The Cursed Alpha King’s Mind-Reading Mate

CHAPTER 1

ISOLDE’S POV

On my eighteenth birthday, the family that raised me decided I was worth sacrificing to a monster.

Their biological daughter had refused to marry the cursed Alpha King, so they chose me to take her place.

And the man I had secretly loved for years was the one who came to tell me.

“Happy birthday, Isolde.”

I had walked into the study that morning with the little wooden trinket in my pocket and a confession I’d practiced for weeks. Caeldric was standing by the window, his shoulders tense under his dark jacket. He turned to face me with a small, familiar smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

For as long as I could remember, I had felt like an outsider in the Veyrden house, a guest who owed a debt I could never repay. My parents died when I was small, and the Veyrdens took me in, and I had carried the weight of their charity every day since.

Except when I was with Caeldric.

He was the eldest son of the Veyrden family, four years older than me, and the only person who had ever made me feel like I truly mattered. He had carved the trinket in my pocket years ago, after a rough day with the other children. And two years ago, he had come home late from a celebration, smelling of drink and night air, and found me sitting alone on the garden porch. Without a word, he leaned down and kissed me.

He never spoke of it afterward, and I was too afraid to ask. But I had cherished that moment in secret for two long years.

Today, I was finally going to tell him how I felt.

“Thank you, Caeldric,” I said, stepping closer to the desk. My hands were trembling, so I clasped them in front of me. “I was hoping we could talk.”

“Of course. I actually needed to talk to you as well.” He walked around the desk to stand in front of me. “My father and the elders just finished a meeting.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “What is it?”

He looked down at the floor for a moment, as if choosing his words with care. When he looked up again, his eyes were full of quiet sorrow.

“It’s about Selene’s marriage to King Rhaelen Draevor.”

I blinked, confused by the sudden topic. Selene was his younger sister, the biological daughter of the Veyrden family. Her betrothal to the Alpha King of Blackthorn had been arranged months ago to secure a trade route and an alliance between our packs.

“What about it? The wedding is next week, isn’t it?”

“Selene refuses to go.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “She’s terrified, Isolde. You know the stories about Rhaelen Draevor. He’s cursed. People say he loses his mind on the battlefield. She locked herself in her room this morning and swore she would rather die than let that man touch her.”

A cold chill ran down my back. The rumors about the Alpha King were legendary and frightening.

“I’m sorry for her,” I said slowly, still wondering why he was telling me this now. “But what can the pack do?”

He stepped forward and took my hands in his. His palms were warm, but his touch made my stomach twist with a strange sense of dread.

“Father and the elders came up with a solution. They want you to go instead.”

The world seemed to stop moving. I stared at him, waiting for him to tell me it was a joke. “What?”

“You’ll marry Rhaelen Draevor as the Veyrden bride. The contract only asks for a daughter of this house, and you were raised as one.”

I pulled my hands out of his and took a step backward. “You want me to marry him? Caeldric, you just said he’s a monster.”

“Please, listen to me.” He reached for my arm, but I pulled away again. “If we break the contract, Rhaelen will take it as an insult. He’ll bring his armies down from the northern mountains and destroy everything we’ve built here. We can’t fight him.”

My head was spinning. I looked at the man who had protected me for years, searching his face for any sign that he had fought against this decision.

“And you agreed to this?” My voice cracked. “You sat in that room with your father and let them decide to send me away to a monster?”

His expression softened into the caring look he always gave me whenever I was hurt or sad.

“I didn’t want this, Isolde. You know how much I care about you. But we have to think about the bigger picture. Our family took you in when you had nowhere else to go. The pack needs this alliance. It’s the only way to keep everyone safe.”

“You’re asking me to sacrifice my life,” I whispered, tears burning behind my eyes. “To pay for the food I ate as a child?”

“It isn’t a sacrifice. Rhaelen Draevor is a harsh man, but he’s a king. You’ll live in a palace. You’ll have servants and security.” He rested a hand on my shoulder. “After everything my parents have done for you, this is the one thing you can do to repay them.”

