She was never an omega link in comments

Chapter 1 https://inkster.pkjob.pk/the-villain-prodigy-rises-by-mark-twain-1/

Chapter One The rogue’s claws tore through my shoulder before I even saw him move. I’d thrown myself in front of Kael without thinking—ten years of instinct, of loving him from the shadows. The clearing exploded with snarls and snapping jaws as his warriors shifted and fought back, but all I could focus on was the blood spreading across his forearm where silver-tipped claws had grazed him. “Stay down!” I shoved him behind an ancient oak, my vision blurring red. Three rogue wolves closed in. My hands stayed steady as I shifted partially—just claws and fangs—and dropped them one by one. Then the world tilted, and I hit the forest floor hard. “Aria!” Kael’s voice seemed distant. “Healer! Now!” I woke two days later to the hum of healing magic and Kael sitting beside my bed. Dark circles carved shadows under his eyes—I’d never seen him look so tired. “You’re awake.” He leaned forward. “The healer said your wolf nearly gave up. Twice.” “Sorry to disappoint.” My throat felt like broken glass. “Don’t.” His jaw clenched. “Don’t joke about dying for me.” Silence stretched between us. Outside, his warriors kept watch. Always pack business with Kael Blackthorn. Always strategy. “Mate with me.” I blinked, certain I’d misheard. “What?” “Mate with me, Aria.” His silver eyes were unreadable. “I owe you my life. Name your price—territory, rank, anything. But mate with me.” My heart hammered. After ten years working my way up from a nameless omega to his most trusted warrior, he was proposing a mate bond. Not from love—I could see the guilt and obligation in his eyes—but it was something. “Yes,” I whispered. The marking ceremony was scheduled for the next full moon. No celebration, no romance. Just a formal announcement delivered by his beta while he attended a Council meeting. No ceremony, no courtship. Just a notice and a cold message: For services rendered. I should have known better. That evening, as I sat alone in my small cabin at the edge of pack territory staring at the moon, my phone rang. Father. “Aria.” His voice was rough, weakened by the curse slowly killing him. “I heard about the rogue attack. And Blackthorn’s… proposal.” “How did you—” I stopped. Of course he knew. Theron Silvermane knew everything, even from his deathbed. “Come home,” he said. “I’m dying. The pack needs you. My betas are ready to accept you as Alpha.” I closed my eyes. The Silvermane pack—the empire my father had built and my brothers had nearly destroyed. He’d ignored me for twenty-eight years because I was a daughter, not a son. Now, desperate, he finally saw my worth. “I can’t. I’m bonded to Kael.” “To Blackthorn?” He laughed bitterly, then coughed. “Little wolf, you think he loves you? You’re a convenient warrior who took silver for him. That’s gratitude, not love.” “You don’t know him—” “I know Alphas like him. I am Alphas like him.” His breathing rattled. “I’m offering you a pack, Aria. Real power. Not just a bond mark from a wolf who’ll discard you the moment someone more useful comes along.” “He won’t—” “He will. They always do.” A long pause. “You’re my daughter. My blood. Come home before it’s too late.” “I love him, Papa.” The words hung in the air. I’d never called him Papa before. Never admitted my feelings aloud. “Then Moon Goddess help you,” he said quietly. “But when you’re ready—when he breaks you—the pack will be waiting.” He hung up. I sat in the dark, my wolf whimpering inside me, and told myself I’d made the right choice. I was wrong.