My Ex-Fiancé Thought I Married a Comatose Alpha King

The night before my betrothed and I were to swear the blood oath before the Moon Altar,the wealthiest Alpha in the capital's high pack circle demanded that my family send a daughter to honor an arranged betrothal with his comatose son.

The moment my betrothed,Dorian Darkmoor,heard the news,he ripped the moonstone ring off my finger and slid it onto the hand of my false-heiress sister,Rosalind Thornfield.

Then he made it official before the pack council,letting the whole territory see his proclamation carved into the soulstone message board:"She is claimed."

When I confronted him,shaking apart at the seams,Dorian barely furrowed his brow.His voice was calm,as if what he was saying made perfect sense.

"Rosalind has never known a hard day in her life.Marrying a catatonic wolf would destroy her."

"You are already with pup.The Grimtalons would never want damaged goods.This is the best solution for everyone."

I stared at the man in front of me as though seeing him for the very first time.My eyes burned.

I had loved Dorian Darkmoor for seven years.I had taken a silver blade for him.I had drunk wolfsbane-laced mead at pack negotiations until my stomach hemorrhaged for his sake.

Just weeks ago,I had undergone the Moon Priestess's rite to carry his pup,and only then had he proposed.

But the love I thought I had earned could never compare to his childhood bond with Rosalind Thornfield.

Everyone waited for me to scream,to cry,to make a scene.Instead,I swallowed the tears and managed a tired smile.

"Fine.I understand."

Dorian nodded,satisfied.He pulled Rosalind close and began discussing the sham wedding with her,saying if they were going to put on an act,they might as well go all the way.

He assumed I would do what I had always done:swallow every indignity and never leave.

But what Dorian did not know was that the moment he walked out the door with Rosalind to shop for wedding silks,the Grimtalon family came calling.

"The Grimtalons are not the kind of wolves who force anyone's paw,"Seraphina Grimtalon said,her voice gentle but firm."Miss Fennwood,if you are willing to marry into our family,I will give you half my son's personal hoard,plus two hunting territories in the northern wildlands."

I rested my hand on my stomach,still flat enough that no one could tell.I nodded.

"I will marry him."

Then,without a second of hesitation,I scheduled the Moon Purification Rite with the High Priestess.

Seraphina Grimtalon took me to the Moon Altar that very day.

I watched Rosalind's pack messages,one after another,showing off the lavish wedding silks Dorian was buying her.I did not waver.I swore the oath.

The rite went through without a hitch.When the red-bound oath scroll landed in my palm,I felt almost dazed.

Seraphina's voice was gentle."From this moment on,you are the young Luna Grimtalon.Aldric Grimtalon is receiving treatment in the northern wildlands.When can you come with me?"

I touched my stomach."Give me ten days.There are a few things I still need to settle."

Seraphina placed an intricately carved silver ring in my hand,her tone warm."Marrying into the Grimtalon family,you may never have love,and you will not have a normal bond.But everything else you could ever want,you will have."

I looked down,my fingertip tracing the ring.Something loosened in my chest,faint but unmistakable."I will treasure it."

Three full days passed before Dorian bothered to return to the den.

"I have it all arranged,"he said."The wedding with Rosalind is in a week.When the Grimtalons come asking,just tell them you are with pup.If they have any pride,they will not force the marriage.Once the dust settles,I will take you to swear our oath."

He reached for me the way he always did,pulling me into his arms,having decided my entire future without asking.

I looked up at him.My stomach twisted with a dull ache."So on parchment,Rosalind is your mate?"

"It is just a title,"he said,as if it were obvious."It does not matter.As long as I know in my heart that you are my true mate,is that not enough?"

He said it like he was doing me a favor.Like this arrangement was the best I could ever hope for.

It never once crossed his mind what the pack would call me if Rosalind became his public mate and I was the one pregnant and unmarried.Being abandoned on the eve of swearing the oath had already made me the biggest joke in our circle.

After a long silence,I let out a hollow laugh.How had I not understood until now?In Dorian Darkmoor's eyes,my feelings,my reputation—none of it mattered.But Rosalind?She deserved the grandest wedding.The most spotless name.

