When My Alpha Finds I didn't Kill His Father

Five years later, Stella was released from prison—only to face the brutal vengeance of Joseph, the new Alpha. Convinced she had caused his father’s death, he tormented her mercilessly. Yet he never imagined the truth: the accident five years ago had been his father’s doing, and Stella had been innocent all along. Now, as Joseph realizes he’s fallen in love with her, where does that leave him?

– Release

“Name?”

“Stella Hart.”

“Possessions?”

“Duffel bag. No cash.”

The guard nodded, stamped a form, and slid it through the slot beneath the glass.

“You're free to go.”

Free. The word echoed like a foreign language.

Stella stepped through the iron gates, blinking at the vastness of sky. No sirens. No buzzers. Just air—unfiltered, untouched, too bright. She tightened her grip on the fraying handle of her bag.

The bus idled at the end of the cracked lot, steam curling into the morning chill. She climbed aboard and took the rear-most seat. Only one other passenger—a wrinkled woman knitting with red yarn.

Her phone buzzed once. A single text.

FROM: CATHERINE

*Don't contact us again.*

She stared at the message for a full minute before deleting it.

The bus rattled to life.

---

“You sure about Greenridge, miss?” the driver asked as they pulled off the highway. “Not many go there willingly.”

“I don’t have anywhere else,” Stella said quietly.

“Suit yourself.”

Trees lined the winding roads, summer leaves just starting to crisp. Every bend brought her closer to the place she swore never to see again.

“You were the nanny, right?” the woman with the yarn asked suddenly.

Stella stiffened. “Excuse me?”

“Greenman family. I saw your face on the news. Said you seduced that Alpha.”

“I didn’t.”

The woman gave a small shrug. “Didn’t think you did. Men like that… don’t need seduction.”

Silence stretched. Stella turned toward the window. Memories clawed through glass—Alpha Greenman's sweaty breath, the grasping hands, Victoria's broken whisper: *If this gets out, the whole pack falls.* And the courtroom, where no one cared what she said.

---

The bus screeched to a halt.

“Greenridge,” the driver grunted.

Stella stood. The duffel’s weight pulled at her shoulder, but she didn’t flinch. She stepped off.

The air smelled like pine and old mistakes.

“Welcome back, murderer,” someone hissed from a bench. Two teenage boys snickered.

She ignored them and walked toward the employment center.

Across the street, a black SUV sat idling. The windows were tinted, but behind one of them, a man watched her every move.

Joseph Greenman tapped his finger against the steering wheel.

“She looks smaller than I remember,” he muttered.

“She was eighteen, sir,” said the Beta beside him. “People tend to grow thinner in prison.”

Joseph’s jaw flexed. “Don’t make excuses. She killed my father.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I don’t need to know. I watched her lie in court.”

“She didn’t say much at all, if I recall.”

“That’s the lie,” Joseph snapped. “She said nothing. No denial, no defense. Just