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My Alpha Humiliated Me in Public, Not Knowing I Controlled His Pack
NovelShort
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My mate’s personal Beta had been using my moon-credit sigil like it was her own hunting allowance. She even sneered and called me a useless ornamental Luna right in the middle of a dining tavern. I ...
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第1章
My mate’s personal Beta had been using my moon-credit sigil like it was her own hunting allowance. She even sneered and called me a useless ornamental Luna right in the middle of a dining tavern.
I was livid. I sealed the sigil immediately, cutting off her access to a single coin of moon-credit. She was left stranded with a massive feast bill. Not only did she humiliate herself before nobles and alphas, but the dining tavern manager detained her in disgrace for a full night and day.
When my mate heard about it, he only flicked my nose with a teasing smile.
“You, getting territorial over a mere aide?” He chuckled. “Now she’s the joke of the whole territory.”
He didn’t scold me, didn’t argue, acted as if nothing had happened. Until my nameday arrived, and he took me to another deluxe dining tavern.
He ordered rare moon-wine, crystal-plated dishes, and enough delicacies to feed an entire hunting party. He said several allied packs would be joining to celebrate.
“Mate, I need to step away for a moment,” he said, brushing my hand. “I’ll be back before the toasts begin.”
I waited.
The moon climbed high. The dining tavern began closing its doors.
He never returned. His guests never arrived.
Then, the moment I took out the moon-credit sigil, the dining tavern manager stiffly bowed and shook his head.
“Luna Ridgefern … your moon-credit sigil has been sealed.”
——
“Sealed?”
Kryden Ridgefern, Alpha of the Ridgefern Clan, had given me that sigil himself. Before we left the den, he had even taken my own moon-credit sigil, saying that on my nameday, it was his duty as my mate to provide.
I had been touched, proud, even, that I had chosen such a considerate Alpha.
Now he was nowhere in the territory. I had sent mind-calls through the bond again and again.
Silence.
If this moon-credit sigil failed, I would be shamed.
The dining tavern manager’s polite mask slipped.
“Do you carry another moon-credit sigil, Luna Ridgefern?”
His tone hardened. “We don't permit unpaid feasts here, especially not after last moon’s incident, you’re aware of that.”
Of course, I was aware.
Last moon, Kryden’s aide had gone wild spending his mon-credit sigil — then spat in my face and called me a decorative Luna with no real authority.
A cold dread crept along my spine.
Was this Kryden’s revenge ... for her?
The sharp click of heels echoed across the marble floor.
I turned.
There stood Kryden — his arm wrapped possessively around his aide, Calista Wildbriar. Her lips curved with cruel satisfaction.
Behind them trailed several high-ranking wolves from his allied packs, all watching me as if I were tonight’s entertainment.
“Arielle,” Calista purred, venom thick in her voice. “You enjoy punishing wolves who can’t cover their debts, don’t you? Let’s see how you enjoy it.”
Laughter spread through the chamber.
“I heard she’s from a weak, low-ranking bloodline. Just got lucky when Alpha Ridgefern marked her.”
“And now look — the Alpha arrives with his new Luna to watch the old one fall apart.”
“Beauty fades. Status fades faster. Once a younger and prettier she-wolf appears, the old one is discarded.”
My claws bit into my palms. Heat and humiliation coiled inside me.
Just as I had feared.
Kryden had arranged this entire humiliation for her.
He led Calista to the most prominent table, pulled back her chair with care, and sat close beside her — as if she belonged there instead of me.
“Don’t worry,” he said loudly, making sure every wolf could hear. “However she shamed you before, I’ll return it to her twice over.”
Calista’s face brightened with triumph. She turned and pressed a bold kiss to his lips.
“Thank you, Kryden.”
Then her gaze sliced toward me.
“Arielle, you’re nothing but a pretty pelt with no power behind. What gave you the right to seal my moon-credit sigil?”
She snatched an expensive crystal bottle of moon-wine from the table and flung it at my feet.
It shattered.
Dark red moon-wine splattered across my face and hair. I stood frozen, drenched and humiliated, looking exactly as pitiful as they wanted.
Calista's laughter rang out. “Pathetic. I have Kryden cover the cost of anything I destroy. But you?” Her laughter turned more vicious. “You’re done.”
第2章
Kryden’s lips curled in mockery. “Quit baring your fangs at me like you want to devour me. If you can pay, then pay and leave.”
A wolf nearby scoffed. “Pay? She couldn’t cover that total even if her life hung on it.”
“The dishes, the rare moon-wine already opened — she couldn’t even dare look at the amount owed.”
“She’s been living off Alpha Ridgefern’s resources all this time, without him, she’s nothing.”
As if determined to strip me of every last shred of dignity, Kryden rose with a frosty chuckle, his sharp eyes scanning the entire chamber.
“Any wolf who steps in to aid Arielle stands against me — and against the Ridgefern Clan.”
Everyone knew the Ridgefern Clan ruled the wealthiest territory in Moonspire Courtlands. No one would risk becoming Kryden’s enemy.
A few trade allies I had once shared friendly hunts with started to stand, clearly intending to help.
But the moment they heard his threat, they dropped back into their seats, eyes lowered, afraid he might notice their hesitation.
“See? Alpha Ridgefern isn’t joking.”
“He’s guarding that little aide harder than he ever guarded his own Luna.”
“Right? I thought, perhaps he was just angry before, but this? This is real.”
“After such a warning, who would dare help her?”
I couldn’t hold back. I lunged forward and caught his arm.
“Kryden, you’d really drag me through the dirt for that plotting little vixen?”
