Chapter 1

The moment I handed my ceremonial gown to Sylvie, she ran straight into Cedric’s arms and lifted her face, her cheeks flushed.

“Cedric, do I look beautiful?”

The admiration in his eyes was impossible to miss.

“You do.”

“When this was made, I must have had your shape in mind without realizing it. It fits you perfectly. Looks like fate always meant for you to stand beside me.”

I froze, then almost laughed.

No wonder the bodice had felt too tight when I tried it on. It had pressed so hard across my chest I could barely breathe.

Because Cedric had designed it himself, I hadn’t wanted to disappoint him, so I said nothing.

I thought I had simply chosen the wrong cut.

Now I knew better.

The chosen mate he had pictured was never me.

Seeing that I had not torn the gown apart, my stepmother stopped glaring at me for once.

My father even said, for the first time in years, that I was finally behaving like an elder sister should.

The four of them stood there laughing and talking like a real family, and I said flatly,

“You don’t seriously think I’ll take the Blackmoor contract and walk away with nothing.”

That wiped the smiles off their faces.

My father’s expression hardened first.

“What do you want?”

“Ten percent of the pack holdings.”

The moment the words left my mouth, his face darkened.

“Greedy little wretch. That stake was set aside for your sister. I had just begun to think you’d learned some sense, and now you’re trying to snatch from her again. What makes you think you deserve it?”

I had known for years that he favored her.

It still hurt.

I laughed once, sharp and cold.

“Sylvie, the daughter of your mistress, can take a share of the pack holdings, but I can’t?”

“Have you forgotten I’m your daughter too?”

His face turned black with anger. If the ceremony hadn’t been waiting to begin, he might have struck me then and there.

Instead he forced the fury down.

“Your mother was my mate. Everything she had belonged to this pack. If I wanted to pass a stake to Sylvie, I would.”

“You should already be grateful I raised you this long.”

He had been saying that from the day he brought his mistress and her daughter through the front door.

At first I never understood why a father feeding his own child was supposed to be some sacred kindness only in my case.

Later, I stopped trying.

A man who brought his mistress home before his dead mate’s scent had fully faded was never going to care about the daughter she left behind.

Cedric saw the tears gathering in my eyes and stepped forward as if to comfort me.

“Elara, are you afraid that once the Blackmoor Alpha heir dies, you’ll lose your backing? Or are you afraid you’ll catch it too?”

“You don’t need to worry. When the time comes, I’ll bring you back and make sure you’re looked after. I’m not being cruel. Sylvie is timid. I can’t bear to let her suffer…”

The disgust rose so fast I nearly choked on it.

I shook off his hand at once.

Then, just like Sylvie had done earlier, I pressed the ceremonial dagger to my own wrist and smiled.

“If you won’t give me the stake, then fine. I’ll die right here.”

“You said it yourselves. The Blackmoor pack does not forgive broken contracts. If I die before the bonding ceremony, then Sylvie can go clean up this mess herself.”

My stepmother panicked first. She clutched my father’s sleeve.

“Don’t let Sylvie end up in that hell.”

“The Blackmoor Alpha heir is almost dead. The succession will change soon. If Sylvie goes there and catches what he has, how is she supposed to survive?”

Sylvie had already started crying again.

At last my father gave in.

He had his assistant bring over the transfer papers and pressed his claw-mark onto them on the spot.

Then he turned right back to Sylvie and promised he would make it up to her later with even more.

I only laughed to myself.

Let him.

No matter how much he handed her, I would take it back in the end.

I would never let my mother’s life’s work stay in the hands of trash.

At that moment, the pack herald came hurrying over.

“The bond hall is ready. The chosen mate and her escort should prepare.”