Chapter 1
989 Words
Raine Winston pushed open the door, bringing in a gust of icy northern wind mixed with the faint scent of blood.
My soul floated silently above, watching everything unfold.
The fur cloak on his shoulders was soaked through with snow and the blood of his enemies.
It had only been two months since I last saw him, yet his face had grown sharper, his presence even more intimidating.
My twin sister, Eve Linton, clenched the hem of her dress, forcing herself not to tremble. Then she steeled herself and stood up from the bed.
She walked toward Raine and spoke in the same gentle, delicate voice I knew all too well, a voice that now made me sick to my stomach.
"Your Majesty, you must be exhausted after inspecting the borders. Let me help you change and bathe."
Her voice was exactly like mine. Even the way she lowered her head slightly, pretending to be shy and submissive, was identical.
But originally, our voices and mannerisms had never been completely the same.
Seven days ago, I was tricked by the person I trusted most, my own mother, into returning to the family estate.
She locked me inside the underground chamber. Then she forced my mouth open and shoveled a bowl of poison down my throat.
Eve stood there, watching as I writhed on the ground, coughing up blood.
"Avery, do you know how much I suffered just to perfectly copy your voice and your appearance? Tell me, don't you think we look exactly like the same person now?"
She wasn't wrong. She had even removed the birthmark that once belonged to her alone.
Even Raine, the cautious and powerful Wolf King, failed to notice that his wife had already been replaced.
I was dead. My wolf should have sensed it.
But I was only his possession. He had never willingly formed a bond with me.
The completely unaware Raine opened his arms, offering himself without hesitation to the woman standing before him.
Eve's cheeks flushed as she reached for the leather straps around his armor.
Eve had never had naturally fair skin like mine, but for the past two years, she had taken whitening potions every day just to match my complexion.
She also avoided sunlight entirely. Eventually, she became as pale as I was.
She said she did all of this because she was determined to reclaim the power and glory that should have belonged to her.
The armor fell away piece by piece. Raine pulled Eve closer, completely captivated. He lowered his head and pulled her closer, kissing and sucking hungrily at her neck.
"New incense?" Raine murmured as his lips moved down toward Eve's full breasts.
Eve let out a soft gasp, but the hand resting on Raine's abdomen trembled slightly. The blush on her face faded almost instantly, replaced by a trace of unease.
Eve quickly steadied her voice. "It was a calming herbal scent my mother gave me. Is it not to your taste, Your Majesty? If so, I won't use it again."
Raine frowned. He withdrew the hand that had been resting on Eve's thigh, then spoke in a gentler tone, "It's too sweet. It doesn't have the clean, subtle scent of the evening primrose you used before. Change it back."
Eve immediately lowered her head. "Yes, Your Majesty. I understand."
Raine didn't look at her again. He turned and walked toward the bathing chamber.
Watching his retreating figure, Eve was filled with excitement.
The Wolf King's unmatched sense of smell had been fooled by the witch's herbs. To her, this was proof that her plan was working.
But I didn't want to follow them to the bathing chamber. Because I knew exactly what would happen next.
Raine had once been a late-blooming Wolf King. For years, my family considered him nothing more than a useless failure.
But then he fought through countless battles, risking his life again and again, until he finally rose to become the ruler of the Northern Territory.
Back then, to calm his anger and secure an alliance, my family had been forced to offer him a human bride.
Eve was originally the first choice. But she was terrified.
She cried and begged on her knees, pleading with our parents not to send her into what she called "a monster's den".
My parents considered her the family's greatest hope.
So in the end, they sent me as her instead.
For three years, while Raine rose to become the Wolf King, I lived among the werewolves, walking on eggshells every single day.
I endured his unpredictable temper and the overwhelming pressure that came with being his mate.
Raine was a ruthless ruler, a man whose instincts were as fierce as his authority. His desire was just like his leadership style, intense, possessive, and impossible to ignore.
Every time he pinned me beneath him, it was a merciless display of raw possession.
He was used to taking me in that rough, primal way. Every thrust felt as though it would crush my very soul.
In the moments when he lost himself completely, he loved biting down on the delicate nape of my neck.
The faint sting of his teeth lingering against my skin, mingled with the beast-like force of his movements, left me breathless as I was overwhelmed by his release.
Raine always reminded me of one thing. "Remember, your family sent you here because you exist to please me. You need to learn how to satisfy your king."
Eventually, I learned how to read his moods. I learned when to yield, when to comfort him, and when to stay silent. Only then did his violent temper gradually become easier to endure.
Eve was jealous, jealous of my position as the respected Wolf Queen as well as the power and status I had gained.
But now she had no idea what price she would have to pay to take my place.
- Writer
