“I accept your offer.”My voice was cold as frost,the words cutting through the dense night air like a blade.“I will disappear from Alpha Alexander’s life forever…and marry the dying heir of the Stone Pack instead.”
The silver-banded mate mark token clattered onto the oak table,echoing like a death knell.
Across the High Alpha’s council chamber,Alpha Frederick Winslet—my biological father—froze mid-sip of his wolfsbane tea.
“You…what did you say?”he rasped,his tone trembling with disbelief.
“I said I will marry the Stone heir—the one on his deathbed,”I repeated,meeting his stunned gaze without flinching.“The alliance bond meant for your precious daughter,Stephanie?I’ll take it instead.”
Three years I had served Alpha Alexander Hamilton as his Beta assistant.
Three years I had been his hidden mate.
And a month ago,my entire world collapsed.
On my way back from the trading border,rogues ambushed me.I was taken to a scent-masked den,chained and left without light for four nights,my wrists torn raw by silver ropes.I screamed his name—Alexander—twenty-seven times.
He never came.
One of the rogues finally laughed,pressing a communicator to my ear.A woman’s voice came through,silky and cruel.
“The Alpha has better things to worry about.Try someone who cares.”
They left me bleeding in the dirt after that.
I don’t remember who found me—only that I woke up in the healers’ward,half-starved and barely breathing.
But when I opened my eyes,he wasn’t there.
Instead,I saw the morning’s Pack Gazette headline:
[Alpha Alexander Hamilton and childhood sweetheart Stephanie Winslet spotted leaving the Moonlight Hot Springs together.]
While I was trapped in darkness,my mate was with his secret lover—my so-called“sister,”Stephanie.
The she-wolf who had been swapped with me at birth.
After sixteen years of living among the poor mountain clans,the Winslets discovered I was their real daughter.Yet from the moment I arrived at the Alpha’s mansion,their smiles froze.
“We can’t abandon the daughter we raised for sixteen years,”my father had said.“Stephanie is delicate,Lavina.Don’t covet what isn’t meant for you.”
That was my welcome home.
Now I stood before them again.“You need the Stone Pack’s alliance to keep your territory afloat.You don’t want Stephanie to marry a dying wolf?Fine.Your unwanted daughter will do it instead.”
The chamber went silent.My mother’s face paled;my father’s hands trembled around his cup.
I rose slowly,my pride the only thing keeping me standing.
“In return,”I said flatly,“erase my name from the Winslet lineage.No crest,no inheritance.Pretend I was never born.”
A pause.Then,quietly,“Tell Alpha Alexander this is my last gift to him—freedom.”
The Alpha’s manor was eerily silent when I stepped inside.
Moonlight poured through the high windows,glinting off silver candlesticks and two plates laid for dinner.For one wild second,I thought—perhaps—this was for me.
Then his voice shattered the illusion.
“I get it,Stephanie.It’s fine if you can’t come tonight.”
A low chuckle followed.“Don’t worry,sweetheart.I ruined most of the dishes anyway.Lavina will be home soon;the food won’t go to waste.”
My heart froze.
I moved forward quietly,my wolf howling within but I forced her down.
Alexander turned,startled,before his expression hardened into a scowl.
“Lavina,why so late?If anyone sees their Luna working like a common pack clerk,they’ll think I mistreat you.”
“Just…finishing reports.”
“Right,”he said,exhaling.“You always said I don’t try enough.So I wanted to surprise you this time with a dinner.”
The scent of roses hit me—pure,white,and cruelly familiar.They were identical to my mating-day bouquet.My hand trembled as I reached for them.
Slap.
Pain shot up my wrist as he struck my hand away.Red marks bloomed instantly.
Alexander’s eyes widened,guilt flickering across his face.
“Lavina…I didn’t mean to.You know I don’t like anyone touching my things.”
He fetched the healer’s salve,murmuring hollow apologies as he dabbed my bruises.
“I just didn’t want you to ruin the arrangement I spent hours on.”
When he finished,he thrust the bouquet toward me.“Here.Take them.”
“It’s alright,”I said weakly.
He forced a smile.“Didn’t you always say you wanted a dinner with me?Today’s your day.”
He loaded my plate carelessly,as if feeding a stray wolf.I ate nothing.
“I’m not hungry,”I whispered.“I just want to rest.”
His smile vanished.“I did all this for you,and you’re throwing a tantrum?Spirits,Lavina,it was an accident—”
“And I’ll forgive you,”I cut him off softly,sliding a folder across the table,“if you sign these.”
His brows knit.“What is this?”
“Just formalities,”I murmured.“For the future.”
He sighed,bored.“Can’t my Luna handle this herself?You’re ruining my mood.”
Then his communicator buzzed.
Stephanie.
His eyes lit up.“Yes,I’m still at the manor.Give me five minutes.”
I watched silently as he grabbed the pen.
“I’ll sign whatever you want,”he said without even reading.“Just don’t stay mad,alright?”
His signature slashed across the parchment like the final cut of a blade.
He reached for his coat.“We’ll talk later,Lavina.Be good and rest.I’ll be home late.”
Then he left.
No questions.
No goodbyes.
Only the soft click of the door sealing everything between us.
My gaze fell to the document.
[Final Dissolution of Mate Bond]
He hadn’t even read the title.
And I…hadn’t stopped him.
When I sent a photo of the signed decree,a message flashed instantly on my crystal communicator:
[Alpha Damien Stone:Now that you’ve agreed to be mine,one moon from today,I will come to claim what belongs to me.]
