The Winter King's Venomous Mate

Lyra The Alpha who once swore he would never marry anyone but me was currently holding another woman's hand for all the pack to see. That delicate, timid Omega was none other than my half-sister, Elara. She leaned into his chest, her smile soft and sickly sweet, like rotting peaches. "I heard that my sister and Cedric have been at odds for a while now. Seeing us get married today... I wonder if she is happy for us?" The entire banquet hall fell dead silent. Every wolf in the Silver Moon Pack was watching me, waiting for me to break down in tears, waiting for me to lose control and go mad. The air was thick with the scent of roasted meat, cheap wine, and the suffocating pheromones of anticipation. But I didn't give them the satisfaction. I merely lowered my eyes, unclasped the silver moonstone necklace—the symbol of the future Luna—from my neck, and placed it flat into Cedric's palm. He wants to break me? Let him try. "I, Lyra, accept your rejection," I said, my voice steady, though the frayed edges of our mate bond tore at my chest like jagged glass. Cedric’s jaw tightened. His eyes, cold and merciless, narrowed at my lack of emotion. Instead of the triumph he expected, frustration bled into his pine and frost scent. He shoved me harshly toward the dark corner of the hall, pointing at a figure slumped in a rusted wheelchair. "You're only fit to spend the rest of your life with this pathetic Rogue. A piece of trash who won't even survive the night," Cedric spat, his Alpha aura flaring in a pathetic attempt to assert dominance over me. I stumbled but caught my balance, walking calmly to the back of the wheelchair. I reached out and gently pulled the slipping wool blanket over the crippled man's shoulders. The moment my fingertips brushed the back of his cold hand, my breath hitched. A fierce, biting scent of winter gales and dark pine woods crashed into my senses. It was dangerous. It was crisp. It carried the undeniable, bone-crushing pressure of a high-ranking predator. Cedric thought I had surrendered to the pack's cruelty, that I had accepted my fate as a worthless, wolfless pariah meant to be trampled upon. But what my arrogant ex-mate didn't know was the real reason I had never shifted. I didn't lack a wolf because I was weak. I lacked a wolf because my blood was a lethal venom capable of slaughtering any werewolf in existence. They tricked me into giving up my mate. They took everything I had built for this pack. Paying for this betrayal with Cedric and Elara's hearts seemed like a fair trade. I would take my time. And as for this supposedly dying, crippled Rogue? Beneath the shadows of his hood, the man slowly opened his eyes. They were a striking, luminescent dark gold—the unmistakable eyes of the Alpha King. "Lyra, wheel him out of here. Don't dirty my mating ceremony." Cedric’s command echoed through the grand hall. A few young, arrogant wolves snickered into their drinks, their mocking gazes burning into my back. I gripped the handles of the wheelchair, my expression blank, refusing to look up. Elara pressed herself deeper into Cedric's arms. The delicate white lace of her bridal veil deliberately brushed against my arm. "Sister, please don't blame Cedric. He just aches for me too much," Elara cooed, her voice dripping with fake innocence. She gently touched the angry, red mating mark on the side of her neck—a mark that hadn't even fully healed yet. A flush crept up her cheeks. "It's an Omega's first time being marked by an Alpha. We naturally get a little frightened. You used to be the future Luna, so you should understand how to take care of newcomers, right?" She flaunts the mark like a trophy, unaware of how cheap it looks on her. I ignored her, taking a half-step forward to push the wheelchair toward the exit. Cedric shot out a hand, blocking my path. "Halt." As he stepped closer, his heavy cedar scent suffocated the air around me. In the past, that scent would tug at my heartstrings, wrapping me in a false sense of security. Now, all it brought was a dull, rotting ache where our mate bond had been violently severed. I stopped. He towered over me, his tone laced with heavy coercion. "Do you think playing the quiet, obedient victim will make me go soft on you?" I slowly lifted my eyes to meet his. "You have already rejected me." "So what?" Cedric’s grip tightened around Elara's waist, deliberately pulling her flush against him so I could see their bodies mold together. "A rejection doesn't mean you can forget your place. You are still a wolf raised by the Silver Moon Pack. You still have to obey your Alpha's commands." My