The Alpha's Hidden Heirs

Aria's POV "Get your hands off my boyfriend, you backstabbing witch!" The champagne flute slipped from my fingers, shattering against the marble floor of the pack house ballroom. But I barely heard it over the roaring in my ears. This couldn't be happening. Not tonight. Not at my own engagement party. I stood frozen in the doorway of what used to be my childhood bedroom, watching my whole world crumble. Derek—my Derek—had my sister pressed against the wall, his mouth on her neck, his hands everywhere they shouldn't be. Selena's eyes met mine over his shoulder. Instead of shame, I saw triumph gleaming in those green depths we'd inherited from our mother. "Aria!" Derek spun around, his face flushed, his shirt half unbuttoned. "This isn't—I can explain—" "How long?" My voice came out steadier than I felt. Inside, my wolf howled in agony. Selena laughed, adjusting her dress with deliberate slowness. "Oh, sweet little sister. Always so naive. Did you really think the Beta's son would settle for an Omega? He's been warming my bed for three months now." Three months. Three months of kisses, promises, and lies. The room spun. Downstairs, I could hear the pack celebrating our engagement—an engagement that was apparently a joke to everyone but me. "Aria, listen—" Derek reached for me, but I jerked back. "Don't touch me." The words came out as a growl. Something dangerous stirred in my chest, something that had nothing to do with my wolf. "Oh, please." Selena rolled her eyes. "Don't act so heartbroken. You should thank me. I saved you from embarrassing yourself further. Did you really think you could be Beta female? You can barely shift properly." She was right. I was twenty-one and my wolf was still weak, still small. An embarrassment to our bloodline. That's why I'd thrown myself into studying healing, into making myself useful to the pack in other ways. "I loved you," I whispered to Derek, hating how my voice cracked. He couldn't meet my eyes. "Aria, you're sweet, but... Selena's right. My father expects me to mate someone strong. Someone who can lead beside me. You're just not—" "Not enough." I finished for him. "I get it." My hands trembled as I pulled off the engagement ring—his grandmother's ring that he'd given me just hours ago in front of the entire pack. I threw it at his chest, taking dark satisfaction when he flinched. "Aria, don't make a scene," Derek said, his tone shifting from guilty to annoyed. "We can handle this quietly. Tell everyone you changed your mind. I'll let you save face—" "Let me?" A bitter laugh escaped my throat. "How generous of you." I turned and walked out, ignoring their calls. The hallway stretched endlessly before me, lined with photos of pack gatherings, celebrations, moments when I'd thought I belonged here. The ballroom noise grew louder as I descended the stairs. Two hundred pack members, all here to celebrate my engagement to Derek Stone. My stomach churned. At the bottom of the staircase, I froze. The crowd parted, and there he stood—Marcus Blackwood. The Alpha heir never attended pack social events. He was too important, too cold, too above it all. But there he was, leaning against the wall like a predator at rest, a glass of whiskey in his hand. His silver eyes found mine, and something electric passed between us. He'd been watching the stairs. Waiting. "Going somewhere, little wolf?" His voice was deep, dangerous, like distant thunder. I'd barely spoken ten words to Marcus in my entire life. He was everything Derek wasn't—darker, deadlier, completely untouchable. Where Derek was handsome in a safe, Beta way, Marcus was devastating. Six-foot-four of pure Alpha power, with jet-black hair and a scar across his left shoulder that only made him more attractive. "The party's over," I said, surprised by my own boldness. His lips curved in what might have been a smile. "Is it? The night's still young." "My fiancé is upstairs screwing my sister." The words tumbled out before I could stop them. Marcus didn't look surprised. Of course he didn't. Alphas knew everything that happened in their territory. "Derek Stone is an i***t," he said simply, his eyes never leaving mine. "Why do you care?" He pushed off the wall, moving closer. My wolf, usually so timid, suddenly stirred with interest. "I don't. But you're bleeding." I looked down. I'd stepped on the champagne glass upstairs without realizing it. Blood seeped through my silver heel. "It's nothing—" But Marcus was already kneeling, his large hands surprisingly gentle as he removed my shoe. The sight of the feared Alpha heir on his knees before me made my breath catch. "You're shaking," he observed, his thumb brushing against my ankle. "I'm angry." "Good." He stood slowly, towering over me. "Anger is better than tears. What are you going to do about it?" I looked up at him, this dangerous man who smelled like pine forests and winter storms. An insane idea formed in my mind. Derek wanted strong? He wanted power? "I'm going to do something stupid," I heard myself say. Marcus's eyes darkened. "How stupid?" "Catastrophically stupid." "My favorite kind." My heart hammered as I made my decision. If Derek thought I was too weak, too pathetic to be his mate, then I'd show him exactly what he was missing. And I'd do it with the one man who could destroy his ego completely. "Dance with me," I said to Marcus Blackwood. The entire ballroom went silent as the Alpha heir took my hand. "Everyone's staring," I whispered as he pulled me against him. "Let them." His hand splayed across my lower back, burning through the thin fabric of my dress. "Where's the ring?" "I threw it at his face." This time, Marcus actually smiled. "That's my girl." The endearment sent heat through my veins. His girl. I wasn't anyone's girl. Not anymore. "I'm not yours," I said, even as I pressed closer to him. "Not yet." The music swirled around us, but I barely heard it. All I could focus on was Marcus—his scent, his heat, the way his