MATED TO THE ALPHA AND HIS BETA

Lexi's POV

A heartbeat. It all happened in a heartbeat. One second I was basking in my parent's love and care, and the next...

I was up in an oak tree, my little hands wrapped around its branches as I screamed in delight to my parents.

"Momma! Papa! Look here!"

Laughter bursted from my lips as I climbed higher into the tree's gnarled branches. My heart fluttered with pride-I was nearly at the top. "I can see almost the whole pack from here!"

Dad's chuckle rose from below, warm and familiar. "Come down, sweetheart," He said, smiling up at me. "Before I have to come up and drag you back myself."

I grinned down at him. He was teasing-he always teased when he was proud.

And then, in one second, everything shattered.

Growls. Low and savage. Leaves rustled violently, and shadows surged from the treeline.

Rogues.

My blood turned to ice as five wolves emerged, circling my parents with snapping jaws and glowing eyes. My mother shifted first, her body transforming into her sleek white wolf form. My father followed, his larger dark-gray wolf snarling a warning.

They didn't hesitate. They didn't even glance at me.

They were protecting me.

Dad lunged at the largest rogue, pinning him down with powerful jaws. My breath caught as I clung to the tree, heart pounding like a war drum in my chest. But two rogues broke off and turned toward my mother.

Dad looked back.

Just for a second.

That one second stole my entire world.

The rogue he had tackled twisted and sank his teeth into my father's throat. I saw it happen. I saw the light vanish from his eyes. I saw his body collapse.

And I saw my mother feel it. The instant their bond snapped-she knew.

She let out the most haunting, broken howl I've ever heard.

Then she gave up.

The rogues didn't hesitate. They descended on her like animals, tearing her apart as though she were nothing but meat.

"NO! MOM!" I screamed. My voice ripped from my lungs, raw and panicked. Without thinking, I jumped from the tree. The world blurred, the ground rushed up, and pain snapped through my arm like lightning as I landed.

I didn't care. I couldn't care. My body hurt, but my heart was bleeding harder.

I tried to crawl to her. I tried to move. But I couldn't. My legs were locked, paralyzed by horror. I screamed and screamed, but they didn't stop.

They were ripping her apart. And I could do nothing.

Then I noticed the third rogue. He hadn't moved. He hadn't joined the others. He just watched. Cold. Empty.

He turned his head toward me. Started walking. I froze.

But then, voices. My pack. They were coming. They were almost here.

The rogue's eyes flicked toward the sound, and he made his move. He lunged forward and slashed across my chest with claws like knives. I screamed as fire exploded through my body and I fell to the ground, bleeding, broken.

The rogues vanished before the warriors arrived.

Beta Andrew and three others were the first to reach us. I was lying in a pool of blood, trembling, sobbing, my breath hitching uncontrollably.

No one said anything.

They didn't need to. I knew.

My parents were dead.

And then Andrew's eyes locked onto me. Cold. Accusing.

"Why would you kill your parents?" He spat, voice like ice.

My breath hitched. "W-What? No-I didn't-"

"Don't lie to me!" He roared. "Tell me the truth."

"It was rogues," I whispered, barely able to speak through the lump in my throat.

"You expect me to believe that rogues would slaughter your parents and leave you?" His voice dripped with disdain.

I couldn't even speak. I could only cry and shake my head.

"You little liar," He snarled. "You always were trouble. Take her to the dungeon."

"No! Please!" I cried out. "I didn't do anything-please!"

One of the warriors stepped forward, concern etched on his face. "Sir, she's badly injured. Her arm is broken, and she's bleeding heavily. She won't last long without help."

Andrew's eyes narrowed. "Are you questioning my orders?"

"No, Beta," The warrior said quickly. "I'll take her."

He knelt beside me and tried to be gentle, but even the smallest touch sent bolts of agony through me. I screamed until my vision dimmed, and then everything went black.

When I woke, I was in darkness.

The stench was the first thing that hit me-stale blood, mold, and rot. I was lying on a filthy cot, stiff with old stains. Every part of me throbbed with pain. My chest burned. My arm hung uselessly at my side.

The warrior who'd carried me knelt beside me. His voice was quiet. "I'm sorry. I tried to get you help. I'll bring antibiotics if I can. Maybe it'll stop the infection. I'll come back, I promise."

Then he left. And I was alone again.

Hours passed. Days. No one came.

Until the Alpha did.

His presence filled the corridor like poison. He opened the cell door and stepped inside, boots echoing on the stone.

I sat up slowly, wincing, holding my chest.

"Why did you kill your parents?" He asked.

"I didn't," I whispered. My voice was hoarse, barely a breath.

The blow came fast. His hand cracked across my face, slamming my head back. Blood filled my mouth.

"Why are you doing this?" I choked, tasting iron. "I'm just a child..."

He leaned down, voice a venomous hiss. "Are you talking back to me, slave?"

The word felt foreign. Wrong.

"I don't understand..."

"And that's why you're still alive," He said with a sick smile. "But you need to learn respect. Ten lashes."

Before I could move, he grabbed my unbroken arm and forced me onto my stomach. My face pressed into the cot. My broken arm screamed. I barely had time to breathe before I heard it.

CRACK.

Pain like I'd never known split my skin. I screamed. Again and again until ten times.

By the end, I couldn't even beg. My throat was raw. My body trembled violently.

He leaned down, lips brushing my ear. "I enjoy hearing you scream. You'd better learn your place, slave."

He stood and turned away.

"Take her to her new room," He told someone outside the cell.

"My pleasure," Came Beta Andrew's voice.

He dragged me by my uninjured arm, ignoring my cries. My feet scraped the stone as we passed down a dark hall. He threw open a door and tossed me inside.

A closet. It was no room. Just a stained mattress, a blanket that looked like it hadn't been washed in years, and a pillow that smelled like mildew and urine.

He sneered down at me. "Get comfortable. You'll be here until the Alpha says otherwise."

He slammed the door, and the darkness swallowed me whole.

I waited until I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore. Only then did I let the sobs take me.

I curled up on the disgusting mattress, blood soaking into the fabric beneath me, and I cried until my throat bled.

This was the beginning.

The beginning of my hell.