Page 1 of Betrayed By the Alpha Wolf

Prologue - Grayson

My mate will be announced today because I am vying for the position of Alpha within the Williams Pack. And I am completely apathetic. Instead, dread flowed through my veins like acid, threatening to eat me alive from the inside.

Everything was silent, and I felt dozens of eyes staring at me.

The quiet of the room would be short-lived. I looked over toward Jet and Kaiden, trying to ground myself in their presence. It hadn’t worked any of the other times I tried it. I didn’t know what made me think today would be any better.

Jet grinned, his pride and happiness obvious, and as I met eyes with Kaiden—my best friend and the closest thing I had to a brother—my stomach clenched. His black eyes zeroed in on me with intensity. I could feel his reassuring vibrations, trying to dull the panic in my head. Still, I just wanted him to be anywhere else.

I had a feeling I knew how this ceremony was going to go, and Kaiden was going to hate me afterward.

Aspen, one of the oldest members of the remaining Williams Pack, led the mate reveal ceremony. He was the only one of the wolves present who’d seen a proper ceremony and not the bastardized version their deceased Alpha used.

Eli. That piece of shit.

My gut knotted up just at the thought of him. He’d “mated” at least three times, and all of them had wound up dead. It was all some ploy to remain Alpha for as long as he could, and he’d turned the Williams Pack into something violent and awful.

He’d nearly killed us all, particularly Kaiden, when he started up his little drug ring. There was still so little known about why he’d begun making and selling drugs in the first place. His alliance with Leon and Reginald was never understood.

Apparently, rogue wolves enjoyed working together.

“Grayson of the Edwards Pack,” Aspen’s voice called out, “step forward.”

I stepped up to the older wolf, kneeling before him. He’d given me the rundown of what was expected of me during the ceremony, and I waited for him to get this whole thing over with.

I needed a mate to lead the Williams Pack, which was an extremely rare requirement nowadays. Still, I had little choice but to go through with it if I wanted to be Alpha, and joining the Williams like this was the only way I could realize my dream.

Cuz waiting around for Jet to pass on isn’t what I want to be doing.

“You have come before us today as the representative put forth by both Jet Edwards, Alpha of the Edwards Pack, and Kaiden Edwards, Alpha of the Collins Pack. Alphas, do you confirm your support of this candidate for Alpha of the Williams Pack?”

“We do,” Kaiden and Jet spoke as one, and my heart thumped against my ribs.

Aspen looked down at me, and I met his eyes with all the confidence I could muster. I did want this. I’d been set on becoming Jet’s Beta with the hopes of becoming his successor for years. When he’d had his own children, it was clear that opportunity had disappeared.

I was truly thrilled for him, but it didn’t change how much I wanted my own pack to lead. I wasn’t thrilled that a mate reveal ceremony had to be a part of that, however.

I didn’t believe in mates, no matter what Jet and Kaiden said. In fact, I knew that those two were likely flukes. Mates were rare, just like having pups was rare, and somehow those assholes had claimed all that good luck for themselves.

I was sure of it.

You’re sure of exactly nothing, Gray. Magic, drugs, human-wolf hybrids? Nothing makes sense anymore.

Trying to ignore that nagging voice in my head, I refocused on Aspen.

“Grayson, in order to become the new Alpha of the Williams Pack, you must first reveal your mate. Once that is complete, you may enter into the trials against Choal. Do you agree to these terms?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Very well. Let us begin.”

Aspen turned toward the massive urn of water that was set out on the table in front of us. His fingers were long, dexterous-looking, and the bulbous knuckles on each one reminded me of knotted branches. He reached into the urn, dipping his fingers, and flicked water across my forehead.

Goddamn, this is ridiculous.

I wasn’t one for mysticism or this so-called magic that everyone had been so excited about lately. Yes, I knew that there was something supernatural about being a shifter. Still, it was hard to believe that all this fate nonsense existed since I’d watched the very people who preached about it die.

Memories of my parents and their dwindling health flooded my mind. I tried to push them aside like I always did, but that was impossible between Kaiden’s presence—which was always a reminder—and his new mate, Kit.

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