Chapter 1: Betrayal
Selene’s POV
“Selene, hey, I’m sorry, but I really love Jaxon. Mind if I borrow your fiancé again?
He took me three times last night-begged me not to stop. Now he doesn’t want to leave. So… what do we do about that?”
C
The next second, an image loaded on my screen—a tangled mess of naked bodies, familiar bedsheets, and a bed I knew all too well. My stomach clenched, nausea creeping up my throat.
I was standing there in a white gown, moments away from stepping into my marking ceremony when that message hit me like a dagger straight to the heart.
The ceremony was about to begin. Every member of the pack had gathered to witness it. But my boyfriend-the only person who could help me stay in the pack-Alpha Jaxon Lancaster, was in someone else’s bed.
And that someone was my best friend, Chloe Parker.
Three days ago, while I was trying on my dress, my parents met Chloe Parker and discovered the truth-she was the child lost during the war, the daughter they had been searching for. And me? I was just a stray they adopted from the wolf orphanage.
Chloe Parker was the real daughter of Wind Stock Pack’s Alpha.
According to them, I was nothing but the child of a rogue.
After that revelation, everything changed. The pack members started to push me away. The Alpha’s daughter they once respected had been reduced to a nobody. A stray.
Unless I completed my bond with Jaxon Lancaster, I had no right to stay.
A sharp pain tore through my chest like claws ripping me apart, making it hard to breathe.
I sucked in a deep breath. Damn it, this dress was so tight it was making me sick.
I had to find Jaxon. I needed answers.
Forcing myself to stay calm, I turned quickly, rummaging through my bag until I found my phone.
Then, without hesitation, I dialed Jaxon’s number..
Jaxon Lancaster was my boyfriend from our days at the Werewolf Academy. He came from a branch pack under the Lancaster family’s Lunar Crest Pack, the largest pack kingdom in the North. Even though Jaxon’s family was only a subdivision
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of this powerful kingdom, their territory was still three times the size of a regular town.
Because of his connection to the Lancaster family, every
she-wolf in the pack envied me. Jaxon and I had been together for a long time, and during a battle, I nearly lost my wolf while trying to save him. Ever since that incident, my wolf had stopped responding to me. The witches said she might be in a dormant state, but I chose to keep this a secret from Jaxon.
I was born into the Brooks family from the Wind Stock Pack, once the daughter of an Alpha-Selene Brooks. Everyone in the pack believed it was only natural for me to be bound to the Lancaster family, securing greater benefits for our people—until the truth came out. I wasn’t really the Alpha’s daughter.
The phone rang for a full two minutes before it was finally
answered.
“I know, Selene, but you have to understand… you’re not my fated mate. Maybe we can postpone the marking ceremony.”
Then, in the background, a woman’s voice-soft, syrupy sweet- cut in. “Hey, Jaxon, can you grab my jacket?”
I froze. My grip on the phone tightened, my nails digging into my palm.
“Chloe’s sick, you know that,” Jaxon said, completely oblivious.
“She saved my life in the war-I can’t just abandon her. I’ll explain everything once this is over, okay?”
Explain. The word felt like cold iron chains locking around my
heart.
So it was true.
Jaxon, my mate, had abandoned me-on the night of our marking ceremony. He was in another woman’s bed. And worse, he was pretending like nothing had happened.
He always believed Chloe was the one who saved him in battle, just because she was the first person he saw when he opened his eyes. He never even considered that it had actually been me.
Fuck. The realization was a slap to the face-sharp, humiliating, and gut-wrenching.
The marking ceremony was set to take place in the central garden of Wind Stock Pack. White wind chimes and wisteria adorned the space, carrying a faint floral scent in the
evening breeze. The guests had already gathered-including high-ranking members from the Lunar Crest Pack. But my mate was nowhere to be found.
What was I supposed to do?
What would happen to me if the pack realized I was worthless
without my bond to the Lancaster family?
I redialed.
“Mom, are you guys coming to the ceremony? I-”
“Selene, sweetie, I’m so sorry… Chloe isn’t feeling well. She really needs us right now.”
I went numb.
I thought that, even if I wasn’t their real daughter, my parents- after raising me for eighteen years-wouldn’t abandon me.
