I stared at the royal decree on my kitchen counter, the Alpha King's seal mocking me in gold wax. A restraining order. Against me. From him.
My vision blurred as tears fell onto the parchment, smudging the ink. What had I done to deserve this? What crime had I committed against the Alpha King that warranted him stripping away everything I loved?
My wolf whimpered inside me, retreating deeper into the shadows of my mind. She had been quiet for days now, ever since they took Cody away. My son. My pup. Gone.
I wiped my face with shaking hands and walked to the window. The palace towers loomed in the distance, their white stone gleaming under the afternoon sun. Somewhere in those walls, my boy was being kept from me. The Alpha King had claimed him, declared him his heir, and removed me from the equation entirely.
The cruelty of it stole my breath.
I had survived so much already. Growing up without my mother, who died when I was barely five. Living under my stepmother Emily's cold rule in my father's house. Enduring years of Bluey's pack looking down on me for being born an omega. Then Ethan happened. I had loved him, trusted him, planned to bond with him at our mating ceremony.
But he betrayed me the night before our bonding. I found him with another she-wolf, her scent all over him, his marks on her neck.
That night broke something in me. I ran. I ended up at that club in the neutral territory, drowning my pain in drinks I should not have touched. And I met him. The arrogant wolf who refused to tell me his name. The one-night mistake that gave me Cody.
I never imagined that nameless wolf would turn out to be Jack Hudson, the Alpha King himself.
For five years, I raised Cody alone. I worked multiple jobs in the lower district, kept my head down, and loved my son with everything I had. We were happy. Poor, but happy.
Then the Alpha King found us. He took one look at Cody and knew. Those grey eyes, that dominant aura even in a child. Cody was his.
Within a week, royal guards appeared at my door. Within two weeks, I lost my job at the textile factory. The manager told me the palace had requested my termination. Now this restraining order meant I could not even approach the palace gates to see my son.
I had nothing left. No job. No child. No future. Just an empty apartment and a broken heart.
My father sent word yesterday about the arranged mating he had negotiated. Some Beta from the eastern packs who needed a wife. I would become property again, traded like cattle, useful only for producing pups.
I walked back to my bedroom and sat on the edge of my bed. The silence pressed against my ears. No childish laughter. No small footsteps running through the apartment. No sticky hands tugging at my skirt begging for one more story.
My wolf stirred weakly. She wanted to fight. To challenge the Alpha King. To take back our pup.
But what could an omega do against the most powerful alpha in the kingdom? I had no pack backing. No family support. No strength.
If I died, who would miss me? Nonna and Richard would mourn for a while, but they had their own lives. My father would probably feel relieved. One less burden. One less reminder of his first mate.
And Cody? Would he even remember me in a few years? The Alpha King would ensure he forgot his omega mother. They would tell him stories of royal bloodlines and powerful heritage. They would erase me from his history.
The pain in my chest was physical now. A crushing weight that made breathing difficult. My wolf howled silently, a mournful sound that echoed through my soul.
I stood and walked to my bathroom. The cabinet above the sink held the answer to ending this suffering. I had collected the pills over the past year, prescribed for the anxiety that came with single motherhood and poverty. I never took them regularly. Now they sat in the orange bottle, rattling softly as I picked them up.
Sleep. Just sleep. No more pain. No more grief. No more waking up to realize my son was gone.
I twisted the cap slowly.
Somewhere outside my apartment, I heard footsteps in the hallway, but they faded away. The building was always noisy. Pack members coming and going, living their normal lives while mine fell apart.
I poured the pills into my palm. White and round, they looked harmless. Innocent.
My phone buzzed on the counter. I glanced at it. Nonna calling. Again. I had ignored her and Richard earlier, sent them away after they tried to comfort me. They meant well, but their pity only made everything worse.
The phone went silent. Then buzzed again immediately. Richard this time.
I turned the phone face down and walked back to my bedroom. I needed quiet. Peace. An end to this nightmare that my life had become.
The pills felt light in my hand. Such small things to hold so much power.
I sat on my bed and closed my eyes.
Outside, I heard pounding on my front door. Urgent. Loud. Then Nonna's voice, muffled but frantic, calling my name.
My wolf perked up slightly, confused.
The pounding grew louder. Then a tremendous crash. The sound of my door being forced open. Heavy footsteps rushing through my apartment.
"Aurora!" Nonna screamed.
My bedroom door flew open. Nonna stood there, her face pale, her eyes wild. She saw me. Saw the pills.
"No!" She lunged forward, knocking them from my hand. They scattered across the floor like tiny white stars.
Richard appeared behind her, his phone pressed to his ear. "We need an ambulance to the lower district, building seven, apartment twelve. Now. Possible overdose. No, we stopped it. Just send someone."
Nonna grabbed my shoulders, shaking me. "What were you thinking? Aria, what were you doing?"
I could not answer. My throat was too tight. My wolf was howling now, fully awake, angry at me for what I almost did.
"We're taking you to the hospital," Richard said firmly. "Now."
They pulled me to my feet. I did not resist. I had no fight left.
As Richard's car sped through the kingdom streets, emergency lights flashing, I stared out the window and wondered if being saved was truly a mercy or just prolonging the inevitable.