The Traitor Alpha's Daughter

You Were Meant for More

Alina’s POV

“Come on, baby. I said I’m sorry.”

I stare out the windshield, trying to ignore him—trying to ignore everything. Was it really just this morning that Mr. Evans stuck his knee between my legs? Did my boyfriend really just almost snap a human’s neck in the carpool lane?

Did my boyfriend really just punch me in front of half the school?

Am I really surprised by any of it anymore?

“You shouldn’t have done it,” Noah says. “Stopped me like that. You’re supposed to be on my side, no matter what.”

“I was trying to help you.” Not exactly the truth—I was more concerned with helping the poor, defenseless new kid who nearly died because of me—but he doesn’t need to know that. “I know you have power in this town, but it has its limits. First-degree murder in front of witnesses wouldn’t be easy to defend in court.”

“I wasn’t going to kill him. I was just teaching him a lesson.”

I cross my arms and sink deeper into the seat of his stupid Camaro. I like a nice, old-school Camaro—you know, the classic models rehabbed from a better time—but these shiny, new ones just look like Transformers to me. “We barely said two sentences to each other, Noah. The guys are just stirring up trouble.”

“The guys are my future Beta and Delta,” he snaps. “And I trust them with my life.”

“And me?” I demand. “You don’t trust me?”

He doesn’t answer that, of course. He doesn’t have an answer to that. Whether he trusts me or not is irrelevant. I’m his property to do with what he pleases, and if his pleasure is to keep me from speaking to men, well, so be it.

I know what you’re thinking—then why stay with him, Alina? Surely there are better guys out there for you.

Well, the answer is complicated. It has a little to do with my dead father, the disgraced Alpha of our pack; it has a little to do with my mother, who’s so miserable and ashamed, she’s nearly drunk herself into a coma; and it has a little to do with my pack, who would exile me if I ever even thought about rejecting their Alpha. Plus, you know, the stuff I mentioned earlier about the slimeballs leaving me alone because of who my boyfriend is.

“Just give it time,” Alice always tells me. “When you turn eighteen, none of this will matter anymore. Your wolf will wake up and fall so hard for him, you’ll forget you ever had doubts. And then you'll be our Luna.”

In all likelihood, she’s right. I’ve got old Alpha’s blood; he’s got new Alpha’s blood. His wolf already chose me; it only makes sense that mine should reciprocate.

A part of me hopes she’s right. At least some part of me would love him in that scenario. At least my life would be that much more bearable.

A part of me doesn’t, though. Accepting Noah as my true mate would be the final lock that imprisoned me here, with this traitorous pack of dogs, forever. The other part of me hopes my wolf will fall for a human, instead—one I could leave this godforsaken town with. One I could build a new life with.

It’ll never happen, of course. I could never leave my mother after everything that’s happened. And my father’s disappointment from beyond the grave would surely haunt me if I left his pack behind.

You were meant for more, Alina, I often hear him say in my head. It’s not really him, of course; it’s just what I know he’d be thinking if he could see me now. It’s what he would have thought if he saw me at Mr. Evans’ desk; it’s what he would have thought if he saw Noah hit me today.

But it’s also what he’d think if I left the pack.

So what the hell am I supposed to do?

If you have any suggestions, I’m all ears.

- - - - -

I feel Wren’s gaze on me constantly over the next few days, but I avoid him at all costs. The humiliation of knowing he saw Noah hit me is bad enough, but the fact that talking to him means endangering his life is obviously worse.

Unfortunately, on Friday afternoon, an interaction happens... well... organically.

It’s really all Kat Morrison’s fault. If there’s anyone I despise here at Winder High... well, there are a lot of people, actually, but Kat Morrison is by far the worst—and not just because she’s from the vampire coven responsible for my father’s murder.

She’s been buddying up to Wren all week, much to my annoyance. I considered warning him about her, but given that my speaking to him would only endanger him further, I refrained.

And that about catches us up to now, when Marc and Brett decide do their own kind of warning.

It happens after school. Noah usually comes to pick me up, but he’s away for the day on pack business, which means Alice and I are carpooling instead. (I can’t afford a car. I can’t afford much of anything. Mom burned through all the money Dad left us in the first few years.) Just before we reach Alice’s car, I hear something in the distance—the sound of a fight.

“s**t,” I mutter to Alice. “That’s Brett and Marc.”

And Wren, I think grimly. But I don’t say it.

I sprint off in the direction of the noise, making it only a few dozen yards into the woods before I see Marc and Brett attempting to pummel Wren—and Wren doing a surprisingly decent job of defending himself.

“Stay away from her!” Brett is shouting. “And stay away from her friends!”

I heave a dramatic sigh as I shove Brett off him. Marc moves to deck me—a move that he surely would have paid for later—but I duck beneath his fist and return with a sharp punch to his gut.

“Enough!” Alice shouts, sounding exasperated. “Didn’t Noah say Wren has a week of grace?”

“This isn’t about Alina,” growls Brett, glaring at me. “It’s about Kat.”

“Did you want to provide me with a list of girls I can’t talk to?” grumbles Wren as he catches his breath. “Or do you expect me to just avoid them altogether?”

“You clearly haven’t been doing your homework,” sneers Marc, “or you wouldn’t be speaking to us that way.”

“Guys,” I say to Marc and Brett, crossing my arms. “This is ridiculous. If Kat’s talking to him, it’s only to get to you. Don’t give her the satisfaction.”

To get to you, or to get in his pants, I add grimly to myself. But I won’t say it out loud. Frankly, the thought makes me feel strangely... jealous.

Marc and Brett exchange a glance. Finally, Brett sighs. “Fine. We’ll drop it for now. But if he doesn’t get his s**t together by Monday...” He shakes his head at Wren. “It’ll get worse, man. Much worse.”

“Noted,” Wren says through clenched teeth. “Can you go now?”

The boys glance at me and Alice as if waiting for us to lead the way, but I plant my feet firmly in the ground. “Go. We’ll be out in a minute.”

They clearly don’t like the command, but just as they have some power over me because I’m the shunned Omega, I also have a sliver of power over them because I’m their future Luna. So, reluctantly, they leave.

I glance at Alice, who looks hesitant. She can tell I want a minute alone with Wren, but she knows it’s not a good idea.

“It’s okay,” I promise her. “I’ll meet you at the car.”

She gives a reluctant nod, waits until she can see the boys driving off in their Wrangler, and then heads for the parking lot.

“So,” I say to Wren when it’s finally just the two of us. “We should probably talk.”