My Fated Mate Faked Our Wedding, So I Married the Alpha King

Pain ripped through me as I severed our mate bond, sending my body into spasms and leaving my back drenched in sweat.I bit the inside of my cheek, staggered past Carl, and headed deeper into the shrine.Carl went pale, but his pride wouldn't let him show weakness. He gritted his teeth and fought through the pain of our severed bond."Vera, did you stage all this just to force me to mark you?"He grabbed my wrist.The instant we touched, pain from our severed bond ripped through us both.Carl grunted and staggered.Carl was too proud to let go, even as the pain tore through him."I'm ordering you to get the hell out of the central territory! Find someone else to mark you for all I care. Just do me a favor and stop pretending you're my mate. You make me sick!"I turned and studied his face in silence. I didn't even have the strength to be angry.I already knew how he felt, but his words still cut deep.My heart had raced last night when he told me to wear a wedding dress and promised to

Carl's mouth twisted, his eyes full of contempt."Shut up! You bunch of idiots!"He didn't even look at it. He tossed the invitation on the ground and stepped on it."You expect me to touch this cheap forgery? I wouldn't dirty my hands with it.""Oh, Carl, how could you treat Vera like that?"Aurora sighed and glanced at the invitation on the ground."Vera, you made up the name on the invitation too, didn't you?"She stepped forward, took my hand, and tried to reason with me."I know how deep your feelings for Carl run. What you said just now was a joke, wasn't it? Hurry up and apologize to Carl. He'll forgive you."Carl rushed to reassure Aurora, "Aurora, don't get the wrong idea. She and I have nothing to do with each other anymore!"Aurora smiled."I believe you, Carl. That bond is in the past."Then she looked at me."Vera, don't do anything stupid. Come on, I'll help you get out of that wedding dress."The crowd immediately chimed in. "Ms. Vale really is a class above the rest! Sh

Rhys carried me to the altar.He set me down, and together we underwent the Moon Goddess's blessing ritual.It had all happened so fast. I still felt dazed.I said softly, "Thank you."Rhys lowered his head a little, and his gaze fell on the side of my neck.The high priest stepped aside respectfully. "Please release your spiritual energies and let them resonate."Rhys leaned in and marked my neck, claiming me as his mate."You don't have to feel like you owe me."Rhys immediately sensed my tension and gently brushed a thumb across the corner of my eye. "This is what I'm supposed to do."I made an excuse to go wash up at the fountain. I needed somewhere to calm down.When I got there, I overheard Carl and his group talking.His Beta's voice was shaking. "Alpha, that's the Alpha King. We'd better not mess with him."Carl scoffed. "That engagement fell through ages ago! That guy's obviously some fraud Vera hired to put on a show! She'll do anything to make me jealous!"The others quickly

I followed Rhys to the ballroom.Carl and his crowd had gotten there first.They stood a little way off, watching me with obvious amusement.Aurora sighed and shook her head at me. "Vera, lying never ends well. Why do this to yourself?"Everyone was waiting to watch me make a fool of myself.I shrank back on instinct, afraid of whatever was about to happen.Rhys stopped walking.He turned around, his voice low and gentle. "Don't be afraid. The wedding I promised you is real. All of it."Should I believe him?Carl had once promised to give me the grandest coming-of-age ceremony the pack had ever seen on the day of my first shift.But when the day came, he gave the ring to Aurora right in front of everyone.I was already a useless wolf who could barely shift.Even so, I had endured every second of agony and forced myself to shift because of his promise.I thought it was my coming-of-age ceremony, proof that all the suffering had finally paid off.Instead, it turned into Carl's grand decl

Carl was sent flying. He hit the floor and rolled over a dozen times before coming to a stop. Then he began crawling toward me on his hands and knees."Vera... forgive me... please take back your rejection..."I looked down at him without emotion."Carl, what exactly do I owe you? Why won't you let me go?"Carl crawled to my feet, sobbing."You don't owe me anything... I'm the one to blame! I never even liked Aurora! I only got together with her to make you jealous, to make you beg me!"Gasps went up all over the hall.Carl broke down, sobbing. "You had that precious healing power, while I was almost crippled! I was jealous. I felt worthless! I was terrified another family would take you and your healing power!"So all I could do was make one bet after another and humiliate you over and over. I wanted to prove to everyone that no matter how badly I treated you, you'd never leave me!"Tears streamed down Carl's face as he waited for me to answer.But I just looked him in the eye and sai