Semua Bab Rejected by the Alpha Heir, Mated to His Rival Brother: Bab 1 - Bab 10

Ciara's POVI tried my best. What did I do to deserve this?That was the thought that circled through my mind as the cold seeped deeper into my bones.I had studied pack law until my eyes burned. Practiced healing until I could set a bone and stitch a wound without flinching. Learned six different languages, the history of every major pack in the territory, the proper protocols for everything from treaty negotiations to funeral rites.I did all of this for a man who had never even spared me a glance.Maybe he was right. Maybe all those years of training had not made me special. Maybe they had just made me good at pretending to be something I was not.The cold stopped hurting after a while. My body just went numb, heavy, like I was sinking into the snow rather than kneeling on top of it. My thoughts grew fuzzy, distant.This was not so bad, really. Going numb. Feeling nothing.Laughter spilled from the house.My stepmother and my father were talking, laughing over something that didn't

Ciara's POV"Just like that?""Just like that." I held his gaze, refusing to let him see how my hands trembled beneath the sheets. "You need me to be your weapon. I need protection. It seems a fair exchange.""Fair." He tasted the word like wine. "How... pragmatic of you."His voice was even. I couldn't tell what he was thinking."I am not a child," I said, though part of me felt exactly like one—lost and frightened and desperately out of my depth. "I know this is not about love. You have your reasons for wanting this marriage, and I have mine for accepting. That is enough.""Is it?" He leaned closer, bracing one hand on the headboard above me. This close, I could see the flecks of silver in his black eyes, like stars in a night sky. "You do realize what you are agreeing to, do you not? Marriage to the bastard son. The one your precious pack considers beneath them. Your reputation, already in tatters, will be completely destroyed.""My reputation is already gone," I said quietly. "Kad

DRAVEN'S POVAn hour prior.The Alpha's study smelled of old leather and older pride. I stood before my father's desk with my hands clasped behind my back, the picture of filial respect. It was a role I played well when necessary—the dutiful bastard son, grateful for whatever scraps of acknowledgment fell from the legitimate heir's table."Father," I said, inclining my head. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice."Alpha Gareth Stormclaw looked up from the documents scattered across his desk. Even at his age, he cut an imposing figure—broad-shouldered, silver-haired, with the same black eyes that had marked both his sons. Those eyes studied me now with the wary calculation of a man who had learned long ago that nothing I did was without purpose."Draven." He leaned back in his chair. "It has been some time since you requested a private audience. What brings you here?""Curiosity, mostly." I moved to the window. "I heard whispers that something is troubling you. I thought perhap

Draven’s POVThe door crashed open with enough force to rattle the hinges.I strode through the entrance, my guards falling into formation behind me—two perfect lines of silent authority. The Beta's household staff scattered like startled birds, their whispers dying the moment they caught sight of my face.Halfway down the grand staircase, supported by his simpering wife, stood Beta Aldric. His face was already mottled with displeasure, no doubt from his earlier discussion with Ciara.The red mark on Ciara's cheek flashed through my mind, and my hands curled into fists.When Aldric's eyes found mine, he froze mid-step. Genuine fear flickered across his features before years of political training smoothed it away. He descended the remaining stairs with forced dignity, his wife clinging to his arm like a decorative parasite."Lord Draven." He inclined his head. "To what do we owe the honor of this visit?"I let the silence stretch, watching him squirm. Elara's painted smile grew brittle

Ciara's POVLydia stood a few feet away, arms crossed over her chest, a smirk playing at her lips. My longtime rival—the girl who had shadowed my every step during training, who had competed with me for every scrap of recognition, who had made it her personal mission to undermine me at every opportunity.Behind her stood her usual collection of followers, lesser she-wolves who fed off Lydia's cruelty like scavengers picking at bones."I had always known you were shameless, Ciara," Lydia continued, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "But showing your face here after what happened at the mating ball?" She shook her head in mock disbelief. "Being rejected is hardly surprising for someone like you."Her lackeys tittered obediently."If I were humiliated like that," one of them said, "I would hide at home and never dare show my face again."I looked at them—really looked at them. At their sneering faces and their eyes bright with malicious glee. They thought themselves so superior, s