Chapter 1: Where Is My sister

NYRA’S POV

“She’s not answering.” Mother’s voice cut through the mansion like broken glass.

I stood frozen in the center of the living room, my phone pressed hard against my ear. My thumb kept jabbing the redial button. Each unanswered ring twisted the knot in my stomach tighter. Servants gathered near the doorway, their whispers sharp and nervous. Father paced in front of the grand fireplace, his face pale and drawn. The heavy velvet curtains did little to hold back the deepening dusk outside.

The blood moon would rise tonight. Weeks of preparation, flowers, silks, and the sacred clearing all waited for Arabella to bind herself to Alpha King Valerian. Now the entire house smelled of fear and panic.

I tried the number again but it went straight to voicemail.

“Nyra, stop that and come here,” Father ordered. He gripped Mother’s arm. “We have to fix this before Valerian arrives. If he discovers the bride has vanished, we will all pay the price.”

Mother’s eyes widened with raw terror. “Where is your sister, Nyra? She must have said something last night. We need her now.”

The words struck me oddly. Your sister. As if they had ever addressed me face to face like this before. I had never truly belonged. I lowered the phone slowly.

“She didn’t say anything to me, Mother,” I replied. “She was happy last night. It’s unlike her to get up and run on such a big night.”

They didn’t say anything to me after that, they turned and faced the servants. That was their routine in this household.

In this family I had always been the shadow, quieter and plainer, the adopted girl who never sparkled like Arabella. She was the one everyone noticed, the one they loved without effort. I had accepted it long ago. But this moment felt different, heavier.

Yesterday at the recital dinner, Arabella had glowed. She laughed freely with the guests and spoke with excitement about becoming Luna, about the great honor of standing beside the Alpha King who ruled all packs. We had stayed up late that night, whispering about married life. She had seemed genuinely thrilled. So why run now, with the blood moon ceremony only hours away?

I remembered her arm linked with mine as we walked through the candlelit halls. She had shone under every gaze. And Kieran, my fated mate, had been there too. Everything was perfect. What could have gone wrong?

Mother suddenly bent near the side table. Her fingers shook as she picked up a folded note. She read it once, then again. Her face crumpled.

“What is it?” Father demanded.

She handed the note to him in silence and after he had finished reading, he handed it to me.

The paper felt far too light in my hands. Arabella’s neat handwriting stared back at me.

I’m sorry, Mother and Father.

But I can’t marry a man I do not love.

My heart belongs to Kieran and we are leaving to live our lives without the shadows of the pack rules.

By the time you read this, we’ll already be gone.

Please don’t look for me.

— Arabella

My breath caught. Kieran. The name punched straight through my chest. Why would she choose to run away with my fated mate when she’s supposed to be getting married to her fated mate tonight?

Did Kieran really choose Arabella over me?

Just then the memory from last night came rushing back to my mind. Last night his hand had found mine beneath the heavy tablecloth, warm and steady. He leaned close, brushed his lips against my forehead, and whispered, “No matter what happens, it will always be you.” His voice had carried complete certainty. My heart had soared. After years of loving him in silence, long before the moon revealed our bond, those words felt like the first solid ground I had ever known.

That memory now cracked open inside me, sharp and painful.

I walked away from my parents and tried calling her again. I can’t sit here and believe that my sister and my mate would betray me like this. The phone rang but there was no response. Then I called again and again. She finally picked up on the third ring.

“Tell me this isn’t true,” I said, my voice barely steady.

A soft sob came through first. “Nyra… I’m so sorry.”

“Arabella, please come home. The wedding is tonight. Everyone is waiting. The Alpha—”

“Nyra, we had to leave,” she whispered, crying harder. “I tried to pretend, but I couldn’t do it. Not when my heart beats for him.”

A low male voice murmured something in the background. Then Kieran took the phone. His tone was calm, almost relieved.

“I’m sorry, Nyra… but I love her.”

The room tilted violently. I gripped the edge of the sofa until my knuckles turned white. “Kieran?”

He let out a breath that sounded lighter than I had ever heard from him. “This is what I want, Nyra. I can’t keep pretending that I love you for real. I’ve always been in love with Arabella. I got close to you just to be close to her. I’m sorry I deceived you. I hope you understand.”

Understand? The man who had kissed my forehead and promised forever had just run away with my sister. The sister who had always outshined me. The one who took everything she wanted without effort. My legs trembled. A dull roar filled my ears as the betrayal sank its teeth deep into my heart.

I ended the call. The phone slipped from my fingers and landed with a dull thud on the rug. Silence swallowed the room, broken only by the steady ticking of the grandfather clock and the hushed murmurs of the servants beyond the door.

Mother approached me slowly. Her hands settled on my shoulders, heavy with expectation. “Nyra, look at me.”

I lifted my gaze. My eyes burned with unshed tears.

“You have to take your sister’s place.”

The words dropped like stones into still water. I stepped back, shaking my head. “No. You cannot be serious.”

Father moved closer, his voice low and urgent. “You know what Valerian would do if he finds out that our family made a mockery of him. We cannot put our family and this pack in danger. Nyra, this is your duty to protect this family from the wrath of Valerian.”

Mother’s grip tightened on my shoulders. “We raised you when no one else would, Nyra. We gave you our name and our protection in a world that devours the weak. You owe us this, Nyra. Stand at the altar. Become his bride. Save us.”

I stared at them, my chest heaving. The adopted daughter who had always lived in Arabella’s shadow. The one who was overlooked, quieter, never anyone’s first choice. Now they wanted to offer me up like a spare part to the most feared Alpha alive. The man known across the packs for his ruthless power and cold justice.

Outside, the sky bled into deep crimson as the blood moon began its rise. Distant howls echoed from the forest. Warriors and guests were arriving for a ceremony that now rested entirely on my shoulders.

Kieran’s relieved voice echoed in my head. Arabella’s note. The years of feeling second best. The crushing weight of everything I owed the only parents I had ever known.

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. The choice tore at me, ripping me in two directions until every breath hurt. Refuse, and watch my family burn under Valerian’s wrath. Accept, and chain myself forever to a king I barely knew.

“My Lordship, My Ladyship,” the butler called out. “Alpha King Valerian has arrived.”