Chapter 1

Lyra's POV

The plain, faded dress felt rough against my skin—it was a cheap, oversized garment meant for lowborns, not the true daughter and heir of an Alpha. But my father and his new Luna didn't care. To them, I was just a piece of trash being cleared out of his estate.

"Stand still," my stepmother, Sarah, purred, gripping my shoulder with painful force as she shoved me toward the study doors ahead. "You should be grateful, Lyra. You’re a weak girl who can't even shift, and the Lycan Alpha wants you in his bed. Enjoy it while it lasts, though—he will tire of you in a week."

I yanked my arm away, my skin crawling from her touch. “If my mother were alive at this moment, you would never be standing here, talking to me in such a manner,” I snapped, my voice thick with anger.

Sarah chuckled, releasing a harsh, mocking sound. “You mean your weak, late loser of a mother?”

"My mother was a fighter! She had more honor in her little finger than you would ever have in your entire body," I seethed.

Sarah offered a cruel, tinkling laugh, shaking her head. “A fighter, you call her? Remember, she died whimpering like a sick chicken in her bed, while I took her place. Such a tragedy... but weak blood always yields under pressure. Just like yours.”

I said nothing more. Ignoring the guards, I spun on my heel and stormed into the high-ceilinged study.

There, I found my father, the Alpha of the Crescent Pack, standing by the window with his back turned. He hadn't looked me in the eye since the day my mother's heart stopped.

"How could you?" My voice trembled with absolute rage. "How could you make this snake your Luna when my mother isn't even cold in her grave, and now you want to give me off to a monster as a mistress?"

"Silence!" My father’s Alpha aura slammed into the room, forcing the guards to lower their eyes the moment he turned. But I refused to bow my head.

"You have no right to speak to me in such a manner," he said coldly. ‘Your mother is dead, and your wolf is an embarrassment to this bloodline. Valdren’s aware that you're coming. You will get into that SUV whether you like it or not."

"But I’m your daughter!" I choked out. "Your only child and heir!"

My father’s lips curled into a cold, dismissive sneer. "You were never my only choice, Lyra. While your mother spent years struggling just to give me one weak, pathetic girl, Sarah gave me a son and a daughter—twins with my true Alpha blood."

Twins? My mother had spent her whole life believing she was the only woman in his heart, and I had grown up believing I was his only child.

While I was still trying to process every one of his cruel words, Sarah strolled over to stand beside him. My father instantly wrapped an arm around her waist.

"When I and my pack accidentally crossed into Valdren’s eastern territory last week, I needed an apology that would keep his enforcers from wiping our pack off the map," he continued, his eyes flat and ruthless. "Sarah was wise enough to suggest offering you. Passing you off settles my transgression with the Lycan Alpha and rids my house of a useless disgrace." He paused, his gaze hardening on me. "You are whatever I say you are—and right now, sending you to Valdren kills two birds with one stone."

"You're a coward, Alpha Jake—" The accusation tore from my throat before I could stop myself. But his full name had barely left my mouth when he crossed the room and struck my cheek with a force heavy enough to snap my head sideways.

"Today, I, Alpha Jake Red, reject you as my true heir and daughter," he growled, each word carrying the finality of a sentence being passed.

Hearing his words, I chuckled bitterly despite the heat burning across my cheek.

"I accept the rejection," I spat, lifting my eyes to meet his again.

He moved to strike me again, his arm already lifting. But Sarah intercepted and caught his wrist midair.

"It's okay now. The Lycan Alpha might reject her if she gets a wound on her face. You know how much he likes his beauties young and spotless.” She spoke with soothing concern, though the faint curve of her lips betrayed her true satisfaction.

The man I used to call Father instantly cooled at her warning and lowered his arm. His jaw tightened briefly before his gaze shifted toward the two guards standing by the doors.

"Drag her out. And if she fights, bind her."

"Aye, Alpha," the guards answered in unison, marching toward me.

