The night before my mating ceremony, my twin sister and I were ambushed and taken by rogue werewolves. Our pack, led by Alpha Alaric, scrambled to gather the payment, but they only had enough to save one of us.
They chose her.
The moment she was freed, she stepped into my place, claiming my fated mate, Alaric, as her own. She wore my dress, stood by his side, and vowed herself to him—while I was left behind, abandoned to the mercy of my captors.
But death would have been kinder than what they did to me.
Silver burned into my skin, suppressing my wolf, leaving me helpless as they carved into my body. My ability to bear a child—the one thing that made me valuable to the pack—was stolen from me while I was still conscious. When they were done, they tossed me out like trash, leaving me broken and bleeding in the depths of the forest.
By the time I was found, the damage was irreversible. My pack refused to take me back. The moment they learned I could never bear an Alpha’s heir, they cast me aside, calling me useless, barren.
Just when I had nothing left, Hunter Raven, an Alpha now of his own pack and the childhood friend I had once trusted, took me in. He claimed he didn’t care that I was broken, that he loved me despite my flaws. For years, he treated me with kindness, making me believe I had found peace at last.
But that illusion shattered the night I stumbled across the truth.
A hidden recording. A secret ritual.
On the screen, Hunter gently held my sister’s hand, his eyes filled with warmth as he whispered,
"Don’t be afraid, Nara. Your sister was the perfect match."
Then the scene changed.
I saw myself, bound in silver, my body writhing in agony. My own mate, the man who had sworn to cherish me, stood over me, blade in hand. My screams filled the room as he made the first cut.
I was never just a victim of rogues.
I was sacrificed.
But fate wasn’t done with me yet.
On the night of the next blood moon, something inside me awoke. The wolf I had thought was lost forever surged back, stronger than before—darker, deadlier. My blood burned with a power I couldn’t explain, a force not meant for mere wolves.
I had been discarded, betrayed, and left for dead.
Now, I would return.
And they would all pay.
---
Chapter 1
Bella’s POV
My entire body trembled as I watched the video play before me. My hands shook uncontrollably, my breath coming in short, uneven gasps. This video… it was horrifying. A nightmare I thought I had left behind, now staring back at me in undeniable clarity. A cold chill crawled down my spine, the same fear creeping into my veins just as it did that day.
And then, piece by piece, everything clicked into place.
All this time… it was Hunter’s plan. From the very beginning.
A wave of nausea washed over me as realization sank deep into my bones. He was the one who had kidnapped me. The man I trusted, the one who claimed to cherish me—he was behind everything. The moments he shared with me, the words he whispered in my ears, the way he held me—it was all a lie. A carefully crafted illusion to manipulate me.
Everything he did was never for me. It was for her.
For Nara.
My sister.
But why?
Why would he do this for Nara? What was she to him that he would go this far? My mind raced, drowning in unanswered questions. And Nara… she already had a mate.
She stole my mate!
Tears welled up in my eyes, my chest tightening with the unbearable weight of betrayal. Then why? Why did he choose me? Why did he seal our fate together, binding me to him as his Luna? What was the reason behind this cruel twist of fate? Why was he the reason I was now so completely and utterly broken?
The pain in my chest became suffocating, but my trembling fingers refused to let go of his phone. I continued watching.
Something in the video caught my attention. A voice. A voice I recognized.
His healer.
The screen flickered slightly, and the audio became clearer.
"Alpha," the healer spoke, his voice tense. "The blood we’ve taken from Bella… it’s already over the limit."
I sucked in a sharp breath, my pulse hammering in my ears.
"We’ve already taken away her ability to conceive," the healer continued, his tone professional, detached, as if speaking about some mere medical procedure and not about my stolen future. "We’ve also stripped her of her wolf. And now, her blood is being drained every month. At this rate, Alpha… she could die. If this continues, you’ll lose your only supply of blood for Nara."
My hands tightened around the phone, my nails digging into my palms as the healer’s words echoed in my mind.
They took everything from me.
They didn’t just take my freedom. They didn’t just take my trust. They took my ability to bear children. They took my wolf—my very soul. They reduced me to nothing more than a source of blood, a disposable supply to be used and discarded at their convenience.
A bitter sob escaped my lips, but before I could fully process the weight of my loss, another voice followed.
