Chapter 1 I Will Never Be Anyone's Second Mate
At the Moonshadow Council, my fiancé knelt before the throne with his new lover and asked permission to marry her—while keeping me as his nameless second mate.
He mocked me for having no parents and no family, claiming that if I left the Silver Fir Pack, I would not even have a place to sleep.
I removed my engagement ring and looked toward the throne. No one knew that the Lycan King seated above us was my own brother—the brother who had entered this world with me.
And my brother had already set down his goblet.
“Are you certain you want to treat her this way?”
“Your Majesty, I ask that my engagement to Nora be dissolved so I may marry Celeste instead.”
Adrian knelt in the center of Moonshadow Hall with Celeste’s hand in his, his voice carrying into every corner.
He raised his head and added, “Nora may stay. I am willing to make her my second mate.”
Low murmurs spread around the hall.
I stood behind them and watched Adrian tighten his grip on Celeste’s hand, as if even sparing me another glance would be a waste of his time.
Rowan said nothing from the throne. He merely tapped the armrest twice with his index finger.
It was the secret signal we had used as children.
Don’t be afraid. Your brother is here.
Three months ago, Rowan and I had died together in a car accident. When we woke, he had become the Lycan King who ruled every pack, while I had become an orphan with no family in the Silver Fir Pack.
We had already recognized each other, but at my request, we had kept our relationship secret.
So Adrian had no idea he was asking me to become his second mate right in front of my own brother.
“Your Majesty,” Celeste cut in. “Nora is jealous by nature, and she was raised without a family to guide her. A woman like that is unfit to be a Luna.”
She turned to me with the smile of a victor.
“Adrian is already being more than generous by giving her a room. After all, once she leaves the Silver Fir Pack, she will have nothing.”
Adrian nodded.
“Nora, you should be grateful to me.”
When I arrived in this world, his engagement ring had already been on my finger.
In the three months since, Adrian had never once mentioned ending our engagement. Now he was kneeling here with another woman, expecting me to thank him for humiliating me.
“A second mate has neither a Luna’s title nor any authority in the pack,” I said. “What exactly should I be grateful for?”
Adrian frowned.
“At least I am willing to shelter you. You have no parents, no brothers, and no pack willing to defend you. Without me, you won’t even have a place to sleep.”
The silver goblet in Rowan’s hand made a soft sound.
I knew he was close to losing his patience.
But this engagement was mine to end.
I removed the ring from my finger, walked up to Adrian, and set it on the floor in front of his knees.
“Listen carefully.”
Holding his gaze, I said each word clearly. “I will not marry you, and I will never become anyone’s second mate.”
The hall fell completely silent.
Adrian’s expression darkened.
“You dare reject the future Alpha?”
“You chose Celeste,” I said. “The moment you brought her here and knelt beside her, whatever existed between us was over.”
“Over?” He laughed coldly. “Without my permission, you cannot even walk through the gates of the Silver Fir Pack.”
Then he turned toward the throne.
“Your Majesty, Nora has openly defied the future Alpha. Order her to accept my decision.”
Rowan finally set down his silver goblet.
He looked at Adrian kneeling on the floor, then at the silver heir’s badge pinned to his chest.
“The future Alpha?”
Rowan rose, and every wolf in the hall lowered their head.
“What right does a man who bullies the weak and breaks his vows have to inherit a pack?”
