After Leaving the Alpha, I Took Everything Back

My own father branded me as a sacrificial lamb to pay off my sister’s debt.

Then my fiancé called me “damaged goods” and traded me for her.

I am Aria, the disgraced heir of the Darkmoon Pack.

My birthright was scorched from my skin before the entire clan.

My sister’s tears cost me everything—my status, my future, my dignity.

Sent as a hostage to our enemies, I discovered her betrayal was only the beginning.

Now, stripped of my name and my past, I will rise from the ashes of their deceit.

In the court of the Silverfang Alpha, I am not a pawn.

I am a weapon they forged themselves. And I will make them all bleed.

……

My inheritance mark was seared and stripped away before the entire tribe, replaced with the humiliating brand of a sacrificial offering.

The smell of flame scorching skin filled my nostrils as I knelt on the cold stone ground, listening to my father—Michael, the Alpha of the Darkmoon Tribe—announce his decision to the gathered pack.

In five days, the wolves from Silverfang Tribe would come to take me away, until they repaid their debt of moonstones.

I lifted my head. My mother, Elara, stood at my father's side, avoiding my gaze.

Emily nestled beside her, fresh and gleaming sacred oil smeared across her forehead.

That was the symbol of the "Protected One," which should have been mine. After the ceremony ended, I walked toward them. Several tribespeople stepped back, their expressions complicated.

Father was stroking Emily's hair, his voice carrying a gentleness I hadn't heard in ages.

"After the snow melts in spring, the deer herds will return from the north. You can choose the first hunting party."

"Can I really, Dad?" Emily's voice was soft and sweet, trembling just right.

"Of course you can." Mother chimed in, draping a cloak over Emily's shoulders. "You've always been our pride."

They looked like a real family. Warm. Complete.

And I had just been publicly branded with a silver blade, the moon mark on my forehead—the symbol of the heir—burned away.

My skin still burned with pain, but they were already discussing the deer hunting season.

The debt was Emily's doing.

She'd insisted on leading the team transporting moonstones through the Black Forest, saying she wanted to prove herself. The result was an "ambush," the stones were lost, and she dragged herself back with an injured leg.

Silverfang Tribe demanded equivalent compensation, but Father had just used the tribe's reserves to acquire two border outposts.

So the opposing Alpha proposed: a direct blood relative as hostage, until the debt was cleared.

Whoever caused the trouble should pay for it—that was the wolves' ancient law.

But Emily cried. She displayed her wounds, she had nightmares every night.

Father softened.

"Aria is stronger," Father had said to me this morning. "She can protect herself. Emily... she's too fragile."

My fiancé Damian, the marriage representative sent by Graymane Tribe, also nodded in agreement.

"You're a born warrior. Silverfang Tribe won't be stupid enough to harm a valuable hostage."

A valuable hostage. The phrase made me want to laugh.

Did they really think the enemy would be polite?

Silver torture, dignity trampled, even forced marking... which one was impossible?

Just because she could cry, because her leg was broken, so I had to bear all the consequences?

But I didn't argue. After all these years, I should have understood: in Father's eyes, Emily's tears weighed more than my blood.

Fine then.

I would take what I'd saved for myself—the herbs hidden in tree hollows, the secret paths recorded on leather scrolls, and the names of a few warriors still loyal to me.

I would go as a hostage.

At the same time, I would find out what really happened in the Black Forest.

If Emily's wounds were as suspect as her tears... I would deliver the evidence into the right hands.

A final gift. I wanted to see what expression they'd wear when the perfect mask was torn away.

Father noticed me, his expression immediately turning cold. "If you're here to complain that the ceremony was too harsh, shut up. This is for the tribe's dignity."

Mother hesitated, then finally sighed. "Aria, just this once, sacrifice for the family. Emily has already paid her price."

Emily began sobbing on cue, clutching Mother's arm. "It's my fault... Sister must hate me, and rightfully so... I don't deserve to live..."

"Don't talk nonsense." Mother held her tighter, glaring at me. "Look at her! She's already suffering so much! Can't you have some compassion?"

In the past, I would have roared. I would have said rules are rules, and mistakes must be punished. But now?

"I came to say," my voice was so calm it surprised even me, "I accept the hostage position. I'll go."

Mother froze. Father narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing me.

Emily's crying stopped abruptly. She blinked, as if not understanding.

"Also," I continued, unfastening a string of bone keys from my waist, "starting tomorrow, I'm relinquishing management of Howling Cliff outpost. Giving it to Emily."

Father's eyes lit up for a moment. He'd brought it up many times. "Aria, Emily needs substantive responsibilities to build authority. Give the outpost to your sister, and later I'll assign you more important territory." That's what he always said.

Howling Cliff controlled the eastern pass, a crucial point for trade and defense. Give it to Emily? Someone who couldn't even remember the patrol rotation schedule?

But it didn't matter anymore. I was leaving and not coming back. Whether the outpost survived or fell, what did it matter to me? Let Father see firsthand how capable his precious daughter really was.

"Really?" Emily blurted out, then covered her mouth, tears welling up again. "No... Sister, that's your life's work... I can't..."

"You can." Father stated firmly, taking the keys and pressing them into her hands. "You deserve it. You're my daughter."

I pulled out two blood contract scrolls from my pouch. One was the hostage agreement—I used my nail to slice my thumb and pressed down my blood seal. The other was the outpost transfer deed, which I also sealed with blood.

"Emily," I pushed the transfer contract toward her, "your blood seal. Then it's yours."

Emily's fingers trembled as she cut and pressed. Blood seeped into the leather fibers. Father smiled, Mother gently stroked her back.

I smiled too. A cold sense of relief spread through my limbs.

The burden was lifted. From this moment, the future of Darkmoon Tribe was no longer my responsibility.

And as I turned to leave the altar, I heard Emily whisper to Mother in a suppressed, excited voice: "The key to the outpost's treasury... is it included too?"

Father's laughter echoed through the cave.

I didn't look back. But I knew—their beautiful dream would soon shatter.