Rejected by My Alpha Husband

The water in the bucket was already gray, swirling with the grime of the dungeon floor. My knees ached against the cold, unforgiving stone, the damp chill seeping into my bones. I was the mate of the Alpha, yet here I was, scrubbing the cells like an Omega, while the real power in the pack wore heels and watched me with a smirk.

"You missed a spot, Nellie," Jessica Stevens said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. She stood just outside the iron bars, looking pristine in a white dress that seemed out of place in the gloom of the underground prison.

I dipped the brush back into the water, fighting the urge to tremble. "I'll get it, Jessica."

"Good girl. Silas hates a dirty house, you know. We all just want him happy."

She leaned against the lever that controlled the heavy iron door of the adjacent cell. I froze. Inside that cell was the rogue—a feral, maddened wolf she claimed was a "rescue," though everyone knew she kept it like a twisted pet. I could hear its heavy breathing, the scratch of claws on concrete.

"Oops," Jessica whispered.

There was a metallic *clank* as the lever slipped. The heavy door swung open.

I didn't even have time to scream. The rogue was a blur of matted gray fur and yellow teeth. It hit me with the force of a freight train, slamming my back against the wall. Pain exploded in my shoulder as its jaws clamped down, tearing through my shirt and skin.

My hands flew up, not to my neck, but to my stomach. It was an instinct I hadn't understood until that very second. A sudden, fierce realization washed over me amidst the agony: *I am not alone in this body.*

I was pregnant. After five years of silence, the Moon Goddess had given me a miracle.

"No!" I shrieked, curling into a ball to shield my abdomen. "Please, no!"

The rogue didn't care. It shook me like a ragdoll, its teeth sinking into my side, dangerously close to the life I had just discovered. I felt warm blood pooling beneath me, soaking my jeans. My vision began to spot with black.

Suddenly, the heavy dungeon door burst open. A wave of power—Alpha power—flooded the cramped space. It was the scent of rain and ozone. Silas.

"Silas!" I gasped, my voice a wet gurgle. I reached a bloody hand toward him. *He came. He felt my pain through the bond. He’s here to save us.*

The rogue released me, backing away with a low growl as warriors swarmed in behind the Alpha. Silas stood tall, his eyes sweeping the scene. He looked at the rogue. He looked at Jessica, who was pressing her hands to her mouth in theatrical horror. And then, for a fleeting second, he looked at me.

I lay in a pool of my own blood, clutching my stomach.

"Silas," I whispered, "the baby..."

He didn't hear me. Or maybe he didn't care.