Moonwort Scent Gone,My alpha King Slays All

The fire roared in the lord's bedchamber in Frostvale. The heavy oak doors flew open, and the Wolf King strode inside. Raine Winston brought with him Frostvale's bitter chill and the metallic reek of blood. I watched everything in silence through a crystal ball. The Alpha who ruled all of Frostvale had just returned from a brutal campaign to put down a border rebellion. His fur-lined cloak was soaked through with snow and enemy blood. I hadn't seen him in 2 months. His face looked leaner and sharper, and the sheer force of a ruler's presence seemed to fill the room. Eve hid in the shadows and quietly crushed the Heatbloom concealed inside her sleeve. She steeled herself and forced down her fear before gliding toward Raine. When she spoke, she used the soft, gentle tone I knew so well and had come to despise. "Alpha, you must be exhausted after patrolling the border. Let me help you out of your clothes and prepare your bath." Her voice sounded exactly like mine. Even the shy tilt of her head was a perfect imitation. But our voices and habits had never truly been identical. 7 days earlier, my dear mother had pretended to fall ill and lured me back to the underground chamber beneath the Linton manor. She had pried my jaw open with her own hand and forced a bowl of poison down my throat. To satisfy Eve's hunger for power and secure her place as Luna, my mother hadn't hesitated to sacrifice me, the daughter she'd already discarded once by sending me into a marriage meant for someone else. Eve had watched me writhe on the floor, vomiting blood. She looked down at me and sneered. "Avery, do you have any idea how much I suffered to make my voice and every mannerism match yours perfectly? Don't you think we're practically the same person now?" Of course twins looked alike. When I was born, a Black Witch had predicted that Eve would bring the family power and wealth, while my existence would drain the luck and blessings of everyone closest to me. From that day on, my family treated me like a curse and kept me hidden away. Raine's Alpha awakening had come unusually late, and for a time even my family had dismissed him as worthless. Eve had been the original choice for the marriage, but she feared the beast would torture her to death. She dropped to her knees in tears and begged our parents not to send her into that hell. To calm the werewolves' fury, our family still had to offer them a human bride. Because our parents saw Eve as the family's future, they chose me to take her place. Everyone outside the family believed Raine had married Eve. Raine was violent and bloodthirsty, and he was every bit as ruthless in bed as he was in ruling his territory. Every time he pinned me beneath him, there was nothing tender about it. It was raw possession. At the height of his frenzy, he loved to bite the sensitive skin at the back of my neck. His teeth would scrape and press over the same spot again and again, leaving sharp little bursts of pain. Mixed with the brutal rhythm of his body, the sensation left me gasping for breath by the time he finally found release. "Remember this. Your family sent you here to please me. Learn how to use your body to keep me satisfied." Eventually, I learned to give him what he wanted. In bed, I yielded to every demand, foolishly believing obedience might buy me a little warmth. His words were always cold, yet somewhere along the way, he had given me a level of protection no one dared challenge. Later, Raine risked his life in battle after battle and eventually claimed the throne as Wolf King of Frostvale. But in his eyes, I was still nothing more than a plaything sent by the Lintons for his bed. He hadn't even bothered to give me the most basic mate mark. He never knew that the woman who had shared his bed for the past 3 years was Avery, Eve's younger twin. ***** Still unaware of the truth, Raine spread his arms and, exhausted, let the woman in front of him tend to him. With my mother's dark magic masking the deception, even a Wolf King as vigilant as Raine failed to realize that his wife had been replaced. Eve blushed as she reached for the leather strap at his waist. Her complexion had always been darker than mine. To replace me perfectly as Luna, she had endured having the birthmark on her face removed and even used a harsh potion to bleach her skin until it was as pale as fresh snow. She claimed she had done it all to reclaim the position of Luna that should have been hers. Eve wore nothing but a thin, nearly transparent silk nightgown. Her curves showed through the fabric, and everything about her was calculated to look seductive. Raine was exhausted. Months of fighting had left every muscle in his body wound tight. Once he breathed in the Heatbloom fumes, the wariness in his eyes gradually gave way to raw, animal desire. He closed his eyes, tipped back his head, and opened his arms as his breathing grew rough. Eve rose on tiptoe with a breathy moan. Her warm tongue traced the hard line of Raine's jaw and moved lower as she greedily licked her way down the Wolf King's body. His Adam's apple bobbed sharply, and a low, hoarse groan escaped his throat. As an apex Alpha, he was possessive to his core, and her deliberate teasing ignited that instinct at once. Eve's eyes lit with triumph, and a flush spread across her cheeks. Raine moved without warning. His large hand clamped around her narrow waist and yanked her hard against him. He bent his head, his hot, heavy breath brushing over the hollow of her throat. Driven by instinct, he opened his mouth and moved to bite the tender skin at the back of his mate's neck. Just before his lips touched Eve's skin, a deep, animal snarl ripped out of him. His inner wolf recoiled as if sickened, roaring and fighting him from within. "Did you change the incense?" Every muscle in Raine's body locked. His black eyes flashed molten gold, and his pupils narrowed into vertical slits. Eve was still panting softly, but the hand stroking his abdomen trembled. Most of the color drained from her face. She forced her voice to stay steady. "It's witchgrass incense from my mom. It's supposed to help me sleep. Don't you like the scent? I won't use it next time." Raine's brows drew together. He pressed a hand to his aching heart and dragged in several harsh breaths. Instinct took over. Raine seized her wrist and flung her hand away with enough force to send Eve staggering backward. "Too sweet. The evening primrose you used before smelled cleaner and fresher. Go back to that." Eve had no idea what had gone wrong, so she lowered her head at once. "Yes, Alpha." Irritated, Raine tugged open the collar she had touched, then turned away without another glance and strode toward the bathing chamber. Eve watched him leave with barely contained delight. She thought even the Wolf King's exceptionally keen sense of smell had been fooled by the witchgrass. Far away in a witch's cottage deep inside Shadowwood Forest, I stood before the crystal ball and watched everything happening in the castle. I turned away from the crystal ball before its vision followed him into the bathing chamber. I already knew what would happen next. Eve had only ever envied the power and prestige I had as Luna. Now she was about to learn what that position had cost me. If High Witch Morgana hadn't seen through the greed and cruelty of the Linton family, I would already have died at my own relatives' hands. Morgana had deliberately played along with their scheme and replaced the real poison with a potion that put me into a deathlike sleep for 3 days. She now stood behind me, one bony hand resting lightly on my shoulder. "Looks like dark magic can fool his eyes, but not the instincts of an apex Alpha," she said in a low voice as she watched Eve's false smile in the crystal ball. "Your mother thought she had paid a fortune for a poison that would end your life. She never understood that no mortal can destroy the Alpha Bond. You already carry the blood of Frostvale's white wolf in your womb. Rest, protect the child, and watch them walk straight into the grave they dug for themselves." I lowered my head and gently stroked my still-flat stomach. My expression hardened with cold resolve. The timid Avery Linton who had once begged to be loved had died in the mud beneath that greenhouse. I would never wear myself down trying to please someone else again, and I would never use my body to beg a man for pity. From now on, all I wanted was to build a future of my own and protect my child.