BEARING THE RUTHLESS ALPHA'S HEIR

Sudden attack

"The alpha's waiting for your arrival, he is tired of waiting" an omega said as she walked into the room five minutes later.

I wanted to run, far away from here. But how could I?

My father and my stepmom will still find me.

"Just a minute." I wiped the tears off my cheek and ran my tongue through my lips. It felt like I could taste blood in my mouth even when there was none.

The omega closed the door on her way out. I gave myself another minute before leaving the room. The dress was heavy, at least a few pounds of fabric and lace that had been designed for a body half my size. It pulled at my shoulders, strained across my chest, and dug into the soft flesh of my arms where the sleeves were too tight. Every breath I took was shallow and painful, the corset beneath squeezing my lungs until I felt lightheaded.

I looked ridiculous. A fat girl stuffed into a dress two sizes too small, the fabric stretched so thin across my chest and belly that it was almost indecent. Funny, almost. Like a cruel joke. But no one would laugh. No one would care how absurd I looked. They only cared that a bride finally appeared.

I killed the sobs rising in my throat as I stepped down the stairs and into the grand ballroom where the wedding was being held.

Alpha Damien’s eyes locked on me the moment I stepped into the light. For half a second there was only confusion. Then recognition. Then pure, black fury. He realized it instantly. This was not Laura. This was the fat stepsister. The one no one had ever bothered to introduce properly. The one they kept in the kitchens.

His jaw tightened so hard a muscle jumped in his cheek. His hands, which had been clasped loosely in front of him, curled into white-knuckled fists. The air around him thickened with Alpha rage so sharp and sudden that several of the nearest guests took an instinctive step back. His eyes burned gold, furious and disgusted, as they raked over the way the wedding dress strained across my soft stomach and heavy breasts, over every obvious difference between me and the slender bride he had been promised. He was already fuming. And I still had to keep walking toward him.

The officiant cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..." "Shut up", He cut him off in midsentence instantly. My fingers tightened around the dress instantly as my thoughts rushed to my pending death.

Damien’s chest heaved once. The muscle in his jaw ticked harder. He took a single step toward me, then another, every line of his body radiating lethal intent. His voice, when it came, was low and venomous, meant only for me even as the entire ballroom held its breath.

“You,” he snarled, eyes locked on the way the too-small dress stretched obscenely across my fat body. "You tried to trick me into marrying the fat, worthless sister instead of the one I negotiated for? Do you think I am blind? Do you think I am stupid?" I flinched as if he had struck me. The entire ballroom had gone deathly silent, every pair of eyes fixed on us, watching the Alpha's fury unfold. My father stood frozen near the front row, his face pale as death. Kate had her hand pressed to her mouth, her eyes wide with terror.

"I....." I started but I was cut off instantly. "Code red! There's an attack from the pack. The wolves are from the north, Alpha!" A man rushed into the ballroom, screaming at the top of his lungs and disturbing the entire ceremony.

Alpha Damien's hands dropped away from me, and he pulled back at the revelation. Chaos spread quickly and engulfed the ballroom. People rose from their seats and began rushing out. My eyes widened as everything unfolded before me.

An attack?

I couldn't think of anything but what the hell was really happening.

I had to leave.

I tossed the bouquet aside and fell onto the ground before scrambling down the stairs but just as I was about to head out, Alpha Damien grabbed my elbow and forced me back onto the stage.

"Where do you think you're going?" he growled. "Answer me," he snarled, his voice low and dangerous, eyes flashing with barely contained fury. "Did you and your family betray me?"

Before I could even open my mouth, my father and Kate rushed towards him both pale and breathless, their fine clothes already torn and stained with what looked like blood.

"Alpha Damien!" my father shouted, stumbling forward. "It's not what you think! We didn't..."

"We swear on the Moon Goddess, we had nothing to do with this! The northern border was secure, we..."Kate cut in, her voice high and frantic but before she could finish her statement, one of the savage invading wolves, a snarling beast with blood-matted fur and wild eyes leaped from the side without warning. Its massive jaws clamped down on her throat mid-sentence, silencing her forever with a sickening crunch and a spray of hot blood across the marble.

I instantly fell over her in disbelief, my knees hitting the ground hard beside her crumpled form, my hands shaking as I reached for her shoulder. As my stepmother, she didn't like me. She liked her own daughter but this was cruel. No matter the resentment she'd shown me, no matter how she'd favored Laura and pushed me aside, this brutal end was too much, too merciless.

My father staggered back, eyes wide with horror, his mouth opening and closing without sound.

Screams and the sickening sound of flesh tearing continued.

More guests tried to flee, but the chaos outside spilled in. A massive brown wolf crashed through a side window, glass shattering everywhere. It lunged at the nearest omega, jaws closing around her throat with a brutal snap and more blood sprayed across the white marble floor.

Damien's head whipped toward the sound, his body tensing. "Protect me now!" he barked at his warriors, who immediately formed a tight circle around us. But it was too late for many others.

The killing was massive and merciless. Wolves I'd never seen before, larger, wilder, their coats matted with old scars poured into the ballroom like a flood. They weren't from any pack I recognized. They tore through the crowd with savage efficiency, ripping out throats, dragging bodies across the floor. Screams filled the air, mixing with the scent of blood that now choked the once-elegant room.

Suddenly a new presence entered the room.

The fighting seemed to pause for a heartbeat as he stepped through the broken doors tall, broad shouldered, radiating power that made even Damien and my father’s aura feel small. His dark hair was streaked with silver at the temples, and a jagged scar ran down the left side of his face. He moved with lethal grace, flanked by his own wolves who immediately fell back in disciplined formation. The killing slowed, but didn’t stop entirely; it was as if he’d given a silent command.

Damien froze, chest heaving and my father staggered to his feet, staring.

"Who the hell are you?" Damien growled.

The stranger laughed, a low, chilling sound that echoed through the blood-soaked ballroom. It wasn’t madness. It was pure, cold satisfaction.

"You really don’t remember?" he said, voice smooth as poisoned honey. "After all these years. How convenient."

My father’s face drained of color. "Impossible..."

Damien’s brows furrowed, but recognition was dawning in his eyes too slowly. "You... it can't be. You're dead."

The stranger’s smile widened, revealing sharp canines. "Yes. Me. The boy whose entire pack you slaughtered in cold blood when I was barely old enough to shift. You burned our homes, killed my mother while she begged for mercy, and left me for dead in the ashes. And for what? To expand your worthless territory? Your greed created this. I've spent years forging an army from the ashes you left behind, waiting for the day I could return the favor."

Damien snarled, chest heaving. "You should have stayed dead, ghost. We wiped your kind out for a reason, you were weak!"

The stranger's eyes flashed with cold fury as he exchanged the taunt with a step closer, his voice dropping to a lethal growl. "Weak? Your 'reason' was nothing but cowardice and land theft. Look around you, Damien. Your precious alliance is crumbling, your guests dying like the vermin you are. And to think you'd force a wedding on a bond that was never yours to claim." His gaze hardened, flicking briefly to me and I froze immediately. This couldn't be happening. The scent of blood suddenly disappeared, replaced with something even stronger, the scent of him.

He was my mate.

The stranger continued, his words slicing through the tension like claws, "Step away from my true mate, Damien. She was never yours to claim in this sham ceremony. Release her now, or I'll make your death as slow and painful as you made my family's, starting with ripping that false alpha title from your broken body."

I shook my head in denial after listening to his words. Yes I wanted a mate but not him for moongoddess' sake.