Chapter 1

ROSANNE'S POV

Dreams, they say, are messages from the subconscious mind, while nightmares are said to be warnings from the subconscious. 

I'd never had a nightmare, not even for a second, that my life would be ruined as soon as I turned twenty-one years old.

At twenty-one, I should probably have been enjoying my youthful days in college with my mate, but here I was, standing in front of a dressing mirror, wearing a white wedding gown. 

The gown clung to my body, accentuating every curve.

It was a masterpiece, a work of art designed to make me look like a queen.

But I didn't feel like royalty.

Who would feel like royalty when they are being sold off to the most powerful Lycan King of all time, not only as a wife but also as a breeder – a machine that produces pups? 

I felt like a pawn in a game I didn't understand.

My mind wandered back to the events that led me to this moment. 

Axel, my older brother, had been arrested and thrown into prison for a crime I had only just discovered. 

The charges against him were true, and the evidence was clear.

 He was the next Alpha of our pack, and I was the pawn.

In fact, my mother couldn't live without her son, but she was willing to send me off as a breeder to the most feared Lycan King – the king of hell. 

My father, Alpha Thane, had tried several times to get Axel out of prison, but every door he knocked on was met with rejection.

It wasn't supposed to be hard to get him out of prison, at least, that was what I thought. 

Axel wasn't only charged with a crime; I had been kept in the dark by my family. 

The truth was much worse.

Not until today did I discover the real reason he was in prison. 

He had slept with the Lycan King's younger sister, Princess Clara. 

In fact, they were both in a romantic relationship, which the Lycan King obviously didn't support, and that was how he ended up in prison.

 I was kept in the dark– in oblivion.

My family knew I wouldn't agree to the arranged marriage between the Lycan King and our family if I knew my brother was at fault. 

And just when I was ready to head to the wedding hall, that was when my father deemed it fit to tell me the truth.

I felt betrayed, used, and discarded like a piece of trash.

 Initially, my family had wanted only one son, but I happened to be an addition, so they didn't think twice before sending me off to marry the most dangerous man in the werewolf world. 

Mikhail Lenovo, the king of hell. The Lycan King.

I took another glance at my appearance in the mirror. 

My face was covered in heavy makeup, and my eyes were shrunken with sadness.

 Not even the moon goddess could make me excited today, or rather save me from getting married. 

As much as I was getting married to the king of hell, there was no way I wouldn't have a taste of hell myself.

"We are sorry, Rosanne. Don't think too much about it. You're saving your brother's life." my mother, Nicka, said.

I was forced to speak up, but I didn't have the guts to say it out loud. 

'What about me?' my subconscious mind screamed.

 They only cared about their son, their heir. 

The future Alpha of the Rising Sun pack.

"We had no choice," my father added. "The Lycan King agreed to let Axel go only if we give you away to him in marriage."

I folded my fists, which were seated on my lap so hard that my knuckles turned white.

 Was I a commodity to be given away? 

Was Axel blind when he fell in love with Princess Clara, the younger sister of the Lycan King, of all she-wolves in the Rising Sun pack?

He deserved to be punished, but why was I getting punished in his place?

"Say something, Rosanne." my mother urged, but I bit the walls of my mouth to fight back the tears that stung my eyes.

"I have nothing to say," I replied.

"I know it's not fair on your part, but this is the least you can do for our family. Without Axel, our pack's legacy dies." My father was trying to make me understand. To make me see things from his own perspective.

I almost scoffed at his words.

 Was I not good enough to continue the family's legacy or become the Alpha of our pack?

Or was it because I happened to be a woman?

 I had trained all my life to be the Alpha of the Rising Sun pack, to break the rules that only favored men. 

The rules which stated that women were forbidden from becoming an Alpha. 

But all my efforts were thrown away in just a wink of an eye.

My parents were aware of how hard I trained, yet they turned a blind eye to it and insisted on getting me married instead of making me the Alpha, while Axel learned his lesson in jail.

I was still dwelling in my thoughts when the door to the dressing room creaked open.

"It's time for the wedding to begin." a deep voice, which obviously belonged to a guard from the Dark Moon pack, jolted me out of my trance.

"It's time, Rosanne. Let's go." my mother called, her tone soft, but I knew she didn't mean well.

I stood to my feet, my expression blank, as I grabbed the hem of the wedding dress and walked out of the dressing room.

As the cathedral drew closer, it felt like my heart was being trampled on. 

And upon arrival, I expected the Lycan King, Mikhail Lenovo, to be standing by the altar waiting for me, but it was empty.

 I was confused, but I didn't say a word.

Reaching the altar, a deep voice urged the wedding to proceed. "Start now!" it commanded.

I turned to face the voice and was surprised to see the Lycan King's older brother, Prince Landon. 

I almost laughed dryly when realization hit me hard. It was like a punch in the guts.

 I had no idea that there was a tradition where the bride was supposed to get married to herself at the altar.

The priest looked confused, but he began the marriage ceremony nonetheless.

 He handed me the ring, which I placed gently on my finger, and read the wedding vows to myself. 

It was ridiculous, and I felt embarrassed.

The wedding came to an end as soon as it started, and I was led to the car brought from the Dark Moon Pack. 

My parents bid me farewell, as the cars drove out of the Rising Sun pack.

I couldn't believe it. 

All my dreams had just crumbled in front of me, and a new destiny had been written all over again by the Moon goddess. 

To become the wife of the Lycan King and also a breeder.