Page 3 of Brutal Alpha's Forced Mate

“He’s dead,” someone whispers, and the words echo in my head, over and over again.Dead. Dead. Dead.

I stagger back, and my heart pounds so hard I think it might burst. This isn’t real. It can’t be real. But Carter’s lifeless body is right there, a grim and undeniable reminder of what I’ve done.

The crowd closes in with a mix of shocked faces and accusatory stares. I don’t even try to defend myself. What could I possibly say? That it was an accident? That he provoked me? It doesn’t matter. None of it matters. All they’ll see is the witch who killed the pack beta.

But then, when I take a closer look, I’m surprised by what I see. Not anger. Not fear. For some of them, it’s almost…relief. Whispers run through the group, too low for me to catch every word, but enough filters through.

“Finally.”

“About time someone shut him up.”

“He had it coming.”

The comments break through the haze of my panic for a heartbeat. They hated him. I’ve known it for years—the quiet complaints behind his back, the resentment festering just below the surface—but I never imagined it would be this blatant.

But then there are the others. The ones who glare at me, who don’t see a bully lying in the dirt but a Beta. A leader. Someone who, by tradition and rank, was supposed to beuntouchable. And now, all they’ll see is the witch who broke that unspoken rule.

“Jaslyn.” I whip around to see Gray standing at the edge of the crowd, his face hard as stone. There’s not one ounce of relief in his expression. Instead, he’s looking at me just like like I’m a dangerous freak. And it eats me alive. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t mean to.” The words tumble out in a desperate rush. “I-I lost control. It was an accident, Gray. You have to believe me.”

But he doesn’t answer. He just stares at me. The warmth I’ve always seen in those blue eyes is gone, replaced by something that feels like fear.

“Everyone, clear out,” he commands.

The crowd obeys without question, leaving just the two of us standing in the aftermath of my mistake.

When he speaks again, his voice is low and even, but there’s an edge to it that makes my stomach twist. “You know what this means, don’t you?”

I nod, and tears burn at the corners of my eyes. Of course I know. I’ve always known that this is how it would end. But hearing it from him—hearing the finality in his voice—it breaks something inside me.

“I have to protect the pack,” he says, like it’s some kind of explanation. Like it’s supposed to make any of this okay. “Carter was a bully. And maybe he deserved a good punch in the face. But this?” He gestures to the body on the ground. “This is something no one can excuse. Not even me. If the other packs find out about this… if they find out about you…”

“I get it,” I cut him off. “You don’t have to explain. Just… do what you have to do.”

His jaw flexes, and for a moment, I think he might say something else. But then he just nods. “You’re banished, Jaslyn. Effective immediately.”

The words hit me like a blow, knocking the air from my lungs. I want to scream, to beg him to reconsider, but I don’t. I won’t give him or anyone else the satisfaction of seeing me break.

Instead, I lift my chin and meet his gaze, even as tears blur my vision. “I hope it’s worth it,” I say, my voice trembling with anger and heartbreak. “Losing me. Losing everything I could have given to this pack.”

He flinches, just barely, but it’s enough to give me a small, bitter sense of satisfaction. Without another word, I turn and walk away, leaving him—and everything else—behind.

Chapter 1 - Gray

Ten Years Later

The latest casualty report hits my desk like a sledgehammer. Two dead. Five injured. Every name on the list is someone I’ve fought beside, laughed with, shared drinks with around the fire. I fold the paper in half and shove it to the corner of my desk, but it doesn’t stop the faces from flashing in my mind.

“Gray, if you keep pacing like that, you’re going to wear a hole in the floor.” Theo leans back in his chair, his boots propped on the edge of my desk like we’re at happy hour and not neck-deep in crisis. He’s been my beta for ten years now, ever since I lost Carter. While his laid-back attitude usually balances out my own intensity, today it’s driving me insane.

I stop mid-step and glare at him. “Forgive me if I’m not in the mood to sit still while demons tear through our territory and leave bodies in their wake.”

Theo raises an eyebrow but doesn’t budge. “Losing your cool won’t bring anyone back. And it sure as hell won’t stop the next attack.”

His calm delivery grates, but I can’t argue with him. I run a hand through my hair, and the strands catch between my fingers as I blow out a frustrated breath. “We’re at a disadvantage, Theo. You know it. I know it. Hell, every pack in the alliance knows it.”

Theo swings his boots off the desk and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “We both know how to get ahead of this thing.”

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