The Ruthless Alpha's Substitute Luna

Marianna Silverflame, " Where is my pendant, Mother?" I asked my mother, Luna of the Silverflame Wolf Pack, my voice steady but edged with impatience. My mother was sitting in the living room, the flickering light of the TV casting shifting shadows across her face. She barely glanced at me, as if I didn't matter, as if my presence was nothing more than background noise. " I don't know what you are talking about." My eyes narrowed, irritation tightening my chest. " You know what I am talking about, Mom. I left the pendant in my room before leaving for the business trip." She waved her hand dismissively, her attention already drifting back to the TV, the sound of voices filling the silence between us. " Some stupid pendant. You can buy one. What's with this desperation?" " Excuse me?" I asked coldly, a sharp edge creeping into my tone. " The pendant is the gift from grandma. Have you forgotten? Where is it, Mom? Don't make me repeat!" " Enough!" She slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly, the sound echoing through the room. Her expression shifted into irritation, her brows furrowed. " I am fed up with this tone of yours. Have you forgotten that I am your mother, not someone you can talk to with that damn attitude?" I folded my arms, my posture rigid, expression cold. " Where is it?" She looked at me, her face crumbling with frustration before hardening again. " Fine. I gave it to your sister." My eyes widened, disbelief washing over me. " Excuse me?" " It was a gift for her wedding." " Wait..." I raised my hand slowly, my mind struggling to catch up. " A wedding gift? What wedding?" The question immediately brought silence to the entire Packhouse. The faint clinking of utensils stopped. The servants paused mid-step. Even the air felt heavier. Mom stiffened as if she had been struck by lightning. Realization hit me hard, like something cracking open inside my chest. I slowly walked toward her, my hands curling into fists, nails digging into my palms. " So, not only have you given my pendant, the only thing that I got from Grandma, but also Julianna has gotten married? And I have no idea about it?" She looked down, her expression hardening, as if she was the victim here, as if I was the one being unreasonable. " Mom!" I snapped, my voice rising despite myself. " Stop with this silence. I have been working straight for the last three weeks, barely sleeping, barely breathing, and you all are stealing stuff from me and then hiding my twin sister's wedding?" " Stealing? It's family property. How dare you say that is stealing?" I laughed in disbelief, the sound hollow and sharp, my body trembling with anger and something deeper, something more bitter. " What do you think of me, actually? Mother." I spat the word out, my voice icy cold," I understand that Julianna is your favourite. She is girly, she is sweet, she is everything you wanted. But what about me? We were born at the same time, yet why are you being such a failure of a mother?" " Marie!!! How dare you!" " I dare, Mom." I snapped, my jaw tight. " You didn't think of me as your family, did you?" Her jaw tightened, but she said nothing. " You gave everything that Grandma owned to her. Her savings, her jewelry, her house. I only got her pendant, and you stole it? Are you that desperate, Mom?" " How dare you talk to your mother like this? It's just a pendant. Why can't you shut up? Don't make me tell your father about it." " You don't have to." I gritted my teeth, my voice low and controlled despite the storm inside me. " Just this year, Mother. After that, you two, no, you three will be dead to me." I turned on my heels and walked upstairs immediately, my body shaking with restrained rage, each step heavy against the floor. " What... What did you say? Marie. Get back here!" She screamed, her voice echoing behind me. I closed the door with a loud slam, the sound vibrating through the walls, and threw myself onto the bed. The mattress dipped under my weight as I stared at the ceiling, my chest rising and falling unevenly. Since we were born, they had decided to divide their affection into two parts. I would be raised as a boy, the future Alpha, with no affection, no softness, no priority. Because I would stay here. I would be with them forever. I didn’t need love, according to them. I needed strength. However, Julianna was the only daughter who would leave them one day. So everything... affection, attention, warmth, wealth, everything went to her without question. My maternal grandma was the only person who saw me as a person instead of someone who could survive on the bare minimum. Not only did she love me, but she also pushed me to grab every chance in life. She never treated me like I was less. Being Alpha of this Pack was my dream, and she was the only one who ever believed I could achieve it. Not because my father was pushing me to, but because I had the power to rule. However, to have that dream, I had been working like a slave. My Dad, the Alpha in name, enjoyed everything while I dealt with his mess behind the scenes, cleaning problems he never even acknowledged. The last three weeks, I had only had a few hours of sleep. My body ached, my head throbbed, and exhaustion clung to me like a second skin. Today, I returned from my long business trip, hoping for at least a moment of quiet. And now, I lost the last thing that my grandma left. A red pendant. Before dying, she told me to keep it close to my heart. Her voice, weak but certain, echoed in my mind. It was something that would protect me always. I couldn’t take it everywhere because sometimes I forgot things under the crushing pressure of work. Now, regret settled heavily in my chest, suffocating. I should have taken it with me. " My lady. The coffee." A knock on the door made me sit up abruptly. I wiped my face quickly and sat straight, forcing my expression back into place. I had endured everything. Every slight, every neglect, every injustice. But they would never be able to break me. I, Marianna Silverflame, didn’t grow up to give up that easily. I was born to rule. Not to be ruled or controlled. " Come inside." I said, my voice cold and composed. I grabbed a makeup remover sheet and pressed it against my face, the faint scent of cleanser filling the air as I wiped away the traces of sweat and exhaustion. Stacy walked in, holding a tray carefully. " Your coffee." The rich aroma of coffee spread through the room, warm and bitter. " Keep it on the table and leave." I said. She nodded, placing the tray down softly. But she didn’t leave immediately. I turned, one brow raising slightly. " Actually, um." She glanced over her shoulder to check if the door was closed, lowering her voice. " Last Friday, Lady Julianna got married to Alpha Xavier Delanor, the Alpha of the Blackhowl Wolf Pack." Time seemed to have stopped around me. " What?" My eyes widened. Xavier Delanor was known for being ruthless, unruly, and a womanizer. They let her marry that scumbag? Knowing everything? " Anything else?" She pressed her lips together, hesitating. So there was more. " Alpha Xavier Delanor wanted to marry you, not her, my lady." " Excuse me?" I shifted slightly, my heartbeat picking up. " What do you mean by that?" She hesitated before explaining, " He said whoever had the red pendant would be able to marry him. And since you always leave your pendant here, they let Lady Julianna wear it." My eyes widened further, shock settling deep. He was after my pendant? Why? What was so important about it? Grandma told me to keep it with me and not to lose it anymore. Was there something I wasn't aware of? " Also—" " There is more?" She nodded quietly. " They accused you of possibly trying to steal her husband. So they decided not to give you any heads-up." A scoff escaped me, sharp and disbelieving. I would steal her husband? I had no intention of getting married in foreseeable future. As I was trying to process everything at once, footsteps approached my room. Heavy and familiar. Judging by the weight of them, I knew it was Dad, the Alpha of the Silverflame Wolf Pack, Mateo Silverflame. He didn’t even knock before pushing the door open. His expression was hard as he walked in, his presence filling the room. " Marie. I heard you had an argument with your mother?" I didn’t reply. I picked up the warm towel Stacey had brought and cleaned my face slowly, deliberately. " I understand that you are upset. But it's for our good." I still didn’t reply. I didn’t even know what I felt anymore. Anger, betrayal, exhaustion, they all blurred together. The years of the pain I had to endure to come this far had turned myself a stone. " Come on. It's just a pendant. Can you stop being a baby? I thought I raised you better than this. A future Alpha doesn't get upset over a pendant." I looked at him, really looked at him, and then laughed—a cold, humorless sound that held no warmth at all. " Sure, Dad. I will remember that."