My Love for a Heartless Alpha Died with the RosesChapter 1: Pink Roses

Lysa

Today, I turned twenty-seven, and like any other healer, it was nothing special for my pack, the Crescent Pack. However, every year, I convinced myself that Alpha Kade's feelings toward me would change, that he would notice me and claim me as his mate.

I had loved Alpha Kade since I smelled his pine mixed with earth scent five years ago. I knew, without a doubt, he was my mate. However, there was something wrong with the mate bond because he didn't claim or reject me. I simply existed as a healer who would tend to a member's wounds. But that didn't stop me from hoping for Alpha Kade to fall for me.

I decided to wear my blue floral dress and favorite flats, tie my dark and beachy waves hair into a high ponytail, and wear a little makeup. The pack may not care about my birthday, but what if the Alpha does? At least I was dressed well before I headed for my duty at the healer's clinic today.

But when I entered, my heart stopped at the sight before me. A bouquet of pink roses, meticulously arranged in a vase, sat on the healer on duty's table. Pink roses were my favorite because they were beautiful and a symbol of deep love and loyalty in our pack. My heart raced when I approached the bouquet.

Could Kade have remembered? Could he...?

Before I could reach out, Kara, a healer, my best friend, and the only person who knew how much I loved Alpha Kade, sidled beside me.

"Is someone trying to court you?" she asked with a grin.

But when she noticed the roses, her facial expression looked confused.

"Wait...Lysa, those aren't..."

I held my breath, touched the flowers, and noticed the small card nestled among the petals. My fingers started trembling as I read the message in bold and cursive ink: To Mia, with love - Kade.

My heart breaks. The roses weren't for me. They were for her - Mia, the former Beta's daughter, and the newly appointed war advisor. She had recently returned after years of studying and training in the UK, and it seemed the woman who caught Alpha Kade's heart.

"Lysa... I'm sorry. I didn't know. I thought because you are the only one on shift today that..." Kara whispered while she placed her hand on my shoulder to comfort me.

I forced myself to smile, feeling foolish for harboring such feelings toward an Alpha.