The Alpha

My heart pounded furiously against my ribs under the Alpha’s steely, ice-blue gaze. The air in the grand room grew suffocating, pressing down on my shoulders with the weight of a physical force. My arm slowly dropped to my side, the finger I had just pointed at my own chest trembling as I curled my hand into the cheap fabric of my dress. I stood completely frozen in the center of the vast, empty ballroom. There was nowhere to hide, no crowd of glamorous girls to duck behind. It was just me and the most powerful wolf in the territory.

He didn't blink. His expression remained terrifyingly unreadable as he deliberately raised his hand. Between his large, powerful fingers, he held up a sleek phone, the screen glowing brightly in the dim light of the chandelier. He tilted the device so the display was facing me perfectly.

Staring back at me was a vivid, high-resolution picture of Phoebe. With her distinct, bubbly features, perfectly styled hair, and bright smile, she looked absolutely nothing like me. Not even if the lighting was poor. Not even if he was squinting.

The jig was entirely up. The ground beneath my scuffed white flats felt like it was crumbling away. There was absolutely no point in clinging to a fabricated lie when the undeniable truth was staring me right in the face.

"My name is Tessa Vance," I confessed, my voice shaking slightly before I cleared my throat, swallowing hard against the jagged lump forming there. I forced myself to keep my chin up and meet his gaze. "My best friend Phoebe already has a mate. Her family was going to force her to be here against her will. She asked me to cover for her so she could get away."

Alpha Gideon let out a harsh, derisive snort that echoed loudly off the marble walls. His broad shoulders shifted beneath his meticulously tailored dark suit as he audibly questioned her loyalty to the pack's sacred traditions. "So she left you to face the consequences of an impersonation charge if you were caught?" he muttered, his tone biting. "Some best friend she is."

I felt my stomach twist violently into a knot. I wanted to defend Phoebe, to explain how much she had helped me in the past, but his intense, predatory eyes pinned me entirely in place. The sheer force of his presence was completely overwhelming. My instincts, even dulled as they were, screamed at me to lower my head and submit.

"Do you want to be here?" he demanded, his voice a low, vibrating rumble that sent a tremor straight down to my toes.

The question caught me completely off guard. Of course I didn't want to be here. I wanted to be back in my cramped apartment, working my shift at the diner, staying utterly invisible to the wealthy elites of our world. But then, my mind frantically flashed to the life-changing fifty thousand dollars waiting for me at the end of this ordeal. If I simply survived these trials, if I just made it through without getting kicked out, I could wipe out my crushing debts. I could actually start breathing again.

I forced myself to hold his intense, icy gaze. I lied straight through my teeth.

"Yes. I do."

He didn't speak right away. He stood perfectly still, scanning me slowly from head to toe. His piercing blue eyes took in my plain, unadorned dress, my messy hair, and my entirely makeup-free face. He was sizing me up, dissecting every flaw, every out-of-place detail. The silence stretched on for agonizing seconds before he finally let out a heavy, tired sigh.

"Well, your friend’s secret is safe with me," he said smoothly, his voice losing a fraction of its aggressive edge. "But as for you…"

He hesitated. He crossed his arms over his broad chest, his strong, chiseled jaw set in tight contemplation. I held my breath, terrified he was about to call the guards back in and have me physically thrown out into the street. Instead, he abruptly turned his back to me, looking out the massive window at the dark grounds beyond. He sharply ordered a waiting maid, who was hovering nervously near the grand doors, to show me to the Mate Trial dormitories.

I let out a shaky exhale. I was miraculously allowed to stay. But as I turned to follow the maid out of the ballroom, I threw one last glance over my shoulder. Gideon was still staring out the window, his brooding, unreadable expression leaving a cold, sharp shiver trailing rapidly down my spine. This was far from over.

The maid escorted me in total silence through the winding, opulent hallways of the mansion. When we finally arrived at the dormitories, she handed me a heavy brass key with the number '14' engraved on it and curtly informed me that Alpha Gideon wanted everyone to be comfortable.

I stepped inside and instantly realized why. The room was surprisingly luxurious and sprawling. It was a million times nicer than my rundown apartment. A beautiful crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling, casting a warm glow over a massive four-poster bed piled high with decadent, silk pillows. I wandered into the attached bathroom, marveling at the pristine clawfoot tub, the expansive walk-in shower, and the plush towels folded perfectly on the vanity. It was an overwhelming amount of luxury.

