The Ruthless Alpha's Substitute Luna

Julianna Silverflame

Three months later,

In last three months, I had significantly pulled myself away from the work load. Treating me like a slave whilst they treated my sister as if she was everything, I had had enough. The constant pressure, the endless responsibilities, the silent expectations, it all felt suffocating, like invisible chains wrapped tightly around my throat.

So, I chose to choose myself for once, letting Dad feel the exhaustion I used to carry for him for last ten years.

Dad noticed me pulling away, letting him handle most of the works on his own. I could see it in the way his shoulders had started to slump, the way exhaustion clung to him like a second skin.

“ I have lost another project. This is not right, Marie. This Pack is yours. Its future is on your hand. You should stop it already. I have had enough of this nonsense.”

He walked into my chamber, as I finished some work. His voice carried authority, but his face betrayed him.

He looked worse, as if he had been doing physical work for hours. Sweat dampened his collar, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes.

“ Well, not until I become the official leader of this pack, Dad. You can't make me work for hours with no acknowledgement, right?”

His jaw tightened, the muscle ticking visibly. “ What kind of absurd thing is it? Why are you being like this?”

I smiled but didn't answer. Because he knew why I was doing it. He just didn’t want to admit it.

“ Are you still upset about the pendant? C'mon. We can't let her expose that you are the owner of the pendant. It will cost her the marriage.”

I leaned into the chair, the wood creaking softly beneath my weight, and looked up at him. “ Do you think I care about your other daughter? Dad.”

His expression hardened, lines forming around his mouth. “ Can we not do it anymore?”

“ Do what, Dad?” My voice stayed calm, almost light. “ The fact that since day one, you have been treating me like I was an unwanted person invading your happy family? Or the fact that I came second to your other child?”

He pressed his lips, unable to find a right word. Silence filled the room, thick and uncomfortable.

“ Or the fact that she deserves everything, your time, money, attention and now, even the only thing that keeps me sane? The pendant?”

Still nothing.

“ Since you have taken everything away from me, every single f*****g thing…” I exhaled slowly, feeling the bitterness settle heavier in my chest, “ how about you let me have the throne, an official acknowledgement that I am the Next Alpha? Then I will consider it.”

“ Nonsense!” He snapped, his voice echoing slightly against the walls. “ You will be the Alpha. Why are you so desperate -?”

“ Because I don't trust you.” I scoffed, the sound sharp, almost cutting. “ Is it too hard to understand? I don't trust you or my mother.”

I met his eyes, holding his gaze without flinching.

“ Who knows one day I wake and find my sister becoming the next Alpha. Because…” A faint smile tugged at my lips, cold and humorless, “ She is the favourite. She deserves everything. Even my soul, my hard earned position.”

“ This... This is not true. We have been treating you two equally. Stop being ungrateful.”

I laughed, an actual laugh this time, dry and hollow. “ Gosh, Dad. I am so amused.” I sighed, leaning back further.

“ Since I have been acting so gullible, now we should get the business done. Give me your throne, I will keep this Pack running. Fair business. You know.”

I smiled because my words were final. He knew why I was doing all the work. And he knew that I wasn't like Julianna, a soft spoken, spoilt brat. I earned everything with my own efforts. I trained like an Alpha, my Wolf was one.

Everything I did was to get the throne. And nothing could stop me.

Just as he opened his mouth to argue, a sharp knock cut through the tension, abrupt and urgent.

Beta Jacob slightly opened the door, his usual composure shaken. “ Alpha, it's urgent. Please meet Luna right now. Both of you.”

Dad and I shared glances before heading back to the Packhouse.

_________

As soon as we walked into the main entrance of the Alpha Packhouse, the air felt... different. Almost heavy and depressing.

The servants barely greeted us which was unusual. They looked like they wanted to leave the house as soon as possible.

Dad and I shared another glance because the tension felt thicker now, pressing down our throats. But we both decided to go inside first.

And that was when I saw her, my twin sister.

“ I can't do it. I beg you, Mom. I want to come back home.”

Julianna Silverflame, my identical twin's sob filled the living room of the Silverflame Wolf Pack.

I stilled for a moment.

She looked different from what I last saw.

Pale. Skinny. The usual glam and arrogance that she always carried was gone, stripped away completely. Her hair was messy, strands clinging to her damp cheeks, and her lips were dry, cracked.

In our last twenty five years, this was the first time I saw her disheveled and desperate.

" What's going on?" Dad asked, as we both sat across them.

The servants served tea on the table and excused themselves as soon as possible.

" Your daughter has run away from her pack and came here welling." She said, almost with annoyance and displeased.

This was the first time, I saw my mother talking to her daughter this way.

