Chapter 1

MAEVE POV

"Meave, your only worth is your womb — bear an heir for Nightwhisper's allies." The elders' words echo in my chest.

I stand before the mirror in my wedding gown, the high collar tight against my throat.

My twin brother, Reeve, is the sun everyone adores. I am his shadow: the disgrace of the Nightwhisper pack, a daughter born broken.

I were born without a wolf. I cannot even shift. In this world, where strength is everything, I have nothing.

Tonight, Reeve departs for Lycan Spirit Academy, where he will cement his claim to the alpha throne our father left behind. He is the perfect heir.

He is also the only one who has ever fought for me — who has sworn, that I will not be sold off for the pack's political gain. But I have already made my choice. If this marriage is the price of his crown, I will pay it.

Then — a fracture in the silence.

Something is wrong. I feel it before I understand it, a sharp pull behind my ribs, a frequency meant only for me. Reeve. It's Reeve.

Even without a wolf, some bonds run deeper than blood. And right now, every instinct I have is screaming.

With the heavy skirt of my wedding gown slowing my steps, I slip toward the eastern wing of the castle, the private territory of the Alpha. Strangely, the corridor that is usually guarded so tightly is now completely empty.

“Reeve?” I call softly when I reach his door.

There is no answer. But then a scent hits me, and it is not familiar. It is the smell of blood.

“Reeve!” I gasp.

I shove the heavy oak door open. My knees slam against the floor as I stumble forward.

And there he is. Reeve Nightwhisper, my twin brother, is lying helpless on the ground. Half of my soul is convulsing on the cold stone floor. Thick black blood seeps from the corner of his mouth.

Reeve’s handsome face is pale, and dark purple veins stand out against his neck as if something is burning his blood from the inside.

I drop to my knees, ignoring how the fabric of my wedding gown soaks up the spreading pool of black blood.

“Reeve! By the Moon Goddess!” My voice breaks in my throat.

“Maeve…” His voice sounds like he is choking on thick liquid. Black blood spills from the corner of his lips as he tries to say my name.

“No, no, no, do not talk,” I plead in panic.

My hands tremble violently when I touch his chest. I am terrified to touch him, afraid the poison will spread faster through his body.

“I will call a healer. Stay here, I will—”

Reeve’s hand grips my wrist tightly, as if that is the last strength he has left.

“No…” He shakes his head, his eyes sharp despite the pain. “They are… part of this…”

My world feels like it stops turning. They?

“Uncle Garson’s treason…” Reeve coughs. “He knew… tomorrow I would be registered… he does not want me to become the rightful Alpha…”

Tomorrow is the registration day at Alpha Spirit Academy. The moment Reeve would be officially recognized as the rightful heir of our pack.

Now Uncle Garson sees Reeve as a threat. If Reeve does not appear at the academy…

My world collapses instantly. Uncle Garson planned all of this. He deliberately killed Reeve so the pack’s throne would fall into his hands.

And he sold me off so there would be no Nightwhisper heir left to stand against him.

Reeve’s coughing grows worse until his body arches in pain.

I cannot lose Reeve. He is the perfect Alpha, the only hope of the pack, and my protector. And now, if Reeve is gone, the pack will crumble in my hands, in the hands of his so-called defective sister.

“You have to… survive,” Reeve says between broken breaths, each one weaker than the last. “Protect… our name…”

“Reeve, please…” I sob. I press my forehead against his cold, damp skin. “Do not leave me alone. I cannot do this without you. I am the weak one, remember? You are the strong one. You are the hero.”

Reeve gives a faint smile, a smile that hurts more than anything. The hand gripping my wrist slowly loosens.

“You are… stronger… than you think, sister…”

The words leave him with his final breath.

And then, silence.

His chest, which had been rising and falling so roughly, is now still. The bright golden eyes that always looked at me with warmth now stare blankly at the ceiling.

Reeve, my twin brother, the pride of the kingdom, dies in my arms.

A scream is trapped in my throat. Half of my soul is torn from my body. The bond between us as twins snaps, leaving a gaping emptiness inside me.

Outside, the great palace bell begins to ring, and it is not a sound of mourning. It is welcoming the envoys from Lycan Spirit Academy, who have come to escort Nightwhisper’s Alpha.

Uncle Garson calculated the timing perfectly. He wants the envoys to find Reeve’s body while it is still warm. If Reeve is discovered now, Uncle Garson will declare that there is no rightful heir from my father’s bloodline.

And then he can take the throne for himself.

Rage explodes in my chest. I rise to my feet, trembling, and stare at my reflection in Reeve’s mirror. I look like a shattered bride drenched in my brother’s blood.

“No,” I whisper fiercely. “I will not let you win, Uncle Garson.”

I grab the silk wedding gown, the symbol of my captivity. With a single rough motion, I rip it apart until it hangs in tattered pieces.

I take Reeve’s dagger and, without hesitation, cut off my long hair with uneven strokes. Strand after strand falls to the floor, mixing with the torn fabric.

I bind my chest tightly with the remaining strips of the gown until my ribs nearly ache from the pressure. My shaking hands take Reeve’s academy uniform and put it on.

When I look at my reflection again, I no longer see Maeve or Reeve Nightwhisper. I see a false Alpha forced to rise so the entire kingdom will not fall.

Suddenly, I hear the sound of footsteps stopping right outside the door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Reeve? The academy envoys are here.”

Uncle Garson’s voice seeps through the door, thick with sickening anticipation. “Come on out. We do not want to keep them waiting, do we?”

Panic grips me. I cannot let Uncle Garson see my twin brother’s body.

The doorknob slowly begins to turn from the outside…

My hand held the door in place, so it opened only a crack. Uncle Garson stared at me, eyes wide, because he was looking at someone who was supposed to be a corpse.

Instead, I stood upright in front of him.