Chapter 2

Just then, a knock came from the front door.

I composed myself and opened it.

"Anya, the Alpha is blackout drunk. I brought him back."

I thanked him and took Kade's arm, supporting his weight.

For once, Kade was docile, burying his face in my neck and murmuring incoherently.

"Don't go... Anya... no... Selena... my Luna..."

The words hung in the air, and the living room fell silent.

"Uh... Anya, don't read too much into it. The Alpha's just drunk. He was probably telling some guest not to leave."

"Besides, he was still calling your name..."

I managed a bitter smile. "Yes, I know."

Seeing my composed expression, Ryan let out a quiet sigh of relief and left in a hurry.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my gaze inexplicably drawn to the scattered scrolls on the nightstand.

It occurred to me that in four years as his secret mate, I had never once set foot in his study.

Now, I just wanted to confirm one thing.

Was the Selena he murmured about the person I thought she was?

I stared at the unconscious Kade.

"Don't go..." he mumbled again, his arm instinctively reaching for me.

After a moment's thought, I walked toward the study.

This was the Alpha's private sanctuary, a place where even Chloe was not allowed.

I stepped through the heavy oak door.

The shelves were lined with yellowed tactical manuals and dusty pack law codices.

I looked at a stack of ancient scrolls in the corner, hoping to find a clue.

I walked over, carefully arranging the tomes that carried the legacy of our werewolf lineage.

Suddenly, a photograph slipped from between the pages of a book.

I bent down to pick it up, and my blood ran cold.

The photo was so worn at the edges from repeated handling that it was clear someone had treasured it for a long time.

The young she-wolf in the picture had a pair of eyes almost identical to mine.

Of course they were similar. How could they not be?

After all, this was my half-sister, Selena.

My hand trembled as I held the photo, a sharp pain piercing my chest.

Just then, a powerful mind-link pulse hit my mental barriers.

It wasn't for me, but the group link for Kade's inner circle.

As his marked mate, I could passively receive parts of their conversations when his mental energy was unstable, a failsafe to ensure I wouldn't miss important pack information.

I never thought it would be useful at a time like this.

"Yo, you guys are not gonna believe this. Last night the Alpha was holding Anya but calling out Selena's name. Nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Good thing I thought fast and covered for him. Otherwise, if she found out the Alpha only marked her on a whim, that little Beta would totally lose it."

"I thought the Alpha was supposed to be devoted. Wasn't the plan to dump her when he got bored? How come he's getting more serious now?"

"I know, right? It's weird. He used to complain that Anya was too old and boring for him. Why hasn't he dumped her yet?"

The conversation in the group link grew increasingly vile.

My wolf snarled in rage inside me, but my reason was consumed by despair.

I wanted to cut off the connection, but then I heard something even more heartbreaking.

What came next was even more vile.

"Hey, you know what Selena showed me? Anya's not boring at all," one of them said excitedly.

"Haha, turns out that quiet Beta is a total freak in the sheets."

Hearing this, I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.

"No wonder she managed to capture our Alpha's heart."

"Too bad for her. A placeholder is still just a placeholder. Now that the real thing is back, her time is up."

I desperately wanted them to shut up, but I was powerless.

I remembered another time, shortly after we were marked, when I'd accidentally overheard Kade's men discussing me.

Back then, Kade had stormed out, the full force of his Alpha's authority laced with killing intent. "Shut your mouths. Is Anya someone you can talk about?"

At the time, I thought he could protect me, that I would be willing to be his secret mate, even if it was temporary.

But now, he would only get drunk and pass out, again and again, for my sister.

I couldn't hear what they said after that.

So Kade wasn't just using me as a replacement.

He was willing to trample on my dignity for Selena's sake.

Those private, intimate memories, secretly recorded without my knowledge, were used to entertain Selena.

But why?

Selena was the bastard child of our mother's affair.

It was my mother who despised my father for the battle scars that covered his body. So why was everyone now siding with Selena and scorning me?

A tearing pain ripped through my chest, and tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

I quickly wiped them away, my hands shaking as I used my own memory crystal to record all of this as evidence.

I traced the connection back, uncovering even more horrifying schemes.

The late-night call to pick up a drunk Kade, with stray wolves arranged to "coincidentally" harass me on the way.

Deliberately getting Kade drunk on strong liquor while I was recovering from an injury, just to watch me entertain his guests while enduring the pain of my infected wound.

Even my father's worsening condition was due to a wolfsbane poison they had secretly administered.

Revelation after revelation, each one a silver blade twisting in my heart.

Tears blurred my vision. I bit my lip hard, suppressing the sobs that threatened to escape.

I was a plaything, the most convenient weapon at his side, but never his love.

All I wanted now was to delete those intimate memories that might have already been spread.

But when I tried to search for them in his mind, I was blocked by a powerful Alpha's mental wall.

I couldn't touch those humiliating "collections" at all.

I placed Selena's photo back where I found it, my heart as cold and dead as ice.

No wonder he always had excuses whenever I brought up making our relationship public.

My supposed mate bond was nothing more than the delusion of a placeholder.

As I walked out of the study, a pack messenger respectfully handed me a formal invitation sealed with a silver wolf crest.

"A formal invitation from Alpha Jasper of the Silver Crest Pack."

The messenger respectfully presented a silver envelope engraved with a moon goddess sigil.

"Alpha Jasper of the Silver Crest Pack formally invites the warrior Anya to serve as his Head Warrior. He awaits your reply."