His voice.
Hunter.
Cold. Detached. Void of any emotion.
"Remember, the only reason I married Bella was to use her," he said, his tone flat, uncaring. "I never loved her."
My heart stopped.
The world around me seemed to tilt, my vision blurring as if I had been struck.
"I’m only with her because she looks like Nara."
His words felt like a blade slicing through my chest.
Everything inside me shattered.
I was nothing to him. Nothing but a shadow of my sister.
Tears streamed down my face, my breath coming out in ragged, painful gasps. My entire existence in his life was nothing but a cruel trick of fate. I was a replacement. A stand-in for the woman he truly cared about.
"Enough of this," Hunter’s voice commanded, pulling me back into the video.
I watched as he turned to his healer, his expression indifferent, unbothered by the very conversation that was destroying me.
"Nara is due in a few days. She’ll need more blood."
I felt sick.
A cold, empty feeling spread through me, numbing my senses as the horror of the situation settled deep in my bones.
"Prepare to take more blood from Bella."
My body went still.
No.
A choked sob left my lips as the truth crashed down on me like a tidal wave. They weren’t going to stop. They were going to keep draining me until there was nothing left. Until I was empty. Until I was dead.
And Hunter—my mate, my supposed fated partner—would let it happen without a second thought.
I cried and cried, unable to stop the tears from streaming down my face. My sobs came in broken gasps, my chest tightening with each breath as the weight of the truth settled over me like a crushing boulder. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t calm myself down.
So this was it.
This was the real reason he helped me that day—the day he found me. It was never about me. It was never about kindness or fate or love.
Why?
How did he even know about Nara’s condition? That she had a rare disease no healer could cure? How long had he been planning this?
My mind swirled with thoughts, and each one hurt more than the last.
I knew Hunter from childhood. We were close back then because our packs were allied with each other.
That’s why I trusted him, why I let myself believe in him. But now, that same man, the one I once thought I knew, was doing everything in his power to keep my sister alive… even at the cost of my own life.
This wasn’t the first time Nara took something from me.
She stole my fated mate before. And now… now she was stealing Hunter, too.
A bitter laugh bubbled up inside me, but it got caught in my throat, replaced by another wave of anguish.
And Hunter—he would do anything for her.
Before I could drown in the whirlwind of my thoughts, the sudden creak of the door jolted me back to reality.
My heartbeat spiked, panic surging through me as I wiped my tears away in a hurry, trying to erase any trace of my breakdown. I couldn’t let him see me like this. I couldn’t let him know that I had seen the video.
I forced myself to act normal, to pretend as though nothing had happened.
But the moment my eyes met Hunter’s, I knew I wasn’t fooling him.
His gaze softened as he stepped forward. "Baby, have you been crying?" His voice was filled with concern. "Is your scar hurting again?"
He took another step, closing the distance between us.
"If it hurts, you have to tell me, okay?" His tone was gentle, almost pleading. "Don’t keep it to yourself… it kills me to see you like this."
I almost laughed at the irony.
It kills him?
He was the one who caused all of this. The reason I was suffering. The reason I was broken.
But he didn’t know that I knew.
Before I could react, Hunter reached for me, wrapping his arms tightly around my trembling frame. His embrace was firm, as if he truly cared, as if he truly wanted to comfort me.
His hand moved down, gently massaging my stomach—the same place where a pup would have grown if he hadn’t taken that future from me.
For a fleeting moment, I wondered what it would feel like to be loved by him for real. Not as a replacement. Not as a tool. But as someone he genuinely cared for.
But that was nothing more than a foolish dream.
The man holding me now was my captor, my tormentor. The same man who had orchestrated my suffering.
I clenched my fists, swallowing the scream threatening to escape my lips. I couldn’t break now. Not yet.
Hunter finally pulled away, his expression unreadable.
"By the way," he said casually, as if the past few seconds hadn’t happened. "I asked our personal chef to prepare something for you. You need to eat—you look weak."
Weak.
If only he knew.
Before I could respond, the door opened again, and several pack chefs entered, carrying trays filled with freshly cooked meat. The scent of food filled the room, but I felt nothing—no hunger, no warmth. Just emptiness.
I smiled bitterly to myself.
He doesn’t know.
He doesn’t know that I already know the truth.
