From Alpha family to rogue

I was trapped in a cage made of pure silver, my skin sizzling against the bars, while my Fated Mate stood outside checking his watch.

"Not yet, Elena," Damien said coldly. "Victoria's son must be born first to secure the prophecy."

I was in active labor, but he pressed a button on a remote. A magical collar clamped around my neck, seizing my muscles and forcing my unborn baby to stay inside, suspending the birth in agonizing tension.

I screamed through our Mind-Link, begging him to save our son, but he severed the connection.

He called our child a mongrel and walked away to be with his brother's wife.

While I lay dying in a pool of black and gold blood, poisoned by his sister, Damien was next door celebrating the birth of another man's child.

When the doctor told him I was flatlining, he told them to save the power for Victoria.

He didn't know I wasn't a rogue. I was the daughter of the Alpha Prime, the King of all wolves.

He killed his true son and his True Mate for a lie.

My father saved my body, but my heart died in that cage.

One year later, I returned as the CEO of the company holding all of Damien's debt.

He knelt before me, weeping, begging for his Luna back.

I stepped on his hand with my stiletto heel and smiled.

"Your Luna died in the basement, Alpha. I am just here to collect what you owe."

Chapter 1

Elena POV:

The smell of my own burning flesh was the first thing that hit me.

It was a sharp, acrid scent that overpowered the damp mold of the basement. I shifted my weight, trying to find a comfortable position on the cold concrete floor, but my shoulder brushed against the bars.

Hisss.

Smoke rose from my skin. I bit my lip so hard I tasted iron, refusing to scream.

I was trapped in a cage made of pure silver.

In our world, silver is the only thing that can truly hurt a werewolf. It acts like acid against our skin and neutralizes our accelerated healing ability. For a pregnant wolf like me, it was a death sentence.

"Damien," I whispered, my voice raspy from days of dehydration. "Please."

My stomach tightened. Another contraction. It felt like a giant hand was squeezing my insides, trying to wring the life out of me.

Damien stood on the other side of the silver bars. He was the Alpha of the Blackwood Pack, the leader of hundreds of wolves. He was tall, with broad shoulders and eyes the color of stormy seas.

He was also my Fated Mate.

The Moon Goddess, our deity, pairs every wolf with a perfect match. When you meet your mate, you smell a scent that drives you crazy. For me, Damien smelled like rain and dark chocolate.

But he didn't want me. To him, I was just a Rogue-a wolf without a pack, a beggar with no status. He didn't know I was the daughter of the Alpha Prime, the king of all wolves. I had hidden my scent to find true love.

What a stupid, naive girl I was.

Damien looked at his watch, ignoring my pain.

*"Not yet, Elena," he said, his voice devoid of warmth.*

"I... I can't," I gasped, clutching my swollen belly. "The baby... he wants to come out."

*Damien didn't shout. He simply reached into his pocket and pulled out a small remote with a single red button.*

*"The Shaman was clear. Victoria's son must be the firstborn of the week to secure the prophecy's blessing. Yours is coming too early."*

*He pressed the button.*

*The silver collar clamped around my neck hummed with a sickly violet light. A magical inhibitor-a Stasis Hex. It didn't just stop me from moving; it seized my involuntary muscles, locking my uterus in a state of suspended, agonizing tension.*

*"Stop!" I choked, the unnatural pressure crushing my insides. "You're suffocating him!"*

"You know the prophecy," Damien said, adjusting his expensive cufflinks, *ignoring the violet light pulsing against my throat.* "Victoria is in labor upstairs. Her son must be born first."

Victoria. His dead brother's wife. The woman he treated like a Luna, the queen of the pack, while I rotted in a cage.

"You are killing him," I wheezed, tears streaming down my face. "Damien, this is your son too."

"Don't lie to me," he sneered. "A Rogue like you probably slept with half the border patrol. That mongrel isn't mine."