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|| Lilac's POV ||

The silver bells chimed as I walked through the corridor toward the royal dining hall. My heels clicked softly on the marble, the same halls I’d walked a thousand times—as a Beta’s daughter, as Luna, and as Kael’s wife.

But tonight felt… different.

The air was thick with tension. The guards barely looked me in the eye. The servants whispered and turned away. Still, I kept my posture straight, my chin high. If I was going to be ignored in my own palace, I would at least look regal doing it.

Kael sat at the head of the table, golden eyes locked on the parchment in front of him. He didn’t glance up when I entered.

“Your Highness,” I said quietly.

No response.

I took my seat beside him anyway. The air between us thickened with silence. I tried again.

“I heard the Crescent Valley treaty passed. Your father would’ve been proud.”

Still nothing.

“Alpha Kael,” my father, stepping forward, his voice tight with anger. “How long do you plan to pretend my daughter doesn’t exist?”

That finally earned me a look. Cold. Measured.

“There are matters more urgent than your feelings.”

Before I could respond, the doors burst open—and she walked in like she owned the place.

Coco.

The omega girl. Dressed in gold, her raven hair cascading down her back. She didn’t bow.

“I thought this was a family dinner,” I said carefully, keeping my voice even.

Kael didn’t hesitate. “She is family now.”

He stood.

“I’ve found my mate. It’s Coco.”

The world seemed to tilt under me.

“And I hope you all can be happy for me.”

Happy?

Coco had joined our pack only a month ago. I assumed Kael took her in out of kindness. I never imagined...

"What?" My father rose, furious. "Your mate is sitting beside you! Have you forgotten your vows?"

We were chosen mates.

Five years ago, Kael’s mother begged me to marry her son, believing that our family’s royal Beta bloodline would help Kael secure his position as Alpha.

At the time, I had a secret crush on Kael and agreed to the proposal without a second thought.

I had asked Kael once, "What if you find your true mate one day?"

He had looked at me with such conviction then. *"Even if I do, nothing will change. You’ll always come first."

Now he turned cold eyes on my father.

"How dare you speak to your Alpha that way. Guards. Remove him."

I stood in shock as my parents were dragged from the room.

“Please,” I whispered, hoping he’d come to his senses.

But he didn’t.

That night, I wandered the halls like a ghost. By morning, the palace would never be the same.

******

I woke to shouts. The clash of steel.

Barefoot, I ran to the throne hall, heart racing.

There—my parents, chained and kneeling. Warriors stood around them. Kael at the center, Coco by his side, a smug smile on her lips.

“Kael, what is this?” I cried.

He said nothing.

"They are traitors," Coco said smoothly. She drew a dagger.

“No Way!” I turned to Kael, voice shaking. “My father served yours with honor for decades. How can you let this happen?”

He remained silent.

I fell to my knees. "Kael," I choked out, my voice cracking. "If you ever loved me, even a little.... let them go!"

Coco's laughter rang through the silence-sharp, mocking.

"Oh, darling," she purred, tilting her head. "Love has nothing to do with this."

She stepped forward, slow and deliberate, a predator circling its prey. In her hand, a dagger gleamed under the dim light. She pointed it at me, her smile dripping with false sweetness.

"I'll let them go," she mused, "if you die instead."

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. Before I could react, her smirk widened.

"Too late," she whispered. "I changed my mind."

She hurled the dagger.

Time slowed. The blade spun through the air in a deadly arc.

My father's eyes met mine steady, strong, the way they had always been. But now, they were filled with sorrow. With an apology he would never get to say.

The dagger struck. A sickening thud.

A strangled gasp escaped his lips. His body jerked violently as the silver burned through him. His fingers trembled, reaching-reaching for me-but his strength faltered. He crumpled to the ground. Convulsing. Dying.

"No!!!"

The scream tore from my throat, raw and broken.

I lunged for him desperate, frantic

But before I could reach him, before I could touch him one last time, Coco threw another dagger.

This one struck my mother's chest.

A sharp gasp. Her body jolted. Her trembling hands clutched at the hilt, as if she could undo it, as if she could will the blade away. Crimson bloomed across her gown, violent against the pale silk.

Her gaze found mine.

Her fierce, loving eyes the ones that had watched over me my whole life-now filled with something else. Regret. Not for herself. For me. For the pain she couldn't stop.

Her lips parted. No words came. Just a shuddering breath.

She collapsed beside my father.

A hollow, keening sound rose from my chest, a grief so raw it split me apart. My parents my home, my anchor were gone. just like that. Their lives. reduced to bloodstains on cold, unfeeling stone.

The world blurred. My vision darkened as rage and sorrow swallowed me whole. My wolf surged forward, her growl shaking the hall. My claws elongated, my fangs bared. I was ready to tear Coco apart

But Kael stepped in front of her, his massive frame shielding her from my wrath. His golden eyes bore into mine, cold and unyielding, and in that moment, I saw the truth.

To him, I was nothing. The love I thought we had was never real. Just a placeholder until his true mate arrived.