Alpha's Seductive Deception

Ch 1 - Death & Resurrection

The scent of pine needles and damp earth clung to Alpha Liam's skin, a comforting familiar smell that barely masked the sharp, metallic tang of fear. Below the looming shadow of the ancient Pack House, he had pulled his Mate, Emilia, into the derelict stone crypt—the only place they felt truly safe. Tonight, they wouldn't just be Mates. Tonight, they would be whole.

“We don’t have much time, Liam,” Emilia whispered, her voice a tight thread of desperation. Her small, human hand slid up his chest, the leather of his jacket cool beneath her palm.

Liam leaned down, his breath warm against her ear. “Time is a lie, little wolf. There is only this moment. And this bond.”

Their Mate-Bond, the spiritual tether that connected their souls, hummed between them. They had fiercely protected it but never fully consummated it. Liam had held back, waiting for the elders' blessing, waiting until the political climate was safe. But the whispers of the rival Pack's impending ambush had hardened his resolve. If he was to fall, he would fall knowing every part of him belonged to her.

He pushed her gently against the cold stone, the rough texture a shocking contrast to the velvet heat of her skin. Liam’s hand found the delicate clasp of her shirt, and he tore it away.

“You’re shaking,” he murmured, his thumb tracing the frantic pulse point at the base of her throat.

Emilia arched her neck, meeting his gaze with defiance. “Not from fear. I’ve waited too long to be afraid now. Take what is yours.”

The command in her voice broke the last thread of his restraint. He shifted—not fully—but enough to let the raw power of the wolf rise. His eyes flashed gold, and the scent of their shared destiny flooded the small space.

He crushed his mouth to hers, a kiss that tasted of urgent finality and utter possession. His hands, thickened and powerful, slipped beneath her skirt, his touch igniting a fire that clawed its way up her spine.

This is about leaving you with a piece of me that no one can take.

Emilia wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him deeper into the kiss, urging him toward the final, desperate surrender of the Mate-Bond.

It was the moment before the first, true joining, when the sound ripped through the quiet night.

A low, snarling howl that was too close, too deep, and distinctly not their Pack.

Liam instantly froze. The gold in his eyes vanished, replaced by deadly concentration. He eased back, his heart hammering with the primal rage of an Alpha who knew they had been tracked.

"Rivals," he snarled, a low, savage sound deep in his throat. "The Border Wolves. They're here early."

"Liam, no—" Emilia stammered, terrified.

"I love you, little wolf," he said, his lips brushing hers one last time. "And no matter what happens, you are my Mate."

He threw the crypt door open. The night air exploded with the scents of blood, aggression, and rival wolves. Liam roared, shifting instantly into his immense form, and charged into the fray.

Emilia scrambled to cover herself, pressing against the cold stone, paralyzed by the sounds of the battle raging just feet away. She heard the wet snap of bones, the savage snarls, and the sickening sound of metal—then Liam's triumphant, fierce howl, quickly followed by a strange, choked gurgle.

The howling stopped. An ominous silence fell.

Then, a dark, bulky shadow detached from the treeline. It moved with chilling speed, stopping just at the crypt entrance. It was a massive, scarred figure, a male of the rival Pack. He held a silver-laced dagger dripping with blood.

He didn't look at Emilia. He only glanced down at the collapsed, unmoving form of her beloved Alpha Mate, then quickly vanished back into the woods.

Emilia crawled out, tears streaming down her face, finding Liam's body already reverting to its human form. His eyes, fixed on the moon, were dull and lifeless. The sacred Mate-Bond tore and vanished in a blinding, agonizing flash of white-hot agony that left her soul feeling utterly hollowed out.

Liam had died defending her. He had died a hero.

~~~~~~~

The Pack House was a tomb wrapped in the stench of loss and rot.

For six months, Emilia confined herself to the room she had once planned to share with Liam. Her existence was defined by the hollow, searing ache where Liam’s life force used to hum. The Blackwood pack was sinking, leaderless and vulnerable, its members fractured and too weak to unite. Everything was going awry; her grief mirrored the Pack's demise.

One frigid afternoon, a paralyzing stillness fell over the house, far heavier than grief. Emilia, driven by cold dread, stepped into the dusty, chaotic main hall.

A stranger stood at the center of the room.

He was tall, lean, and utterly still, radiating pure, unadulterated Alpha power, forcing the few remaining elders to bow their heads. The light caught the deep bronze highlights of his hair.

Then, he turned.

Emilia’s breath froze. Her world tilted and spun away.

His face was Liam's face, identical in every line and curve. But the eyes were wrong—not Liam’s warm, intelligent brown, but a hard, chilling silver, utterly devoid of mercy. His lips curved into a faint, arrogant smirk that spoke of cruelty, a look Liam had never possessed.

A lightning bolt of energy—raw, primal, and undeniable—slammed into her core. The Mate-Bond.

It ignited with a ferocious, agonizing intensity, tearing through the numbness of her grief. It wasn't the steady, comforting hum she had known; it was a violent, demanding claim, instantly welding her soul to his.

Impossible, her human mind screamed. I saw him die. I felt the Bond sever.

Yet her wolf instinct was already screaming the devastating truth: Mate. Mine. Dominant.

The newcomer's cold silver eyes fixed on hers. His smirk widened as he felt the powerful, forced submission the bond was already extracting. He took one slow, deliberate step toward her, his voice a low, gravelly sound that wrapped around her like a chain.

“You must be Emilia,” the stranger said, his voice carrying the Alpha authority that hadn't been heard in months. “I apologize for my late return. There was... an issue. The wounds were deeper than they appeared.”

He paused, letting the power of his gaze and the surge of the Bond settle over the room. His lips—Liam's lips—curved into that cold, possessive smile.

“I am Alpha Liam. And I am here to take back my Pack.”

Emilia’s entire being was a battlefield. Her instinct was screaming Mate, obey, even as her memory replayed the image of his dead body and the agony of the severing Bond. The man before her was a physical perfection, a walking miracle, yet she knew, with a certainty that chilled her blood, that he was a beautiful, devastating lie.