"Oh, one more thing." Sarah raised a finger at the guards, then closed the small distance between us, leaning toward my ear.

"Don't worry about the noise," she chirped in a sweet whisper. "The pack feast is to formally announce my twins as the official heirs to the Crescent Pack tonight. It's a shame you won't be here to raise a glass. Monsters like Valdren don't keep weak mistresses alive for very long anyway."

"You can take her now." She stepped backward, waving the guards forward.

Without another word, the guards dragged me out toward the driveway, my feet scraping against the cold stone steps.

The moment they shoved me into the backseat of the black SUV, the electronic locks clicked shut, sealing me behind the dark-tinted glass.

In a single night, they had erased my mother's legacy and mine. A tear slipped from the corner of my eye, but I immediately wiped it away with the back of my hand. I couldn't afford to cry.

~

As the SUV sped along the highway, the familiar roads of Crescent Pack finally gave way to a quieter route.

Soon after, the western border came into view, and beyond it lay the eastern region.

As I observed the quieter road framed by denser trees, my wolf stirred faintly beneath my ribs.

I frowned and pressed a hand against my chest. “What now?” I asked, my voice laced with confusion.

But she gave me no answer. She never did.

Up ahead, a different black SUV was parked, with two men standing beside it, dressed in dark suits bearing Valdren's golden wolf crest on their chests.

The moment my driver pulled over, the guard sitting beside me stepped out and walked around. “You need to step out now, Miss,” he said after opening the car door.

“I'm not leaving,” the words slipped out anxiously before I could stop them.

“Don't make me use force, ma'am.” The guard stared down at me.

I released a frustrated sigh. “Fine,” I huffed, jerking out of the seat and marching ahead of him.

Reaching the SUV, one of Valdren's guards opened the rear door. I stared at the seat before reluctantly climbing in.

The instant the door shut, my former driver and guard drove away, leaving the Crescent Pack completely behind me.

As the new vehicle continued deeper into the eastern region of New York, a massive black gate finally appeared with a large golden wolf crest fixed at its center.

A few minutes later, Valdren's estate came into view, looking far more intimidating in person than in pictures.

As the car halted in front of the towering building, a guard stepped out and opened the rear door. "Please, Miss," he said, stepping aside.

With rage still burning inside my chest, I stepped out without a word. Then, my gaze landed on an older woman with gray-streaked dark hair standing near the entrance.

"I'm Mara," she said, stepping forward, as the guard and I came to a halt. "I'll take you inside."

Without a second thought, I followed her in.

We had barely crossed the main corridor when a masculine voice echoed through the space.

"Please! Don't kill me, Alpha! Spare me!"

My steps slowed. Through an open doorway, I saw a man on his knees, with the Alpha standing before him, his back turned to me.

"You know the rules," the Alpha stated, his voice dangerously calm.

The kneeling man trembled. "Alpha, please. I made a mistake."

"You betrayed me." The words dropped quiet enough to make the room feel colder.

The kneeling man crawled forward. "Please, Alpha. Give me another chance."

The Alpha turned slightly, and my breath caught as I recognized the Lycan Alpha—Valdren.

He wore a black fitted shirt with the sleeves pushed to his elbows, exposing heavily tattooed arms. Despite his hardened appearance, there was no denying he was strikingly handsome.

His amber eyes were what held me as they glowed faintly with an unnatural intensity. Right there, I felt my wolf go completely still, as though even she recognized the danger before me.

Valdren looked down at the traitor once more. "Take him out."

The man's face crumpled. "Alpha, please!" he cried, twisting toward the approaching guards.

Two of Valdren's guards seized him, their expressions completely devoid of emotion.

"Please! Don't kill me!" the man screamed, fighting against their grips.

Valdren didn't move. "You betrayed me once. I won't give you the opportunity to do it twice."

With the finality in his voice, the guards dragged the man away, his desperate pleas echoing down the corridor.

Then Valdren's gaze shifted, and it landed directly on me.