Elena Vale never knew her father. Raised in hardship after her mother’s heroic sacrifice, she devoted her life to becoming the best Pack Healer in the Silvermist Pack. But when the Moon Goddess fated her to Alpha Damien—the very son of the couple her mother died protecting—Elena thought her life was finally turning around. Until he rejected her. Labeled a weak, unwanted orphan, Elena was cast aside as unworthy of the Luna title. Forced to attend Damien’s wedding to his new bride, the cruel and entitled Samantha, Elena endured brutal public humiliation. Just as she was about to lose the last shred of her dignity, a powerful stranger intervened. That stranger was Lucien Draven—the mysterious and dangerously magnetic Lycan King. Drawn to each other by a force neither of them could resist, one night of forbidden passion changed Elena’s fate forever. She never expected to wake up marked… and carrying the King’s children. But as secrets unravel, enemies close in, and a crown hangs in the balance, Elena must choose—will she remain the rejected orphan? Or rise as the Queen destiny always intended her to be?
View MoreChapter One
Elena’s POV
I should have never come here.
There’s a reason I hate parties—especially ones held to celebrate lies.
The Silvermist Packhouse was glittering with light and grandeur—gold chandeliers, silk tablecloths, and too many wolves pretending to be saints in stolen fur, the air thick with perfume, pride, and hypocrisy. Laughter rang across the hall like the sharp tinkle of broken glass.
Every moment here was a reminder: I didn’t belong. Not anymore. Not since he rejected me.
I tried to keep to the shadows, far from the couples spinning around the marble floor, far from the spot where Alpha Damien Blackthorn twirled his new Luna in front of the pack.
My fated mate. And the woman he chose instead.
Samantha Lawson. The closest person I have as a sister or rather rival. Samantha could have been my sister but we were not biologically related. Her mother used to help my mother when she was alive and after she died, they took me in.
At first, I thought I had found a new family and that my life was not really over. Little did I know, that was far from the truth. They only took me in because of the properties my mother left behind and showed me what wickedness tasted like.
Since no one in the pack liked me, all thanks to my foster mother, I kept shut and stayed in the house, treated like a slave in my own house.
Even though the signs had been so obvious and glaring. I didn't want to believe that she hated me to the extent of wanting everything that was mine. I wanted to allow myself to believe that someone would want to be in the same space as I but since my mother died, that belief has been rather ridiculous.
I turned away from the crowd and made for the side hall, praying no one would notice me, no one would remember. But of course, I wasn’t that lucky.
“Well, well, well,” came a voice coated in venomous sweetness. “Look what the Moon Goddess dragged in.”
I didn’t have to turn to know who it was.
Samantha.
I stilled. My spine locked tight. Not now. Not again.
She sauntered toward me in a body-hugging silver gown, dripping in jewels and malice. Her sharp, almond-shaped eyes slid over me like I was something sticky on the bottom of her heel.
“Oh no,” she gasped with mock horror, “is that my dress?”
I frowned, instinctively pulling at the hem of my midnight-blue gown. “What are you talking about? This dress was my mother’s. I’ve had it for years.”
She laughed, the sound shrill and fake. “You expect me to believe that tragic orphan stories still work in this pack? Please. Damien—Alpha Damien—bought me that dress just last week. Custom made. There’s no way a little nothing like you could afford it.”
“It’s not your dress,” I said firmly, heart pounding. “This belonged to my mother. She left it for me before she died.”
Samantha’s expression twisted into something wicked. “Oh, how touching. The noble sacrifice of a nobody. Honestly, I forget your mother even existed—until you keep parading around in her rags pretending they’re relics.”
I clenched my jaw. I wouldn’t cry. Not in front of her.
“I’m not pretending anything.”
“No?” She tilted her head. “Because you showing up to my wedding party, in my dress, reeks of desperation. Are you hoping Damien will take one look at you and change his mind? Oh, poor little Elena, still clinging to the crumbs of a bond no one even wanted.”
“Enough, Samantha.” I cautioned, my voice shaking as my fist clenched tight.
