Mated To The Rival Alpha

Banished

Lyra's P.O.V

I screamed, shouted, or at least tried to voice anything that could help establish my innocence, but these words choked in my throat. The chaos around somehow seemed to have stolen my voice. My chest heaved with an attempt to breathe while my heart pounded, as if it were just about to come right through my rib cage.

No, Mael, it's not me!" I wanted to scream. "I didn't kill her! I was trying to save her!"

And my body betrayed me. My lips parted, and no sound came.

I was frozen there on my knees, my eyes indistinct through a veil of tears. Lying before me was the lifeless body of Zara, the dagger in her abdomen, blood everywhere. The metallic scent filled the air, thick along with the acrid smell of smoke from the burning arrows.

I was trapped, accused, and nobody would listen to me.

"Mael, you have to listen to me!" I finally managed to rasp, my voice shaking and broken. "I didn't do this! I-I tried to help her!"

But Mael's golden eyes flashed with his anger, his wolf stirring just below his skin. Stepping closer, he growled low and menacingly, "Enough of your lying!" he spat venom in every word. "I found you crouched over her, with the dagger in your hands-what more evidence?

"No!" I choked out, shaking my head wildly. "It's not what it looks like! Please, Mael, you have to believe me!"

My wolf stirred within me, restless and panicking, urging me toward a shift-to defend myself. But I held her back. Shifting now would only make me look more guilty.

As I flailed, trying to find those words that would save me, footsteps neared. My heart jerked as Kael came into view through the gloom, pale, smudged with soot from all around us.

Relief swelled into my chest.

Kael.

Finally, someone who knew me, someone who could speak for me. He had to believe me. He had to.

"Kael!", I called, shaking, "You know me! You know I could never do something like this!"

Kael didn't turn on me with any kind or reassuring countenance: once-familiar blue- eyes felt as if their temper had been chilled on icy winds.

Mael turned on him at once. "I caught her in the very act," he growled low, his hand jerking in my direction. "This demon-accursed soul! She has stabbed Zara. Now, she denies any deed.

"No!" I burst out, my head shaking furiously. "It's not true! She was like this when I came-I tried to save her!

Kael's eyes flicked to Zara's body and then back to me. For one brief instant, I could have sworn I saw something, in the depths of his eyes fidget, a momentary hesitation, perhaps even a doubt. My heart clung to that shred of hope.

Then his face closed down.

You always felt threatened by Zara," Kael said quietly, words that were as keen and slicing as any blade ever was.

That blow barely succeeded in hitting me where anything else ever had.

At first, I couldn't focus on his words-I actually felt my chest ache as my sight spun until it settled, and again "Kael." A slight crack lined my voice when it came.

"You were standing the idea of her being my mate," he said, further with growing tones cold as stone. "Now, you've finally shown how low you go."

"No! That's not true!" I shrieked, my voice cracking. "I would never-"

But before I could get the words out, he cut me off.

"Don't lie to me, Lyra!" he snarled, his eyes ablaze. "I trusted you! And this is what you've done?"

I stumbled backward, my face streaming with tears as my legs barely held me up. My wolf howled in anguish inside me, the pain of his betrayal deeper than any wound.

"How can you believe this?" I whispered, voice shaking. "After everything…

But Kael didn't flinch a single millimeter. His allegiances were definitely clear now, and with anyone but me.

"You've chosen your path," he said-the finality so clear.

My life had been derailed.

The loved mate now was standing against me-his words killing me as dead as the dagger in Zara's stomach-and the pack called family was on the verge of setting itself against me, full of suspicion and murmurs that continued to grow.

And all I could do was stand there, surrounded by wolves who saw me as a murderer.

The trees seemed to lean in toward us, weighted with tension, the metallic tang of blood heavy in the air. My wolf clawed at me, urging me to run, to shift, to fight. But I couldn't move.

This wasn't betrayal. This was the end of everything I'd ever known.

I felt their eyes upon me, heavy with their accusations, across their faces. My knees gave in, and I went down to the ground, my hands shaking as they pressed to the earth.

The Moon Goddess was to guide us, to keep us safe. In this instant, it was more as if she had disowned me completely.

I had regretted ever coming to the mate bonding ceremony. I had come with hope, yearning to find the mate the Moon Goddess destined for me. But I was leaving with nothing but pain and betrayal.

No mate.

And worse-accused of a crime I didn't commit.

The sound of Mael's command still echoed in my ears: sharp and merciless. "Take her to the pack palace."

Two guards took hold of my arms. They dragged me close against them, not releasing it. What was the point? Mael had just painted me as a murderer. I could almost feel the disgust of those around me, the hostility of wolves barely constrained to remain under skin and skin, growling warning warnings.

My heart stuttered in my chest, and I tumbled forward, legs weak. Whimpers burst through my mind-my wolf wanted me to struggle, to run-but I hushed her. What could I do against the Beta?

