The Alpha's Savage Regret: Feral Obsession

POV Lyra

“There she is! The human attracted the Shadows!” A warrior's cry broke through the chaos as he pointed at me in the middle of the square.

I was on the ground, trembling, with my brothers Dante and Bruno hiding behind my back. I had no claws to defend myself, no growl to command respect. I was just an eighteen-year-old girl without a wolf, watching the world fall apart.

“Look at her! She can't even transform into a wolf to help!” shouted a woman, throwing a rock at me that split my eyebrow open.

“Traitor! You sold Queen Abby for a little freedom!” shouted another female from the pack.

The circle of wolves closed in on us when suddenly, a powerful aura made its way toward me, eyes bloodshot and the fur on his arms still bristling from battle.

Silas looked at me as if I were nothing but trash, while his father, Alpha King Vadhir, stood behind him, his face stone-cold.

My tears fell again and again down my cheeks. “Silas, please... I didn't do anything, I didn't betray the kingdom...” I begged, crawling toward him, searching for a trace of the compassion I once thought I saw in his eyes.

He greeted me with a loud growl that took my breath away. “Don't you dare say my name with your filthy human mouth!” Silas roared, and his Alpha voice made my knees buckle against the pavement. “My mother is dead because a useless burden like you decided to play spy. Look at yourself! You don't even have a wolf!”

His words dug into my skin like poisoned daggers.

“She didn't do anything!” Dante shouted, trying to defend me from Silas, but the Alpha knocked him aside as if he were an insect.

“Take them away!” Vadhir ordered with disgust. “Mark them as rogues. If they ever set foot in the Golden Mountains Pack again, their heads will adorn the entrance!” The man roared arrogantly.

Silas didn't even hesitate as he grabbed me by the hair, forcing me to my feet while the pack surrounded us to escort us to the edge of the territory.

“Do you know what hurts me the most, Lyra?” Silas whispered close to my ear. “That we wasted food and shelter on someone as insignificant as you. You're not a wolf, you're not even a woman. You're nothing!”

Without further ado, he threw me into the mud, outside the border, under torrential rain. He threw my brothers on top of me and spat at us before turning away.

“Run, human. Run before I decide that your execution will be tomorrow's entertainment,” Vadhir shouted, laughing loudly.

“Lyra! Wake up, damn it!” Miriam's sudden shout pulled me out of the abyss.

I sat up with a start, my heart pounding against my ribs and cold sweat sticking my uniform to my body.

Shit, I had dreamed again of that night when my life went to hell.

“Get your ass moving. Rich men are coming, and this place still looks like a pigsty!” Miriam roared before banging on the bar.

Miriam was the owner of this seedy restaurant on the border of the pack that gave me a job when no one else wanted to hire a renegade with two brothers in tow.

The reality is that five years ago, my life went down the drain. In fact, I was part of the Golden Mountains Pack, one of the most powerful, where the alpha king and his family lived.

But in that place, if you haven't awakened your she-wolf by the age of eighteen, you're less than an omega. I had already turned 19 and still hadn't met my she-wolf, which put me in the eye of humiliation, misery with no right to anything but to serve as a slave.

However, one night, there was a major attack on the main pack, where dark shadows attacked the mansion and murdered the queen and Luna.

King Vadhir immediately blamed me for conspiring with the enemies of darkness to provoke the attack. In response, Silas, the king's son, dragged me by my hair across the pack's square while people spat at us. He didn't care that I was crying, or that my brothers, Dante and Bruno, tried to defend me with their little fists.

Silas just threw me into the forest like I was trash, making it clear to me that I never belonged in Golden Mountains.

Since then, my life has been about surviving so that my brothers don't go hungry. On the other hand, Dante and Bruno did awaken their wolves early, like everyone else in that damn pack, but they stayed with me out of loyalty, condemning themselves to a life of poverty by my side.

“I'm coming, Miriam! Don't rush me,” I replied, wiping the sweat from my forehead with my apron.

“You better. If you ruin this Valentine's Day dinner, we're out,” she growled, handing me a list of tasks. “And for God's sake, stop looking so traumatized, you're scaring the customers.”

With a nod, I went to the kitchen and met the other girls, Isla and Sienna, who were more concerned about their makeup than the orders.

“Did you see who's coming? They say they're businessmen from the city,” said Isla, touching up her lip gloss. “I hope one of them is my mate and gets me out of this hole.”

“Goddess, I have to look great too! They say those men are looking for sassy women. Maybe this is our moment,” said Isla.

“It's true,” added Sienna, leaning on the bar while touching up her red lipstick. “Besides, Lyra, you have to admit that this uniform looks great on you. If I had those curves and that bust, I would have already hooked up with a millionaire Alpha to give me a life of luxury.”

I listened to her words with a grimace on my lips. I glanced at my reflection in a tray. The truth is, I had the body any female would envy: pronounced curves, strong legs, and a bust that always attracted unwanted attention.

But my unfriendly face and honey-colored eyes were always alert, as if I were expecting a blow at any moment. My red hair was tied back in a messy braid, covered in flour, and my face was covered in freckles.

“You know I don't trust Alphas. I'd rather scrub floors a thousand times than depend on a pretentious male,” I replied bitterly.

They both looked at each other before bursting into mocking laughter. “Oh, Lyra, they're not all like the ones in your old pack,” Isla insisted, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Besides, a lot of the wolves in this town drool over you.”

That comment softened me a little. It was true; they had protected me when the local wolves tried to take advantage of me at first.

The restaurant was saturated with the smell of roses and vanilla candles, a mixture that turned my stomach. I wanted the day to pass quickly so I could hide in my little house.