Chapter 2

Father was clearly shocked by Damian’s choice, but my stepmother lit up with joy. She rushed to Chloe’s side, practically dragging her forward as she began praising Chloe endlessly in front of Damian.

“I know everyone must be curious why I didn’t choose Elara,” Damian said, bowing politely to the Alliance council elders.

My eyelid twitched.

Then, his voice turned sharp. “I will never marry a woman as unfaithful as her.”

Gasps rippled through the hall. Confusion followed like a wave.

“What nonsense are you spouting?” Father spoke first, anger rising. No matter what, I was still his daughter.

“Alpha Thorne,” Damian said, addressing him politely yet coldly, “let me finish. I’ve seen her more than once getting handsy with rogues outside our territory, and I refuse to marry someone like that.”

“You accuse me of this, but do you have any proof?” I kept my tone like my younger self, not wanting him to sense that I, too, had been brought back to life.

“Do you think a Golden Lycan would lie about something like this?”

Father hesitated, glancing at me. Stepmother shot me a vicious look, as if I had disgraced the entire family.

Before I could speak, Damian continued, “With such poor character, even if she’s a high-ranking Silvermoon Alpha, she’ll only ever birth low-blooded mutts. Just wait and see whether my prediction proves true.”

Golden Lycans could indeed make prophetic declarations, but it cost them their own blood, so most werewolves avoided doing it.

The moment he said this, the council elders and pack members began whispering, pointing at me from all directions.

“Fine,” I said, forcing myself to stay calm. “Let time prove who truly has the lower bloodline.”

When his so-called “golden pup” is born, I'll expose him for the fraud he really was.

Chloe married gloriously. Damian gave her a grand ceremony, turning it into one of the Alliance’s favorite love stories.

As for me, my name was dragged through the mud. Thanks to Damian’s accusations, the suitors who had once come seeking my hand in marriage no longer dared show their faces. To them, my “infidelity” wasn’t even the main problem. What terrified them was the possibility of producing offspring with a lower bloodline.

In the Alliance, a Golden Lycan’s prophecy wasn’t something anyone took lightly. With Damian fueling the rumors, the stories grew more absurd by the day. They claimed I had slept with three rogues in one night, each tale more vulgar and detailed than the last. They even described the scenes as if they had witnessed them firsthand.

Stepmother said I was a disgrace and refused to show me kindness, while Father looked helpless. But me? Honestly, I didn’t care. My previous life had already exhausted any interest I had in marriage.

Three days after the wedding, Damian returned to our home with Chloe. The moment he saw me, he sneered.

“Elara, I suppose no one wants to marry you now, huh?”

“Thanks to you, I finally have some peace.”

Damian gave me a slow once-over before laughing coldly. “Without a mate, your heat cycles will only get worse. Forget rogues. At this rate, you’ll be so desperate you’ll end up with any beast in the forest. Imagine birthing some kind of monster that doesn’t even belong to a proper species. Now that would be a historic joke.”

“That’s right, Elara,” Chloe chimed in sweetly beside him. “You should lower your standards and find an Omega Black Werewolf. Otherwise, think about how pathetic the outcome would be. Not just the Alliance, but even the other species would laugh themselves sick.”

They had been married just a few days, and Chloe already acted like Damian’s perfect partner, her voice aligning with his like it was second nature.

Of course, Chloe and I were never close. She was my father’s daughter with his second wife. We shared a father, nothing more.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” I said calmly. “What you should worry about is your belly instead. Let’s see how you’re going to give birth to a pup of a higher bloodline. After all… bloodlines don’t lie.”

I lowered my gaze to Chloe’s abdomen and let out a small smile.

Damian’s expression darkened instantly, a killing intent flickering in his eyes.

“What trash are you spouting? Damian is a rare Golden Lycan. His offspring are guaranteed to be golden werewolves. You’re just jealous he didn’t choose you, so you’re trying to disgust us.”

Chloe lifted her hand, ready to slap me. Just like before, married woman or not, she still acted like she could bully me publicly. I stepped back, unwilling to waste breath arguing with her, preparing to leave.

“A useless woman who can’t even give birth to a proper pup.”