A complete shameful feeling of being in despair walked to the pack palace in a complete blur. My mind desperately looked around for an exit from the worst kind of nightmare that had surrounded me. How would I show innocence to people who would simply not believe me?

I was pushed inside the big hall of the pack palace sooner or later, where at one time, with power, authority hung heavy in the air, and each breath came hard to breathe.

Alpha Alaric sat on his commanding throne, which felt just like a noose constricting. His two keen amber eyes bored into my bones and beyond while his crushing aura leaned my shoulders toward the floor. Nothing intruded upon the ear; only the crackling from the fireplace made sound enough to reach it.

"Why did you kill Zara?" he demanded, his voice low, even, steady, and powerful as a gale.

My tummy twisted. He had not asked if I had killed her; he had simply asked why.

"I-I didn't k-kill her," I said in a stammering voice with the weight of his stare over me.

Alaric's eyes slitted, his aura bursting into a flame that sent a wave of dominance washing through the room. My wolf cowered, and I grabbed my fists, fighting to stay upright beneath his power.

Don't lie to me," he growled, the words cutting like a blade through the air. "You know who I am and what I can do. For the last time-why did you kill Zara?"

"I didn't!" I shrieked out then, my voice finally cracking. My eyes stung while in an attempt to make him understand. "I didn't kill her, Alpha! I swear by the Moon Goddess that I was only trying to save her!

Alaric's eyes hardened like steel, and I knew my words meant nothing to him. "You were found with the dagger in your hands, Lyra. The Beta of this pack saw you.”

"That doesn't mean I did it!" I pleaded, desperation lacing my voice. "Someone set me up! Please, you have to believe me!

But Alaric didn't bat an eyelid. His face was cold, unrelenting. "Enough of your excuses," he growled in a low, deadly tone. "You have 24 hours to come out with the truth. Beyond that, you shall suffer the consequences of your misdeeds."

"No!" I shrieked, but my voice sounded no more than echoing emptiness in that big hall.

Alaric's wrist rose in some unseen signal, and then he said, "Take her to the cell.

And with that, I couldn't utter one word more in my own defence, the guards dragged me from the room, their hands on my arms like iron shackles, against which I struggled weakly.

The twisting corridors of the pack palace led me around as I was dragged to their dungeons. Chilly dampness in the air was an air kiss from the cruel embrace place.

They flung me into the cell, and with a clang, the heavy iron door shut behind my back.

It was cold and dark, much like my heart, while I sat on this concrete floor with my legs to my chest. I was really unable to get over the unfairness in life-being blamed for what I didn't do. And now I had but 24 hours in which judgment would alter my life forever.

I was so worn out, and my body had weakened down to the very core; my mind was filled with this feeling of fear. Without the windows in this cell hinting at any change, there was no telling when night or day had fallen. The last time that I had seen outside, they dragged me here. And time turned strange-running fast, or running slow-couldn't tell.

The creaky door of my cell suddenly swung open, and in a fraction of time-quicker than the blink of an eye, two hands had held me in their iron grasp-two guards. Firm was the hold; nothing did guards say.

They brought me to the palace square. Inside, a great number of pack members were waiting. The whispering sounds that came from everywhere around me sounded like a lead cloud. Cold eyes, prejudging me, followed me-my heart would sink with every step.

I fell to my knees in the middle of the square, facing Alpha Alaric. A mouse before the force of his presence-amber eyes, sharp and brimming with power-stared at me. He was the Alpha of our pack and made everybody fear him.

"This is your last chance," he said in that deep commanding voice. "Tell the truth. Why did you kill Zara?"

I shook my head, and my voice shook a quake. "I didn't kill Zara—"

He growled-the sound sharp and loud before my words were cut off, running a chill down my whole body.

The square was silent. It was as if even the air still stood. My heart pulsed on while I was waiting for his words to fall.

"You are hereby banished from this pack. Go-and never come back.".

These few words from his mouth hit me like a hailstorm. I was disoriented; the world beneath my feet shook.

Again, the guards pulled me up to my feet. The crowd remained speechless while I was dragged across in front of them. Nobody said anything to me, nor even gave me a compassionate look. I no longer existed for them.

Hours later, I was running through the forest, my feet aching, my body weak from lack of food. And in my head, like some dark mantra, were the words of Alpha Alaric: Go—and never return.

Everywhere, this forest was wrapped around by tenebrousness, trees stretching towards me as dark specters. Afraid I was, loneliness was worse, though, than the fear of being alone. I had nobody. Without my pack, I meant nothing.

Then, I caught a scent. Subtle it was, but distinct: an old, wolf musky smell mixed with sweet floral fragrance. Immediately, my wolf perked up, alert and ready.

Frozen in a moment, my brain ran quickly over where the smell came from. A friend or perhaps some bad guy?

I didn't care, desperate as I had been. I went into a flower bright with petals. Sweet smelling, the air just swarmed, and I breathed hard.

The smell is a hundred times stronger here; my instinct screams to follow despite that I have absolutely no idea what I'd find there-anything was better compared to walking alone within these woods.