After My Alpha Called Me Property, I Walked Away
Chapter 1
The late afternoon sun slanted through the tall windows of Alpha Sebastian's office, casting long shadows across the polished oak floor. I stood by the window, watching pack members bustle in the courtyard below. Six years. Six years I'd been standing in the shadows of this man's life, waiting for him to acknowledge me as more than just his hidden lover.
Sebastian didn't look up from the treaty documents spread across his mahogany desk. His dark hair fell across his forehead as he reviewed the papers, his expression focused and cold. The Alpha of Silver Moon Pack had always been handsome in that dangerous way—all sharp angles and calculated charm—but today, something in his demeanor made my stomach twist with unease.
"Emily," he said finally, setting down his pen. "I need to discuss something important with you."
I turned from the window, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "What is it?"
"Megan Hill's father requires a show of good faith before signing the alliance treaty." Sebastian leaned back in his leather chair, fingers steepled beneath his chin. His gray eyes—the same shade that had once made me weak at the knees—now regarded me with nothing but calculated interest.
"I don't understand," I said softly, though dread was already building in my chest.
Sebastian sighed, as if explaining something simple to a child. "At the Pack Gathering next week, you'll need to make an announcement."
He slid a folded paper across the desk. My fingers trembled slightly as I picked it up and unfolded it.
"I've prepared a script," he continued, his voice casual. "You'll stand on stage with me and declare that we're merely close friends. That you support my courtship of Megan and wish us well."
The words blurred before my eyes. Six years of devotion reduced to a scripted lie.
"This is for the pack's safety," Sebastian added, his tone hardening slightly. "The treaty will strengthen our borders against the rogues. You understand that, don't you?"
I nodded mechanically, unable to form words as my heart shattered into a thousand pieces.
---
That evening, I stood in our kitchen—a kitchen where I'd prepared countless meals for a man who saw me as nothing but a convenience. The knife in my hand moved mechanically as I chopped vegetables for Sebastian's dinner.
Voices drifted from the hallway outside. Sebastian and his Beta, Marcus, were discussing something in low tones.
"The plan is sound," Sebastian was saying. "Once Emily makes the announcement, Megan's father will have no reason to delay signing."
"Are you sure this is necessary?" Marcus's voice held a note of hesitation. "Emily has been with you for years. Don't you think this is cruel?"
I froze, the knife hovering over the cutting board.
"Cruel?" Sebastian laughed, the sound sharp and dismissive. "Emily will do it. She's too weak to leave, and besides, she has nowhere else to go. She's property, not a partner."
The knife clattered from my hand, striking the tile floor with a metallic ring that seemed to echo through my entire body.
Property. Not a partner.
Six years of love, of hope, of believing that someday he would mark me as his mate—all of it had been a delusion.
---
I didn't sleep that night. I lay beside Sebastian, listening to his steady breathing, watching the moonlight play across his face. How many nights had I done this? How many times had I traced the features of a man who saw me as nothing but a possession?
When morning came, Sebastian dressed for his border patrol. Two days, he'd said. Two days to prepare for Megan's arrival.
"Be good while I'm gone," he said, not bothering to kiss me goodbye.
The moment his black SUV cleared the pack house gates, I moved.
From beneath our bed, I pulled out a single duffel bag—packed weeks ago in a moment of desperate intuition. I left behind every designer dress, every piece of jewelry, every gift he'd ever given me.
In the walk-in closet hung dozens of beautiful outfits—all selected to please his eye, all part of the facade I'd maintained for six long years. I didn't take a single one.
My fingers brushed against the bare skin of my neck where a mate mark should have been. Would have been, if he'd ever truly wanted me.
No note. No explanation. Just the sound of my footsteps on the marble floor as I walked out the back servants' entrance.
The forest welcomed me with open arms as I slipped between the trees, heading toward the neutral territory that separated Silver Moon from my birth pack, Riverwood.
Behind me lay six years of wasted love. Ahead lay uncertainty—but also possibility.
I didn't look back.
