The Lycan Alpha's Forgotten Mate

Anais POV

Pain. It was the first thing that registered—a dull, throbbing ache that radiated from my hips down to my toes. The second was the scent. It wasn't the mildew and stale soap of my small room in the Omega quarters. It was rich, overpowering—like crushed mint leaves buried under heavy snow.

Alpha.

My eyes snapped open. Instead of my peeling ceiling, I was staring at vaulted architecture and a crystal chandelier catching the morning light. I tried to sit up, but the silk sheets tangled around my bare legs.

Bare. I was completely naked.

Panic clawed at my throat. I turned my head, and the scream died instantly, frozen by pure, primal terror.

Sleeping inches from me, face buried in a black pillow, was Dimitri Barrett. The Alpha heir. The man rumored to have Lycan blood running through his veins.

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. Being in the Alpha's suite was forbidden for a wolfless Omega like me. Being in his bed was a death sentence.

I scrambled backward, desperate to put distance between us. As my hand clutched the sheet, a flash of silver caught my eye. A ring. A heavy, intricate band set with a glowing moonstone sat on my finger. It hadn't been there yesterday.

"D.B.," I whispered, reading the initials engraved on the metal.

Suddenly, the air in the room grew heavy, suffocatingly dense. The temperature plummeted.

Dimitri's eyes opened. They weren't just blue; they were the color of glacial ice, and right now, they were burning with a murderous confusion.

"Who are you?"

The voice wasn't just sound; it was power. The Alpha's Command slammed into me, paralyzing my muscles. I opened my mouth to answer, but only a whimper came out. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.

Dimitri sat up, the sheet falling to his waist, revealing a chest sculpted by war and violence. His gaze fell on my hand, then to his own. He was wearing a matching ring.

His face twisted in horror. He reached out and grabbed my wrist.

Zap.

A jolt of electricity, hot and sharp, shot up my arm the moment his skin touched mine. It wasn't static; it was the Mate Spark. My breath hitched, and for a second, the fear vanished, replaced by a dizzying sense of belonging.

But Dimitri didn't look like he belonged. He looked like he wanted to kill something.

"Don't touch me!" he roared, his voice laced with a trauma I didn't understand. He shoved me, hard.

I flew off the high mattress, hitting the cold hardwood floor with a painful thud. Tears blurred my vision as I curled into a ball, trying to hide my nakedness.

"Stay," he commanded, his chest heaving.

Dimitri POV

Mine! Mate! Why did you hurt her?

Ragnar, my inner Lycan, was thrashing against the walls of my mind, his roar deafening. I ignored the beast, pressing the heels of my hands into my eyes. My head felt like it had