THE ALPAHA'S UNBREAKABLE MATE

CHAPTER 3

/ISLA/

I hadn't slept. I’d spent the entire night huddled on my thin mattress, watching the shadows stretch across the peeling wallpaper of the omega quarters. Every time I closed my eyes, I remembered how Alpha Cain’s hands wrapped around my waist and how he gave a murderous glare to his son.

A knock came on my door and I could already guess why.

I scrambled to my feet and pulled the door open. It wasn't the guards I expected. Standing there was Beta Gerald Stone. He was a man of few words, known for his discipline and his absolute loyalty to Cain.

"Isla Radre," he said, his voice flat. "The Council of Elders is in session. Your presence is required immediately."

My heart did a slow, painful roll in my chest. "The Council? But I haven't done anything wrong."

Gerald didn't argue. He didn't even look sympathetic. He just stepped aside and gestured toward the hallway. "It’s not a request, Isla. Move."

Walking through the palace at this hour felt like walking through a graveyard. The hallways were silent, but the air felt heavy with the news that had surely spread like wildfire overnight. The "weak omega" was the mate of the Great Alpha. It was the kind of scandal that usually ended in blood.

When we reached the Council chambers, the doors groaned as they opened. The room was circular, with high stone walls that made every footstep echo. At the center was a long, curved table where the seven Elders sat.

In the middle of them was Alpha Cain. He looked like he hadn't slept either, but unlike me, he didn't look tired. His midnight-blue eyes were fixed on the doorway, and for a second, when our gazes met, that spark of electricity shot through me again.

But he wasn't the only one there.

To the side, sitting in high-backed chairs, were Kieran and Elara. Kieran looked like he wanted to jump across the room and strangle me. Elara just looked smug, her hand resting possessively on Kieran’s arm.

"Isla Radre," Elder Maverick spoke. He was the oldest of the pack, with skin like wrinkled parchment and eyes that saw everything as a violation of tradition. "Step forward."

I walked until I was standing in the center of the room, feeling small and exposed.

"We have heard a very disturbing report regarding the events of last night," Maverick continued, his voice echoing. "It is claimed that a mate bond has formed between you and Alpha Cain. A bond that contradicts the natural order of this pack’s leadership."

I kept my head down, my voice a small tremor. "I didn't ask for it, Elder."

"The girl is a manipulator!" Kieran’s voice cut through the room. He stood up, his face flushed with anger. "She spent years clinging to me, trying to secure a spot as Luna. When I finally saw her for the useless omega she is and rejected her, she went straight for my father. She’s using some kind of low-ranking trick to stay in power!"

"Kieran, sit down," Cain said. He didn't shout, but the sheer weight of his voice made Kieran stop mid-sentence.

"The facts are simple," Maverick said, ignoring the outburst. "Isla Radre is an omega. She has no wolf. She has no standing. For Alpha Cain to accept such a bond would be a stain on the Blackwood name. It would weaken our bloodline and invite rogue attacks."

He looked at Cain. "Alpha, the Council is unanimous. For the stability of the pack, you must formally reject this bond here and now. The girl must be banished by sunset to ensure no further confusion regarding the succession."

The silence that followed was suffocating. I looked at the floor, waiting for the words. ‘I, Cain Norway, reject you, Isla Radre.’ I expected it. I was a nobody. Why would he risk his entire legacy for a girl who couldn't even shift?

I heard the sound of a chair scraping against the stone. I looked up and saw Cain standing. He walked around the table until he was standing just a few feet from me. He was so tall I had to crane my neck to see his face.

"You speak of stability," Cain said, his eyes scanning the elders. "And you speak of tradition. But you forget who I am. I have led this pack through three wars and kept our borders safe when the rest of the world was burning. My judgment has never been questioned."

"This is different, Cain," Maverick whispered. "This is your son’s former... interest."

