FLAWED: Reign of the beastly alpha queen

AMAYA FROST, Silver Fang Pack.

“Help! There’s a fire!” a terrified voice screamed, the same time a loud explosion went off upstairs.

Immediately, pandemonium broke out in the hall, with the guests screaming and shouting. Amaya Frost was the most confused; one moment she was before the high priest with her mate, Ethan Dawson, to say their wedding vows, and the very next second, the serene environment turned to pure chaos.

The musicians playing the orchestra abandoned their musical instruments and fled; the servers sharing food and drinks also ran out, knocking over food trays and drinks in the process.

The once beautiful hall, filled with colorful lights and designed so beautifully to suit the wedding of the Alpha King’s only child, his daughter, was now filled with smoke curling everywhere. The smoke detector wasn’t making things any better; the alarm kept blaring out, causing more terror in the hearts of all around. Children were crying, searching for their mothers; parents were screaming for their kids.

“How could this happen? No.” Amaya’s hand shook. One second she was the happiest woman on the planet, and then this?

“If anything happens to my children, I will never forgive the Silver Fang Pack. Such bad luck! I shouldn’t have come here. I always knew that Princess Amaya was bad news. Even on her wedding day, her bad luck stuck to her like a second skin. I only pity that idiot Ethan about to marry her just because he wants to ascend as the next Alpha King. He should consider if a title is worth a lifetime of bad luck,” an enraged mother shouted.

Amaya looked at her mate in despair. He had a complicated expression on his face.

“This is no time for confusion. Vivi, go outside while I and the rest rescue the people trapped in the fire,” her father cut in, rushing into the fire.

Amaya took a deep breath, wiped the tears from her face, and turned to her beta. “Stacy, you and Ethan should follow me to rescue people trapped in the fire. As for the wedding, we can continue another day.”

She tore off the long trail of her white dress until it became knee-length, removed her earrings, and kicked off her silver heels, quickly rushing into the fire.

“I won’t allow any casualties on such a happy day. Not under my watch. Those missing a family member, I swear my mate and I will rescue them for you. I will not let any of you regret coming to support me on my happy day,” Amaya shouted, loud enough to be heard by everyone.

Most people calmed down, reassured by her promise. Amaya had never made a promise she didn’t keep ever since she was born; it was easy to trust her.

She wore strength and power like a robe. Despite being a female, she was one of the strongest wolves around her age. If she said she would save everyone, she damn well would.

Amaya didn’t notice the sneer from her mate, nor the derisive chuckle from her beta, Stacy, who looked at her with disdain as she rushed into the fire and made no move to help her. Luna Vivienne, Amaya’s mother, had been led outside by a guard on the Alpha King’s orders.

Stacy smirked and sighed in relief.

“It’s almost done, my sweet Alpha King,” she whispered, turning to wink at Ethan, who chuckled.

“After today, sweetheart, you won’t have to suffer the grievance of hiding in the shadows. I’m officially the Alpha King’s heir. As for her, hmm.” He didn’t complete his words, but Stacy understood him perfectly, chuckling at Amaya’s stupidity.

Only a love brain like her would agree to hold an ascension ceremony before the wedding. The ascension ceremony was held earlier in the morning, naming her and Ethan as the next leaders of the Silver Fang territories, which meant that either of them could rule.

The sensible thing to do was to make Ethan an Alpha consort, but Amaya, convinced it would strike down his pride, chose to take him as an equal ruler, and her parents, who overindulged her, agreed to it.

Ethan was the illegitimate son of an Alpha, making him have no ruling rights. Even if he was the Alpha of his father’s pack, compared to Amaya, the daughter of the Alpha King, he was still nothing. That was the reason he crept to her pack and warmed his way into her heart—to become the next Alpha King—but the idiot actually thought she truly loved him.

All he needed was fake devotion, a few words of promises, pampering her like a princess, and a little gaslighting to make it to his current status.

Stacy chuckled and swirled around the wine in her glass.

“What if you’re the daughter of the Alpha King? What if you have the strongest wolf? What’s the use of all that money when you do not have half a brain? After tonight, everything you own will be mine.”

“Let’s go; the fire is getting stronger.” Ethan rubbed some ashes on himself to make it seem as if he had been helping to rescue the people trapped in the fire. Stacy followed suit, and they stumbled out, coughing and gasping.

Vivienne rushed to them.

“Where’s Amaya? Didn’t you accompany them?”

“We did, Luna, but we didn’t find any child. We thought she had rescued them all.”

Just then, Amaya stumbled out of the fire, carrying a heavy blanket dipped in water.

She set it down, and six kids ran out of it. Her father was equally rescuing kids through the side door, and the guards accepted each person he brought out, taking them to the rest of the guests.

Amaya barely noticed the cheating duo and rushed back in. She made the trip three more times, and by the third time, her foot was filled with blisters, and her beautiful dress had been burnt to a mess.

“Is everyone out now?” she asked, just as her father staggered out with two women.

A guard nodded, looking around.

“I think so; we’re complete now.”

Stacy’s lips curled slightly. The next moment, she gasped wide-eyed as if she suddenly remembered something.

“Oh no! Ethan’s sister is not out yet! She went up for a nap after we finished dressing Amaya for the wedding.”

Amaya’s heart jumped on hearing the unwelcome information, her hands clenching into fists till her knuckles turned white.

“Ah? How can anyone still sleep comfortably in such raging flames?” a Luna from another pack questioned with a frown on her face.

Amaya turned around. The castle had been engulfed in flames; beams had started falling, and doors were getting blocked. The smoke was thick. Those outside were coughing—how much more someone inside the castle?

Just then, a familiar voice let out a startled cry. “Ahhhh! It’s fire! Is anyone there? Help me! Amaya! Sister-in-law, where are you?”

It was Erica, Ethan’s sister, shouting in the fire. Stacy and Ethan looked at each other, their eyes sharing the same sly glint.

“My sister…” He staggered, pretending to be dizzy.

Stacy screamed, catching him, her face filled with faux distress.

“Alpha Ethan!”

Amaya looked at him, then at the raging castle, her heart aching. Without hesitation, she turned around to do what she thought was the right thing.

A guard grabbed her before she could move.

“Alpha Princess, you can’t go back in. The fire has gone out of control. Even with your powerful wolf, you won’t be able to make it out if you decide to save her.”

“She’s my mate’s sister. I won’t let her die!”

Amaya pushed him away and rushed back into the sea of flames, ignoring her mom’s cry and the shouts of the pack members trying to stop her. Her mom staggered and collapsed, her heart unable to take the shock.