I stared at his hand on my shoulder. The touch that used to bring me so much warmth and safety now felt completely cold.

He wasn’t stopping them. He was helping them.

I thought about the confession I had spent weeks preparing, the kiss, and the future I had imagined with him. I had mistaken his kindness for love. All this time, I had been holding on to a fantasy, while he simply saw a quiet, obedient girl the family could use whenever it needed to.

The sadness inside me began to turn into something cold and hard. I took a step back and his hand fell from my shoulder.

“If I do this,” I said, my voice steadying, “I’m not doing it as an act of charity. And I’m not doing it because I’m your family.”

“Isolde…”

“I’ll take Selene’s place. I’ll go to Blackthorn and marry the Alpha King. But I have conditions.”

He blinked, clearly surprised that I was making demands. “Conditions?”

“Yes. First, your father will return my parents’ inheritance to me. All of it. You’ve held on to those assets for ten years under the excuse that I was too young to manage them.”

“That inheritance was used to cover the cost of your care…”

“Don’t lie to me, Caeldric.” My voice was sharp and firm. “My father was a wealthy man, and you know very well that his estate is worth far more than the cost of raising one child. I want full legal ownership of everything my parents left behind before I step into the carriage to Blackthorn.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable for the first time. “Fine. I’ll make sure my father signs the transfer papers.”

“That isn’t all. Second, I want my bond to the Veyrden pack completely severed. I want official documents signed by the Alpha stating that I’m no longer a member of this pack, that I owe no allegiance to the Veyrden family, and that you have no rights over me. Once I complete this marriage, my debt to your family is paid in full. From that moment on, we’re strangers.”

His eyes widened. “Strangers? Isolde, you’re acting out of anger. You can’t mean that. We’re your family. I’m your brother.”

“You aren’t my brother,” I said flatly. “And you never were.”

“Listen to yourself.” He stepped toward me, irritation on his face. “You’re being dramatic. I know you’re hurt, but drawing a line like this is foolish. Rhaelen Draevor won’t treat you well. When he realizes you’re wolfless, when he gets tired of you, who else will you turn to? You’ll need us. You’ll need me to bring you home when things go wrong.”

He really believed it. He thought I would come crawling back.

“I’ll never come back here,” I said quietly. “Get the documents ready. If the transfer of my inheritance and the release papers are signed, I’ll marry the king. If they aren’t, you can tell your sister to pack her bags.”

He stared at me, his chest heaving as he tried to control his frustration. He clearly thought I was throwing a tantrum.

“Fine,” he said coldly. “I’ll have the pack lawyer prepare the papers today.”

Ten minutes later, the documents were laid out on the heavy desk.

I took the quill. First, I signed the estate transfer document, securing my parents’ property. Next, I signed the marriage contract as the substitute bride, so the alliance could move forward. Finally, I pulled the pack transfer document toward me. It declared that Isolde Varen was leaving the Veyrden pack forever, severing every legal and pack tie to the family.

I signed my name cleanly across every required line.

Then I took the wooden trinket out of my pocket and placed it on the edge of the desk next to Caeldric. He watched me, his jaw clenching, but he said nothing.

“The wedding carriage leaves tomorrow,” he said, his voice flat and stiff as he gathered the signed papers. “It’s a three-day journey to Blackthorn. Make sure you’re packed.”

“I’ll be ready.”

I walked toward the door. As my hand touched the brass handle, he spoke one last time.

“You’ll regret this, Isolde. You don’t know what kind of world you’re stepping into.”

I didn’t look back. I opened the door and walked out, leaving Caeldric, my past, and the Veyrden pack behind.

That night, I lay in bed listening to the house I was leaving. I told myself I was only afraid of the king.

But beneath the fear, I felt a faint pull I couldn’t explain, drawing me north.

I didn’t know it yet, but something in Blackthorn had been waiting for me far longer than three days.