“It is Luna Samantha to you!” she snapped. “And I think it’s time you took that off.” Her left brow rose in indignation and disgust.
I blinked. “What?”
“You heard me.” She crossed her arms. “Take. It. Off.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I’m dead serious. If you won’t return stolen property with grace, then you’ll do it with shame. Guards!”
Two pack guards appeared from the edges of the crowd, obedient as always. My blood turned cold.
“This is ridiculous—”
“She’s wearing a dress that doesn’t belong to her,” Samantha declared to the now-watching room, voice rising theatrically. “I’m the Luna now. I have every right to uphold respect and order in this pack.”
“I didn’t steal anything!” I cried. “You’re doing this to humiliate me!”
Samantha smirked. “Sweetheart, I don’t need to humiliate you. You did that just by showing up.”
The guards moved forward.
“No, please—don’t—”
“Hold her,” Samantha ordered, and before I could react, strong hands grabbed my arms. I struggled wildly, panic blinding me.
“Stop! Let go of me! This is my mother’s dress—”
“Rip it off if you have to,” Samantha sneered. “It probably still smells like poverty anyway.”
The neckline tore. Cold air grazed my skin. A collective gasp echoed around the hall as fabric split across my chest and thigh. My face flamed with shame.
“No—stop—please!”
“Poor thing,” Samantha cooed mockingly. “Maybe next time, wear something you can afford—or stay home with the rest of the unclaimed mutts.”
Tears burned at the corners of my eyes. I kicked, thrashed, fought like a cornered animal. But I was losing. The torn edges slipped from my shoulder. Another pull and I’d be fully exposed in front of everyone.
“ENOUGH!”
The voice rang like thunder crashing through stone. Like something else was mixed with it. Was that an Alpha tone? Or…
Everyone froze.
The guards’ hands went slack. I ripped free, stumbling to the floor. My knees hit the marble with a thud, and I gasped, hugging my arms tightly around my chest. What remained of the dress barely covered me.
I looked up—and saw him.
He stood in the doorway, tall and shadowed, his presence sucking the breath from the room. I couldn’t see his face clearly, not with the lighting behind him, but I felt the power rolling off him in waves. He wasn’t from here. He wasn’t ordinary. He was different. A different specie.
He stepped forward, and the air in the room changed and became charged with fear, tension and authority.
“Who gave the order to strip a woman in front of her pack like a criminal?” His voice was low, dangerous. “Who dares dishonor a guest with such disgrace?”
Samantha stammered, suddenly pale. “She—she is not a guest and she also stole from me. That dress—”
“I don’t recall asking for your explanation,” the man said coldly, cutting her off.
Samantha shrank back. The muttering in the hall had quietened and was starting to go high.
He turned his head slightly, deep green eyes like green forest falling to me, still kneeling, still trembling.
My arms tightened around myself, unable to look away from his hypnotic gaze.
Who was this man?
