Alpha’s Playmate

Chapter 3

Kyline

Kyline moved quietly through the halls of the pack house, cleaning the mess left behind after the full moon run. The entire pack had returned hours earlier, leaving muddy footprints, scattered trash, and overturned furniture in their wake. Cleaning it all had become routine for her, yet something about today felt different.

As she scrubbed the floors, she could feel a strange energy humming through the pack house. It lingered in the air like a buzzing current, as though something important was about to happen. She didn’t know what it was, but the rest of the pack clearly did. Excited voices echoed through the halls, especially among the females.

“I can’t believe he is coming here! He hasn’t visited in a long time,” one female said excitedly as she passed by.

“I heard he’s searching for his mate. That means every female in the pack will have to meet him!” another added.

Kyline paused briefly, sponge in hand.

So that was the reason.

A powerful male was coming to the pack—someone strong enough that the entire place buzzed with anticipation. In their kingdom, news like that always stirred excitement. Whenever an unmated alpha traveled between packs, it immediately became the main topic of conversation.

Most of the females in their pack were omegas, and omegas often dreamed of mating with an alpha. There was something intoxicating about the balance of power—being weaker while their mate carried immense strength.

Kyline had once imagined that future too.

But for her, it wasn’t about power or status. If the Moon Goddess ever blessed her with an alpha mate and she became a luna, it would prove something to everyone who doubted her worth. It would show the pack that she wasn’t the useless burden they believed her to be.

That alone would make her life feel meaningful.

Before she could think further, the bathroom door burst open.

Amara rushed inside like a whirlwind of excitement, her energy bouncing off the walls.

“Ohmygoddidyouhearthatthekingiscoming?”

Kyline blinked several times, trying to decipher the sentence Amara had practically shouted in one breath. After staring blankly for a moment, Amara groaned, took a deep breath, and tried again more slowly.

“Did you hear that the king is coming?”

Understanding finally dawned.

Kyline shook her head as she slowly pushed herself to her feet, wincing slightly. Hours of scrubbing floors on her hands and knees had left her muscles aching. Her lycan had only recently settled after healing her from yesterday’s cleaning and Avy’s latest attack.

“I heard rumors in the hallways,” Kyline said, stretching her sore back, “but I didn’t know it was the king. Is that confirmed?”

Amara nodded enthusiastically.

“And he’s bringing that sexy beta of his too.” She bit her lip dramatically. “What I’d give just to have one night with him.”

Kyline couldn’t help laughing softly at the sight.

Amara had been obsessed with Eli Wolfsbane ever since he visited their pack four years ago. The man was undeniably attractive—tall, powerful, and confident—but Amara’s reaction to him was always entertaining. Her eyes practically sparkled whenever his name came up.

Sometimes Kyline even wondered if Eli might be her mate. Back when he first visited, they had both been too young for their lycans to fully awaken the bond. Amara had complained about that for weeks.

“I heard he likes having fun and doesn’t want to settle down anytime soon,” Kyline teased.

Amara scoffed while grabbing a sponge and cleaning spray from under the sink.

“So did the king,” she said. “Maybe they both realized they should start looking for their mates. Or at least someone they can call a mate. Fated ones aren’t exactly being handed out like candy.”

Kyline had to bite back a laugh.

Comparing a fated mate to candy was surprisingly accurate.

The Moon Goddess created each lycan with the other half of their soul somewhere in the world. But finding that person was incredibly rare. There were too many packs, too many kingdoms, and a lycan couldn’t even sense their mate until they came of age and their lycan soul fully awakened.

Most people ended up settling for chosen mates instead.

For Kyline, though, the idea of a fated mate meant something entirely different.

Freedom.

The moment she realized no one in her pack was her mate had filled her with overwhelming relief. She didn’t want to be bound to anyone here.

She wanted to escape.

Escape the endless cleaning.

Escape the pack that treated her like she was worthless.

