alpha Zoriana Roux,” she answered. She couldn't help but smile; the title still brought her a flicker of joy. Not a Luna, not a daughter—an Alpha in her own right.

“Alpha Zoriana, good day. I am Beta Karel Karlsson, calling on behalf of the Council and Crown Prince Gael Castellari.” The voice was low, vibrating with an authority that expected immediate submission. He paused, likely waiting for her to fawn over the royal connection.

Zoriana froze. The realisation hit her like a physical blow. The handsome prince she had seen in the magazines was the man responsible for rejecting her petition. Because of Prince Gael, the head of the Council, she had been left with nothing after building a flourishing pack for Ryder’s "fated" mistress to enjoy. Because of him, she was living in a trailer and scraping together cash for Aella's therapy. If the Crown Prince had cared even a fraction about she-wolf rights, Aella wouldn't be a broken shell; she would have been a divorcee living in peace.

Fury rose in her chest, hot and sharp.

“Alpha?” Karel prompted when she didn't speak. “We need your support. The kingdom is experiencing certain threats, and we require your company’s services.”

Zoriana’s smile was thin and bitter. Something was fishy. Her company was brand new; why would the Royals seek out a startup?

“Beta Karel, how did you even hear about us?”

“We have our sources. A trusted friend suggested your leadership is… uniquely capable.”

Zoriana didn’t believe a word of it. “I’m flattered, truly. But unfortunately, we are fully booked. We aren't taking new clients.”

Karel’s patience snapped. She could practically hear him gripping his phone. “Make yourself available,” he barked, dropping the polite facade. “This is the Crown Prince and the Kingdom we are talking about.”

“I’m well aware, Beta Karel. Prince Gael had already made my worth very clear when he rejected my petition. Let him find someone more ‘significant’ to help him. If there’s nothing else, I have work to do.”

The mockery in her voice was a serrated blade. Karel muttered a sharp goodbye and hung up before he lost his temper completely.

The silence that followed left a metallic taste in her mouth. For a second, she felt like that discarded girl in the hospital room again—rejected by her mate, her father, and her government. She took a deep breath, looking around at her small, growing territory. She was an Alpha now. She reported to no one but the Moon Goddess herself.

Suddenly, her heart began to hammer against her ribs. Danger. Kalina was pacing nervously in her mind, and she saw Scott outside the trailer, looking panicked as he shouted into his phone.

Aella.

Zoriana bolted for the trailer. She burst through the door and skidded to a halt. Aella was sitting on the edge of the bed, trembling, an open vial pressed to her lips. The scent was unmistakable. Bitter. Deadly.

Wolfsbane. A lethal dose.

Kalina howled in horror as Zoriana lunged forward, snatching the vial from Aella’s hands. Aella collapsed into a fit of sobbing.

“Please... give it back,” she wailed, her voice cracking into a scream. “I don’t want to live! LET ME GO!”

“Aella, look at me! We will get through this. We are right here.”

Aella pushed her away, her eyes wild. “My heart is dead! You don't understand the shame! They used me... they destroyed me. I scrub my skin until it’s raw, Zori, but I can’t get the filth off! I’m stained. Broken. I just want to be with Tom.”

“You will be, but not today,” Zoriana pleaded. “You can recover. You might even find your true fated mate one day—”

“I have no future!” Aella shrieked. “Tom’s blood is on my hands. He died because of me.”

“Tom knew the risks. Stop blaming yourself,” Zoriana said firmly. “There is only one monster here, and his name is Fabian. I swear to you, he will pay.”

Aella froze, her eyes widening in terror. “I can't go back to him. Give me the wolfsbane.”

Zoriana looked at the vial, then at her friend. She had one card left to play.

“In the Royal Academy, there were only two she-wolves: you and me. You were fierce. You were the smartest person in the room.

Then you mated Fabian, and he dimmed your light. But that fire is still in there, Aella. It’s screaming to get out.”

Zoriana stepped forward and placed the vial back in Aella’s shaking hand.

“You can take this and give up. Or you can stay, recover, and turn Fabian’s life into a living hell. Think of all the other she-wolves suffering the same fate. We can change the rules, Aella. We can break the system that strips us of our rights. But I can't do it without you.”

Zoriana whispered, “The choice is yours. Choose wisely.”

She turned and walked out, her heart feeling like it was about to burst through her ribs. She leaned against the metal siding of the trailer, her hands shaking so hard she had to clench them into fists. Seconds felt like hours. One. Two. Three...

The trailer door flew open.

Aella stood in the doorway. The hollow look in her eyes was gone, replaced by a cold, flickering hearth of rage.

“I choose revenge,” she announced.

Tears of pure relief flooded Zoriana’s eyes. She lunged forward, throwing her arms around her best friend. “We’ll destroy him. I promise.”

“Alpha,” Braydon called out nervously, holding up a phone. “The Crown Prince is on the line. He’s demanding to speak with you personally.”

Zoriana wiped her cheeks and took a steadying breath. She reached out and took the phone.

Game on.