Chapter 3:The Wrong Bride

VALERIAN’S POV

I lifted the veil and looked into the face of a stranger.

The clearing fell into absolute silence. The blood moon continued to bathe everything in red, but the sacred flames seemed to flicker lower as if they too held their breath. This was not Arabella. The woman standing before me had softer features, wider eyes filled with raw fear, and a scent that hit me like a storm rolling through the pines.

Wild jasmine. Fresh rain. Something uniquely hers.

My wolf, Kaelor, surged forward inside me, restless and alert in a way I had never felt before. He paced and pushed, demanding I pull her closer. I kept my expression blank. Years of rule had taught me that silence carried more weight than any roar.

Her parents rushed forward. Her mother’s face had gone deathly pale while the father trembled as he stepped between us.

“Alpha King Valerian,” the father began, his voice cracking. “This is a terrible misunderstanding. We had no idea Arabella would do something so reckless. Nyra here insisted on taking her sister’s place. She convinced her to run. We tried to stop it, but she—”

“Enough,” I said quietly.

The single word stopped him cold. I already knew the truth. My spies had reported Arabella’s escape hours before I arrived. The faint traces of her scent in the bridal chamber had confirmed it. These people had dressed their second daughter in the gown and pushed her forward like a sacrifice. Now they threw her to the wolves to save themselves.

I studied Nyra. She stood frozen, her hands clasped so tightly in front of her that the knuckles showed white. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, but she did not cry. She simply looked at her parents with a pain so deep it almost pierced my own carefully built walls.

Kaelor growled low in my chest. Mine.

The claim startled me. He had barely stirred for Arabella, the woman supposedly chosen by the Moon Goddess. Yet this substitute bride made him claw at my control like a beast scenting its true home.

I turned my gaze back to the High Priest. The old man waited, eyes wide with uncertainty.

“The bond is sealed,” I stated. “The blood moon has witnessed it. We will not insult the Goddess by breaking what has been joined tonight.”

Relief and terror mixed across the faces of the guests. Nyra’s father tried to speak again, but one look from me silenced him. I offered Nyra my arm. She hesitated only a second before she placed her trembling hand on it. Her touch sent another wave through Kaelor. I ignored it.

We walked down the path together in complete silence. The car waited at the edge of the clearing, a black Maybach, driven by my personal chauffeur. I helped her inside only because protocol demanded it, then took my seat opposite her. The door closed. The car engine came on and the ride began.

She kept her eyes fixed on her lap. I watched her without speaking. The bond hummed between us now, faint but real. Every breath she took carried her scent across the small space. Kaelor refused to settle. He pushed images into my mind, her face, her wrist pressed to mine, the way her voice had shaken when she said “I do.”

I turned my head toward the window and stared into the passing darkness. This marriage was a political necessity. Nothing more. She was a substitute, nothing else.

The ride to my fortress took nearly an hour. When the car finally stopped, the massive iron gates of Blackmoor Keep loomed above us. Ancient stone walls rose into the night, torches burning along the battlements. This was no warm palace. It was a stronghold built for war and solitude.

I stepped down first. Servants had lined up along the grand steps, their heads bowed in respect. They had prepared for the new Luna. I did not offer Nyra my hand. She climbed down on her own, the long gown making her movements careful and unsteady.

The head housekeeper, Mrs. Elara, stepped forward. A sharp-eyed woman in her fifties who had served my family for decades, she took one look at Nyra and understood something was wrong. She said nothing.

“Mrs. Elara will show you to your chambers,” I told Nyra without looking at her. “She knows what has been prepared.”

Nyra nodded once. Her voice stayed trapped behind pressed lips. I turned and walked into the fortress. The heavy doors closed behind me with a solid thud that echoed through the stone halls.

My beta, Cassian fell into step beside me as I headed for the stairs. He was the only permitted to get so close to me. But he knew better than to ask those questions he’s been dying to ask in front of others.

We climbed to the upper level in silence. My study occupied the western tower, a large room filled with maps, ancient texts, and the scent of aged wood and leather. I closed the door, loosened the collar of my ceremonial robe, and poured two glasses of whiskey. I handed one to Cassian and kept the other.

He took a sip and waited.

I moved to the tall window that overlooked the dark forest. The blood moon still hung low, watching. Kaelor continued to pace inside me, restless energy crackling through my veins. Her scent lingered on my clothes from where our wrists had touched. It refused to fade.

“She is not Arabella,” Cassian said finally, keeping his tone neutral.

“I know.” I took a slow drink. The whiskey burned cleanly down my throat.

Cassian raised an eyebrow. “Yet you completed the bond.”

“The ritual was finished. Undoing it publicly would weaken our position with the packs and anger the Goddess. We need stability now more than ever.” I set the glass down. “She will remain as Luna for now.”

He studied me for a long moment. “And how does Kaelor feel about that?”

The question struck deeper than I liked. I turned from the window and met his gaze. For the first time since the ceremony, I allowed some of the truth to surface.

“Kaelor will not settle,” I said. My voice came out low. “He reacted to her from the moment I took her hand. Stronger than he ever did with Arabella. He pushed forward during the vows. He wanted her. He still wants her.”

Cassian frowned. “That makes no sense. Arabella is your fated mate. She was chosen for you by the Moon Goddess.”

“Apparently the Moon Goddess had other plans.” I clenched my jaw. The wolf stirred again at the memory of Nyra’s fear-filled eyes and the way her scent had wrapped around me at the altar. “She smells different, and feels different. Kaelor is obsessed in a way I have never seen from him.”

I walked to the heavy oak desk and rested my hands on it. The fortress lay quiet around us. Somewhere below, Nyra now sat in the chambers prepared for another woman. A substitute in every sense. I had no intention of softening toward her. She represented a deception, even if her parents had forced her into it.

Yet the wolf did not care about politics or lies.

I looked at Cassian. The question that had clawed at me since the veil came up finally left my lips.

“Why does my wolf want her?”