The Day of the Wolf Clan Engagement, My Husband’s Mistress Came to the Door with a Child

Ten years of knowing each other, today was our engagement.

I was the Holy Maiden of the Silverglow Clan; Kane was the young lord of the Lunar Eclipse Clan.

The union of the two clans to resist the blood-clan beast tide together had been my wish since childhood.

But on the wedding day, in the sacred hall, my palm faced his, only the final blood pact remaining, when a woman holding a blood-stained swaddling bundle rushed into the hall and said it was his child.

Kane rushed down. He cut his fingertip and tested the blood; the royal mark lit up between the wolf cub’s brows.

He smiled—a gentle smile he had never once given me in three years.

The elder said, first take her as a concubine; the queen’s position would still be mine.

And I walked down from the altar and slapped him across the face.

“Break off the engagement.”

Remove the crown, sever the contract, withdraw three thousand wolf riders, take back the moon-steel weapons and the beacon array.

Kane said I was throwing a tantrum.

He did not know that from the moment I took off the crown, I had already calculated how to make him pay!

Chapter 1

The sacred hall’s dome hung with nine layers of silver bells; the cold wind blew past, stirring wave after wave of bell tones.

I wore the ceremonial robe of the Silverglow Clan and stood beneath the Sacred Tree. The moon-silver crown pressed on my forehead, heavy, representing that I was about to become the future queen of the Wolf Court.

Kane, young lord of the Lunar Eclipse Clan, stood opposite me.

He wore the black-gold ceremonial attire of the Lunar Eclipse Clan, his palm facing mine. Only the final blood pact remained, and we would become husband and wife recognized by the Sacred Tree.

This was my childhood wish, and also the necessary rite to strengthen the union of Lunar Eclipse and Silverglow and jointly resist the blood-clan beast tide attacking the Wolf Kingdom.

The High Priest raised his staff, his aged voice echoing through the hall.

“By the Sacred Tree as witness, Silverglow and Lunar Eclipse—”

“Wait!”

The hall doors were suddenly thrown open.

Cold wind carrying snow rushed into the sacred hall. A woman in a gray-white physician’s robe stumbled in. Her long hair was blown loose, her face pale beyond blood, and in her arms she tightly wrapped a blood-stained swaddling bundle.

I recognized her.

Ayla.

The human healer who had practiced medicine along the Lunar Eclipse border for years.

I had heard that a year ago Kane was ambushed at the border and gravely wounded, unconscious, and she had risked her life to save him from a pile of corpses. The Lunar Eclipse Clan had therefore granted her permission to practice medicine within their territory. I had only taken her for an ordinary person and had never cared what became of her.

But now, she knelt below the altar, shoulders shaking violently, as if she had been driven to a dead end before forcing her way in.

A faint wolf howl came from the swaddling bundle.

The moment that sound rose, all the guests in the hall fell silent.

Ayla raised tearful eyes toward Kane, her voice soft as if it would shatter at any moment.

“Young lord, I am sorry... I know today is your coronation wedding, and I know I should not have come to disturb you.”

She looked down at the child in her arms, tears pattering down.

“But I truly had no other way. The child has been feverish ever since birth. Only his father’s royal blood can save him. If I do not bring him to you, he may not live past tonight.”

As soon as the words fell, Kane had already rushed down from the altar.

“Ayla!”

He caught her swaying body and asked urgently, “Are you hurt? It is so cold outside—did you carry the child all the way here? Where were the guards?”

Ayla leaned against his chest, as if she had finally found support, her tears falling faster.

“I am fine... Young lord, I was only afraid you would not want us.”

“Don’t say such foolish things.”

Kane’s voice was full of anxiety. He took the swaddling bundle, carefully sheltered the wolf cub in his arms, and took off his outer robe to wrap around Ayla.

“How long has the child been feverish? Let me see.”

He lowered his head to examine the cub, his expression tense as if facing a battlefield of life and death. That worry and heartache—I had never seen it on his face.

I stood frozen in place, my palm still suspended in midair.

Only the final blood pact remained, and we would become husband and wife.

But at that moment, he did not even glance at me.

Kane cut his fingertip and pressed a drop of blood to the wolf cub’s brow.

Blood light blazed abruptly.

Black Lunar Eclipse patterns spread from the cub’s forehead all the way to its neck, exactly like the royal mark on the back of Kane’s hand.

On the elders’ seats, someone gasped.

Low murmurs rose in the hall.

“It really is royal blood...”

“The wedding is not even complete, and the young lord already has a child.”

“The Silverglow Holy Maiden now has a good show to watch.”

But Kane seemed not to hear at all.

He stared at the cub’s gradually steady breathing, his taut shoulders finally relaxing, undisguised joy rising in his eyes.

“He survived...”

He lowered his head and kissed the cub’s forehead, the corners of his lips curving upward little by little.

“My child is all right.”

Just six words, like a heavy hammer, smashing before my eyes until everything went black.

I had known him for ten years and been engaged to him for three.

