The Runaway Alpha Daughter: Christmas With The Ruthless Mate

Alpha Kadel of Crestmoon sat on his throne like a storm ready to break, the thick veins on his temples pulsing as he flipped through a stack of parchment. The training reports lay spread before him, each line seeming to darken his expression further. Philipa stood to the right—silent, steady, hands folded neatly in front of her. Kaden stood to the left—pale, sweating, biting the inside of his cheek to keep his knees from shaking. The silence in the throne room was suffocating. Then— SLAM. The Alpha’s growl shook the air as he hurled the report at Kaden’s face. The papers scattered across the polished marble like fallen leaves. “Useless!” Alpha Kadel roared. “Why are you so unbelievably weak for an Alpha heir?!” Kaden flinched, his wolf shrinking back. “F–Father, it’s not— I-It’s not my fault—” “Not your fault?” Alpha Kadel thundered, rising from the throne. “Every instructor says the same thing! Lazy. Too slow. No discipline core. No stamina. No leadership skills. Yet I give you the finest tutors, the best training grounds, every privilege your bloodline deserves!” Kaden swallowed hard and quickly crafted a lie. “My instructors are jealous of me. They… they make training harder for me because I’m a born Alpha.” Philipa closed her eyes for a moment. Even for him, that excuse was pathetic. Alpha Kadel’s face darkened to a deep crimson. “Jealous? Jealous?” he repeated, voice thick with rage. “You think anyone is jealous of weakness?” He was only getting started. Kaden rolled his eyes—so subtly he thought his father wouldn’t notice. He was bored of this speech. Bored of being told to break bones, bleed, sweat, claw his way to worthiness. Why bother? The throne would be his someday anyway. It was already decided. But Philipa saw that flicker of entitlement. And so did their father. “Straighten your face, boy,” Alpha Kadel snarled. “You want the throne? Earn it. If you continue like this, I will beat the Alpha out of you myself!” Philipa shifted her weight. She had waited patiently through all the shouting. Her father had not even looked her way, had not even acknowledged her presence. She cleared her throat softly. “Father… my report.” Silence dropped like a stone. Kaden smirked, folding his arms. Philipa ignored him. Alpha Kadel frowned as though she had spoken in another language. “What is that?” “My training report,” she said quietly, extending it toward him. He stared at the parchment, then raised a brow. “And why are you giving it to me?” The question stunned her. Her arm froze mid-air. “I… I thought you also wanted to review my performance… as you did Kaden’s.” For a moment, he simply stared. Then he barked out a laugh. A sharp, dismissive, cutting laugh. “There is no need.” Philipa’s hand trembled. “No need? But… don’t you want to know if I passed or failed?” “It doesn’t matter if you did either,” he said with a shrug, waving her off like an insect. Her heart dropped. “Why wouldn’t it matter?” “Because you’re a girl.” Kaden’s smirk widened. He beginning to enjoy where this conversation is heading to. Alpha Kadel continued, tone dripping with casual cruelty. “You can train from dawn to dusk, but it will never change anything. Your purpose isn’t to fight. Your purpose is to become a wife. A helper. A mate to a stronger male one day. That is all.” Philipa felt her stomach twist violently. All? That she was. All he believed she would ever be. A nothing?. “But we are both your children,” her voice slightly raised. “Should we not be equals?” Her father snorted. “Equals? Kaden is my heir. You…” His eyes swept over her with open disappointment. “You are an accessory. A bargaining chip. A womb for alliances. Nothing more.” Kaden chuckled under his breath, enjoying every second. Philipa’s vision blurred. No... No, she would not accept that. She lifted her chin. “I am not lesser than him. I train harder than he does. I fight better than he does. And I—” “Watch your mouth!” Kaden snapped, stepping forward. “Insult me again and I’ll teach you your place!” “My place?” she shot back. “My place? You can barely lift a sword without crying—” “That’s it!” Kaden growled. “Keep talking, Philipa. I’ll break your—” “ENOUGH!” Their father’s roar shook the room. Both fell silent instantly. Alpha Kadel jabbed a finger at Kaden. “You will improve whether you like it or not. You will train twice as hard. I am enrolling you at Ashbourne Academy in two days. If you fail to survive that place, your birthright goes to another.” Kaden’s jaw dropped. “Ashbourne? That death trap?! Father, I don’t need to go to some barbaric academy to prove—” “Silence!” his father snapped. “You are going. End of discussion.” Philipa seized the opening. “If he doesn’t want to go,” she said quickly, breathless with hope, “then let me go instead.” Alpha Kadel stared at her as if she had suddenly grown two heads. “So that the entire region laughs at me?” he hissed. “So that I become the Alpha who sends his daughter to train while his son stays pampered at home?” His eyes were deadly. “You would dishonor my name.” Philipa’s hope cracked. “But Father—” “Quiet!” The Alpha Command rolled over her like a physical blow. Her wolf whimpered and her knees nearly buckled. Alpha Kadel glared down at her with disgust. “Your place is in the kitchen. Your destiny is to become a good, obedient wife. Stop dreaming above yourself.” Her breath left her lungs like she’d been punched. He wasn’t done. “You are confined to your room for three days. No training. No meals outside. No speaking back.” He dismissed them both with a flick of his hand. The conversation was over. Her worthlessness—declared. While Kaden left with a relieved sigh, Philipa left with a breaking heart. And behind her, her father muttered the words she would never forget “Girls… are nothing but burdens.”