The Alpha King’s Broken Mate

Words of ruin

Namiko’s POV

I should have known not to hold on to hope. Hope is such a fragile thing.

It slips into your chest like a seed, rooting in the cracks left by trauma and cold nights. You want to nurture it, to believe in something better. Even when your hands are still shaking from what happened before.

I’d only been in the Alpha King’s pack for a week.

Seven days of uneasy peace. Of walking on eggshells, of learning the language of a man who didn’t know how to touch without bruising, but who had whispered one night, “With you, I want to try.”

And he had tried, there is not a lie there. He did.

Since then, he hadn’t raised his voice, he didn't leave any new scars, Instead, there were quiet moments where he had a hand lingering on my lower back, a softened tone when addressing me, a seat at his right hand during council meetings, even though I should not be there in the first place.

He didn't care that he called me “the half-blood,” behind my back. But I smiled. Because I had made it this far, and the Alpha King was on my side.

That morning, I woke to sunlight and soft sheets, not a locked door or cold floor. A tray of fruit and honeyed bread had been brought up, and the servant who set it down even called me my lady.

So I let myself hope. Foolishly, maybe. But I did.

I dressed carefully in the gown left for me, silver silk, cinched at the waist with a belt shaped like intertwining ropes. My hair fell in soft curls around my shoulders. I didn’t look like the broken girl who had offered herself to the Alpha King in desperation.

I looked like someone worth keeping.

The palace was unusually busy as I stepped into the hall. Guards moved with urgency, servants hurried with downcast eyes, and the scent of unease hung in the ai, making me unease.

Something was happening.

I followed the quiet murmurs toward the courtyard, where I had been told the Alpha King was holding an open forum, something he rarely did, especially since the council had begun to whisper about possible threats outside the northern borders.

I reached the edge of the crowd, standing beneath a stone arch as the Alpha King stood on the raised platform. He wore black from head to toe, his crown gleaming, and his expression was quite unreadable.

And beside him stood a woman.

Tall. Regal. Clad in deep crimson, her eyes sharp like daggers and her lips curled into a smile I didn’t like.

My stomach turned cold. I didn’t need to be told who she was.

Ariana. She fit the description I have heard unwillingly so many times.

The name floated through the palace gossip. His former mistress. The woman who once warmed his bed, who had been cast aside long before I arrived, though no one ever said why. I mean, that would have been the most important thing I would have loved to be aware of. Why she left and why she is here now?

She turned then, and our eyes met. The smile on her face widened.

“Let her through,” she said sweetly, pointing at me. “She’s the one I was speaking of.” Me? What does that even mean? I don't think I have any business whatsoever with her.

The crowd parted around me, All eyes turned to look at me. My skin prickled, I don't still understand what the hell is going on. I didn’t move at first. I couldn't.

The Alpha King’s gaze found mine. There was something dark in his expression, caution, and a little bit of tension.

He doesn't seem like he is angry with me, so maybe I worry for nothing. I forced my legs to move, stepping forward on shaking feet. The sound of whispers filled the air.

“She’s the one?”

“Why would His Majesty allow her to live in the palace?”

I reached the base of the podium and curtsied stiffly.

“Namiko,” Caspian said, his voice low. Cautious. “This is Ariana. She says she has something urgent to share.”

I looked at the woman beside him, and every instinct in my body screamed that she was dangerous, she seemed too calm, too poised and she was not smiling.

“It pains me to bring this forward,” Ariana said, her voice loud enough to surround the whole courtyard, “but I can no longer stay silent. Not when your life is in danger, my King.”

My throat tightened. What is she saying? My heart began to beat heavily in my chest now.

“I’ve seen her before,” she continued, gesturing at me. “Not here, of course. But before she came to your gates. She was with them.”

“Them?” Caspian asked.

“The Northern traitors. The ones who murdered Alpha Theron and took his territory.” She turned her gaze back to me. “She was sent here to finish what they started. To kill you.”

A loud murmur rippled through the court.

“That’s not true,” I whispered, my voice nearly drowned by the growing noise. “I’ve never been to the North.”

“She’s lying!” Ariana cried, her voice suddenly trembling, like she was scared, or pretending to be. “Everything she has ever told you is a lie. She’s not an orphan. She was planted here. She’s a spy. Ask her why she really came to your gates. Ask her who she serves.”

Caspian’s face went blank, not showing any signs of being shocked or being furious. Its just. . . unreadable. Does that mean he doesn't believe her?

“No,” I said firmly, stepping forward. “No, I came here for a job, and for your protection. You know that.”

“I know what you said,” Caspian replied, coldly now. “But what I know and what I believe are becoming two different things.”

My chest tightened. “You promised to try to be soft with me.”

That earned a flicker in his gaze. A c***k is visible, but it's only for a second.

“And softness,” Ariana said, “is how she got close enough to poison you. She’s manipulating you. Every word out of her mouth has been calculated.”

I turned to him, desperation in my voice. “I’ve done nothing but try to survive! I offered myself to you because I had nowhere else to go. If you think I’m lying, then. . . then look into my thoughts. Use the Alpha King bond. You’ll know the truth.”

He didn’t move.

The silence that followed was suffocating.

“Do it,” I begged. “You’ll see I’m telling the truth.”

But he stayed frozen, his jaw tight.

And then, he turned away from me.

“I need time,” he said quietly. “Until then, she is to be confined to the east tower. Under guard.”

I couldn’t breathe. “Caspian. . . ”

“Don’t call me that. I am the Alpha King to you too” That hurt me more than anything, he was withdrawing from me. Are we back to the beginning again?

Two guards stepped forward. I tried not to flinch, I didn't even try to resist. I just search his eyes, I want them to look at me, like he did last night.

“She’s manipulating you,” Ariana whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear. “But it’s not too late to fix your mistake.”

I stared at him, hoping, pleading, for him to look at me. But he wouldn’t.

The guards each took one of my arms.

I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry. I just let them drag me away.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The cell in the east tower wasn’t damp or dark, It was clean, cleaner than the first one I was locked in. But its just as quiet and as cold. That made it worse.

I sat on the stone bench, arms around my knees, trying to keep my breathing steady.

This couldn’t be happening.

Everything I had surprisingly built in my short stay, every sliver of trust, every tiny gesture from the Alpha King that told me I mattered, was being shattered by one woman’s lie. And the worst part? He had believed her.

A small knock echoed at the iron door.

It creaked open, and a young guard stepped inside. His eyes were soft, sympathetic. I guess there were still people who felt for me.

“My lady,” he said, “the King hasn’t made his judgment yet. He ordered you not to be harmed, but you are to remain here.”

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Did he say anything else?”

The guard hesitated. “Only. . . that you should know this won’t last long.”

I wasn’t sure whether that was a promise of release or a warning of execution. When he left, I sat alone in silence, moonlight creeping through the barred window.

I thought of the Alpha King’s eyes, how they looked at me that morning with something close to gentleness.

And then I thought of how quickly that warmth had vanished like it had never been there in the first place.