Chapter two: The plan to steal her mate

Seraphina

The Mating Ceremony was always my favorite time of year. The night when the Moon Goddess unveiled fates and sealed power through bloodlines. But this year, it wasn’t just about tradition or romance.

It was about my love. About ensuring I finally got what should’ve always been mine.

Cane.

The future Alpha. My destined match, whether the Moon Goddess agreed or not. Cane was the most esteemed bachelor in our entire park. He was of noble blood suited only for the best she-wolf in our park. That's me. Not Thalia. she doesn't deserve royalty let alone deserves to be a Luna.

I stood wrapped in crimson silk, each jewel carefully placed to reflect the moonlight. My hair flowed down my back in waves, my lips painted the soft shade Cane once said reminds him of rose petals. I had been preparing for this night for years.

And tonight, I’d finally destroy my sister, Thalia.

Even her name made me gag. She had prepared a very pretty handmade gown for this event. trying to make it a bit special. But my duty to my late mother and to myself is to make sure I ruin it for her.

Thalia had no choice but to show up in her rags. She looked pitiful. That pitiful, barefoot shadow trailed behind me since we lost mother. Her fate was sealed the day the Luna died. She became cursed, a disappointment, a disgrace. An Omega by blood, yes, but worse, an Omega by heart.

She never fought her place. Just accepted it. I always hated her for that.

Our father tried to hide it, but I saw it in his eyes. The shame. The guilt. That his firstborn turned out weak and useless. The fact that she looked like Mother only made it worse. Sometimes I think he wished she had died with her.

I would’ve preferred that too.

I and cane has been lovers since forever. He was royalty, he was Noble. He was the next alpha of our park, my father's protegy and I was a befitting Luna. I was born to rule. It was just right that we meet each other and fall in love.

Cane came to me one day, shortly after she'd turned eighteen. He said he could smell her scent. He said his wolf only wanted her and longed for her all day. That could only mean one thing. She was his fated mate.

The Goddess had matched her with Cane, my Cane.

It wasn’t just a slap to my face. It was war.

I called my father. We had to do something I told him in tears. He smiled at me, assuring me that he would handle it. Years past. and she never found out that she had a mate. We lied. Now she was twenty. The plan was that when it was time she will be rejected and he will choose me as his mate. Father often marveled at me. I was so young yet so brilliant. Yet so brave.

That night, I made a vow. She may have been blessed by fate, but I had the ambition to tear fate apart. And that’s exactly what I did.

One week before the ceremony, I met Cane under the training sheds at midnight. He was training alone, shirtless and sweaty, frustrated as ever.

“The time has come,” I said casually, twirling a dagger in my fingers

He didn’t turn. “Yes it has.”

Cane’s fist cracked against a wooden post. Splinters scattered across the floor.

“I will never accept her,” he growled. “That thing is not my mate.”

I walked up to him and placed my hand on his chest, feeling the thunder of his heartbeat. “Your wolf doesn't know that. Reject her. Claim me instead, then your wolf wouldn't have a choice.”

His eyes darkened, uncertain for a moment. “You know I can’t.....”

“Yes, you can,” I interrupted. “Fate doesn’t rule us. Power does. And if you want to be Alpha of this pack, you can’t let a cursed Omega be your Luna.”

He paused. I leaned closer.

“Think about it. She’s weak. She’s hated. But me? I’ve trained beside you since we were pups. I understand politics. I know how to lead. And I love you.”

He looked down at me, jaw tense.

“I’ll help you,” I whispered. “We’ll humiliate her. In front of the entire pack. She’ll be so crushed, she’ll leave on her own.”

And that was it.

The deal was sealed with a kiss.

Now, as I stood behind the elite warriors, watching Thalia shuffle through the crowd in her pathetic rags, I could barely hold in my laughter.

She really believed it.

That the Moon Goddess had gifted her a mate. That she was finally going to matter. That she could claw her way out of the dirt she was born in.

Pitiful.

I pretended to look surprised when Cane locked eyes with her, pretended to gasp when she stepped forward. I saw the crowd shift, heard their whispers.

The Omega?

The Alpha’s disgraced daughter?

Yes. Let them hope. Let them believe.

And then,

The rejection.

Cane’s words sliced her apart in front of everyone, just as we planned.

“I reject you, Thalia, Omega of Greenwood Park, as my mate.”

The silence that fell across the crowd was divine. Her expression. Eyes wide, lips trembling, tears threatening to spill. It was everything I’d fantasized about for weeks.

It was better than I imagined.

Cane didn’t stop. He twisted the knife deeper with every cruel word.

“You’re a disgrace. Cursed. A pathetic excuse for a she-wolf.”

I almost applauded.

And when the moment was just right, I stepped forward, hips swaying, every eye drawn to me. My silk gown shimmered as I looped my arm around Cane’s. He didn’t resist. He never did.

“She might be your fated mate,” I purred, loud enough for the crowd to hear, “but you can agree I’m better for you.”

He smiled.

And then he kissed me. He claimed me In front of everyone.

The crowd erupted.

I watched Thalia crumple to the ground like a broken doll. Her face pale, her hands shaking. Her wolf must’ve been screaming, and I relished every second of it.

She deserved this. All of it.

After everything, stealing our father’s attention before she ruined our family. After being pitied for years, after getting a mate like Cane handed to her on a silver platter.

She needed to be reminded where she belonged.

In the dirt.

Later that night, the dining hall glowed with golden candles and laughter echoed through the corridors. Our father toasted to my pairing with Cane. Elders clapped my back and whispered that I had always been the stronger daughter.

I sipped my wine and smiled sweetly at them all. The perfect picture of grace.

Until she walked in. Still dirty, her curls a mess, but eyes… burning.

I heard father command her to serve our guests. But for the first time in her life she defied him. I frowned. "Are you deaf?"

She did something unexpected immediately I said that. She marched straight to me and before I could react,

SLAP.

The room went silent.

My head whipped to the side, my cheek burning. I blinked. She’d slapped me?

She slapped me!

“That’s for stealing my mate,” she said, voice low, trembling but sharp.

Then another slap.

“That’s for turning me into your slave.”

And the final blow.

“This is a warning to everyone. Not to ever cross paths with me.”

The room exploded into chaos.

Cane growled. Father roared. Guests gasped. But Thalia didn’t flinch. She turned her back and walked out.

I saw something in her eyes, something dangerous. She wasn’t broken anymore. For the first time in years, I felt it… a chill.

But then Father barked orders, and the guards seized her before she could reach the door. Shackles clinked as they dragged her down.

I stood there, my palm still stinging from her slap, eyes locked on her retreating form.

You’re not getting away, Thalia. You don’t just hit me and walk away.

🍁

"Father what are you going to do to Thalia" I called after father after he dismissed the crowd. Cane stood behind me, giving me his full support.

"She would be punished accordingly, my precious stone" My father said, trying to soothe me.

"No father. What would her punishment be? I want her dead!" I declared. Pronouncing judgment on her.

"If that's what you want my queen. How should it be done?"

"By the flames" I said as I gave an evil smile. I could feel Cane go stiff behind me, but I couldn't care one bit. She sealed her fate the moment she laid her hands on me. I would not stand and watch her go defiant and powerful. I would always rule over her. I wasn't going to give her a chance. She'll be long dead before she can assume power. I smiled again. This time in victory.