Chapter 3: The Alphas & Their Lies
Rosalie:
My steps faltered slightly as another memory surfaced - the day everything changed, the day everything began.
My throat tightened painfully.
My parents had been everything to me. My only safe place in a world that constantly reminded me I didn’t belong.
And then... they were gone. Just like that.
A car accident two years ago took them away from me forever.
I had felt like I was drowning back then too. Alone, broken, and with nowhere to go. Until Alpha Blackthorn took me in.
I had moved into the pack house shortly after, surrounded by people who either pitied me... or ignored me.
I didn’t expect anything to change. I didn’t expect anyone to notice me. But they did.
It started small. So small I almost missed it.
An accidental bump in the hallway - my shoulder colliding with a solid chest, strong hands catching me before I could fall.
Kaiser.
I still remembered the way he had smirked down at me with amusement flickering in his green eyes. "Careful, little wolf."
Little wolf.
No one had ever called me that before.
Then there was Darien. He was soft-spoken and calm when he had spoken to me for the first time, like really spoken - not as the Beta’s daughter, not as someone insignificant, but as... me.
"You should eat more," he had said one evening, sliding a plate toward me when he noticed I had barely touched my food.
It was such a small thing, yet it had meant everything.
And Alastor, he had been different from the start. At the mere age of 17, he became the Alpha of Crescent Wolf Pack after his father’s death. He was colder, sharper, and his presence alone commanded attention.
Since he Darien and Kaiser’s childhood friend, he visited the packhouse a lot. And that’s how I got to meet him.
I remembered the first time our eyes met, his deep blue ones locking with my brown ones, and for a moment, I had felt seen. Truly seen. It had been overwhelming, terrifying, and even addicting.
One moment turned into many. Accidental encounters turned into intentional ones. Passing glances turned into lingering stares. Simple conversations turned into something deeper... something dangerous.
And somewhere along the way, I lost myself. Because before I even realized what was happening, they became my world.
They sought me out, stayed with me, touched me, and spoke words that wrapped around my heart and refused to let go.
"You are ours, Little wolf."
"The only one."
"We don’t need anyone else."
And I had believed them.
Stars, I had believed every single word. Even when they told me to keep it a secret.
"It’s complicated."
"People won’t understand."
"Three Alphas with one woman... it will cause trouble."
I had nodded, agreeing, trusting them. Because I thought it meant something. That I meant something.
But tonight they stood before everyone, before both packs... and claimed another woman without hesitation, without fear, and without even a second glance in my direction.
My chest tightened painfully as I realized it wasn’t about secrecy or about protecting me, it was about hiding me.
Shame burned through me, hot and suffocating.
The whispers, the ones I used to ignore, returned.
"They are just playing with her."
"She’s too stupid to see it."
"She really thinks she’ll become Luna?"
"They’ll never choose someone like her."
I had laughed it off. Though they were just jealous. Because I thought I knew the truth. Because I thought I was special.
My steps slowed to a stop and a broken sound escaped my throat - half laugh, half sob.
I was the joke. The biggest one of all.
I pressed a hand against my chest, trying to steady the erratic rhythm of my heart, but it only made it worse.
Because it hurt.
So much.
How could they do this? How could they look at me like I meant nothing... after everything?
My fingers curled into the fabric of my dress.
"I was enough..." I whispered hoarsely, my voice trembling. "I was... I was enough..."
But the words sounded empty even to me.
A sudden chill brushed against my skin, making me shiver. I blinked, finally becoming aware of my surroundings.
I had walked far. Farther than I intended.
The familiar paths of the pack were gone, replaced by darker, unfamiliar woods that stretched endlessly in every direction. The lights from the party were no longer visible, swallowed by distance and shadow.
When had I come this far?
My breath hitched slightly as I looked around, and felt unease creeping into my chest.
The sky above had changed too. Dark clouds loomed overhead, thick and heavy, swallowing the moonlight entirely. And then a low rumble of thunder echoed in the distance.
I stared up at it blankly.
I should have noticed earlier. The signs were there. The sky had been darkening long before the ceremony began. It was a clear warning, a reflection of what was to come. But I had been too busy dreaming. Too busy believing in something that was never real.
A bitter smile tugged at my lips as the first drop of rain fell, landing softly against my cheek.
Then another.
And another.
It was cold, sharp, and real. They mixed with the tears I could no longer hold back, tracing silent paths down my face.
"How fitting..." I murmured weakly, my voice barely audible over the growing sound of rain.
The sky wept for me. Or maybe it mocked me. I didn’t know anymore.
I closed my eyes briefly, letting the rain soak into my hair, my dress, my skin, and wash away everything that had once tied me to them. To that place. To that lie.
But then, a sound caught my attention. It was faint at first, but then it got clearer.
My eyes snapped open and my body went still as I heard the voices.
"...find her-"
"...she couldn’t have gone far-"
"...Alpha said-"
My breath caught as cold dread slid down my spine.
They weren’t distant, but close... too close. And something about the tone of those voices - sharp, urgent, and dangerous - made every instinct inside me scream.
Run.
I didn’t think, didn’t hesitate even for a second to confirm if I was overthinking the situation. I just turned.. and ran.
