Mated To The Wrong Alpha

To Wound a Memory

Chapter 3

Kilton’s POV

According to what Shane's mother told me more than ten years ago, I was taken in by the Leamingtons—Shane's family—as a baby. No one knew where I came from or how I'd come about their pack district.

Perhaps it was because of my unknown origin that they'd deemed it fit to treat me like a slave, ensuring that I never caught a glimpse of happiness.

Even though I was insulted and constantly abused, I didn't run away just for one simple reason. Leah. The love of my life.

I'd gotten to meet her through Shane, as their families were close. Soon enough, the three of us went everywhere together, and we would have been referred to as triplets—except I was a servant, and their statuses were both higher than mine.

Leah didn't care for status, though, and that was what made me fall even deeper in love with her. She was kind, caring, and loved freely. Unlike Shane, who kept up appearances to prove himself in his mother's eyes, Leah was a free spirit who welcomed all regardless of rank in the pack. To me, she was beautiful in all forms of the word, and I wanted to have that beauty with me forever.

One particular night, she had found me under the shed, badly beaten and weak.

“You don't deserve this life, Kilton,” she whispered, her soft hands brushing over my cheeks.

The air between us was charged, and I leaned closer to kiss her. But then she flinched, a glint flashing past her eyes. “I am in love with Shane, Kilton. I'm sorry. I realized that she didn't have the same type of love for me that I had for her.

She loved Shane, with his egoistic and sardonic behavior. Yes, he could be nice in his own way, but he wasn't selfless like her. So how had she let herself be close to him?

Her confession broke me, and I'd gone into the woods to hunt, desperate to think sanely again. How she could feel something other than filial love for that brat was beyond me.

Then again, I had thought with pain in my chest—she wouldn't be Leah if she thought with her head. She loved unconditionally, and Shane had become the unworthy recipient of her most sacred form.

I'd returned to the pack late that night, only to be confronted by the villagers and accused of killing a couple. I'd tried to defend myself, but the whole pack had gathered and overpowered me, giving me no room for explanation. They'd sent me out of the pack with nothing but the clothes on my back and sent assassins to end my life.

Luckily for me, the assassins were unable to find me, and I later saw one of their corpses on the floor in the forest. My guess then was that they had met other bloodthirsty wolves. But now, I think it was just the moon goddess being on my side.

For some months after that, it seemed like the moon goddess had orchestrated every form of goodwill that came my way. First I discovered I was a Lycan when a group of wolves attempted to attack me on a full moon, then I was able to kill the fearsome Alpha of Seaside when he wanted to execute me because he wanted no opposition, then I took over one of the largest packs in the area.

Before long, I'd become one of the most revered Alphas. But that wasn't enough for me. I wanted…no, needed revenge. I needed to exact my vengeance on the house of Leamington.

Which is why the minute I received word that the Leamington's land had a boom in natural resources, I saw that as an opportunity to get back what was mine.

Shane was currently seated opposite me, his eyes alert. I almost couldn't believe this was the same person I'd once looked at as a brother.

I placed my fork on the plate and dabbed at my mouth slowly with a handkerchief, the tension in the room growing with each moment.

“I have no idea what this dinner was meant for, Alpha Shane, but I've made my intentions clear. I want that land. So it's either you move, or I force you to.”

His eyes widened, and I relished seeing the fear in them. Earlier he'd been shocked to see my face, but he was only just realizing how much power I held over him. “Please, reconsider, Alpha. Please. This land has been in my family for generations.”

I stared at him briefly before my expression went cold. “You have twenty-four hours.”

The expression on his face was the same as his Luna’s, panic-stricken. It was quite shocking when I saw that the Luna wasn't even Leah, but Helena. Even though I shouldn't have cared, the fact that Shane had rejected Leah made me far more angry than I should have been.

Leah, above every other person in the pack except the mastermind behind the plan they made to kill me, was the person I hated the most. Or should have hated the most. I had thought that she would at least stand by my side after I was falsely accused, but she just stood behind Shane as I was cast out.

Thankfully she wasn't here; if not, I didn't think I'd be able to stop my Lycan from tearing her from limb to limb. Ever since my first transformation, I'd been a bit… unhinged.

I could sense the change in my emotions, and I chose not to dwell on that anymore. I was more focused on getting the land. When the silence became annoying, I stood and made to leave. “Well then. I'd see you…”

“Wait, please!” Shane jumped to his feet. “Can…can we get an extension, please… We'll move, but you have to understand, the timeframe is…”

“And what makes you think you can negotiate an extension with me?” I asked calmly, folding my arms against my chest.

He blinked, looking confused. “What?”

I glared at him, wondering if he was truly clueless or just stupid. “You want me to wait, but I don't; do you think your pleas can move me an inch? What do you have that can make me reconsider?”

His eyes widened in understanding then, and after pleading with me to hold on for a moment, he briskly walked out of the room, leaving his Luna to attempt—and fail multiple times—at entertaining me. Soon enough he returned, sat down, and gave me a s**t-eating grin.

“You can have her, Alpha.”

I looked to see who he'd pointed at, and something squeezed in my chest. Leah stood at the corridor, as ethereal as ever, but with shock in her dark eyes. As I stared at her, her mouth parted and formed my name, igniting something in me.

It wasn't love or passion. Instead it was anger and a twisted sort of pleasure that I could barely control.

But I pretended to pay her no mind, turning back to Shane. Something was off; Leah loved Shane, and Shane seemed to reciprocate those affections while I was still here. So why was he so willing to give her to me and call someone else his Luna? What on earth happened after I left?

“What do you mean, I can have her?” I asked him, aware of the cold edge in my voice. He visibly flinched but regained his composure.

“She's useless to me,” he explained with a wave of his hand. “She has no wolf, can you imagine? So you can take her with you and use her as you deem fit.”

His eyes gleamed as he spoke, and it occurred to me that he'd suspected my affections for her when we were younger and probably still thought I had the same affections.

My blood boiled. I no longer did. Ever since that night when I was tossed out of the pack with no one coming to my aid, I'd sworn to destroy every single person connected to this pack... Including Leah.

I glanced at her, noting how tiny and frail she looked, before turning away to glare at Shane again. “You're kidding me, aren't you? How dare you?”

He panicked. “I don't understand, Alpha. Is she not to your liking?”

“She's an Omega,” I growled. “She's useless.”

From the corner of my eyes, I saw her flinch, and the disbelieving look on her face gave me a dark sense of satisfaction. “This won't cut it; give me something better," I ordered, getting to my feet. “And make sure they're far more useful than whatever this Omega slave has to offer.”

With that, I left the room, my aide following.