After I Left the Pack, My Alpha Begged on His Knees

I gave up my dream job because Alex said he needed me to help run Shadow Ridge Pack. For the next five years, he stripped my title, destroyed my projects, and humiliated me in front of everyone—all for an Omega named Madison. He called it "training me to be a proper Luna." The day I lay in bed burning with fever, and he left on "patrol" with her instead, something inside me finally broke. I submitted my Pack Severance application, and he signed it without looking, thinking it was just another approval form. A month later, he showed up at my door on his knees, begging me to come back. I gave him one condition—report Madison's betrayal to the pack council, or lose me forever. His hesitation told me everything I needed to know.

Madison Blackwood smiled and tossed a stack of files onto my desk. "Aria, Alpha Alex needs this border defense proposal tonight. Put it on his desk before you leave, okay?"

The pile was thick as a brick.

I grabbed them and nodded. "Got it."

But she wasn't done. "Oh, and I have a council meeting with Alpha tonight. After you finish, clean up his office while you're at it."

Her heels clicked against the floor as she turned and walked away.

The office went quiet, and my coworkers all looked at me with sympathy, but no one said anything.

This was Shadow Ridge Pack now. Everyone knew Alpha Alex was my intended mate, and I still had his temporary mark on my neck. Still, everyone also knew he only had eyes for Madison now.

Madison was an Omega who'd been poached from Riverside Pack.

Three months ago, Alex suddenly promoted her to Beta level and handed her the territory expansion project I'd been working on for two months. I'd pulled countless all-nighters on that project, and it was almost done.

I challenged it.

So Alex called for a pack vote. "Let democracy decide," he said.

The result? Of the fifteen pack members, fourteen voted for me, and only Alex voted for Madison.

I thought he'd respect everyone's choice, but I was wrong.

He exploded right there. He pointed at me and shouted, "You're forming cliques against me? This is MY pack!"

Then he used his Alpha Command, and it felt like someone was slicing through my nerves with a knife and forcing my wolf to submit. Everyone who voted for me was forced to the ground and couldn't move.

He stripped my position, demoted me three levels, and took away hunting privileges from everyone who supported me for a month.

No one dared to speak or fight back.

Afterwards, he came to me and said he wanted to "avoid favoritism," so Madison wouldn't "feel isolated."

I actually believed him then. Now it seems ridiculous.

Madison couldn't fight worth a damn, and even the newly initiated warriors could take her down. Whether he was covering his tracks or playing favorites, the whole pack could see it. Only