But as I stood there staring at my tired reflection in the gilded mirror, a dark cloud settled over my mind. Home. The thought of this kind of wealth instantly reminded me of the family I had left behind. More specifically, it reminded me of Blair.

A creeping dread began to claw at my chest. If I stayed here for the trials, an inevitable, disastrous run-in with my cruel stepsister was bound to happen. She was probably plotting my demise right now. The walls of the luxurious room suddenly felt like they were closing in on me. The air grew entirely too thick. I needed to get out. I needed space to breathe.

Driven by my rising anxiety, I fled the confines of the dormitory room. I navigated the corridors until I found a set of large, glass patio doors that opened up out into the night air.

I wandered out into the expansive, meticulously manicured gardens, immediately seeking refuge in the quiet darkness. The night air was crisp and smelled heavily of blooming lavender and sweet roses, slowly working to calm my frazzled nerves. I walked aimlessly along the winding stone paths, gazing up at the tall, flowering trees and the elaborate exotic plant arrangements. I was so caught up in looking at a canopy of vibrant vines that I didn't watch where I was stepping.

My foot accidentally nudged something soft.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" I gasped, quickly stumbling back.

Sitting quietly on the grass under the massive, sprawling branches of an ancient tree was a little girl. She was deeply engrossed in a large sketchbook resting on her lap, a pencil gripped tightly in her small hand. She looked up at me with bright, innocent eyes, a smattering of adorable freckles dusting her rounded cheeks.

"That's okay," she chirped, offering me a sweet, gap-toothed smile. "I was just trying to draw that bush over there." She pointed her pencil toward a massive, blooming yellow rosebush a few yards away. "Can you help me?"

My anxiety melted away instantly. I crouched down beside her on the cool grass, leaning over to look at her drawing. "I think it looks beautiful," I said softly.

"I dunno," she mumbled, biting her bottom lip as she stared critically at her crude, scribbled lines.

"May I?" I asked, holding my hand out. She eagerly handed the sketchbook over. I studied the rough shapes of the flowers and the thick, straight lines she had drawn for the stems. I handed the book back, gently pointing to the stalks. "You should add thorns. For protection."

Her bright eyes widened with realization. "Ooh! That's it!" she exclaimed happily. She immediately leaned back over the paper, her tongue poking out adorably from the corner of her mouth in deep concentration as she rapidly scribbled tiny, sharp points all along the branches.

We quickly bonded over the shared, quiet moment in the grass. "Do you live here?" I asked, watching her work.

"Yep," she nodded, not looking up from her drawing. "My mommy is a maid here. I'm Maisie. I come out here to draw every single day."

"It's a beautiful place to live," I smiled warmly. "Does the Alpha come out to these gardens a lot too?"

Maisie wrinkled her little nose in exaggerated disgust. "Yeah, he likes the gardens. But I just don't understand why so many women want to marry him. It's gross."

I couldn't help it; I let out a genuine, breathless laugh. It was the first real laugh I'd had all day. I leaned in close to the sweet girl, dropping my voice into a conspiratorial whisper. "I’ll let you in on a little secret, Maisie. I don’t really want to marry the Alpha either. I’m just here to help a friend."

Maisie erupted into a fit of adorable, ringing giggles. She clutched her stomach, her brown curls bouncing around her face. "He’s gonna be so mad! He thinks he is so cool. Wait till he finds out the prettiest one doesn’t like him at all!"

My warm smile was genuine, touching my eyes for the first time in what felt like years. But it vanished instantly.

The sharp, aggressive click-clack of designer heels rapidly approached from the stone pathway behind us. My spine stiffened. I knew that sound. I knew that heavy, entitled footfall anywhere. Blair suddenly stormed around the corner of the tall hedges, nearly barreling right into me.

She stopped dead in her tracks, immediately zeroing in on me. Her blonde hair was perfectly styled, but her icy blue eyes were narrowed into slits of pure, venomous anger.

"There you are," Blair sneered, her voice dripping with cruel condescension as she mocked my presence. "What the hell are you doing here? Participating in the trials? As if an Alpha would ever want you. You're just a pathetic waitress."

I stood up slowly, brushing the grass off my plain dress, trying desperately to keep my face neutral.

Blair crossed her arms, proudly puffing out her chest. "Don't look so surprised that I know about your miserable little life. Mom and Dad hired a private investigator just to track you down over a year ago. They know exactly how pathetic you are."

I refused to let her see me bleed. I squared my shoulders and shot back a defensive quip. "Well, considering I'm the only one the Alpha asked to stay behind in the ballroom today, doesn't that show he has a private interest in me, and not you?"

