Crowned by the enemy Alpha

Furious

CHAPTER 7

~SELENE~•

I’m fastening the clasp of my sapphire necklace the one that matches my eyes perfectly when Mia slips into my chambers. The other maids are fussing with my hair, arranging it into an elaborate updo for the Luna gathering at Valley Pack.

The moment I see Mia’s face, I know she has news.

“Out,” I tell the other maids. “All of you. Now.”

They scatter like startled birds, the door closing softly behind them. Mia waits until their footsteps fade before speaking.

“My lady, I have the report you requested.”

“And?” I turn from the mirror, my hands gripping the edge of my vanity.

“Lyria is… thriving.” Mia’s voice is careful, measured. She knows how much I hate hearing that name. “She’s officially Luna of Draven Crest now. The pack is….”

“I know she’s Luna,” I snap. “I asked you to tell me how his pack is treating her. The elders despise weak wolves. They would never accept someone like her.”

Mia shifts her weight, uncomfortable. “That’s what I need to tell you, my lady. They’re… melting.”

“Melting?”

“Into her favor. She’s been training with their warriors…”

I laugh, sharp and bitter. “Training? Lyria can barely walk without tripping over her own feet.”

“She’s improved, my lady. Significantly. And she’s been attending council meetings. Her suggestions about trade routes and negotiations have saved the pack considerable resources. The elders who once mocked her are now…” She pauses. “Now they respect her.”

The words hit me like a slap.

Respect. They respect her?

My sister. The pathetic little mouse who couldn’t even keep Damon interested. The girl who used to cry when other pack children teased her. The one who was always in my shadow, always second best, always less.

“How?” The word comes out strangled. “How is this possible?”

“Alpha Kaelan has been training her personally. And she’s proven herself intelligent in pack matters. Soft-spoken, but strategic. The pack members are starting to… warm to her.”

Soft. Of course they’re responding to her softness. Lyria always did know how to play the victim, how to make people want to protect her. She’s probably manipulating them all, just like she tried to manipulate Damon.

I move to the window, my hands clenching into fists. Outside, pack members go about their daily routines my pack members, in my territory, where I’m Luna. Where I finally got everything I deserved.

But it’s not enough.

It was never supposed to be enough for her. Lyria was supposed to disappear into obscurity after Damon rejected her. She was supposed to fade away, forgotten and broken, while I lived the life that should have always been mine.

Instead, she’s risen. She’s become Luna of one of the most powerful packs in the region. She’s earning respect I had to claw and scheme for.

It’s not fair. It’s not right.

“Cancel my plans for today,” I say quietly.

“My lady?” Mia’s voice rises with concern. “But the Luna gathering…you’re supposed to represent our pack. Alpha Damon expects….”

“Cancel. It.”

“But…”

I whirl to face her, and whatever she sees in my expression makes her take a step back.

“Cancel all of it, Mia. Send my regrets. Tell them I’m unwell. Tell them whatever you want. I don’t care.”

Mia bows her head. “Yes, my lady.”

She leaves, and I reach for my phone. My friend Cassandra answers on the second ring.

“Selene! I was just thinking about you. Are you almost…”

“I’m not coming.”

“What? But you’ve been talking about this gathering for weeks. What happened?”

“Something came up. I can’t make it.”

“Selene, what’s wrong? You sound….”

I end the call.

My reflection stares back at me from the mirror. Beautiful. Poised. Everything a Luna should be. Everything Lyria never was.

So why is she succeeding where she should have failed?

I think about my sister, probably walking through Draven Crest’s halls right now with her head held high, warriors nodding respectfully, elders seeking her counsel. Playing Luna like she was born for it.

The thought makes something dark and vicious coil in my chest.

She was supposed to be gone. Broken. Destroyed by what Damon and I did to her at that altar. Instead, she landed in the arms of an Alpha even more powerful than Damon, and somehow, somehow she’s turning it into a triumph.

I won’t allow it.

I didn’t scheme and seduce and manipulate my way to Luna just to have my pathetic little sister outshine me. I didn’t take Damon from her just to watch her thrive without him.

Lyria needs to fall. Not just fall, she needs to be destroyed so completely that she never gets back up again.

And I know exactly how to make that happen.

I’ll remind everyone of what she really is: a weak, broken girl who doesn’t deserve the title of Luna. I’ll expose whatever hold she has over Kaelan. I’ll tear down everything she’s building until she’s back where she belongs.

Beneath me.