Claimed by the Hellbound Alpha

Meeting at the Pack House

Kaia

The Alpha’s car had come to take me to the pack house just a few minutes after Marcus had sent me a text message.

“I spoke with my father. He already knows. He expects to talk to us tonight.”

I couldn’t have been happier. Surely we would talk about the engagement, the wedding arrangements, and other details about our imminent union. Alpha Damian would be proud and happy that his son, firstborn and heir, had finally found his mate, just as rumors of an impending bachelorhood had begun to circulate across the pack’s social networks.

As I stepped out of the car, I let my gaze travel over the enormous façade of the house that, in the coming days, would become my home. It wasn’t the first time I had been to the pack house; in fact, I used to spend a lot of time there before going to university because my father, as Beta, would take my cousin Evelyn and me quite regularly—visits that especially delighted Evy, who came from a less fortunate branch of the family, so mingling with the pack’s high society was quite an event for her.

“Miss Kent,” the house butler greeted me when he recognized me. “It’s a pleasure to have you back.”

“The pleasure is mine, Robert,” I replied with a smile. “I have an appointment with our Alpha.”

“I have been informed, miss. Please, be so kind as to follow me.”

The halls of the house were gleaming and full of activity, as always, even though the clock had already passed ten, but this was the central place of the pack, where the social, political, and financial life of our territory converged. Some faces recognized me on my way to the Alpha’s office, and while some seemed pleased to see me, others, more sour, could not hide their envy.

“The Alpha is waiting for you, miss,” Robert indicated after announcing my arrival.

I entered full of excitement. Before, when I had entered that same office, I did so as the Beta’s daughter, like a pampered child peeking in looking for her father. Now it was different. I was a woman, and in a matter of minutes, the daughter-in-law of Alpha Damian, and the future Luna of the Green Moon pack.

“Kaia,” Alpha Damian greeted from behind his massive oak desk. He was accompanied by his wife, Kelly, our Luna, and seated on the sofa in the adjoining sitting area was Marcus, my gallant mate. “Please, have a seat.”

I greeted with a slight bow toward our Alpha and our Luna and sat where my soon-to-be father-in-law indicated, in the chair in front of his desk. It wasn’t the place I would have chosen, because it forced me to turn my back to Marcus.

“We have learned of what happened,” Alpha Damian said, causing my cheeks to flush at the thought that this might include what had happened in my room. “And we are…” he glanced at Luna Kelly, “surprised.”

I noticed something wasn’t right—that the atmosphere wasn’t festive or joyful, but rather cautious, calculated, even cold—but I waited until I was told I could speak.

“We did not expect this news,” Luna Kelly said just as I heard the office door open again and Robert announced the arrival of another visitor.

“Let her in,” Alpha Damian said with a certain discomfort.

I didn’t understand what was happening or why I had not yet been congratulated. When I turned to see who the girl was that Robert had announced, I felt my chest sink when I recognized Evy, my cousin. Not only did she look… completely changed, but she had a large pregnant belly.

“Sorry for the delay, Alpha, Luna,” Evelyn greeted. “This pup made Mom go to the bathroom. He’s very restless and active, just like his father.”

What did all of that mean?

Why did it seem like Evelyn lived in the pack house?

And who was the father of my cousin’s child, who hadn’t even greeted me?

“I’ll be direct,” Alpha Damian said as I saw Evelyn approach the sofa where Marcus was sitting. “Kaia, we understand and accept that Marcus is your mate, but your union is not possible—you cannot marry.”

I turned to look at the Alpha.

What had he just said?

“We believed Marcus would no longer find his mate,” Luna Kelly said. “So we arranged a pairing event, and he and your cousin got along very well. They dated, became intimate, and now they are engaged.”

The ground began to give way beneath me. The office walls closed in, and the ceiling seemed about to collapse on top of me.

“But… we are mates, we have recognized each other,” I said, barely able to breathe. “It was this very afternoon, I had just arrived. You were there, Alpha, when you went to our house to visit my father. Marcus, tell them.”

I turned and saw my mate’s head resting on my cousin’s belly.

Were more explanations even necessary?

“I know, Kaia, I understand what you’re saying,” Alpha Damian replied. “I know what you mean, but I’m afraid you have arrived too late. My son and your cousin are not only engaged, but they are expecting their first pup. The wedding will take place at the next full moon, just one before the birth of our first grandchild.”

The ground kept swallowing me, the walls suffocated me, and the ceiling pressed down on my head. None of what I was hearing could be real. All of this had to be a nightmare.

“No, it can’t be,” I insisted. “Marcus, say something, speak, explain to your parents that we are mates and that you are going to marry me, as custom dictates, as it should be according to our norms, according to tradition, according to what the Goddess’s Law dictates.”

I began to hyperventilate, and tears streamed down my cheeks.

This had to be a joke—and a very cruel one—because there was no way it could be true. I looked at Marcus, but he said nothing. The one who spoke instead was Evelyn.

“K., cousin, I’m sorry, I truly regret this, none of us thought this would happen.”

She shouldn’t have spoken—she shouldn’t have—because the moment I heard her words, my anger snapped.

“You, with Marcus? But you never liked him—you did nothing but speak badly of him in high school, and when we came to visit with my father. Not long ago you mentioned him again when we spoke on video call. You referred to him with the same disdain you’ve always had for the Alpha’s family.”

I wasn’t going to hold back. I was going to defend what was mine, to fight for my rights, and if that meant shaking the world and revealing what my cousin had always thought about the pack’s ‘rich elites,’ then so be it—because her hypocrisy was disgusting.

“But… I fell in love,” Evelyn said with tears in her eyes. “I met Marcus and began to realize how wrong I had been all that time, K. None of this was planned—how could it have been?”

Evelyn couldn't continue her apologies because at that moment the office door opened again.

This time it wasn't Robert announcing someone, but the direct entrance of the only person who didn't need permission to appear before the Alpha.

My father.

And behind him, my mother.

I felt such immense relief that I almost collapsed.

Finally, someone was going to put an end to this madness.

"We're here, daughter," my father said as he crossed the office with a grave expression. "Now then... let's lay everything on the table."

Then I saw the way Alpha Damian looked at him.

As if they both already knew exactly what was going to happen.

And the relief vanished in an instant.