The playful jab was a massive mistake. Blair's face flushed a deep, ugly red. She dropped all pretense of wealthy civility and went straight for the throat.

"Oh, please," Blair growled, stepping dangerously close into my personal space. Her voice was laced with pure malice. "He probably just needs a new scullery maid to scrub the floors. I mean, let's look at the facts, Tessa. Seven years ago, you got pregnant with some nobody wolf’s bastard."

My breath hitched in my chest.

"You got knocked up, you lost your wolf, you racked up a mountain of disgusting debt, and the kid didn’t even live!" Blair practically spat the words into my face, her eyes gleaming with sick satisfaction. "Tessa, your life is a complete joke. You should have never showed your face here."

I saw absolute red. My vision literally blurred at the edges with a violently defensive rage. The air rushed out of my lungs, replaced by a burning, furious heat. No one got to talk about my baby like that. Absolutely no one.

"She didn’t die," I hissed, my voice shaking with an uncontrollable, raw fury. "She was stolen."

Blair just scoffed, rolling her eyes dramatically. "You're still as crazy and delusional as you were back then."

My hands balled into tight fists at my sides. Despite the hospital authorities marking my missing premature baby as dead after two agonizing years of searching, despite them handing me a heartbreakingly empty casket, I felt it deep in my bones. My little girl could still be out there.

Seeing Blair gloat so openly over my pained, tortured silence was sickening. But before I could snap back, a small voice interrupted us.

"Hey!"

Little Maisie suddenly jumped to her feet, her sketchbook tumbling forgotten into the grass. She stepped right up to the edge of the stone path, her small fists clenched tightly at her sides, glaring up at my stepsister. "I’m gonna tell my daddy you were mean to my new friend!" she yelled bravely.

Blair whirled around, her eyes flashing with utter contempt as she glared down at the little girl. "Oh yeah? And who’s your daddy, you little runt? Some pathetic servant? Get lost!"

Blair's face twisted in ugly, unhinged anger as she lunged forward, aggressively raising her perfectly manicured hands to shove the child out of the way.

Before Blair could even brush a single thread of Maisie's clothes, I reacted on pure, unadulterated instinct. I lunged forward, grabbing Blair’s wrist in a vise-like grip. I forcefully ripped her arm back, simultaneously throwing my body entirely between her and the little girl. I stood like a physical shield, my heart hammering a war drum in my ears. Even without my wolf, I was still stronger than her.

"You shouldn’t hit children, Blair," I warned, my voice deadly quiet and completely void of emotion. I tightened my fingers aggressively around her fragile wrist, digging my nails in just enough to make a point.

Blair winced in genuine pain, her face twisting into an ugly sneer as she tried to yank her arm away. "Ugh, you're such a freak!" she spat venomously.

"Or do you still think you’re a child yourself?" I countered coldly, refusing to let go.

"What is this?" a deep, booming voice suddenly thundered across the quiet garden, vibrating through the ground beneath my feet.

I whipped my head around. Gideon stood just a few feet behind us on the path, his imposing, massive figure casting a long, terrifying shadow over the manicured grass. He was eyeing the spectacle with a dark, dangerous intensity.

I immediately released Blair's wrist, stepping back. The second I let go, Blair instantly smoothed her furious features. She rushed toward him, completely changing her demeanor in a split second. She acted incredibly giddy and demure, frantically fixing her blonde hair behind her ears, desperately trying to impress him with a sweet, fake smile. "Alpha—"

"Leave," Gideon ordered her coldly, his voice cutting through the air like a whip. He didn't even spare her a single, pitiful glance. His icy eyes were fixed firmly on me.

Utterly humiliated and completely shocked by the harsh dismissal, Blair ducked her head, her face burning bright red. She scurried past him and practically ran out of the gardens like a frightened mouse, her heels clicking rapidly away into the dark.

I stood frozen, bracing myself for his wrath, but Maisie didn't hesitate for a single second.

She ran straight past me, sprinting right up to Gideon. She threw her small arms tightly around his long legs, burying her face into his expensive trousers.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed joyfully.

My heart hammered violently against my ribs, the sound deafening in my own ears. Gideon's icy blue eyes remained locked intensely onto mine as his large hand reached down to gently stroke the little girl's brown curls. The heavy, shocking truth finally sank deep into my completely stunned mind.

She wasn’t the maid’s daughter. She was his.

The Alpha’s daughter.