C1

Aichonne Blackwood

“You are getting mated?”

Maggie Moonclaw lets out an ear-shattering howl that makes me drop my clay mug.

“What?”

Maggie points her shaking finger at her screen. “It says it right here, Aichonne. You are getting mated to the royal heir.”

“Did you put crazy-root in your morning water?” I shake my head, my short hair moving around my face. “I have been in Moonhaven Coast for two days. I am not dating anyone.”

“I am your moonbound sister, and you did not even tell me!” Maggie rolls her eyes big time. “I guess I can say goodbye to standing next to you at the pack altar. I did not even get an invite.”

I am staying with Maggie while she gets better from her bad leg injury. We just got done with a morning run through the woods, and now we are in her trusted Beta’s kitchen. Everything is nice and slow until she starts talking like a wild rogue.

“Is this some kind of sick joke?” My heart goes fast.

“Look!” She pushes the screen into my face.

I snatch it from her hands. My mouth falls open. My eyes feel like they are going to pop right out of my head.

‘AICHONNE BLACKWOOD SOON TO BECOME LUNA OF THE SILVERFANG ROYAL PACK’

The huge words burn my eyes. I click the search button and type my name super fast. A whole bunch of news pops up.

‘AICHONNE BLACKWOOD SPOTTED IN MOONHAVEN COAST GETTING READY FOR THE BLOOD MOON ASCENSION’

‘DARYL SILVERFANG AND AICHONNE BLACKWOOD. LONG LIVE THE FUTURE KING AND LUNA’

‘DARYL AND AICHONNE. IS THIS AN ETERNAL MOONMARK?’

Daryl Silverfang? The Alpha Heir of the Silverfang Throne? Who is that?

I read page after page, and my blood starts to boil like fire. A hot wave of anger hits my chest.

“That manipulative bitch,” I growl.

Maggie tilts her head. “So, you are not really mated to him?”

“No!” I slam my hands on the table. “I do not even know this Daryl guy. I have never seen his face in my life.”

“Well, if you have to marry a total stranger, he is a great choice,” Maggie says, looking back at the screen. “He is a powerful Alpha. He owns almost the whole Pack Dominion. He is huge and strong.”

“I do not care how big his wolf is!” I chew my lip till it hurts. “My rogue Luna stepmother did this. Andrea Blackwood is using me as bait again to get pack resources. This is a new low, even for her.”

“You think Andrea started this rumor?”

“I know she did.” My hands shake with rage. “She loves to mess with my life. Remember when she tried to force me to mate with that creepy Simon Darkhowl?”

Maggie makes a super gross face. “Ugh. Do not remind me.”

Simon is a bad wolf. On our first meeting, he told me he wanted to lock me in a silver cage and let his three cousins run wild with me. I told him to get lost.

My stepmother cannot pick a good wolf to save her life. I do not know how my father, Pack Elder Hershel, ever let her into our pack. Telling her to mind her own business is like throwing fresh meat to a starving wolf and telling it not to eat. It is pointless.

“Well, she picked a winner this time,” Maggie says, tapping the glass. “Daryl Silverfang lives right down the road on the Silver Tide Coast. You could move here permanently, and we could hunt together every day.”

“I love the Alpha Metropolis too much to ever leave,” I say. “I am a city wolf through and through.”

My phone starts buzzing like a swarm of angry bees. The screen lights up over and over with missed alerts from other packs. I let it go to voicemail.

“I need to stop this madness right now,” I tell Maggie, standing up so fast my chair squeaks. “This fake news is going viral across the whole Crescent Moon Dominion. I am going to find this Alpha Heir and make him tell the truth.”

“Where are you going dressed like that?” Maggie asks, looking at my hunting boots and tight leather vest.

“I am going to war,” I say. “I called my father’s Beta steward back home. The pack house is in total chaos right now. My father and Andrea are locked in the Alpha’s den, having a massive yelling match. It is super ugly.”

“Your father must be so angry,” Maggie says.

“He is fit to be tied,” I say. “I love him to pieces, but marrying that rogue woman was his biggest mistake. I am not waiting around for them to finish fighting. I need to know why Daryl Silverfang agreed to this lie. What does the royal pack get from this?”

Maggie leans on her wooden cane, looking worried. “Did you even make an appointment with the royal heir? A powerful Alpha does not just have free time for a random wolf.”

“I tried to call his pack lodge, but his guard dog at the front gate keeps giving me the runaround,” I growl. “She thinks I am a crazy rogue making up stories. Daryl is probably sitting on his Wolf King's Throne right now, laughing at me.”

“Maybe he is innocent,” Maggie says gently.

“No way,” I say, my voice getting louder. “He must be loving every minute of this attention. But I found his main pack headquarters, the Mooncrest Alpha Citadel. I am going to pay the King a little visit.”

Maggie lets out another loud gasp. “You are going to show up unannounced at the royal citadel? Is that a good idea, Aichonne?”

“What else can I do?” I shrug my shoulders. “I want answers, and I want them right now. If my stepmother will not give them to me, then this Alpha King will.”

I turn around and run out the door before she can stop me.