Page 3 of Betrayed By the Alpha Wolf

I could, of course, add myself to that list. I wasn’t happy with how things had ended between Kenzie and me. I’d sensed it, after all. But I was too busy, thrust into pack business that took precedence, to think about a mate. I didn’t have time. I was a new Beta, tracking down the rogue wolves who’d betrayed us and looking after Jet’s twins, and then Kaiden’s new pack was attacked.

Who in their right mind would have thought that was a good time for dating?

My wolf howled in my blood, and the voice that I’d successfully ignored for months now rang out in my head.

Mate. Your mate. And you turned her away. Wrong. So very wrong. Get our mate back—now.

I was pretty sure I was going to be sick, or I needed a drink. Hell, it was probably both, and the only good thing about today was that I was expected to get drunk. Sure, it was supposed to be celebratory, but no one needed to know.

No one needed to know any of it—the rejection, the plan not properly to claim her, or how every moment I breathed was one spent conflicted and uselessly torn.

I’d done some shit stuff when I was younger. Kaiden and I had picked on Kit mercilessly, but we’d made amends for that. After everything, I thought I would be free of this feeling that kept me awake at night, forcing me to shift and run through the woods to clear my head.

It hadn’t.

Because above all else, whenever I looked at Kenzie or the thought of her crossed my mind, what I felt was guilt—and the aching need to take it all back.

But that’s not how life worked, and if I was going to be Alpha, I needed to accept that sometimes you put the good of the pack before your own happiness.

And your mate’s.

Chapter 1 - Kenzie

It had been a handful of days since the mating reveal ceremony—I explicitly told Senna and Jet that I did not want to go. I wasn’t sure if Jet understood what had happened between Grayson and me, but Senna knew, and I was still pretty upset that she’d insisted I go.

Clearly, she was playing matchmaker.

Not that it mattered. Mate or not, Grayson had been pretty damn clear about what he wanted from our relationship, and that was nothing.

Worse, of course, was now that the ceremony had been performed, I was getting roped into his ploy to become Alpha, whether I wanted it or not, which I didn’t.

Grayson could go off and do his Alpha bullshit without me. I could continue to exist in excruciating pain because he’d rejected me. I’d get used to it.

You’ve also learned that drugs help, so there’s that.

As if on cue, a flare rocketed up from beneath my ribs, and I hissed as I pitched forward. I needed more of the little concoction I’d made for myself so I could withstand the rejection wounds.

Hopefully, I wouldn’t have to use the stuff forever, but I was prepared to do whatever it took to keep myself mobile and Grayson at arm’s length.

“Bastard hasn’t even said anything to me. Not once.”

Grumbling to myself wasn’t going to help, but there was little that would, so it would do for now. Walking over to my dresser, I pulled open the top drawer and removed the capsulesof herbal mixture I’d created to dull the effects of Grayson’s actions.

It wasn’t a fool-proof system, but taking them helped, and I hadn’t seen any problematic side effects.

Well, except the one.

Dulling the pain had also meant dulling my focus to a degree. It had become a lot harder to say no to things, and concentrating for longer than a few hours was nearly impossible.

But again, at least I wasn’t in agonizing pain.

I knew that the rejection would die off on its own as well, but I wasn’t about to hole myself up in a box for the next two months to ride it out.

Knock, knock, knock.

Popping one of the pills in my mouth, I looked over at the door. There was one of three people standing on the other side of that door because no one else had any reason to bother me, and I didn’t want to talk to any of them.

Retrieving my water bottle from my nightstand, I swallowed a gulp to take my “medicine.” Then I called out.

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