The Alpha's Forgotten Mate

From Chains to Ashes

Aria’s POV

I don’t know how many days passed in the rogues’ den. Hours blurred into one another, measured only by the sting of silver and the ache of hunger. I thought I would die there. Part of me even prayed for it.

But fate had other plans.

It was during the dead of night when the opportunity came. The rogues were drunk, their laughter echoing through the stone chambers. One of them stumbled too close, careless, his claws fumbling as he shoved another bowl of filth toward me. His grip on my chain loosened just enough.

The moment he turned his back, I pulled. My skin tore as I twisted my wrist against the silver cuff, but I didn’t stop. Pain was nothing compared to freedom. The metal sliced deeper, my blood slickening the shackle, until at last, it slipped free.

For a heartbeat, I couldn’t believe it. Then instinct took over.

I ran.

My bare feet slapped against the dirt floor, every step jarring through my battered body. Behind me, shouts erupted. “The pup! She’s loose!”

Torches flared, shadows lunged, but I kept running. My vision swam, my lungs burned, yet my legs carried me farther than I thought possible. Branches tore at my arms as I burst into the forest, but I didn’t care. Each cut was a reminder, I was alive, I was moving, I was free.

The rogues howled, their footsteps crashing behind me, but the forest was thick, and desperation lent me speed. I stumbled, fell, clawed my way back up. My body screamed for rest, but my heart screamed louder. Run. Run or die.

At last, when my strength gave out, I collapsed. My chest heaved, my vision blackened, and the world tilted beneath me. I barely noticed when shadows loomed above me, different shadows this time, tall and disciplined. Warriors.

“Alpha!” one of them called. “We found her at the border.”

Hands gripped my arms, lifting me from the dirt. I tried to fight, but my body was too weak, my limbs limp. All I could do was sag between them as they dragged me through unfamiliar gates.

The Blackpaw Pack.

I barely registered the gasps of strangers or the towering hall they carried me into. At the far end stood a man whose presence filled the room, Alpha Damian Blackwood. His dark eyes swept over me, sharp and unreadable, and for the briefest moment, I thought I saw a flicker of curiosity.

Then his face hardened.

“Wash her,” he ordered. His voice was clipped, cold. “Give her clothes. Place her among the omegas.”

And just like that, my fate was sealed again.

They took me to a small chamber in the omega quarters. It wasn’t much, a bed, four walls, a roof, but compared to chains and dirt, it felt like a palace. For the first time in days, I lay down without silver cutting into my skin. My eyes closed, and relief washed over me.

I thought I was safe.

I was wrong.

The next morning, the omegas dragged me from bed before the sun rose. They shoved buckets into my hands, piles of laundry, tools for scrubbing floors.

“Don’t think being the Alpha’s charity case makes you special,” one sneered. “You’ll work like the rest of us.”

By midday, my arms ached from carrying water, my knees raw from scrubbing stone. They gave me no time to eat, no chance to rest. Every time I faltered, they added more to my load.

By nightfall, I collapsed into bed, too tired to even cry.

I had escaped the rogues, but I was no freer than before. I had leapt from one fire into another, and the flames of Blackpaw were only beginning to burn.

Damian’s POV

The morning sunlight streamed through the high windows of the Blackpaw Pack’s council hall, casting long beams across the polished stone floor. I sat at the head of the long oak table, my fingers drumming against the wood as Ethan Vale, my Beta, read through the latest reports.

“Borders to the east have been quiet,” he said, his tone calm and steady as always. “But the western patrol intercepted a group of rogues last night. They were scattered, desperate, nothing organized. Still, we doubled the watch there.”

I nodded, though my jaw tightened. Rogues had been growing bolder in recent months, and the whispers of unrest among weaker packs made me wary. Blackpaw was strong, but strength always attracted challenges.

“And the harvest?” I asked.

“The omega quarter reports the yield from the southern fields will be enough to supply the pack through winter,” Ethan replied. “The council suggests we set aside part of it for trade with Ironclaw Pack. They’re struggling, and it could earn us favor.”

I leaned back in my chair, considering. Politics among packs was always a delicate balance of power, alliance, and subtle threats. A single act of mercy could become leverage, or weakness.

Before I could answer, the doors of the hall swung open without ceremony.

Selena Veyra glided inside, her long crimson dress sweeping across the stone. Her chin was high, her eyes sharp, and her lips curved in a smile that didn’t reach them.

“Damian,” she purred, ignoring Ethan entirely. “You keep yourself too busy with numbers and maps. A future Luna should be your priority.”

Ethan cleared his throat, his jaw tightening slightly. “Selena, the Alpha and I are discussing pack affairs… ”

“I wasn’t speaking to you, Beta,” she cut in, her tone dripping with disdain. “I was speaking to my Damian.”

My Damian. The words grated, though I kept my face impassive. Selena had been at my side since childhood, and the pack had long assumed she would become Luna. She was beautiful, poised, and ambitious yet her arrogance often clashed with my patience.

Ethan looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to put her in her place. I exhaled slowly. “Ethan, give us a moment.”

He hesitated, clearly reluctant, but finally inclined his head. “As you wish, Alpha.” His eyes lingered on Selena for a fraction too long before he left, the doors closing softly behind him.

Selena wasted no time. She crossed the hall and seated herself far too close, her fingers brushing against mine on the table. “Damian, you’ve been avoiding me. The council grows restless. They want an announcement. They want me named your Luna officially.”

I withdrew my hand, folding it against my chest. “The council doesn’t dictate my choices.”

Her eyes narrowed, but her smile didn’t falter. “No, but they do watch. And the pack watches too. A strong Alpha must stand with a strong Luna. Don’t you think it’s time to stop delaying what everyone already knows?”

Her words coiled around me like chains. I had promised her nothing, yet every expectation of her becoming Luna hung heavy in the air.

Before I could respond, the heavy doors opened again. Two warriors strode inside, dragging a figure between them.

A girl.

She looked half-dead, her clothes torn, her skin smeared with blood and dirt. Her wrists were bound in silver, raw and blistered, and her head hung low as though even holding it up was too much.

I sat forward instinctively. “Who is this?”

“Found her at the border, Alpha,” one warrior reported. “Collapsed just beyond the trees. She isn’t rogue, but her scent is… strange.”

Strange.

I rose from my chair, my eyes narrowing as I studied her. She trembled under my gaze, her body fragile as glass, yet something about her made the air shift. A faint trace reached me, weak, almost drowned by blood and pain, but there.

An unfamiliar scent. Sweet, sharp, pulling at something deep within me.

Ronan, my wolf, stirred suddenly, pressing against my chest. Mate, he whispered, low and certain.

I stiffened, ignoring him. That was impossible.

“She’s no threat,” I said curtly, masking the unease curling in my gut. “Wash her. Give her food and clothing. Place her in the omega quarters.”

The girl flinched at my voice, her wide eyes flickering up to meet mine. For a heartbeat, something electric passed between us, recognition, longing, fear. My chest tightened, but I forced myself to look away.

“Yes, Alpha,” the warriors said, dragging her out of the hall.

Selena’s voice cut through the silence, sharp as glass. “Another stray? You’re wasting resources on someone who should’ve been left at the border.”

I didn’t answer. My eyes lingered on the doors long after they closed, my wolf still restless inside me.

That scent clung to me, sweet and haunting.

And though I tried to dismiss it, one truth echoed in the hollow of my chest.

Whoever that girl was, she had just changed everything.