The Ruthless Alpha's Substitute Luna

A deal

Marianna,

Silence in the room felt like a suffocating chain around my neck. I stared at the scars on her body.

Julianna, who never ever lifted a single heavy thing, who never let her wolf go wild, who didn't even step onto the training ground because her body would get scars like I had, was now covered with all kinds of scars.

“Explain!” My voice came out authoritative as I demanded, sharp and unyielding. My Wolf, Mauri, growled low inside my head, restless and alert, reacting before I even fully processed my emotions.

She might have tormented me, but she was still my sister. Anyone who touched my family would have to face me.

Julie trembled beneath my gaze, her nails, looking like they hadn’t seen nail polish for years, digging slightly into my palm as if she needed something to hold onto to keep herself steady.

Mom and Dad, however, looked unexpectedly calm. Too calm. Calmer than they had any right to be in a moment like this.

I ignored them first. I needed answers. I needed to know what had happened to her.

Julie bit her lips until they turned pale before she started explaining, her voice shaking,

“I thought like everyone in my friend group, my Alpha would treat me well. But as soon as I arrived there, they started bullying me nonstop. Alpha Xavier didn’t even come to see me. He has a lover who lives with him. She comes to my chamber and does whatever she wants. Nobody can stop her.”

She cried like a child, broken and breathless, “All the servants treated me like a dog.”

" I heard you were chosen because of my pendant. What's with this?"

She flinched, so did my parents. They didn't expect me to know about it.

" I... I don't know. When I first went there, an elderly she-wolf checked the pendant and said something to another man. They didn't take it or did something to it either." She explained, her nails digging into her palms.

“Why? Did they explain why they were like this?”

“No. All they said was that I was nothing but a pawn of a business convenience. All I have to do is to stay in my room and keep my mouth shut.”

My eyes immediately went to Dad, sharp and searching. “What does that mean? What business?”

Dad’s eyes drifted everywhere except mine, avoiding me completely. His jaw clenched, as if he was caught stealing.

Disbelief was written all over my face as I asked again, slower this time, “Dad. What does that mean?”

“It’s just a business deal. Okay?” Mom snapped, her tone tight and clearly uncomfortable with the conversation, as if she wanted to cut it off immediately. “Also, things happen, Julianna. Stop being a baby and—”

“Wait a minute.” I cut her off, my voice colder now, “You don’t care what just happened to her? Are you using her for some business?”

“It’s not a big deal. She is a Luna now. Do you think it’s easy to become a Luna?” My mother snapped, looking impatient,

Julianna looked at Mom, her eyes glistening with tears and unspoken disbelief, her chest rising unevenly as if she could barely breathe through it.

“Mom, you knew that this marriage wasn’t a mutual one but a trade?”

I leaned back into the chair, my fist clenching tightly until my knuckles turned pale.

So my parents used their own favorite daughter for something like this? The girl they had promised to protect forever?

“Why are you talking to me as if I destroyed your life? Your dad got a billion dollars worth of projects with the Blackhowl Wolf Pack in exchange for the marriage. Do you think we can get such a good offer ever?”

Mom snapped, looking at Julianna with open contempt, her voice rising with irritation.

“You should be grateful you did such a good job. Except for spending money, what else can you do?”

Julianna’s face turned pale, her eyes reddening as realization pressed heavily against her chest like a suffocating weight. She slowly looked at me, then back at our parents.

“Does it hurt like this?” she whispered, her voice barely holding together, looking at me with guilt and confusion, “Always staying in the center of cruelty?”

My eyes widened slightly. Did she just acknowledge the fact that I used to be in a situation like this? She used to enjoy them. I thought she didn't acknowledge the pain I went through.

“It gets numb,” I said quietly, my voice low and steady, “Because now you know. We are nothing but tools for them.”

She looked down immediately, tears slipping down her cheeks in silence. The realization hit her so hard it looked like it physically crushed her chest, leaving her struggling for air.

“What nonsense are you two spouting?” Mom snarled, her patience snapping, “Julianna, go back tomorrow morning. Once you have signed that marriage agreement, you are no longer a Silverflame.”

“I thought you loved me.” Julianna looked at our parents, her voice breaking, “I truly thought you loved me enough to buy the world for me.”

Silence fell heavily in the room. Even the air felt thick. Mom and Dad looked at her with genuine annoyance, as if she were nothing more than an inconvenience they had to deal with.

How could I not see it before? Mom used to tell Julianna that she would bring luck to our pack by claiming a rich Alpha. Not because she adored her.

But because she saw her as possession. A perfect possession meant to bring profit.

“I used to enjoy how you two only gave me everything. Always ignored Marianna like she was an outsider. I enjoyed those moments. God, how stupid I was. You two weren’t raising two kids but two tools to use, right?”

Dad’s face crumbled immediately. His hand shot up and slapped her across the face before I could even move.

“Ungrateful! As my daughters, you two should do everything we are asking for. How dare you try to defy us?” he growled, his calm composed expression cracking to reveal something uglier underneath.

“I am calling the guards. They’ll send you back.”

“No!” she wailed, falling on her knees, her desperation filling the room, “Please… don’t send me away. I beg you. I don’t… I don’t want to go back there.”

I watched her, my heart aching painfully. The hatred I once had for her suddenly shifted, replaced by something heavier, pity. We were raised for different roles, but we were both victims of our parents’ cruel ambition.

“Guards!” Dad shouted, his expression blank again, “Send Julianna—!”

“Wait a minute.” I raised my hand, my eyes cold and steady.

“You stay away from this, Marie. Your job is to handle—!”

“I will go,” I said, cutting Dad off cleanly.

“What did you say?” he asked, his eyes narrowing instantly.

“I will go in her place. Since the marriage was for me from the very beginning anyway.”

“What are you talking about?” Dad’s expression soured, frustration flashing across his face, “You aren’t going anywhere. Who else will handle the pack affairs?”

I smirked slightly, leaning back into the chair with controlled ease, “I won’t handle your jobs, Dad. Not until you give me the position as Alpha.”

“Excuse me!” Mom raised her brow sharply, her voice rising, “Young lady, your father is still healthy and fine. How could you expect him to hand over his throne?”

“Do you think I care about that, Mother?”

“You—!”

I ignored her completely and looked directly at my father, “You have two choices. Let me go in her place and handle the matter quietly until it is suitable for her to return, or give me the throne.”

“What if I don’t agree with your condition? What will you do?” Dad’s voice was quiet and sharp, but there was a faint, almost unnoticeable tremor underneath it.

“You know what I can do, Father. I am not Julianna, the obedient, lovely daughter who follows you like a puppy. Mess with me, I will mess with you. You know that very well.”

He already knew in last three months. He had already taken a load of loss because of me. I had cancelled meetings, project, some messes he created in public.

What not? In last ten years, he had been depending on me.

Dad’s jaw tightened. Mom opened her mouth to speak, but sensing the tension and the darkness in his eyes, she stayed silent.

Then Dad looked at me again, his voice controlled but heavy,

“You have three months to handle the situation. If you can’t, not only will you return home and Julianna has to go, but you will also never disobey me again.”

“And if I can fix the situation? What will I get? I am the one helping you secure a billion-dollar deal.”

His nails dug into his palm as he muttered, “Whatever you want.”

I smirked, slow and certain, “Then it’s a deal.”