Claimed By The Packless Alpha

Sienna’s POV I woke up on a strange bed with sunlight stabbing my eyes like it had personal issues with me. For a moment, I did not move. My head felt heavy. My mouth was dry. My body ached in places that immediately told me I had not spent the night reading a book and minding my business like a good daughter from a respectable Gamma family should. No. Apparently, I had gone out, drunk too much, flirted too hard, and ended up in a bed that was not mine. Wonderful. A strong start to the morning. I blinked at the ceiling, trying to gather the broken pieces of last night. Music. Alcohol. The Velvet Moon Club. A deep voice. Big hands. A mouth that knew exactly what it was doing. My body warmed at the memory before my brain could stop it. Then I turned my head to the left. And there he was. The man from last night was still sleeping beside me like he had no bills, no enemies, no regrets, and no strict family waiting to skin him alive for breathing wrong. His face was relaxed against the pillow, his dark hair messy, his lashes resting against his cheeks, his jaw sharp enough to cut through every bit of common sense I had left. Goddess. He was handsome. Annoyingly handsome. The kind of handsome that made a woman forget she had a future already arranged for her by a controlling father and a pack that cared more about bloodlines than feelings. I stared at him longer than I should have. Then I realised something terrible. It was not the alcohol that drew me to him last night. The alcohol had only opened the gate. My foolishness had walked in by itself, removed its shoes, and made itself comfortable. The man was a hottie. And worse, I would not have minded having him again. That thought snapped me back to my senses. I sat up carefully, holding the sheet to my chest while looking around for my clothes. My dress was on the floor. My shoes were near the door. My underwear was in a place I did not want to investigate too deeply because I still had some dignity left. Not much, but enough to pretend. I climbed out of bed slowly, trying not to wake him. My legs felt weak, which annoyed me because I did not need physical evidence that I had enjoyed myself. My life was complicated enough without my thighs giving testimony. I dressed in a hurry, smoothing my hair with my fingers and looking around the motel room. It was plain and cheap, but clean enough. Moonfall Motel. Of all the places my bad decisions could have taken me, they had chosen a motel that smelled like cheap soap and poor judgement. I reached the door, then stopped. Against my better judgement, I looked back at him. Kael. At least, that was the name he had given me. I did not know his last name. I did not know his pack. I did not know where he lived. I did not know if Kael was even his real name. For all I knew, he could have looked me in the face last night and introduced himself as a chair, and drunk me would have said, “That is a beautiful name.” Still, I found myself walking back to the small table beside the bed. I picked up a piece of paper and scribbled my number on it. Then I signed my name beneath it. Sienna. Just Sienna. No Vale. Never Vale. I knew better than to hand my family name to strange men after one night. The Vale name came with too much noise. Too much fear. Too much power. Men heard it and suddenly remembered urgent things they had to do somewhere far away from me. I pressed my lipstick-stained lips to the edge of the paper and dropped it where he would see it. I hoped he would call. No. I wanted him to call. Then I left before my brain could ask why I was behaving like a girl in a love song when I was supposed to be joined to Alpha Darius Hale next week. Outside, the morning air was chilly, so I wrapped my scarf around my neck and waved down a taxi. The driver stopped, and I climbed in quickly. “Hollowmere Street, Silverlake Pack territory,” I told him. As the taxi pulled away from Moonfall Motel, reality slowly began to wake up beside me. And reality was not kind. I pulled out my phone and called Maya. She answered on the third ring, her voice thick with sleep. “Sienna, if you are dead, I am not helping you bury the body this early,” Maya said. “Good morning to you too,” I muttered. “You only call like this when trouble has already dressed up and followed you home,” Maya said. I closed my eyes. “Did my brothers call you?” There was a pause. That pause told me everything. “Maya,” I said. “Yes,” she replied. “Nolan called.” My stomach tightened. “And?” “And I told him you had a headache after we got back from The Velvet Moon Club and that you slept in my room,” she said. I released a breath. “Goddess bless you.” “She should. I am doing heavy work for free,” Maya muttered. “I owe you.” “You always owe me. At this point, I should open a debt file,” Maya said. Despite everything, I almost laughed. Maya always came through for me. She was my best friend, my shield, my witness, and sometimes the unfortunate person who had to help me stitch my lies together before my family tore through them. Being the only girl in the Vale family was not the blessing