body moved against mine like we'd done this a thousand times before. "Why are you helping me?" I asked. "Who says I'm helping you?" His breath tickled my ear. "Maybe I just enjoy chaos." "Or maybe you enjoy pissing off your father. The Alpha heir dancing with an Omega? How scandalous." His hand tightened on my waist. "You're more than just an Omega." "You don't even know me." "I know enough." His voice dropped lower. "I know you work at the pack clinic. I know you stay late studying medical texts because you want to be more than what they say you are. I know you run every morning at dawn when you think no one's watching." My breath caught. "You've been watching me?" "I watch everyone." But something in his eyes said differently. The song ended, but Marcus didn't let go. Around us, pack members whispered furiously. I caught Derek's name, saw people glancing toward the stairs. "He's coming down," Marcus murmured, his eyes fixed on something over my shoulder. I didn't turn. "I don't care." "Liar." His thumb traced circles on my back. "You want him to see this. You want him to know what he lost." "And what did he lose?" Marcus's eyes flashed with something primal. "Everything." Derek's voice cut through the crowd. "Aria! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Now I did turn, keeping myself firmly in Marcus's embrace. Derek stood there with Selena, both of them disheveled, both of them furious. "I'm dancing," I said simply. "Is that a problem?" "With him?" Derek's face flushed red. "You can't be serious." "Why not? I'm single now. You made sure of that." "You're being ridiculous. This is just some pathetic attempt to make me jealous—" "Actually," Marcus interrupted, his voice deadly calm, "she's making me interested. There's a difference." The ballroom went completely silent. Marcus Blackwood didn't get interested. He didn't pursue. He certainly didn't claim. But his arm around me said otherwise. "Stay away from her, Blackwood," Derek snarled, his wolf rising to the surface. "She's mine." "Funny," Marcus said, pulling me closer. "She doesn't smell like yours anymore." The threat in those words was clear. Derek took a step forward, but Selena grabbed his arm. "She's not worth it," my sister said loudly. "Let the Alpha heir have his fun. He'll get bored of her by morning, just like all the others." The words stung, but I kept my head high. Marcus leaned down, his lips brushing my ear. "Want to give them something to really talk about?" Before I could answer, his mouth was on mine. The kiss was nothing like Derek's gentle pecks. This was fire and demand, possession and promise. Marcus kissed like he fought—with absolute certainty of victory. My wolf, my weak little wolf, suddenly roared to life. When he pulled back, I was breathless. The entire room stared at us in shock. "Outside," Marcus commanded, his voice rough. "Now." He led me through the crowd, past my stunned parents, past the furious Derek, past everyone who'd ever told me I wasn't enough. The cool night air hit my burning skin as we exited onto the terrace. "That was—" "Necessary," Marcus finished. He looked down at me, his silver eyes almost glowing in the moonlight. "But not enough." "What do you mean?" He backed me against the stone railing, caging me with his arms. "Derek Stone thinks you're weak. Your sister thinks you're worthless. This entire pack thinks you're nothing but a failed Omega." Each word was a knife to my heart because they were all true. "But I see something different," he continued, his hand coming up to cup my face. "I see someone who's been holding back. Someone who's been playing small to make others comfortable." "You don't know what you see." "Then show me." His thumb traced my bottom lip. "Stop pretending to be less than you are." "I'm not pretending. I'm exactly what they say—weak." "No." The word was absolute. "You're untested. There's a difference." A howl echoed from inside the ballroom. Derek's wolf, calling for me. Claiming me. Marcus growled, the sound raising goosebumps on my skin. "He has no right." "He was my fiancé two hours ago." "And now?" Marcus's eyes searched mine. "What is he now?" I thought about Derek's hands on my sister. About three months of lies. About every time he'd made me feel small, weak, less than. "Nothing," I said firmly. "He's nothing to me now." "Good." Marcus smiled, dark and dangerous. "Then you won't mind what happens next." "What happens next?" He leaned in close, his lips brushing my neck right where a mate's mark would go. "Now, little wolf, we make them all regret underestimating you." My pulse raced. "How?" "Come home with me tonight." The words hung between us like a challenge. Marcus Blackwood, who never took anyone home. Marcus Blackwood, who never spent a full night with any woman. "Why?" I whispered. "Because you want to burn it all down." His teeth grazed my skin. "And I want to watch you do it." From inside, I heard commotion. Shouting. My name is being called by multiple voices. "They're looking for you," Marcus said, but made no move to let me go. "Let them look." His eyes flashed with approval. "Say yes, Aria." Everything in my life had been decided for me. My rank, my worth, my future. But this—this was my choice. "Yes." The word had barely left my lips before Marcus was pulling me down the terrace steps, toward the forest line where his motorcycle waited like a predator in the shadows. "Wait," I said as he handed me a helmet. "This is crazy. I don't do this. I don't—" "That's exactly why you should." He cupped my face with both hands. "For once in your life, stop thinking about what you should do." Behind us, the pack house doors burst open. Derek's voice roared across the ground. "ARIA!" But I was already climbing onto the bike behind Marcus, my arms wrapping around his waist. The engine roared to life, drowning out everything else. As we tore into the night, leaving my old life burning behind us, one thought echoed through my mind: What have I done?