Lucien’s POVThe ballroom still smelled of roses and wine long after the last guest had left. Laughter and music had faded into echoes, replaced by the silence of polished marble and dying candle flames. I stood alone near the grand windows, staring into the night sky, the crown of responsibility pressing heavier on my head than ever.Heather had been all smiles tonight, radiant in her jeweled gown, her hand clinging to my arm as though it had always belonged there. To the court, we must have looked like the perfect picture: the cold king and his beautiful bride-to-be.But when her laughter rang in my ears, it wasn’t her voice I heard. It was hers.Elena.The thought was poison and salvation all at once. Six years had passed, and still, my heart refused to release her. I had told myself she was gone, lost to the winds, unwilling to be found. I had buried myself in duty, in alliances, in the mask of a ruler.And yet tonight, as I stared at the reflection of my hollow eyes in the window
Elena’s POVThe night was quiet, broken only by the soft chirping of crickets and the crackling fire in the healer’s hut. The scent of herbs lingered in the air—sage, lavender, a touch of wolfsbane. My hands were stained green from grinding leaves, but my heart felt lighter here than it ever had back there, in the palace I once thought would be home.“Here, Mama,” a small voice said. Little fingers tugged at my sleeve, and I glanced down to see a pair of sparkling eyes—golden and mischievous. My son held up a jar of honey with both hands, his cheeks flushed from running around.“Thank you, sweetheart,” I murmured, taking it from him with a kiss on the forehead. His twin sister peeked from behind him, her curls tangled, clutching a doll one of the pack’s seamstresses had sewn for her.Six years. Six years of raising them away from eyes that would have condemned us. Six years of pretending the ache in my chest no longer existed.“Go to bed now,” I whispered, shooing them gently toward t
Lucien’s POVThe ballroom glittered like a gilded cage. Chandeliers bathed the marble in warm golden light, candles flickering as if mocking the hollow celebration. Musicians played in the corner, their violins singing a tune meant to lift spirits, but to me it sounded like chains dragging across stone.Heather’s hand rested on my arm, her grip deceptively light but iron in meaning. She looked every inch the queen she longed to be—her gown a cascade of crimson silk studded with diamonds, her lips painted the same color as fresh blood. Her smile never wavered, radiant and false, designed to charm every pair of eyes fixed upon us.“Smile, Lucien,” she murmured under her breath, her head tilting slightly so only I would hear. “They’re all watching.”My jaw tightened. I obeyed, pulling my mouth into something that could pass as a smile. But it wasn’t joy. It was survival.Heather tugged me toward the gathering nobles, bowing and curtsying as though the very air bent to her will. She thriv
The word twins hit me like a blow to the chest. My hands stilled over the satchel of herbs, the edges of the dried leaves crumbling beneath my fingers. For a moment, I wasn’t in the pack infirmary anymore—I was back in that moonlit garden six years ago, clutching my stomach as Heather’s laughter echoed faintly behind closed doors.“Twins?” I asked carefully, forcing my voice to stay steady. My subordinate, Mira, looked up at me with wide, eager eyes.“Yes, healer. The patient’s wife gave birth to two healthy pups last night. The whole pack is celebrating—it’s rare and considered a blessing from the Moon Goddess.”I nodded slowly, dismissing her with a soft smile, but inside, my heart twisted. Twins. A blessing. A sign of power.If only they knew.I left the infirmary, my legs carrying me to the secluded path behind the healer’s quarters, where no one would see me break. My fingers unconsciously brushed my abdomen, the phantom ache still there, the secret I’d carried for six long years
“Pass me the mugwort leaves,” I said firmly, my hands already pressing down against the wound of the young warrior stretched out on the bed. His breathing came in shallow gasps, sweat slicking his temples, the gash across his ribs refusing to stop bleeding.“Yes, healer,” Mira, my apprentice, rushed forward, her small fingers trembling as she placed the leaves into my waiting palm.The tangy, bitter scent filled my nose as I crushed the herb between my fingers, releasing its properties. My hands worked with practiced ease, steady and confident as though they had been born to do this. Six years ago, I would never have believed I would become this woman—a healer respected in another pack, far from everything I once knew. Far from him.I quickly layered the paste across the wound, watching as the bleeding slowed, then pressed clean linen firmly against it.The warrior groaned, his body twitching beneath my touch. I leaned closer, murmuring, “You’ll live. The Goddess didn’t bring you this
Chapter 26Six Years Later…LUCIEN’S POV“The kidnappings are getting more intense and the Alphas are calling for meeting with His Royal Highness,” Saint said from across the desk but I was not paying attention. I stopped paying attention that night. That day when my mate disappeared. When she disappeared from the surface of the earth. I had searched everywhere for her. Everywhere I knew. From the rogue den to every den Grey was able to find but she wasn't there. I had even made it a life mission to ensure that there was no rogue den breathing anywhere and yet… my mate was nowhere to be found. Somehow I knew within me that she wasn't dead but she wasn’t close either. “Lucien, you need to focus.” Marco’s voice cut through my thoughts and I let out a groan, adjusting in my seat properly. I cut a glance at him and he gave me a knowing look. “And what do you suggest? I have had Marco go visit some of the packs for explanation but all of them seemed to have different points. None of
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