"My son made his choice," Cain snapped, a flash of fire in his eyes. "He chose Elara. He publicly humiliated Isla and threw her aside. By the laws of the Moon Goddess, she is free. And the Moon Goddess has chosen to give her to me."

"But she is an omega!" Elara chimed in, her voice high and shrill. "She’s a servant!"

Cain turned his head toward her, and Elara actually flinched.

"Then it is settled," Cain said, his voice booming now. "If she is a servant, then a servant she shall be. As I step down from the throne, I am moving into the private wing. I will no longer have the palace staff at my beck and call. I require a personal maid, someone who knows my preferences and the history of this house."

The Elders looked at each other, confused.

"I am not accepting the bond today," Cain continued, "but I am not rejecting it either. Until I decide, Isla Radre is under my personal protection. She will serve as my private maid. She will live in my wing. She will be accountable only to me."

Kieran slammed his fist onto the table. "You’re joking! You’re bringing her into your bedroom?"

"I said she is my maid, Kieran," Cain said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, low vibration. "Unless you are calling your Alpha a liar?"

Kieran’s jaw worked, but he didn't dare speak.

"The matter is closed," Cain told the Council. "Isla is no longer an omega of the general pool. She is my staff. Anyone who interferes with her work—anyone who tries to harm her or insult her—will be answering to me personally. Is that understood?"

The Elders nodded slowly, clearly unhappy but unable to argue with the man who had kept them alive for twenty years.

Cain turned back to me. He didn't smile. He didn't offer a kind word. He just looked at me with those intense, midnight-blue eyes.

"Beta Gerald will show you to your new quarters," he said. "Report to my studies in one hour. Don't be late."

He turned and walked out of the room without a second glance.

As Gerald led me out, I could feel Kieran’s eyes burning into the back of my head. I could hear Elara’s furious whispers. I was safe for now, but I wasn't stupid. I knew what this was. Cain hadn't saved me because he loved me—he had saved me because the bond demanded it.

I was being moved from the kitchens to the lion’s den.

Gerald led me to the Alpha’s wing, a part of the palace I had only ever seen from the outside while scrubbing windows. He opened a door to a small but clean room tucked just behind the main master suite.

"This is yours," Gerald said. "Alpha is a man of routine. Learn it quickly. And Isla?"

I looked at him.

"Be careful," he said, his voice softening just a fraction. "Kieran is the Alpha now, but Cain still has the power. You are caught in the middle of a war that has been brewing since the day Kieran was born. Don't get crushed."

He left, closing the door behind him.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my head in my hands. I was the personal maid to the most feared wolf in the North. My mate. My savior. My stranger.

I stood up and went to the small bathroom sink to splash cold water on my face. I needed to be strong. I needed to be invisible.

I opened the door to the hallway, intending to head to the study, but I stopped dead.

Standing in the middle of the hallway, blocking my path, was Elara. She wasn't smiling anymore. She looked like she wanted to rip my throat out with her bare teeth.

"You think you’re clever, don't you?" she hissed, stepping closer until I could smell her expensive perfume. "You think he is going to protect you forever? Kieran is the Alpha now. He owns this palace. He owns the guards. And the moment Cain turns his back..."

She leaned in, her voice a poisonous whisper.

"I’m going to make sure you wish you’d died on your twentieth birthday."

She pushed past me, her shoulder digging into mine. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my shaking hands. I had to get to the study.

But as I reached the door to Cain's private study, I heard voices coming from inside. Low, urgent voices.

"You can't keep her here, Cain," a voice I didn't recognize was saying. "The girl... she's not just an omega. If the others find out what she really is, the Blackwood Pack won't just be in a scandal. We'll be at war with the entire Council."

I froze, my hand hovering over the doorknob. What did they mean, ‘what I really am’? I was just Isla. A wolf-less omega.

I leaned closer to the door, my heart stopping as I heard Cain’s reply.

"Then we make sure they never find out," Cain rasped.