For this wedding, I had personally traveled every mine of the Silverglow Clan to allocate moon-steel weapons for the Lunar Eclipse army; I had sent the most precious healing herbs to the border simply because he said medicine was scarce there; I had even agreed to hand over half the control of the Silverglow beacon array after marriage, only to make the two clans truly allied.

And today, at our coronation wedding, he held the child born of another woman and said it was his bloodline.

He did not explain to me, nor did he show any guilt.

He only held the child tighter and turned to Ayla. “Don’t be afraid. From today on, you and the child will have the protection of the Lunar Eclipse Royal Palace.”

Ayla covered her mouth, nodded through her tears.

In that moment, I suddenly became the only superfluous person in the hall.

Kane finally looked at me.

The joy in his eyes had not yet faded, but his tone had already turned cold.

“The wedding is postponed.”

I stared at him. “What did you say?”

“The child’s condition is not stable, and Ayla needs rest.” He frowned, as if handling a troublesome matter. “Let them move into the palace first. When the child comes of age and the bloodline is fully confirmed, I will give you the title of queen.”

“Them?”

“Ayla and the child.” Kane said impatiently, “Evelyn, don’t make a scene at a time like this. The child has Lunar Eclipse royal blood. As the future queen, can you not even take care of him?”

I was so speechless I almost laughed out loud.

Ayla immediately hugged her own arms and spoke timidly, “Your Highness, I am sorry. I truly did not mean to ruin your marriage. That year Kane was gravely wounded, and I saved him with my own blood. We... we had an agreement once.”

At this point, she hurriedly shook her head.

“No, I should not say these things. You are the Holy Maiden; I am only a human healer. How could I be worthy of competing with you? As long as the child can live, I want nothing. I can even leave immediately...”

“You do not need to leave.”

Kane immediately interrupted her, his voice gentle to the point of grating.

“Whoever dares to drive you away is making an enemy of me.”

He turned to me, and only command remained between his brows and eyes.

“Evelyn, do as the elders say. Let Ayla enter the palace first. The wedding will be discussed later.”

The Lunar Eclipse High Elder rose on his staff, the heavy tapping suppressing the murmurs in the hall.

“Holy Maiden, the Sacred Tree contract affects the life and death of both clans. If you break the engagement today, Silverglow will be betraying the alliance.”

“According to ancestral law, the young lord may first take Ayla as a concubine. When the child comes of age, you will then take the queen’s seat. This is the only way to preserve the greater good.”

First concubine, then wife—this was already leaving enough dignity for the Silverglow Clan.

Another elder sneered and added, “The Holy Maiden will not refuse even this small sacrifice, will she? Does she want to plunge the two clans into war for her own jealousy?”

Kane stood in front of Ayla with the child in his arms, as if protecting his true family.

I looked at him and suddenly felt that the affection of these ten years was absurd and laughable.

I walked down from the altar, step by step, until I stood before him.

Kane frowned instinctively. “What are you going to do now?”

I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

Smack!

The crisp slap echoed through the entire sacred hall.

Kane’s face was knocked to the side; he instinctively shielded the cub in his arms tighter.

“Your Highness!”

Ayla cried out in alarm and hurried to support him.

Kane covered his face and looked at me in disbelief. The tenderness in his eyes was completely replaced by anger.

“You dare hit me?”

“This slap is to wake myself up.”

I removed the moon-silver crown and placed it at the edge of the altar.

“Kane, let us break off our engagement.”

His expression changed abruptly.

“Do you think the engagement can be broken just because you want it broken?”

I untied the contract ribbon that had been wrapped around my wrist for years and, without hesitation, tore it apart.

Silver light shattered, and a burning blood trail ran along my wrist bone all the way to my elbow. The pain made my fingertips tremble, but I did not retreat half a step.

“I, Evelyn, Holy Maiden of the Silverglow Clan, with the Sacred Tree as witness, break off my engagement with Kane, young lord of the Lunar Eclipse Clan.”

The entire hall fell deathly silent.

The High Elder shouted sternly, “Holy Maiden, you are declaring war on the entire Wolf Clan!”

“It is not I who declares war.”

I turned around, my gaze sweeping over those faces—shocked, mocking, or waiting to enjoy my humiliation.

The maids who had come with me as part of my dowry knelt on the ground awaiting my command.

“Send the order.”

My voice cut through the wind and snow, landing clearly in everyone’s ears.

“Before midnight tonight, the Silverglow Clan is to withdraw the three thousand wolf riders from the Lunar Eclipse border and take back the moon-steel weapons, healing herbs, and obsidian mines.”

An uproar immediately rose from the elders’ seats.

I looked at Kane’s pale, furious face.

“The border beacon array also belongs to Silverglow.”

Kane rushed after me with the cub in his arms, shouting angrily, “Evelyn, you will plunge the two clans into war!”

I did not turn back.

“That is the consequence you must bear.”

I stepped out of the sacred hall’s doors.

Outside, the first withdrawal horn had already sounded.

The low sound rolled across the ice plain, making the stone steps beneath my feet tremble slightly.