He curled his lip and struck me across the face.
The crack echoed through the dining tavern.
“Yes.”
I faced him again, stunned, hardly able to accept what he had just done.
Three cycles bound as mates. Across the territories, we were known as the perfect pair. He was the one who chased after me when I first came to Moonspire Courtlands.
At our mating ceremony, he vowed before the Moon Goddess — that he would stay loyal for life, that he would love me until his last breath.
And now? Only three cycles later, every vow, every splendid memory, shattered by his cruelty.
Just as the whispers used to say: If you enter a powerful clan with nothing but beauty, and you’ll never earn true respect. The moment a younger, prettier, and more ambitious she-wolf appears, your place is gone.
However, Kryden never realized. When I joined the Ridgefern Clan, it wasn’t for status or wealth.
I chose him because I loved him.
He met my reddened eyes, then pulled out a napkin and turned aside, wiping the hand that struck me as if ridding himself of contamination.
“You knew I favored her, yet you chose to humiliate her.”
“Arielle, if you can't pay what you owe, I’ll order the the dining tavern manager to tear that gown from you and throw you out into the streets.”
The chamber exploded with murmurs and cruel laughter. The gathered wolves stared at me, their expressions dripping with scorn and predatory curiosity.
“Alpha Ridgefern is really going all the way — making his own Luna run out bare for the new favorite.”
“Unbelievable.”
“She won’t be Luna for much longer. After tonight, she’ll be nothing.”
“Quiet — I want to see how this ends.”
The older merchant wolves watched with open amusement.
“Let’s see if she’s as impressive as her pride suggests.”
My face burned hotter than fire.
Before we left the den, Kryden had taken my own moon-credit sigil without warning.
I had only the elegant dress on my body. I had no means to pay.
And my crystal communicator was out of power.
Then I knew, Kryden had set this up perfectly.
“It’s getting late, Arielle. They’re waiting for you to pay so they can close.”
第3章
“Or you're saying you can’t even pay, seriously!”
“What a joke — getting seized and dragged to the hunt patrol den for dodging a debt — isn’t that the same trick you pulled on me once?”
Calista drew a slim moonleaf cigarette from a case, set it between her lips, and sparked it with a flick of ember magic. She exhaled the smoke straight into my face, her smile thick with superiority.
I reacted without thinking—my hand flew up and struck her hard across the cheek.
The table overturned, dishes shattered, the entire dining tavern dissolved into noise.
Kryden hurried to Calista, then barked an order at his Omega. Before I could move, they seized my arms and slammed me onto the stone floor.
“Arielle, that’s enough!”
“So you get to trample whoever you want, and no one’s allowed to bare their fangs back?”
I shot Kryden a blazing look. The Ridgeferns’ explosive rise to power across Moonspire Courtlands over the past three cycles wasn’t luck—it was me. I used the alliances my bloodline possessed to pave their way. Even the shadow packs that once sought to challenge them backed off—because they knew exactly who stood behind the Ridgeferns.
Tonight, on my bornday, I had planned to tell Kryden the truth. That I wasn’t some stray with no roots. That I was heir to one of Celestdawn Crest’s Four Great Clans.
I intended to lead him home to my pack’s territory to meet my mother and father.
I never thought his devotion would fade in an instant.
I had been wrong about him. I thought he had more honor than this.
“Kryden, are you truly going to let me walk out in disgrace?”
He gave a cold, humorless laugh. “What did you expect? You expected me setting this up for nothing?”
With the guard protecting her, Calista struck me across the face. “You filthy stray. Choose—get dragged to the hunting patrol den for unpaid dues, or strip bare, clamp this meat between your teeth, and crawl out on all fours like the mongrel you are.”
She bared her teeth in a grin. “The difference is simple. The first, you keep your clothes. And the second, you lose your clothes and your pride. Hurry up and decide — I’m bored.”
Every pair of eyes in the chamber was fixed on me, eager for a show.
I slowly clenched my fists, my knuckles paled, and looked at Kryden with empty, frozen eyes.
“Fine. If this is your decision, then when the Ridgeferns falls into ruin, remember—you chose it.”
The instant the words left me, Calista erupted into laughter.
“Ha! Did you all hear that?”
"She thinks she's living in romantic pack tale? The secret heiress?"
"She's out of her mind."
Kryden’s gaze darkened. To him, my words were nothing but a lie.
He snatched a platter from the table and flung it at me. “Enough of your nonsense. You think you can drive the Ridgefern Clan into ruin? Who do you think you are?”
“Concern yourself with your own failing territory first.”
“Manager!”
The dining tavern manager approached, and the guards accompanied behind him. His tone remained calm but cold. "Luna Ridgefern, will you be paying your tab yourself, or shall we await someone to settle it for you?”
I swept my gaze across the chamber and found a she-wolf I recognized—a trade ally I had once negotiated territory agreements with for the Ridgefern Clan.
I moved in her direction.
The instant she saw me, she jolted from her seat and backed away.
“Arielle, don’t come closer—I can’t pay for you—”
“Calm down. I’m not asking you for payment. I just need your crystal communicator.”
“Please. I’ll call someone to bring payment.”
Calista’s laughter rang sharply through the chamber. “How amusing! Tell me, which wolf in Moonspire Courtlands would be bold enough to come settle your payment?”
She flicked her hand carelessly. "Fine, let her try. Thirty minutes. If no one comes to settle her payment—” She nodded toward the heavyset merchants eyeing me greedily. "They can strip her themselves — a woman who’s warmed the bed of a powerful Alpha in Moonspire Courtlands should be worth trying, right?"