Escape the whispers claiming the Moon Goddess would never be cruel enough to give someone like her as a fated mate.

Those words had been repeated so often that sometimes Kyline believed them.

But not today.

If the king truly was coming to search for his mate, perhaps she could ask him for something else.

A transfer.

“You think King Luke would allow me to speak with him… just to ask for a transfer?” Kyline asked quietly.

Amara’s excitement faded as she looked at her friend.

This wasn’t the first time Kyline had talked about leaving the pack. Amara hated the idea, but she also understood why Kyline wanted it. The omegas in their pack were treated like servants—left to clean every mess the others made.

And Kyline worked harder than any of them.

“Well,” Amara said after a moment, “he’s supposed to meet every female to see if she’s his mate. If she isn’t, they’ll meet with Beta Eli. You could ask for the transfer then.”

Kyline snorted softly and returned to scrubbing the floor.

“Me? His mate?” she said. “Yeah, right.”

She dipped the sponge into the bucket again.

“My lycan barely has any power. I’m basically a human who can shift into a wolf sometimes. That doesn’t exactly scream ‘queen.’”

Amara gasped.

“Do you really think that little of yourself?”

Kyline looked up at her.

“You’re more than that,” Amara said firmly. “Maybe your lycan isn’t strong because you don’t believe in her.”

But Kyline knew that wasn’t true.

She believed in her lycan more than anyone else ever had.

Despite her weakness, Kyline’s lycan was patient and gentle. When Kyline’s thoughts spiraled into darkness, her lycan soothed her. When pain from endless cleaning tore through her muscles, her lycan helped heal the damage enough for her to sleep.

Her lycan was incredible.

If anything, Kyline believed the creature deserved someone far better than herself.

You deserve that too, her lycan murmured softly inside her mind.

Kyline sighed.

I can’t even make people happy.

You make me happy, the lycan replied warmly. You survived your father all these years.

Kyline’s hands stilled.

She survived because of Amara.

No, Kyline. You survived because you’re strong.

Her lycan’s comforting presence spread through her chest, easing some of the tension in her shoulders.

Still, reality quickly returned.

As Kyline finished cleaning the bathroom and moved into the hallway, she heard footsteps climbing the stairs.

Her heart dropped instantly.

That heavy, familiar gait could only belong to one person.

Her father.

Trying to hurry, she grabbed the bucket and dragged it into the hallway. But in her rush, her foot twisted awkwardly.

The bucket tipped.

Water spilled everywhere.

Kyline crashed hard onto the floor, pain shooting through her shoulder.

For a moment she thought the wetness spreading across her side was blood—until she realized it was the cold cleaning water soaking her clothes.

And then she heard his voice.

“What is the meaning of this?”

The snarl sent fear rushing through her veins.

Her father stood at the top of the stairs, golden rage blazing in his eyes.

“What did you do?”

Before she could answer, his claws dug into her scalp.

Pain exploded through her head as he yanked her to her feet by her hair. Kyline’s feet lifted off the ground as he held her there, forcing her to look at him.

Terrified, she dropped her gaze.

One wrong move could make everything worse.

“I’m tired of cleaning up your messes,” he snarled.

Moments later he dragged her down the stairs by her hair, ignoring her cries as her vision blurred with tears.

She already knew where they were going.

The dungeon.

When he finally threw her onto the cold stone floor below, Kyline’s body trembled violently. Rope soon bound her wrists above her head, lifting her off the ground.

Her shoulders screamed in agony as she hung there helplessly.

Then the beating began.

Kyline forced herself to retreat into her mind—into the peaceful field she always imagined when things became unbearable.

There, somewhere beyond the pain, waited a future she still dared to hope for.

A future where someone would take her away from this nightmare.

A future where she was finally free.

When she woke again later, she lay curled on the cold stone floor of a dungeon cell.

Her body throbbed with pain as she wrapped her arms around her knees, trying to hold onto what little warmth she could find in the darkness.