Married to my Dead Mate’s Alpha Brother

3

Rachel

Later in the evening, Dad called for me.

I had been lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling with dry eyes. The tears had stopped for a while, but the pain in my chest had not gone away. It sat there like a heavy stone. When the knock came on my door and one of the maids said, “Alpha Trent wants to see you in the meeting hall,” my stomach dropped.

This can’t be good, I thought to myself.

I stood up slowly, wiped my face one more time, and walked downstairs. My legs felt weak, like they did not want to carry me. When I pushed open the big doors of the meeting hall, I saw Dad sitting at the head of the long table. Around him were the pack officials — the Beta, the Gamma, and two senior warriors. Their faces were serious. The room smelled of tension and old wood.

I stopped just inside the door. My heart started beating faster.

“Rachel, come in and sit down,” Dad said. His voice was calm, but I knew that tone. It was the one he used when he had already made up his mind about something big.

I walked forward and sat on the empty chair across from him. My hands shook in my lap, so I pressed them together tightly.

Dad looked at the men on both sides of him, then back at me. He did not waste time.

“We have been talking about what happened today with the Dark Moon Pack,” he said. “The death of Chase has created a very dangerous situation. Alpha Kylian is angry. He has already sent word that he wants blood. If we do nothing, there will be war. Many of our wolves will die.”

He paused and looked straight into my eyes.

“To put this behind us and to serve as a peace treaty between the two packs, we have decided on a solution. A marriage alliance.”

My breath caught in my throat. Marriage? My mind raced. Who? One of my cousins? Someone from our pack to one of theirs?

Dad continued, his voice steady and final.

“Rachel, you are going to marry him.”

I blinked. The words felt far away, like they were not real.

“Him… who?” I whispered.

“Alpha Kylian.”

The room went completely silent. I could hear my own heartbeat loud in my ears.

For a second, I just stared at him. Then the words sank in.

“No…” The sound came out small at first. Then louder. “No!”

I stood up so fast the chair scraped loudly on the floor. Tears rushed to my eyes again, hot and burning.

“No, Dad! You can’t do this! I can’t marry him!”

The officials looked down at the table, avoiding my eyes. They knew this was hard, but none of them spoke up for me. Dad’s face stayed hard.

“Rachel, sit down,” he said.

I didn’t sit. Tears started falling down my cheeks. I shook my head again and again.

“Please… not him. Anyone but him. He is Chase’s brother. He hates our family. He hates me — even if he doesn’t know it yet. He will kill me the moment he finds out the truth!”

My voice cracked. I was crying openly now, the sobs shaking my shoulders.

“Today they buried Chase… my… my friend,” I said, catching myself just in time. I almost said “mate.” “And now you want me to marry his brother in three days? Three days! How can you ask me to do this?”

Dad stood up slowly. He walked around the table and stopped in front of me. He placed his hands on my shoulders, but there was no warmth in them.

“It is final, Rachel. The wedding will be in three days. We have already sent the message to the Dark Moon Pack. Alpha Kylian has agreed because it will stop the war and give him the chance to watch us closely. This is the only way to save our pack.”

I cried harder. “But I don’t love him! I don’t even know him. He is ruthless. Everyone says he is cold and dangerous. He will never treat me well. He will make me suffer every single day because of what happened to Chase.”

My father’s grip tightened a little.

“You are the daughter of an Alpha. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the pack. This is your duty.”

Duty. The word tasted bitter in my mouth.

I pulled away from his hands. “Duty? What about me? What about what I want? What about my happiness?”

He looked at me for a long moment, then shook his head.

“You will learn to live with it. Many Alphas and their daughters have done the same before you.”

With that, he turned and walked out of the room. The officials followed him one by one, leaving me standing there alone. The big doors closed behind them with a heavy sound that echoed in my chest.

I sank back into the chair and buried my face in my hands. The tears would not stop. My whole body shook with sobs.

Life is a b***h.

Just this morning, I had watched them lower my beloved mate into the cold ground. Chase — the only person who ever made me feel truly seen and loved. The one who whispered sweet promises to me under the moonlight. The one whose touch made the mate bond sing inside me.

And now, before his body was even cold in the earth, I was being forced to marry his brother.

His very ruthless brother.

Alpha Kylian, who stood like stone at the burial, radiating pure anger. The same Alpha who had sworn to burn my entire pack to the ground. The one who would hate me and my family forever for killing Chase.

How was I supposed to stand in front of him as his bride? How was I supposed to look into his eyes knowing I was the daughter of the man who ordered his brother’s death? What if he found out the truth about Chase and me? He would rip me apart without a second thought.

I cried until my throat hurt and my eyes burned. The room felt too big and too empty. Outside the window, the moon was rising, the same moon that had watched me and Chase steal secret moments together.

“O Goddess,” I whispered through my tears, my voice breaking. “Save me… please. I don’t know how to survive this. Save me, Moon Goddess.”

The only answer was silence.

Three days.

In three days I would stand beside Alpha Kylian and say vows I did not mean. In three days my life would be tied to the man who wanted my pack destroyed. In three days I would have to hide the biggest secret of my life while living in the enemy’s house.

I wrapped my arms around myself and rocked slowly, the pain so deep it felt like it would swallow me whole.

Chase… I’m so sorry.

I’m so sorry I couldn’t even mourn you properly.

And now I have to marry your brother.

The thought made fresh tears fall.

Life is a b***h.

And right now, it was laughing at me.