The Cursed Alpha's substitute Bride

Chapter 001

Elara

"I won't go, Father. I'm sorry," I said firmly.

It was the season when a chosen noble house had to give up a daughter as a bride for the Alpha King—Alpha Klaus before the full moon. Everyone knew what happened to the brides who went before. They all ended up dead. No one had ever survived mating with Alpha Klaus.

"Don't be unreasonable, Elara. Do you expect us to give your sister to the king instead? She's too young and fragile to survive the palace." My mother held Wren close, one arm wrapped around her like she might fall apart if she let go.

"You're setting me up to die, Mother." My voice shook, but I kept going. "The bride is supposed to be full-blooded. I'm not. I'm part human. I won't just die in that palace — I might not even make it past the screening before they execute me."

I tried to explain, even though I already knew their minds were made up. I could see it in my father's tight jaw. In my mother's flat, final eyes.

"Don't worry, Father. I'll go." Wren's voice came out soft and sweet, the voice she always used when she wanted people watching her. "I don't want to let you or Mother down. I don't want us to be the family that refuses a royal command." Tears filled her eyes right on cue. She pressed herself closer to my mother. "We won't survive the king's anger if we don't do what's expected."

"You ungrateful girl." My mother's voice cracked like a whip. "We took you in. We fed you. We put clothes on your back and a roof over your head when you were left to die in that orphanage — and this is how you repay us?"

"Mother, that's—"

"Enough." She said it through her teeth, still stroking Wren's hair, like I hadn't spoken at all. "I've had it with you. Why can't you be like your sister? She's always ready to do what's best for this family, for this pack. And you — you complain about everything, every single time. Why must you be so difficult, Elara?"

Over my mother's shoulder, Wren watched me with a small satisfied smile. She already thought she'd won.

I took a breath before I spoke again, because I was done. Done arguing with people who'd already decided I didn't matter.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Father, but I can't go. I won't sacrifice myself for something this pointless. I'll accept whatever punishment comes from saying no." I turned to leave. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do."

Wren crossed the room before I made it two steps. She grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my skin.

"You ungrateful little bitch." Her voice dropped low, meant only for me. "You're going to that palace in my place, and you're going to die there. That's exactly what you deserve."

I yanked my arm free. She stumbled back and fell to the floor, like I had pushed her with both hands. I hadn't touched her at all.

Our parents rushed to her side before she'd even finished falling like fliess drawn to something sweet and rotten. My mother gathered her up like she was made of glass.

"I was only trying to help," Wren sobbed, her whole body shaking, "and she pushed me."

My father crossed the room toward me. I understood what was coming a second before it happened.

"I didn't even touch her. I just—"

The slap landed before I finished the sentence. My cheek burned. My vision blurred. For a moment the room tilted around the ringing in my ear.

"How dare you lay hands on our daughter." My father wiped his palm on his trousers, like he'd touched something dirty and needed it off his skin. "This is the only reason we brought you into this family, and you will do as we've said. Pack your bags. You leave by dawn. End of discussion."

He turned back to my mother and helped Wren to her feet. Gentle in a way he hadn't been with me in years, maybe ever.

I stood there with my hand pressed to my burning cheek, watching them walk away without a single glance back. Wren looked over her shoulder just once, long enough to let me see her smirk, before she disappeared around the corner with our parents on either side of her like guards.

I made it to my room before the tears actually fell. Twenty years, and this was what it came down to — a substitute for their precious, fragile daughter. A wolf in sheep's clothing, dressed up in tears and shaking hands, and somehow I was the one who got slapped for it.

I packed anyway. Not for the palace.

My plan was simple: wait until after dinner, until the house went quiet and everyone was asleep, then leave. Disappear before dawn instead of being sent off like livestock. Let them explain that to the crown themselves.

At dinner, I ate in silence while Wren talked and laughed easily with our parents, like the afternoon had never happened. Of course she could laugh. She wasn't the one about to die.

I finished my plate, drank my water, and excused myself early. I'd need my strength for the road ahead. I had no wolf to lean on the way the others did, being only half of one, and every mile away from this house was going to cost me more than it would cost someone full-blooded.

Ten minutes after I left the dining hall, the hallway back to my room began to tilt.

My vision blurred at the edges. My steps slowed without my permission.

"No." I caught the wall to steady myself, my palm sliding against the stone as my knees started to give out. "It can't be."

I tried to push myself upright. I tried to force my feet to carry me the rest of the way to my room. But the darkness was closing in faster than I could fight it.

The last thing I saw, before it swallowed me whole, was Wren standing at the end of the hallway, smiling and waving goodbye.