palms pressed flat against the worn leather handles of the wheelchair. The man sitting in it was breathing very lightly, almost imperceptibly. Beneath the harsh stench of medicinal herbs and the burning, metallic tang of silver wounds, that underlying dark pine scent continued to seep through his blanket, wrapping around my senses like a protective shield. Cedric glanced down at the crippled man, his lip curling in disgust. "A filthy Rogue. Is he even worthy of your protection?" Elara covered her mouth, her laugh small and timid. "Sister is so kindhearted. Even after being thrown to a man like this, she still takes such good care of him. No wonder all the injured wolves used to go to you. You really are suited for serving people." A female wolf nearby chimed in, her tone dripping with venom. "Without a wolf form, serving others is all she's good for." "It's a good thing the future Luna position went to Elara. At least she has an Omega gland. She can breed strong heirs for our future Alpha." I didn't bother to explain. I had spent years explaining. When Cedric was on his deathbed with a high fever from a silver blade, I had drawn my own venomous blood, refining it into a cure to save his life. But when he woke up, the first thing he smelled was the sickeningly sweet scent of Elara's perfume. He blindly believed she was his savior. I had told him the truth. He had never believed me. Now, staring at my completely unbothered face, irritation twitched along Cedric's brow. "Lyra, kneel. Kneel and offer your Luna blessing to Elara." The banquet hall fell dead silent again. The music stopped. A glint of wicked excitement flashed in Elara’s eyes, quickly masked by her fragile, teary-eyed facade. "Cedric, don't do this. Sister will be so embarrassed." "If she's embarrassed, she brought it upon herself." With a low growl, Cedric released his Alpha aura. The oppressive weight of his dominance crashed down over the room. Several low-ranking wolves immediately doubled over, their wine glasses shattering against the marble floor. My knees took the brunt of the command. The severed, rotting remnants of the mate bond in my chest began to burn fiercely, the pain crawling up my ribs like poison ivy. Cedric stood there, chin raised, waiting for me to fall to my knees. Instead, I merely lowered my head and calmly adjusted the blanket that had slipped off the injured man's lap. His fingers were freezing to the touch, but the moment my skin brushed against his, his wrist twitched, subtly curling toward my hand. Cedric’s face darkened, his patience snapping. "Lyra, are you deaf to my commands?" I raised my hand, took the silver Luna necklace that he had forcefully shoved into my palm moments ago, and tossed it onto the banquet table. It clattered against a silver platter. "I returned the necklace. You get no blessing from me." Elara’s eyes immediately welled with tears, and she buried her face into Cedric’s chest. "Is Sister still holding a grudge against me? If she hates me this much, I don't have to wear this necklace..." Cedric grabbed the necklace from the table, his movements rough, and fastened it around Elara's neck. "You are my Luna. The only one." He then turned his piercing gaze back to me, his voice dropping to a lethal octave. "As for you, starting tonight, you will live in the abandoned wooden shack on the edge of our territory. Without my permission, you are forbidden to return to the pack house." I didn't argue. I gripped the wheelchair and pushed it toward the heavy oak doors. Whispers broke out behind me like a swarm of locusts. "Is she really leaving just like that?" "What else can she do? The rejection is complete. The mate bond is dead." "That Rogue has silver wounds festering in his blood. He won't survive the night. She'll be dragging a corpse out by morning." Cedric let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Lyra! When you finally regret your arrogance, remember exactly who it was that threw you out tonight." I paused at the threshold. Suddenly, the man in the wheelchair raised his hand, two freezing fingers wrapping around my wrist bone with startling precision. He didn't speak. But beneath the messy fringe of his dark hair, those dark gold eyes swirled with a heavy, lethal intensity. For a split second, the entire banquet hall fell deathly quiet. Even Cedric frowned, an inexplicable shiver running down his spine. I leaned down, my lips hovering just beside the man's ear. "Can you hold on until we reach the shack?" I whispered. The man's grip tightened slightly, his voice a low, raspy rumble that vibrated straight into my bones. "Push me out of here, Lyra."