"Tomorrow night at the Great Pack Feast,I will announce the wedding date to everyone,"he informed me,not asked."Just tell the packs we broke off our courtship long ago."

"...Fine."

My nails bit into my palms,forcing down the bitterness rising in my throat.In seven days I would be gone.It did not matter what I said anymore.I had already booked the High Priestess for the Moon Purification Rite two days from now.The pup inside me—I was letting that go too.

Only then did Dorian look satisfied.He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my cheek.

"Lyra,if I had not insisted the Fennwood family take you back ten years ago,you would still be in that orphan pack.As long as you behave,I will always give you a den."

A den?

Dorian believed that a wolf-starved girl who had never known a home would put up with anything to build a den with him.That no matter what he did,I would never leave.

What he did not know was that in seven days,while he was playing groom to another woman,I would be on a flying warg to the northern wildlands as the young Luna Grimtalon,with a fortune that dwarfed everything the Darkmoor pack owned.

By then,I would never have to beg anyone for a den again.

The Great Pack Feast began at moonrise.

Dorian walked in with Rosalind on his arm,both dressed in matching formal furs.He kissed her amid the howls of approval and announced their wedding in seven days.

Rosalind swept her hair back with a flick of her wrist,and the moonstone caught the firelight so sharply it stung.It was a new stone—a three-thousand-gold-moon diamond Dorian had won at the Dark Moon Auction,because Rosalind had not liked the old one.He had replaced it without blinking.

Every highborn wolf in the hall flocked to Rosalind like moths."Rosalind and Lord Darkmoor are so much better suited.Lyra Fennwood only latched onto the Darkmoor pack by clinging and refusing to let go.Guess she finally got dumped.""Think she will show up crying,begging to be his mistress?"

The whispers sliced through the air.I pretended not to hear.

That was when Rosalind turned to me."Lyra,since you two have already broken off the courtship,you will not keep pursuing Dorian,right?"

Seven years of memories flashed before my eyes.I drew a slow breath."No.It is over,and I will leave with my dignity."

Quiet laughter rippled through the crowd.No one believed me.Dorian included.He assumed I was putting on an act.

"Then should you not hand over the keys to Dorian's estates?"Rosalind smiled,and there was nothing kind about it."I would hate for you to lose control and find some excuse to get close to him again.It would be so embarrassing if you showed up at his den and threw yourself at him."

My expression hardened.I opened my mouth to say I would never do such a thing.But before I could speak,Rosalind moved where no one else could see.She grabbed my wrist and forced the goblet of mead in my hand up into her own face.

"Oh!Lyra,if you did not want to give them up,you could have just said so.Why did you have to splash me…"

She turned to Dorian with wide,wounded eyes as he rushed over.

"Lyra Fennwood!"His face went dark.Without a moment's thought,he hurled his goblet at me.

I threw my hands up on instinct,but the shattered silver cup sliced across the back of my hand.

"Who gave you permission to bully her?"he snarled."Apologize to Rosalind.Now."

He did not want to hear a single word from me.The verdict was already in.The way he looked at me,you would think I was something vile.

The murmurs around us erupted:"See?She could not handle being dumped.She finally snapped.""Lyra Fennwood just did not want to give back the keys.She was probably planning to sneak into the Darkmoor den,sleep her way in,get with pup,and claw her way to the top.Unbelievable."

I stood there.Blood ran down the back of my hand,mingling with the dark stain of mead.Dorian did not so much as glance at it.He was too busy dabbing Rosalind's face with painstaking care,his expression full of tender concern.

I thought of a day years ago,when I had been shoved to the ground by bullies in the pack.He had been the one to help me up,cleaning each scrape with gentle hands.All that tenderness,I realized now,had only ever been a fraction of what he saved for Rosalind.

My eyes burned red,but I forced the tears back.I did not argue.I did not lose control.Instead,under the gleeful stares of every wolf in that hall,I reached into my satchel,pulled out every single iron key to every estate I shared with Dorian Darkmoor,and dropped them all at Rosalind's feet.

"You are right.I should have done this sooner.These keys belong to the true lady of the den.Your den.I will not set paw in it again."