After My Alpha Commanded, I Escaped His Chains

I watched Marcus across the long dining table, my heart sinking as he pointedly ignored our son's flushed face. Finnian squirmed in my arms, his tiny body radiating heat that had been building all afternoon. The pack's monthly dinner stretched around us, faces blurring as my focus narrowed to my pup's discomfort and my mate's deliberate indifference.

"Such magnificent coloring," Marcus's voice carried through the hall as he leaned toward Victoria Kane, his fingers stroking the fur of her prized breeding wolf. "The lineage is exceptional."

Victoria's smile was triumphant as she caught my gaze over the wolf's silver-tipped ears. "Thank you, Alpha. She's from the purest bloodline in the northern territories."

Finnian whimpered, his small hand clutching at my blouse. Through our weakening mate bond, I could feel his discomfort pulsing—a fever that had spiked dangerously in the past hour. The bond that once flowed strong between Marcus and me now felt threadbare, barely transmitting the urgency of our child's condition.

"Marcus," I said, my voice soft but insistent. Heads turned at my interruption of their conversation. "Finnian is burning up. He needs medicine."

My mate's eyes flicked to our son, then back to Victoria's wolf, his expression hardening. "He's fine, Sarah. Pups run hot."

"Not this hot." I stood, cradling Finnian closer. "I need to take him to Healer Maeve."

The dining hall quieted, silverware stilling against plates as pack members sensed the tension. I could feel their stares—some sympathetic, others judgmental. The wolfless Luna, always overreacting.

"Sit down," Marcus said, his tone deceptively casual, though I recognized the warning beneath. "You're disrupting dinner."

"Our son is sick," I insisted, desperation building as Finnian's breathing grew more labored. "Please, he needs the pup medicine Maeve prepared last month."

Marcus's chair scraped against the floor as he stood, his Alpha aura expanding to fill the room. The pressure of it pushed against my chest, making it difficult to breathe.

"What he needs," he said, his voice dropping into the Alpha tone that reverberated through my bones, "is to toughen up. Not to be coddled by an overprotective mother who can't even shift."

The words stung, but I pushed past the pain. "The pup medicine—"

"Will make him weak," Marcus cut in, striding around the table. "Like you."

Victoria's smile widened as she watched, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. She'd been working on Marcus for months, feeding his mother's lies about my intentions, stoking his resentment of my wolfless state.

"Adult wolf remedies build strength," Marcus continued, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a vial of viscous amber liquid. "This is what my father gave me. This is what makes a true Alpha."

I backed away, clutching Finnian protectively. "That's for shifted adults, Marcus. It's too strong for a pup in human form."

"ENOUGH!" His Alpha command slammed into me, freezing my muscles in place. "You will not question me again, Luna."

The title, once spoken with love, now dripped with contempt. Pack members averted their eyes, unwilling to witness