The Alpha's Trash, The King's Treasure

Chapter 03: Spilling Blood

I tore through the trees, heart racing, vision blurred by hot, stinging tears. Every breath I took felt like a scream inside my chest.

Branches whipped at my arms, leaves sliced at my cheeks, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

Not when everything I knew—everything I trusted—had been shattered like glass underfoot.

Lies. Deceit. Betrayal.

My world was crumbling.

Who could I believe in now? Who hadn't played a part in this nightmare?

The path twisted beneath my feet, but I kept running, guided by instinct and pain. Animals scattered around me. Birds cried out in alarm, taking flight into the reddening sky.

None of it mattered.

I was drowning in the storm inside me.

And then… I burst into the clearing.

My knees buckled.

The small hill was bathed in the gold of the dying sun—soft, warm, deceptive. Like everything else in my life.

This place had always felt like sanctuary.

Now, it was just another ghost.

The place where my father and I used to sit. Watch the sunset. Dream. We would lay on the grass and watch as the stars blinked into existence. His warmth would cut through the breeze of the night as his arm wrapped around me.

Now it held nothing but memories that twisted like knives in my chest.

I collapsed to my knees, breath ragged, pain swallowing me whole.

I couldn’t go back to the pack. I wouldn’t.

Not after what Josh had done. Not after Missy's betrayal. Not when I couldn’t even trust the blood in my veins.

All I had left was the truth. The investigation.

My father’s disappearance wasn’t an accident.

And I’d find the truth, even if it killed me.

The wind whispered softly, curling around me like a lullaby I didn’t trust. Above, stars blinked awake, cold and indifferent without my father's warmth.

I thought I’d been building something real—something strong.

But the truth?

I’d been patching up cracks in a wall that was already collapsing.

Then—a rustle.

I froze.

In the tall grass, golden eyes shimmered from the shadows.

A wolf stepped into the moonlight. Massive. Familiar.

Fireflies danced lazily around it, glowing like embers.

The wolf began shifting.

And then… a man stood before me.

Mr. Thorne.

Josh’s father.

His eyes were sad. Haunted. And behind that… shame.

He didn’t say a word as he walked toward me and sank to the ground beside me.

“I heard,” he murmured, voice low, rough with emotion. “Alyssa… I’m sorry. If I had known—if I’d seen it coming—I swear I would’ve stopped it.”

“It’s not your fault,” I whispered, my voice barely more than air. “Josh fooled all of us.”

But Mr. Thorne shook his head slowly, eyes glinting in the dying light. “It is my fault. I raised him. I taught him to be better than this… or I thought I did. I never imagined he would betray you.”

“He made his own choices,” I said, lifting my chin, even as my heart trembled. “And he chose power. He chose lies. He chose to break the promises he made to my father.”

Mr. Thorne’s jaw tightened. “Whatever you decide—whatever path you take—I’ll stand behind you. Josh must answer for what he’s done.”

He’d always believed in me. Even when others saw only the girl without a wolf, he treated me like I belonged. Like I mattered.

I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until a new voice sliced through the clearing like a blade.

“Well, well. Isn’t this touching?”

My stomach dropped.

That voice.

Josh.

He stepped from the shadows, a cruel smirk tugging at his lips, arrogance dripping from every inch of him.

“Tsk, tsk,” he sneered. “Dad playing the loyal mutt to the Coopers again? What’s next—fetching their slippers?”

“Josh,” Mr. Thorne growled, rising. “You have no right to be here. Not after what you’ve done.”

Josh’s eyes burned with resentment. “Why is it never enough for you? Why do you always choose them over me?”

“No,” Mr. Thorne said, his voice low and hard. “I’m not choosing sides. I’m choosing what’s right. You crossed the line, Josh. You disgraced this pack.”

Josh’s lip curled. “Still defending her, even after what she did to Mom?”

“What are you talking about?” I demanded, stepping between them.

Josh lunged, grabbing his father by the collar. “She killed her,” he hissed.

“What?!”

“Let him go!” I shouted, shoving between them. “You’re lying!”

Mr. Thorne didn’t flinch. “Your mother made her choices. And you will respect them.”

Josh's eyes turned wild. “Not until someone pays!” he snarled. “Rogan!”

From the shadows, his Beta emerged, grabbing Mr. Thorne and dragging him back.

“Josh, STOP!” I cried. “Are you insane?!”

But he didn’t even hear me. His focus locked on me like a predator. And I saw it—the hatred. The twisted, ugly thing he’d been hiding all along.

“Tell me,” I said, trembling. “What is this really about? You cheated on me. You lied. Now this? Haven’t you done enough?!”

He said nothing.

But she did.

“Oh, shut up already.”

Missy.

She slinked out of the trees, venom dripping from her smile.

“You never stop playing the victim, do you?” she sneered. “Poor little Alyssa. So perfect. So adored.”

I stared at her, horror curling in my gut. “I trusted you. I defended you. I wanted you as my sister.”

Missy’s laugh was cold. “That’s the thing, sweetie. I never wanted to be your sister. Why would I when being you would be more interesting?”

Her eyes sparkled with spite.

“And now? I have it. Your man. Your future. Your title. Soon, I’ll be Luna. And you? You’ll be nothing.”

“I won’t let you,” I growled, stepping forward, fury blazing in my chest.

Josh laughed, pulling something from his pocket.

My blood ran cold.

The dagger. The one I’d meant to give him as a gift.

He twirled it lazily, mocking. “This? I would almost pass it off as Ronan’s work if it wasn't so fake. But again, just like yourself, you are just a poser. Pathetic.”

“What are you going to do?” I demanded. “Kill me? Is that the plan?”

Josh tilted his head, eyes glinting. “Kill you? Oh no. I’m not the monster here.”

And then—

Steel flashed. Blood spilled.

“AHH!” Missy’s scream split the night.

The blade was in her side. Her eyes went wide. She stumbled—into me—bleeding, gasping.

“Missy?!” I cried, catching her as she collapsed. “What the HELL have you done?!”

Josh stepped back, expression icy. “Me?” he said coolly. “You must be mistaken.”

And then he shifted fur ripping through skin, bones cracking, his wolf bursting free.

And just like that…

He ran.

Like the coward he was.