I was wrong.
The family I thought would always stand behind me had completely cast me aside.
I didn’t even remember walking to the ceremony site. The sun was still shining, the distant forest swayed in the wind, and colorful ribbons and balloons floated in the air. The guests were smiling, chatting, waiting.
But the pain inside me felt like it would tear me apart.
As time passed and neither the Alpha nor his Luna arrived, the murmurs began. Guests exchanged confused glances.
If I wasn’t bonded to Jaxon, I had no right to stay in the pack. A lone wolf without a pack was nothing. And with my wolf still unresponsive, I wouldn’t even survive as a rogue.
I stepped into the center of the dance floor and picked up the microphone.
“I’m sorry, but due to unforeseen circumstances… Is there anyone here willing to be my mate?”
Silence.
Then, the garden erupted.
“What? Jaxon Lancaster isn’t here?!”
“She’s picking a mate at her own marking ceremony?”
“Where’s the Alpha? Did he reject her?”
“No, I heard she’s not even the real Alpha’s daughter. Just some orphanage stray.”
“The high-and-mighty Selene Brooks has finally fallen!”
I knew how insane this was. But I had no other choice. The eyes around me were filled with judgment and cruelty. I was about to lose everything-my title, my protection, my mate.
Even my own parents had abandoned me.
Seconds dragged on. My forced smile grew stiff. My lips twitched, but I stood tall, staring at the sea of onlookers.
Please, Godness.
Just one person. That’s all I need.
Just as the atmosphere grew unbearably tense.
Then, a man stood up.
“Selene Brooks,” he said, his deep voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. “Perhaps… I can be your mate.”
The entire garden fell into a stunned silence.
No one had expected anyone to step forward.
“Who the hell is that?”
“I don’t recognize him. Not from the town’s packs.”.
“He’s sitting with the Lancaster guests. Must’ve been invited by
them.”
The wolves around me burned with curiosity, low growls of speculation rumbling through the crowd.
I turned to face the man.
He was… gorgeous.
Tall-easily over 6.5 feet. Sharp jawline, straight nose, deep-set eyes that gleamed with an eerie blue under the sun. His tailored suit did little to hide the powerful frame beneath, muscles built for strength and dominance.
But more than that-he radiated authority.
Even the wolves around him instinctively shrank back.
All I needed was to complete this ceremony and secure my status. If I could leave the Brooks family, escape this pack, and go somewhere new where no one knew me, that would be even better.
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you serious?”
He met my gaze without hesitation. “I don’t joke.”
“What’s your name?”
“Alexander Lancaster.”
I froze. My brows knitted. “Lancaster…? What’s your relation to Jaxon?”
Chapter 1: Betrayal
His lips curled slightly. “Technically, I’m his uncle. But we belong to different packs.”
“Uncle?” I repeated, skeptical.
“Lunar Crest has many branch packs. You know that.”
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He wasn’t wrong. The Lancaster family ruled a vast territory, and the true Lancaster kingdom lay 300 miles away, on Moonlake Island.
I inhaled sharply. “Are you sure about this?”
His gaze was unwavering. “I trust my instincts.”
Instincts?
I didn’t have time to question it. I needed a mate. I needed to prove I wasn’t some abandoned, worthless wolf.
Laughter erupted from the crowd.
“A rejected mate begging for a new man—what a whore!”
“Has she lost her mind? Her fiancé and the Alpha’s parents didn’t even show up. She really was abandoned.”
“This is the craziest marking ceremony I’ve ever attended! I
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have to tell the others!”
I know that by tomorrow, I’ll be at the center of the tribe’s biggest scandal. But compared to being abandoned, this is nothing.
I ignore the whispers, lifting the corners of my lips into a smile. Turning to face the guests, I say, “Thank you all for coming to the marking ceremony. I officially—uh…”
“Alexander Lancaster,” the man beside me offers kindly.
Why does he have the same name as the Lycan King of the Lunar Crest Pack? But there’s no way he’s that arrogant, cocky king.
“I officially take Alexander Lancaster as my mate.
From this day forward, I have nothing to do with the Brooks family.”
Married to Ex-Fiancé’s Lycan Uncle
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