I Returned as Royalty to His Wedding

I hid my bloodline and lived as an unclaimed Omega with Caelan Blackthorn.

The day I learned I was carrying his pup, he spoke without warning: "The Grand Advisor Alpha's eldest daughter and I are to be mated in three days."

"I'm actually the Alpha heir of the Blackthorn Pack. She and I are a proper match in rank. The bonding gifts have already been delivered to the Ashveil estate, and... she and I have already consummated our union."

When he saw me frozen in place, he added, "I'll set you up in a residence. You and the pup will want for nothing."

I stared at him in disbelief. "So I'm to be your kept Omega, hidden away for the rest of my life. Is that it?"

Caelan turned his face away. "She's a proper and virtuous mate. As long as you don't cause a scene in front of her, I can give you and the pup everything except the title."

A sharp sting hit the bridge of my nose. I never imagined I meant so little to him. Something deep inside me, something wolf and raw, went very quiet, the way a creature goes still before it understands it has been wounded.

"What if I told you my rank could match yours?"

——

Caelan went still for a moment. A long silence passed before he spoke.

"Seraphina Silvercrest, I know it was wrong of me to hide my identity and take another mate. But there are no what-ifs in this world. The only she-wolf in all the Silvercrest Dominion who matches my standing is the Grand Advisor Alpha's eldest daughter."

"You and I lived as mates at the foot of this mountain for three years. I know exactly who you are."

But he had hidden his identity. How could he be so certain I hadn't done the same? His nostrils hadn't even flared when he said it. He was that sure. That blind.

I looked around. The den we'd built with our own hands. The moonflower beds we'd tended together, their pale petals still catching the light. I wanted so desperately to believe all of it had been real.

"Caelan, I'm carrying your pup. Can't we go back to the way things were? Please don't mate with her."

My eyes locked onto the man before me. If he would just say yes, I was willing to forgive everything.

But all he did was press his lips together and say, his voice flat, "She and I have already consummated our union. I have a duty to her."

My eyes burned red. My body wouldn't stop shaking. "And what about me? You don't owe me anything? You don't owe this pup anything?"

Caelan reached out and brushed the tears from my cheek, his eyes full of tenderness.

"Seraphina, listen. I'm only taking a mate. I'm not abandoning you."

"There's a walled estate on the outskirts of the territory. I've already secured it. If you like the quiet life, I'll have someone plant moonflower bushes and herb gardens in the grounds for you. Whatever you want, I'll make it happen. Trust me."

I stepped back, shaking my head over and over.

"I won't be locked away in some back den as your mistress. I won't let my pup and me live in the shadows for the rest of our lives."

But Caelan simply walked toward me, his expression unchanged, his tone calm. His scent rolled ahead of him, charred oak and bitter iron, and for the first time it didn't smell like home. Something underneath it had gone sour.

"I've never thought of you as a mistress. As long as you don't make trouble in front of the lady of the pack house, you'll still be my mate there. Isn't that enough?"

I kept shaking my head. "No. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here."

This place held every tender moment Caelan and I had shared over three years. I wanted to wait here for our pup to be born.

"Seraphina, you know this. My mating ceremony cannot have a single flaw. I have to erase every trace of our past. It's the only way you and the pup will be safe."

Before the shock had even left my face, he raised his hand. The guards behind him stepped forward with torches and set the grounds ablaze.

In an instant the fire roared to life, swallowing the timber den, the boundary fence, the entire yard. The moonflowers curled black in the heat and were gone.

I clutched my belly and screamed. "No! Stop! Make them stop!"

Caelan pulled me to him and pressed my trembling body against his chest.

He held me there and let me pound my fists against him.

"Be good. When the time is right, I'll make you my recognized mate. The pup can carry the name of a legitimate heir. Everything will be the way it was before."

But Caelan, I am a daughter of the Silvercrest bloodline. The Supreme Alpha's own pup. How could I ever be your equal mate?

The den was gone. And we could never go back.