" Mom, Please..." She begged, her nails digging into the dress that she wore more than once. Which was completely opposite her character.

' Something big has happened' Mauri, my Wolf whispered in my head.

I remained quiet, watching.

“ It's not happening.” My mother snapped, her expression hardening each second. “ Blackhowl Wolf Pack is your family, your house now. It will be disgraceful to accept you back to our Pack. Do you understand what will happen if the news spreads all over the place?”

Julianna's face crumbled, her eyes darkening with disbelief. “ What did you say? Mom. Is your reputation more important than me? Your daughter?”

My mother didn't respond, but her blank expression said it all. Cold. Firm. Unmoved.

My father, however, chose to remain quiet, smoking cigarettes as if nothing in this room concerned him. The faint smell of smoke curled through the air.

“ Dad. Aren't you going to say something?” Julianna glanced at him with a pleading expression, her voice trembling.

“ They literally torture me.” She rushed out, her words stumbling over each other. “ They put glue in my soup. My husband doesn't even care about me. He has more women in his bed. He didn't even share bed with me!”

She choked, coughing slightly, her breath uneven.

“ For once, Dad… I am being humiliated, insulted by those f*****g servants.”

“ Don't involve your Dad in your personal problems.” Mom said coldly,

“ Everyone knows that Alpha Xavier a bit hard to please.. But as his Luna, instead of wasting time here, why not trying to find a way to get his attention?”

Julianna whimpered, pulling her hair, her fingers trembling. “ Please -.”

My mother raised her hands dismissively. “ You used to be able to seduce any men. Now you can't even get your mate's attention? Worthless!”

Julianna burst into tears, her shoulders shaking violently, and slowly turned toward me.

Her blotched red face, swollen eyes, the ugly sobs tearing out of her chest—

For a second, I wondered if I would look just as ugly if I cried like this.

“ Won't you say anything? Are you going to abandon me too?”

I sipped the ice tea leisurely, the cold liquid sliding down my throat, and looked at her.

“ Sorry, Hun. I am not good at relationship advice. Also… You know.” I shrugged, “ I am not interested.”

Her eyes widened in disbelief. “ You are doing it on purpose, aren't you? For everything I have done.”

“ Oh, You know what you have done to me. I thought you didn't have any brain to process.”

“ Marie. Stop tormenting me. Help me. Please…”

I didn't answer.

Because, throughout the years, she had been nothing but the only bully of my life who did nothing but torment me.

The better twin. The beautiful twin. The loved one. My parents’ favourite. Now she wants me to help?

I didn't answer. I glanced at the red pendant that hung around her neck. My blood boiled.

Seeing me staying silent with no emotions, she bit her bottom lip,

“ Fine.” She abruptly stood up, her movements sudden, unstable.

“ Since none of you are going to help me, then -”

She grabbed the fruit knife from the table and pressed it against her neck, the blade glinting faintly under the light.

“ I will announce the world, how I was treated. And how, my parents, my own sister, abandoned me for their so called reputation.”

The sharp edge of the knife pressed against her neck. My eyes narrowed. She was damn serious.

What's going on here?

This time, Mom and Dad stood up, their chairs scraping loudly against the floor.

“ What are you doing? Stop this nonsense.” Dad roared,

“ No.” She shook her head aggressively, tears soaking her top. “ I don't want to go back. Either you agree to bring me back or I will jump, hang myself or anything to make sure both your reputation and your daughter die in the same day.”

I leaned into the chair, watching the drama unfolding.

My mother rubbed her forehead, irritation flashing across her face. “ Calm down, Okay? You will be fine. You are the Luna. Be strong.”

“ No. You don't understand.” Her voice broke, dropping into something quieter, more fragile. “ I can't go there. If I go, I will die.”

A pause. Her body trembled. Her eyes were darting around. Her lips quivered as though she was experiencing something horror.

“ They'll kill me. Please, Mom.”

Just as I was about to dismiss her pain as her another melodrama to come back,

My gaze shifted, on her shoulder. A glimpse was all it took me to notice something wasn't just wrong, it was terribly wrong.

I stood up, my body moving on its own.

“ What are you doing?” She asked, surprised,

I yanked the knife away from her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her sleeve up before she could resist.

There it was.

Darkened skin, burned and bruised. It turned purple, the outer skin was looking terrible.

My breath hitched when realization hit me like a punch on my face.

My eyes widened in terror. “ What did they do to you?”

She glanced at her shoulder. And this time—

I saw it. The real fear, the terror of something she never experienced. Something that a living soul should never experience.

Mom and Dad walked toward us, confused. “ What is it?” They asked in unison.

“ They burnt her…” I muttered under my breath, my voice quieter than before.

I swallowed. “ They burnt my sister.”