After My Alpha Replaced Me With His First Love

The morning sun didn't bring warmth; it only illuminated the wreckage of my life. I hadn't slept, my eyes swollen and gritty as I stared at the ceiling of the servant's quarters. I had been moved there overnight, my belongings tossed into a single cardboard box.

Before I could even process the demotion, the door banged open. Gamma Marcus stood there, a smirk playing on his lips. "Get dressed, Omega. Alpha Dante requires your presence."

I wanted to refuse. I wanted to scream that I knew everything, that I had seen the messages. But the Alpha command still held a terrifying sway over my wolf. She was weak, submissive by nature, and the mere thought of disobeying an Alpha made her whimper in my chest.

I put on the plain gray dress Marcus threw at me and followed him to the waiting black SUV. Dante sat in the back, looking devastatingly handsome in a charcoal suit. Beside him, Paige glowed in emerald silk, her hand resting possessively on his knee.

"Get in the front," Dante ordered without looking at me. His voice was flat, devoid of the warmth I had deluded myself into hearing for seven years.

We drove in silence to the neutral territory auction house. It was a place of opulence, filled with Alphas and high-ranking wolves from across the continent. I kept my head down, trying to make myself invisible, but Dante had other plans.

"Sit here," he commanded, pointing to the chair between him and the aisle.

The auction began, a parade of rare artifacts and enchanted jewelry. I watched apathetically until the auctioneer unveiled Lot 42: The Amulet of the Ancients. It was a heavy, blackened silver piece pulsing with a chaotic, red energy.

My breath hitched. During my secret studies with Wren, the rogue healer, I had read about this. It was a cursed object, known to amplify an Alpha's aura but at the cost of their sanity. It made wolves unstable. Dangerous.

"Dante," I whispered, forgetting my place for a second. "That amulet... it's not safe. The energy is corrupted."

Dante turned to me, his eyes cold chips of ice. "I didn't ask for your opinion, Omega. I asked for your obedience."

He shoved a bidding paddle into my hand. "Bid. Keep bidding until no one else dares raise their hand."

My fingers trembled as I gripped the plastic handle. The price skyrocketed—fifty thousand, one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand. Every time I raised the paddle, whispers rippled through the room. They were looking at me—the Omega in the servant's dress, spending a fortune.

"Going once, going twice... Sold! To the lady in gray!" the auctioneer boomed.

The room applauded politely. I felt sick.

Dante stood up, his Alpha aura flaring, silencing the room instantly. He looked down at me, his voice booming for everyone to hear. "Hand it over, Dalia."

I picked up the heavy box the attendant brought over.

"Give it to Paige," Dante commanded, his voice dripping with disdain. "An Omega has no need for power; she only exists to serve her betters."

The humiliation crashed over me like a tidal wave. Laughter tittered through the crowd. I was just a prop. A joke. With shaking hands, I extended the box to Paige.

"Thank you, sweetie," she cooed, her nails digging into my palm as she snatched the box. "It's perfect."

The drive back was a blur of misery. I stared out the window, a hollow ache expanding in my chest. I thought I had reached the bottom, but Dante was determined to show me there were basements beneath hell.

Two days later, I was summoned to the garden. Paige was holding court with three other high-ranking females, laughing over tea and delicate pastries. Dante stood nearby, leaning against a trellis, watching Paige with an adoration that made my stomach turn.

"Oh, Dalia!" Paige called out, her voice syrupy sweet. "Come join us. We were just discussing the upcoming mating ceremony."

"I have work to do, Luna," I said, keeping my eyes on the grass.

"Nonsense," she chirped. She poured a cup of tea from a separate, ornate porcelain pot. "Drink with us. It's a special blend."

She held the cup out. The steam wafted toward me, and my wolf instantly recoiled. Beneath the floral aroma of jasmine, there was a sharp, metallic tang.

Wolfsbane.

Even a small amount could cause excruciating pain. For someone with a weak wolf like mine, it could be lethal. I was deathly allergic; Dante knew this. Seven years ago, I had broken out in hives just from touching a contaminated flower. He had spent the night putting cold compresses on my skin.

"I... I can't," I stammered, backing away. "Please, Paige. I'm allergic."

Paige's smile didn't waver, but her eyes hardened. "Are you refusing a kindness from your future Luna? That's very disrespectful, Dalia."

I looked at Dante, pleading silently. *Help me. Please, you know what this will do.*

Dante pushed off the trellis. He didn't look concerned. He looked bored.

"Drink it, Dalia," he said, his voice dropping into that Alpha tone that vibrated in my bones. "Don't be rude to your future Luna."

"Dante, please—"

"**Drink.**"

The command slammed into me, hijacking my motor functions. My hand moved against my will, reaching out to take the delicate china cup. My wolf howled in terror, clawing at the inside of my chest, but the Alpha order was absolute.

Tears streamed down my face as I lifted the cup to my lips. Paige watched with a predatory gleam, her chin resting on her hand.

I swallowed.

The liquid burned like molten lead. My throat instantly constricted. The cup shattered on the patio stones as I fell to my knees, clutching my throat. Air. I needed air. My vision swam, black spots dancing before my eyes as my airways swelled shut.

Through the haze, I heard laughter.

"Look at her," Paige giggled. "So dramatic."

I clawed at the grass, my lungs burning, my heart thundering an erratic, dying rhythm. I looked up one last time. Dante was just watching. He stood there, hands in his pockets, watching me suffocate on the patio of the home I used to think was ours.

Darkness rushed in, claiming me, and the last thing I felt was the cold realization that my death would mean nothing to them.