The Alpha's Forsaken Mate

chapter 3

Alison's POV

Days passed like shadows across my cell wall the same way — silent, empty, unchanging.

When I cried, no one came for me.

When I spoke, not a single soul believed me.

The healers didn't show up when I got hurt. The Alpha Council didn't even call for a trial. Not even Alpha Ryder came to question me. They saw me like I was the villain now, the cursed cook, the traitor in their midst.

But then… everything changed.

Well, some of it.

Word traveled in hushed whispers, carried on the feet of scurrying servants and muttering guards.

They said Tamara had healed the sick. Every single one of them. From blistered skin to collapsed lungs, from poisoned blood to fading pulses, she saved all of them from dying.

With magic.

They called it a miracle. A divine sign. A goddess-blessed salvation.

No one seemed to care that witches were forbidden by pack law. No one questioned where she even got her powers or how she'd learned it. They simply bowed to her now, their savior in expensive silver silk.

Even Alpha Ryder.

I could feel it. Even through the cold prison wall, even without seeing it with my own eyes, I knew he had always been drawn to strength, control, and to someone who stood out. And now, that person wasn't me. It was Tamara.

She had the world in the palm of her hand.

And me?

I was the forgotten smear beneath her heel.

But she didn't forget me.

One night, long after the guards had made their rounds and the corridor had settled into its usual eerie stillness, the silence rippled with the echo of the click of heels.

Goosebumps kissed my skin.

My wolf froze.

She's here.

“You look exactly how I imagined, honey,” came a voice, smooth as poisoned honey.

The heels clicked to a stop a few steps behind my cell, and I saw it was Tamara. Of course, it was her.

I struggled to my feet slowly, my spine straight despite the ache and bruises. “What do you want?”

She tilted her head and smirked. “To see what made the Moon Goddess lose her mind.”

I blinked. “Who?”

She stepped closer to the bars, her voice calm and quiet. “You. You're his mate.”

It felt like all the air had been knocked out of my lungs.

What?

Tamara went on. “I saw it. The way he looked at you before he gave the order. It wasn't hate, Alison. It was… recognition. The kind that only exists between bonded souls.”

I swallowed hard, fists clenched.

She smiled. “But it doesn't matter anymore. Wanna know why? That’s because he doesn't want you.”

“Then why are you here?!” I yelled.

Tamara's expression twisted, no longer pretty or polite. “Because I want you to know that I'll end you myself. Slowly. Painfully. So there's no confusion about who he belongs to. Ryder is mine. Always has been. Always will be.”

She turned without another word and walked away, her gown trailing behind her.

I just stood there, my heart pounding in my chest, my breath shuddering.

I was trapped in this cell under the illusion that the danger was over, only for Tamara to walk in here and remind me that it had just begun.

“I need to get out of here.” Those words left my lips in a whisper.

I took a step. I needed to live. Not to prove I was innocent. Not even to claim Alpha Ryder, because honestly, I didn't know if I wanted him anymore. All I wanted right now was to survive. All I wanted was to go away from here, protect myself and my wolf who still whimpered every time she sensed him near.

The next thing, I made my move.

His name was Michael.

One of the junior guards.

He was kind, quiet, and always a little soft for a warrior. He was the only one in the pack who didn't look at me with spite. And I remembered his name because he used to linger near the kitchens, hoping I'd sneak him some food. I always did.

That night, he stopped by my cell during his late shift. His eyes darted around nervously.

“They're talking about transferring you,” he whispered. “To the outer dungeons. Alison, that place… no one ever comes back from there.”

“Then help me,” I whispered back. “Please, you know I'd never do this.”

He looked torn, brows furrowed like he was being pulled apart inside. “They'll kill me if they find out.”

Silence.

Then, slowly, he reached into his coat and pulled out a small silver key.

“I didn't see you. You have ten minutes.”

“Thank you.” I didn't hesitate. There wasn't time. My body screamed from days of neglect, but the adrenaline rush numbed the pain.

I slipped through the open cell, crept down the stone hall, and avoided the patrols like I used to dodge angry chefs in the kitchen.

The castle above was alive with celebration, music, and laughter. They were throwing another banquet. Well, why wouldn't they? Tamara had healed them, after all. Now, they toasted to her power, drank to her beauty, and danced to the rhythm of my ruin.

I didn't look back.

I ran.

Out through the servant tunnels, across the moonlit fields, and into the woods where no titles mattered and no one called me a traitor.

It wasn't freedom yet, but it was an escape.

It was breath in my lungs and blood in my veins and mud beneath my bare feet. For the first time in a long time, I could feel again.

The night air wrapped around me like a second skin as I collapsed beneath a tree. I looked up at the only thing that gave me hope — the stars. They remained in the black velvety sky, shining bright above the canopy. The forest pulsed with life — the crickets, owls, wind weaving between branches. And for the first time since the screaming started, I cried.

Not because I was weak.

But because I was still alive.

Tamara might have magic, the love of the Pack, or even Alpha Ryder, but I had truth. I had the knowledge that I didn't poison anyone and that someone else had done this. Someone else had used my food as the perfect cover for their cruel plan, and they didn't care that I was the one that took the fall.

And now?

I'd find out who did this to me.

I swore to take back my name.

Not for Ryder.

Not even for the goddamn Pack.

But for the girl who once tasted every sauce twice to make sure the Alpha's meal was perfect.

But for the wolf who still ached, even till now.

And for the truth that I refused to keep buried.

They called me a curse.

Now, they'll learn what happens when you curse the wrong girl.