My Alpha Ordered My Heart Cut Out for His Mistress Chapter 02

My Alpha Ordered My Heart Cut Out for His Mistress Chapter 02

The forest floor tore at my bare feet as I ran, each step sending shards of pain up my legs. Three years of silver poisoning had left my body a shell of what it once was, but the survival instinct burned hotter than any wolfsbane.

Behind me, the howls grew closer. Shadow Creek trackers, hunting me like an animal.

“Find her!” Paxton’s Alpha command thundered through the pack link, his fury vibrating in every word. “She’s a traitor to our pack!”

I stumbled over roots and rocks, my lungs burning. The silver burns on my wrists throbbed with each heartbeat, a constant reminder of what I’d endured. But worse than the physical pain was Arlo’s face-my son, spitting on me, calling me a rogue bitch.

“Mom, is she going to die soon?” His words echoed in my mind, sharper than any silver blade.

The trees thinned ahead, moonlight gleaming off water. The river. If I could reach it…

A massive wolf burst through the underbrush to my right-a Delta tracker. I veered left, but another appeared, cutting off my path. I was being herded toward the cliff edge overlooking the

river.

“Corner her!” someone shouted.

I scrambled up the rocky incline, my fingers clawing at stone. Below me, the river churned black and cold, dividing Shadow Creek territory from the neutral lands of the Lycan Council.

A familiar scent hit me-Arlo. My son’s wolf form emerged from the trees, his teeth bared as he snapped at my heels.

“You’re not my mother,” he growled, his young Alpha voice cutting through me. “You’re nothing.”

I reached the cliff edge, nowhere left to run. The river below looked impossibly far away, the current swift and deadly.

“Jump,” I whispered to myself. “Or die here.”

I leapt.

The wind rushed past me as I plummeted toward the dark water. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs, the cold shocking my system. I surfaced gasping, my body already going

numb.

“Stop her!” Paxton’s roar echoed across the water.

I forced my leaden limbs to move, swimming toward the opposite bank. Behind me, I heard splashing-someone had followed me into the water.

A figure crawled onto the shore ahead-me, dragging myself from the river. Everything blurred as I collapsed onto the muddy bank, coughing up water.

peared before me, polished and gleaming in the moonlight. I looked up to see a patrol

s in Lycan Council uniforms, their leader a tall figure silhouetted against the night sky.

Apna Paxton demands the return of his property,” a voice called from the water’s edge.

I recognized that voice-Paxton himself had waded into the river.

With the last of my strength, I raised my head. “I invoke the ancient Lycan Clause of Sanctuary,” I rasped. “I accuse Alpha Paxton Meyer of conspiracy to murder his mate.”

Silence fell. Then the leader of the patrol stepped forward, his face coming into view-sharp features, eyes like steel.

“I am High Enforcer Forest Hoffman,” he said, his voice deep and measured. “And you are?”

“Elena Evans,” I whispered. “Former Luna of Shadow Creek Pack.”

Forest knelt beside me, his gaze taking in the silver burns on my wrists, the emaciated state of my body. “These are silver scars.”

“Yes,” I managed.

He stood, drawing his weapon-an ornate silver pistol that gleamed in the moonlight. “By the authority of the Lycan Council, I forbid you from crossing this river, Alpha Paxton.”

“You can’t do this!” Paxton roared. “She’s mine!”

“She has invoked sanctuary,” Forest replied coldly. “And she bears the marks of silver torture. This requires investigation.”

“The silver poisoning is extensive,” the healer said, her gentle hands probing the scars that mapped my body. “Three years of exposure, at least.”

I lay on a examination table in Forest’s estate, my body finally warming after the river crossing. Around me, medical equipment beeped softly, monitoring my vital signs.

Forest stood nearby, his expression unreadable. “And the other injuries?”

“Malnutrition, dehydration, extensive bruising…” The healer shook her head. “It’s remarkable she

survived at all.”

‘my eyes, gathering strength. When I opened them again, Forest was watching me with

that might have been suspicion.

uld I believe you?” he asked quietly. “An Alpha accusing his mate of attempted murder a serious charge.”

I met his gaze steadily. “Because I know about the accounts.”

His eyebrow raised slightly. “What accounts?”

“Paxton has been embezzling pack funds for years,” I said, my voice stronger now. “Hidden accounts, offshore transfers. As Luna, I managed the books before… before everything happened.”

Forest’s expression changed subtly. “You have proof of this?”

I nodded, though my heart sank at what I was about to reveal. “The pack’s financial records show regular transfers to an account under the name ‘C.R. Holdings.’ Chloe Russell’s initials.”

Something flickered in Forest’s eyes-interest, perhaps even belief.

“And you know this because…?”

“Because before they took everything from me,” I whispered, “I was the one who balanced those

books.”