Betrayed by My Fated Alphas

The night air was freezing. It bit through my thin jacket as I hurried along the edge of Thornveil territory. I clutched a heavy cardboard box to my chest, my fingers numb from the cold. Inside were imported silk ribbons, the exact shade of midnight blue Luna Paulina demanded for her upcoming gala. It was past midnight, and I was exhausted to my bones, but you don't say no to the Luna. Not when you are an Omega.

And certainly not when she holds your sister's life in her perfectly manicured hands.

A twig snapped in the dark woods to my left. I froze.

Before I could even take a breath, two massive wolves materialized from the shadows. One was midnight black, the other a striking, ghostly silver. Their Alpha auras hit me like a physical blow, crushing the air straight out of my lungs. I dropped the box. The blue ribbons spilled into the damp mud.

I tried to run, but the black wolf lunged. He didn't bite, but his massive weight pinned me to the frosty ground. The world spun in a blur of fur and terror. They dragged me through the dense forest, moving too fast for me to scream, their jaws clamped firmly around my jacket.

When I finally stopped tumbling, I was shoved into a cold, bare room. The walls were solid stone, and a single bulb flickered overhead. The heavy iron door stood open just enough to reveal a tall man with cold, unfeeling eyes. I would later learn his name was Silas Vane, the Beta of the Black Iron Pack.

"You aren't a prisoner, Cleo," Silas said flatly, his voice echoing in the small space. "But you aren't free to leave."

He stepped back, and the heavy door slammed shut. The lock clicked with a terrifying finality. I scrambled to the corner and hugged my knees to my chest, shivering uncontrollably. My mind raced instantly to Milani. My little sister was safe in the neutral-territory healer's sanctuary for now, but she was so fragile. If I didn't return tonight, Paulina would be furious. She would stop paying the healers just to punish me. Milani wouldn't survive the week without her treatments.

An hour passed before the heavy door swung open again.

Two men walked in. They were the human forms of the wolves who took me. They were both breathtakingly handsome, dressed in dark, expensive clothing that screamed wealth and power. The contrast between us was sickening. They reeked of authority and imported cologne, while I smelled like cheap soap and pure fear.

The first man had dark hair and sharp, calculating eyes. Weston Duncan, Alpha of the Black Iron Pack. The second man had lighter hair and a charismatic, dangerous grace. Xavier Hart, Alpha of the Silverfang Pack.

"Cleo Armstrong," Weston said. His voice was a low, commanding rumble. It was an 'Alpha tone', designed to demand absolute obedience from anyone beneath him.

I pressed my back harder against the cold stone wall, trying to make myself as small as possible.

"We know about Paulina," Xavier said, leaning casually against the metal table in the center of the room. "We know she's embezzling pack tribute funds. You are her personal attendant. You see the ledgers. You hear the backroom deals she makes."

"Tell us what you know," Weston ordered.

Panic seized my throat like a vice. "I don't know anything," I whispered.

Weston's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't lie to me, Omega."

"I'm not!" I cried out, my voice cracking. I wasn't protecting Paulina out of loyalty. I hated her. But I was terrified. "If I say anything, she will find out. She controls the sanctuary where my sister lives. If she cuts the funding, Milani dies. I won't do it. No."

They didn't like that. Powerful Alphas weren't used to hearing the word 'no', especially not from an Omega.

Weston stepped closer, his jaw ticking. Xavier pushed off the table and flanked him. They towered over me, their combined auras suffocating and heavy. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the physical pain of their dominance to force me to my knees.

But the blow never came.

Instead, Weston froze. Xavier stopped dead in his tracks.

I opened my eyes slowly. Both men were staring down at me, completely rigid. Their nostrils flared. They were breathing in my scent. I knew what I smelled like—warm honeysuckle laced with cedar smoke. To me, it was just the smell of my own skin.

But to them, it was something else entirely.

Their pupils blew wide open, swallowing the color of their irises until their eyes were almost entirely black. A heavy, electric tension filled the small room. I watched Weston's broad chest heave with a sudden, ragged breath. Xavier's hands clenched into tight fists at his sides, his knuckles turning white.

They looked at each other. It was a single, loaded glance. A silent conversation passed between them in a fraction of a second.

I didn't have a wolf. My inner wolf had never awakened, leaving me defective and broken by pack standards. Because of that, my chest felt empty. I felt no sparks, no magical pull, no fated connection. But I wasn't stupid. I saw the absolute shock in their eyes. I saw the way their breathing hitched, the way they looked at me like I was suddenly the center of their universe.

Then, just as quickly, the moment vanished.

They blinked, and the cold, hard calculation returned to their faces. They made a choice right then and there, communicating it without a single word. They weren't going to tell me.

The crushing pressure in the room suddenly evaporated. Weston deliberately softened his Alpha aura. The heavy weight lifted off my chest, making it easier to breathe. It felt like stepping out of a freezing storm into a warm house.

Xavier smiled. It was a warm, gentle smile, though it didn't quite reach his dark eyes. "We got off on the wrong foot, Cleo."

I stared at him, bewildered by the sudden, dizzying shift in their behavior.

"You don't have to be a prisoner," Xavier continued softly, his voice smooth as glass. "Stay here voluntarily. You don't have to tell us everything at once. Just help us piece the puzzle together gradually."

"I told you," I said, my voice shaking. "Paulina will kill my sister."

Weston crouched down so he was at eye level with me. His gaze was intense, almost tender. It was a terrifying look on a man so dangerous. "She won't," he said quietly. "Because we will pay the sanctuary fees. Directly."

My breath hitched in my throat.

"Paulina will have no control over Milani's life anymore," Weston promised, his voice low and soothing. "We will set up an independent fund. Your sister will get the best care, and Paulina won't be able to touch her ever again."

I stared at them. It was the one thing I wanted most in the entire world. Freedom for Milani. A key to her survival that wasn't held by a monster who made me scrub floors until my hands bled.

But as I looked at Weston and Xavier, a cold dread settled deep in my stomach. They were offering me a lifeline, but their eyes held dark secrets I couldn't read. They had just looked at me like a starving man looks at a feast, and now they were acting like my benevolent saviors.

I didn't trust them. Not for a second. But I had no other choice.

"Okay," I whispered, looking down at my worn shoes. "I'll stay."

Weston smiled, a dark, deeply satisfied curve of his lips. "Good girl."

The trap closed around me, and I didn't even know what kind of cage I had just walked into.