My Fated Alphas Cruel Game novel Chapter 1

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1 Chapter 1 Unexpected Mate Bond

1 Chapter 1 Unexpected Mate Bond

Elena’s POV 1

Status in a wolf pack means everything. It determines your home, your opportunities, your entire future. I understood this truth intimately because I had experienced both sides of that reality. Years ago, my life was completely different. Back then, my father served as the head warrior, second only to the Alpha himself. We lived in comfort, respected by everyone in the pack, with privileges that came naturally with our high rank.

Then everything changed in a single night. My father died protecting the Alpha during a rogue attack, and suddenly our family meant nothing to the pack leadership. The gratitude we expected never came. Instead, we became invisible, forgotten, discarded like yesterday’s news.

My mother had never worked before meeting her mate as a young woman. She devoted herself to raising me while dad provided for our family. She was content with that life, happy to be a traditional pack mate and mother. But when the grief hit her, when she lost her other half, everything fell apart. I still marvel at how she survived losing her mate. The mate bond is supposed to be unbreakable, and when it shatters through death, most wolves don’t recover.

Yet somehow, my mother found the strength to keep going. She became the strongest woman I have ever known, especially after losing our house, our car, our entire comfortable existence. We were stripped of everything and relocated to the outskirts of pack territory, ranked even lower than omegas. My mother now works multiple dead–end jobs just to pay the ridiculously inflated bills that the Alpha assigns to families like ours, desperately trying to keep food on our table.

But I can see the toll it has taken on her. She barely eats anymore, works herself to exhaustion, and neglects her own wellbeing completely. The current Alpha, who inherited his position from his father, proves just as ruthless and arrogant as his predecessor. He shows no mercy toward families who have fallen from grace,

My mother constantly encourages me to leave this pack once I reach adulthood. She wants me to find my own path in life, somewhere far from here, so I won’t suffer the same fate that has befallen her. She dreams of a better future for me, even if she cannot escape her own circumstances.

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1 Chapter 1 Unexpected Mate Bond

This morning, I woke up on the threadbare couch that serves as my bed and immediately noticed the heavy rain pounding against our trailer windows. The weather perfectly matched my mood as I realized today would bring nothing but

trouble.

I stumbled toward the kitchen for coffee when something caught my attention. Fresh wildflowers sat in a small vase on our tiny table, accompanied by a handwritten note.

Happy Birthday Elena. I’m sorry I can’t be here to celebrate with you today, but I hope you have a wonderful day. You’re finally an adult. I can’t believe how quickly you’ve grown up. I love you more than words can express. Love, Mom.

“She really does love us unconditionally,” my wolf Tara commented softly in my mind.

“Of course she does,” I replied, touched by the simple gesture despite our difficult

circumstances.

“Are you going to eat something more substantial than just coffee?” Tara asked with

concern.

“Actually, yes,” I answered, opening a drawer to retrieve a stolen packet of cigarettes. I positioned myself beside the kitchen window and lit one up, inhaling deeply.

“I still cannot believe you took those from the store. If anyone catches you, the Alpha will throw you in the dungeon without hesitation,” Tara warned nervously.

“Would you please relax? Nobody witnessed anything,” I assured her.

“You were incredibly fortunate,” she muttered disapprovingly.

I walked to the bedroom where our single closet stood and rifled through my meager clothing options. I selected a pair of well–worn jeans with frayed edges, a simple black t–shirt, and my sturdy black boots. After grabbing my school bag and pulling on a raincoat, I left the trailer that my mother and I reluctantly called home.

The walk to school took quite a while because pack leadership wanted undesirable families like ours positioned as far from civilization as possible. We lived in complete isolation, just inside the tree line with no neighbors and minimal patrol coverage. The pack preferred to forget we existed entirely.

By the time I reached school, I felt completely soaked and miserable. I removed my dripping raincoat, shoved it into my locker, and began gathering books for my first class. Only minutes remained before the bell would ring.

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1 Chapter 1 Unexpected Mate Bond

I heard approaching footsteps echoing down the hallway and turned to identify the source. A group of students walked toward me, including several former friends who now treated me like garbage since my family’s social decline. Being ranked below omegas made us pariahs in their eyes.

As they passed my locker, the leader deliberately slammed his shoulder into me, causing my face to smash against the metal door. The group erupted in laughter while continuing down the hall, but I pulled back and felt warm blood trickling near my eye.

“Asshole,” I muttered under my breath, but apparently not quietly enough.

The entire group stopped and turned back toward me with hostile expressions.

“What did you just call me?” Brock demanded aggressively.

“You heard me perfectly,” I replied without backing down.

He handed his bag to a friend and approached me menacingly. He attempted to intimidate me with his height, but since I stood six feet one inch tall, few people could actually look down on me physically.

“You should be extremely careful who you speak to like that. Maybe we should go behind the gymnasium and see what everyone talks about. I heard you would do anything for a free meal,” he said disgustingly while brushing hair from my face.

I slapped his hand away immediately, which prompted him to grab both my arms and slam me backward against the lockers. A crowd began gathering around us, sensing potential drama.

“Don’t ever touch me again, you piece of trash. I outrank you significantly,” he snarled.

“Go straight to hell,” I growled back defiantly.

He slapped me hard across the face, and when I turned back toward him, I wiped blood from my mouth.

“You worthless slut,” he spat venomously.

“You know what your biggest problem is right now?” I asked calmly.

“And what might that be?” he replied arrogantly.

“You’re standing way too close,” I said before headbutting him directly in the nose.

He stumbled backward several steps, releasing his grip on my arms. Blood immediately began pouring from his broken nose as he lifted his head in shock.

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< 1 Chapter 1 Unexpected Mate Bond

“You’re going to pay dearly for that,” he threatened while rushing toward me again.

But I quickly stepped aside and grabbed his hair, slamming his head into the lockers before driving my knee into his stomach. While he doubled over in pain, I kneed him in the face, sending him crashing to the floor unconscious.

His friends looked ready to attack me collectively, and I prepared for a group fight. After all, wolves always hunt in packs.

“What the hell is happening down here?” Principal Brooks’s booming voice echoed from the hallway’s far end.

The gathered crowd scattered instantly, leaving only me, unconscious Brock, and his closest friends behind.

“I asked a direct question. What is going on here?” Brooks demanded again.

“Isn’t it completely obvious? That worthless trash attacked Brock unprovoked,” Sloane declared. She was Brock’s girlfriend and my former best friend who had abandoned our friendship when my family lost status.

“Please help him up and take him to the nurse immediately. He’s bleeding all over my floor,” Brooks instructed Brock’s friends, who quickly carried him away.

Brooks approached me and attempted intimidation through his physical presence, but like Brock, he lacked the height advantage.

“What explanation do you have for yourself?” he asked sternly.

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