Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by the Supreme King

I lived in the basement of the man who promised to protect me. Kason Oneal, the Alpha, treated me like a servant while he doted on Dalia, his so-called "Fated Mate."

I went to his office one last time and knocked over his private journal. The entry from two weeks ago caught my eye.

He wrote that his wolf actually pulled toward me, not Dalia. He knew we were mates.

But he chose Dalia for her family's money.

He called me a "substitute"—a placeholder to keep his wolf calm until he could bond with her. He planned to keep me hidden in the dark forever, just to use my scent.

My heart shattered. I wasn't just unloved; I was being used. The man I adored saw me as nothing more than a biological pacifier.

I didn't leave a note. I packed my bag and walked out the door.

Kason thought I was a broken Omega he could control. He didn't know I was on my way to New York to marry Hadley Payne, the Supreme Alpha.

And when I returned, I wouldn't be a servant. I would be his Queen.

Chapter 1

Isabela POV:

"I'll do it, Dad. I'll marry the Alpha of the Payne Pack."

My voice didn't tremble, though my hand gripping the encrypted phone was white-knuckled. I stood in the shadows of the pack library, the smell of old paper and dust providing a temporary shield against the overwhelming scent of pine and musk that permeated the Oneal Pack House.

"Isabela," my father's voice crackled through the line, heavy with static and regret. He had been the Beta once, before he was cast out, leaving me behind as a political hostage. "You don't have to do this. The rumors about Hadley Payne... they say he is ruthless. A monster in battle."

"I am an Omega here, Dad. A servant," I whispered, glancing at the heavy oak door. "Being the wife of a monster is better than being the doormat for a liar."

I hung up before he could argue. My wolf, a small, battered spirit deep within my chest, whined in agreement. She was tired. We were both tired.

Ten years ago, when my mother died, I was brought here. I was the orphan, the charity case. But for a long time, I had Kason Oneal.

I closed my eyes, the memory hitting me like a physical blow. I was twelve, stuck in a mud pit during a training run, the other pups laughing. Kason, the future Alpha, had jumped in. He ruined his pristine white shirt to wipe the mud from my face.

"I will protect this little wolf," he had promised.

For years, his scent-fresh rain and cedar-was my safe harbor. When he looked at me, I felt a pull, a tether that suggested we were meant to be more. We hadn't turned eighteen yet, hadn't shifted, but the bond was forming. My wolf knew it. His wolf knew it.

Then Dalia Keith returned.

She