The Alpha's Regret: Claiming His Discarded True Mate

I was an Omega with the sacred face of the Moon Goddess, betrothed to Alpha Prince Rowan to unite our ancient bloodlines.

But on my coming-of-age night, he spiked my wine with a heat-inducing poison and gifted me to a Beta Judge named Silas.

He did it just to prove a cruel point and steal Silas's lover, Selene.

Ruined and discarded, I was forced into Silas's estate.

When Selene jealously pushed me into a pool of burning silver, Silas cowardly let her take my only healing medicine.

Worse, to protect Selene's crimes from the royal court, Silas framed my innocent brother and threw him in the underground dungeon.

I was left covered in agonizing burns, my family destroyed, while these men traded our lives like cheap currency.

When Rowan finally realized I was his true Fated Mate, he didn't apologize for the torture he put me through.

Instead, he used my brother's execution warrant to force me back into his royal cage.

"I do not care if history remembers me as a tyrant, I care only that you are mine."

So, I smiled and played the perfect, broken Luna.

But in the shadows, I slipped a cursed, treasonous blade into his private safe.

I was going to strip the Alpha of his crown and leave this wretched pack forever.

Chapter 1

Elara POV:

A searing heat began its slow crawl up my spine. It was not the warmth of a hearth, but a dry, internal fever that seemed to thicken the blood in my veins and turn my bones to brittle glass. The air in the lavish gothic bedchamber was heavy, cloying with a sweet, unnatural perfume that coated the tongue.

My coming-of-age ceremony was supposed to be a sacred night.

But Alpha Prince Rowan had spiked my ceremonial wine with a potent, forbidden elixir-a heat-inducing poison meant to strip a wolf of all rational thought.

My own nature began to turn on me, a frantic clawing from within my ribs, begging for a release I viciously fought to deny.

Beside me on the massive four-poster bed lay Beta Silas, a high-ranking Pack Judge I barely knew. He was panting heavily, his chest heaving as the same unnatural fire consumed him. His pupils had swallowed the iris, the human part of him drowning in the forced biological urge.

"Look at them, Selene," a cruel, arrogant voice echoed from the shadows of the room.

Alpha Prince Rowan stood behind the heavy velvet drapes that shrouded the viewing gallery, his tall, imposing figure reduced to a dark silhouette against the candlelight. By sacred tradition, the Alpha heir observed the coming-of-age rites from behind these shrouds-close enough to witness, yet forbidden from direct sight of the unveiled females until the ritual's end. This ancient barrier, meant to preserve modesty, now served as the perfect mask for his cruelty.

"I told you," Rowan continued, his tone dripping with mockery. "Wolf instinct beats all your human ideals of loyalty. Place any male and female together under the right... conditions, and they will behave like the beasts they are."

I bit the inside of my cheek until the sharp tang of copper filled my mouth, using the small, clean pain to anchor my fading consciousness. I twisted away from the heat radiating off Silas, burying my face deep into the thick down pillows, my silver hair fanning out and obscuring my features from any prying eyes-though behind those drapes, Rowan's casual, dismissive glance had already turned away.

But there was a secret even Silas did not know.

The elders of my fallen pack had sealed my true face at birth with an ancient, forgotten magic-a protective curse that made me appear ordinary, forgettable. The seal was bound to two conditions: it would only break under extreme physical agony, or at the touch of my Fated Mate. Until either came to pass, no one could see what I truly was. It was a safeguard meant to protect me from those who would exploit the sacred bloodline I carried.

Rowan had looked at me tonight and seen nothing but a common Omega. That was the only reason I was still alive.

Through the haze, I saw Selene standing beside the draped gallery, next to Rowan.

She was Silas's lover, the female he had sworn his life to. Tears streamed down Selene's beautiful face as she watched Silas lose his battle against the drug. She watched his hands grip the bedsheets, his body trembling as he leaned closer to my scent.

"He promised me," Selene choked out. "He swore he'd only ever touch me."

"And now you see the truth," Rowan whispered, stepping closer to her. "Forget him. Come with me to the Royal Castle. Be mine."

Selene let out a broken cry, covering her face with her hands. She nodded slowly, her faith in a single, loyal mate shattered.

"I submit, my Prince," she whispered, turning her back on Silas.

Rowan let out a dark, triumphant laugh.

He turned his gaze back to the bed, his golden Alpha eyes locking onto Silas through the gap in the drapes.

"Silas," Rowan commanded.

It was not a simple request. It was the Alpha's Command.

The very air in the room seemed to thicken, pressing in on all sides like drying mortar, and each breath I drew was a ragged, tearing effort that tasted of rust. My lungs seized, and my muscles went rigid.

An Alpha's Command forces any lower-ranking wolf to obey instantly, stripping away all free will.

"I gift my betrothed, Elara, to you," Rowan's voice boomed, heavy with dark magic and authority. "Take her as your compensation. She is yours."

Silas groaned under the immense physical weight of the command. He was a Beta, strong and proud, but no one could resist a direct order from the future King. Silas lowered his head, his body trembling violently until he finally bowed in submission.

"Yes, my Prince," Silas ground out.

Rowan smirked, wrapping an arm around Selene and leading her out of the room. The heavy oak door slammed shut, leaving us alone in the suffocating heat.

The moment the Alpha's pressure vanished, Silas collapsed back onto the bed. He grabbed the thick woolen blanket and threw it over my shivering, half-dressed body.

"God, I'm sorry," Silas rasped, his voice thick with shame.

I pulled the blanket tightly around my shoulders, forcing my breathing to slow.

"Do not apologize," I said, my voice surprisingly steady despite the fire in my veins. "We are both pawns tonight. I know the strength of that poison."

Silas looked up, his dark eyes widening as he truly looked at me for the first time. My hair was a mess of silver-white waves, framing a face that the elders always whispered about. But the seal still held-he saw only an echo, a shadow of what I truly was.

I saw his breath hitch.

"Rowan expects us to be mated by morning," Silas muttered, averting his gaze. "We play along, or he'll kill us both."

Before I could answer, the fever in my blood surged anew. The hours that followed became a featureless blur of tortured restraint. We remained on opposite sides of the massive bed, a chasm of unspoken shame and forced proximity between us. Every minute stretched into an hour, the scent of the mating incense a constant, cloying torment. I fixed my gaze upon the shifting patterns of moonlight on the floorboards, counting the seconds, fighting my own body until a profound exhaustion finally began to dull the poison's edge. The long, agonizing night bled at last into the pale, grey light of dawn.

A loud, sharp knock echoed through the room.

"Elara," a guard barked from the hall. "The Luna Queen wants you in the inner chamber. Now."

I rose on unsteady legs, a cold dread settling in my stomach.

As I passed him, the guard's gaze flickered over my disheveled silver hair, and something unreadable crossed his face. He muttered under his breath, so low I almost missed it-

"She's been screaming about the Moon Goddess's face all night. Whatever you are, girl... I hope you're ready."

I froze mid-step.

She couldn't know. The seal had held for eighteen years.

But deep in my chest, my hidden White Wolf stirred-and for the first time, it felt less like a blessing and more like prey scenting a hunter on the wind.

I did not know then that the Queen's summons would set in motion a chain of events from which there would be no turning back.