people thought it was. It was a prison. A decorated one, yes. A comfortable one sometimes. But still a prison. My father, Gideon Vale, was a retired Gamma of Silverlake Pack. My eldest brother, Nolan, now held the Gamma position. My other brothers were just as protective and annoying, but Nolan was the one who watched me like I was a national treasure with legs. They monitored everything. Where I went. Who I spoke to. What I wore. How long I stayed out. Whether I smiled too much at someone’s son. Even though I was twenty-one, they treated me like I was four years old and could not cross a room without falling into disgrace. And maybe, after last night, they had a point. No. I hated that thought immediately. My father had plans for me. Big plans. Heavy plans. Plans that had my name on them but never my permission. At the top of that list was my joining to Alpha Darius Hale. Alpha Darius was powerful, handsome, respected, and feared. He was my brother’s friend and the Alpha of Silverlake Pack. There was a time I had a crush on him because I had eyes and those eyes worked. But liking someone from afar was different from being handed to him like a polished gift with breeding expectations tied around my neck. The beta family did not have a female wolf suitable for the match, so I was next in line. A Gamma’s daughter. Good bloodline. Healthy. Young. Perfect for strong Alpha pups. Romantic, right? Nothing made a girl feel special like knowing her womb had been discussed by men in serious voices. I had no choice but to do what my father wanted. In my family, obedience was not a suggestion. It was a survival skill. They believed I was a virgin. I never corrected them. Why would I? My father wanted a pure daughter, so I gave him the performance of one. A quiet smile. Proper clothes. Lowered eyes when necessary. The whole sweet little daughter act. But I had been sneaking around since I was nineteen. The first time had been with Jackson, a Beta from Pinecrest Pack. After that, Nyla and I had learned how to beat the scent. Hot bath. Strong soap. Scent blocker. Perfume if needed. Act normal. It had worked like magic. Nyla, my wolf, was an expert at hiding things when she was not busy judging me. ‘Because someone in this body has to use sense,’ Nyla said in my head. I stiffened in the taxi. “Oh, you are awake,” I muttered under my breath. ‘Unfortunately. I woke up inside a moving car with the taste of regret in our mouth. Again,’ Nyla replied. “Not now, Nyla.” ‘When then? During your joining ceremony? Should I bring notes?’ Nyla asked. I ignored her. Nyla loved doing that. She would sleep through the fun parts, then wake up for the consequences with a full mouth and no mercy. Jackson and I had dated secretly for almost a year before he found someone else and ended things. I was not deeply hurt because I had expected it. No one wanted anything serious with me. Not with my family’s reputation. Not with my father and brothers watching the world like they were waiting for someone to offend them. And now that everyone knew I was meant to be joined to Alpha Darius, men avoided me completely. That was why I never gave anyone my last name. Sienna was safer. Sienna was free. Sienna Vale belonged to a family, a pack, and a future she did not choose. The taxi stopped in front of our house on Hollowmere Street, and I paid the driver. I stepped out and looked around carefully. No car in the driveway. No voices. No scent of my father. No Nolan. Thank the goddess. I hurried inside like a thief in my own home and went straight to my room. The house was quiet, which meant I had time. I stripped out of my clothes and went into the bathroom, turning the shower as hot as my skin could handle. I needed to scrub the night away. Kael’s scent. The alcohol. The motel. The stupidity. The way my body still remembered his. All of it. I soaked in the tub first, then showered, then washed my hair. Twice. I scrubbed until my skin felt raw because guilt had a smell in my mind, and I wanted it gone before anyone returned. ‘You know soap cannot wash away bad decisions,’ Nyla said. “It has worked before,” I muttered. ‘Yes, because before, your bad decisions did not have cheekbones and Alpha energy,’ Nyla replied. I paused with shampoo in my hair. “Nyla.” ‘What? I am being honest. He looked dangerous from across the club. You saw danger and said, yes, that one. Let me climb it,’ Nyla said. “Shut up.” ‘Gladly. Wake me when we are not being stupid,’ Nyla replied. I finished washing and stepped out of the bath. The bathroom was full of steam, and I felt a little better. Not good, but better. Like maybe everything was still under control. That lie lasted exactly six seconds. I wrapped a towel around myself and reached for the hair dryer. As I turned toward the mirror, something caught my eye. I froze. At first, I thought it was a shadow. Then my heart dropped so hard I felt it in my stomach. I stepped closer to the mirror and wiped the steam away with my palm. No. No, no, no. My fingers trembled as I turned my neck slightly. The scream that tore out of me was so loud it cracked my throat.