Rejected by Three Alpha Princes, I Wed the Northern Alpha King

Chapter 3

On the day of the Royal Mating Banquet, my side chamber felt as cold and empty as an abandoned room.

The ceremonial gown, hair ornaments, and moon crested crown that should have been delivered to me had all been sent to the main hall instead. Even the vanity table had been cleared bare.

I combed my silver hair myself, then reached into the bottom of a jewelry box and took out an old necklace.

The moonstone set into it was small, and the clasp had long since lost its shine. Still, it was the symbol of leadership within the Silver Wolf Pack, and one of our pack's greatest honors.

Before his death, the Alpha King had once told me that when I finally stood upon the Luna dais, one of his three sons would place this necklace around my neck.

He had always believed that one of them would marry me.

Too bad. I didn't want any of them anymore.

The main hall was blazing with light by the time I arrived.

The moment I stepped inside, every eye in the room turned toward me.

Some people laughed. Others leaned close to whisper. A few didn't even bother lowering their voices.

"She actually had the nerve to show up."

"I can't wait to see her beg the three princes to take her back."

"Forget that. I want to know which prince would still be willing to marry her."

At the center of the raised platform stood Seraphina, dressed in silver white ceremonial robes. The moon crested cloak trailed all the way down the steps behind her.

It had been tailored to my measurements.

Aiden stood to her left.

Bryce held her wine goblet for her.

Cyril was bent down, carefully straightening the hem of her gown.

The three of them surrounded her as though even the slightest inconvenience might hurt her. They were so focused on Seraphina that none of them even noticed me walk in.

I watched them for a moment. Strangely enough, the ache in my chest began to fade.

When the master of ceremonies started the ritual, tradition dictated that I would make my choice first.

I walked to the foot of the throne and was just about to open the list of candidates when Seraphina suddenly lifted a hand to her forehead.

She swayed right in front of me. Then her body tipped sideways, her elbow slamming hard against the edge of the table. The wineglass crashed to the floor and shattered.

Her eyes immediately filled with tears. "Layla, please don't be angry. No matter which prince you choose, I would never fight you for him..."

The moment she said it, every person in the hall turned to look at me.

Bryce frowned, his voice sharp as a blade. "Layla, when did you become this cruel?"

Cyril gave a mocking laugh. "You're already the one who gets to choose. Why do you still have to hurt Seraphina?"

I stared at the broken glass on the floor, and anger flared in my chest.

There were dozens of people watching. She had fallen on her own. I hadn't even touched a single hair on her head.

Yet none of them asked what had happened. They simply decided I was guilty.

I had barely lifted my hand when Aiden immediately stepped in front of Seraphina, shielding her from me as though I were some kind of monster.

"Don't touch her!"

I stared at him. "When exactly did I touch her?"

"The second you showed up, she got hurt." His voice was hard, his expression colder than I had ever seen. "Layla, you really disappoint me."

I was so angry I almost laughed, but my throat tightened until I couldn't force out another word.

Seraphina leaned against Aiden's chest, looking at me with wounded eyes.

"Please don't blame them, Layla. The princes are only worried about me."

The words pierced straight through me.

Before I could respond, Cyril picked up another glass of red wine from the table. Then he tilted his wrist. The entire glass splashed across the front of my dress.

Something inside me went completely cold.

"You think you're worthy of choosing a mate?" Cyril sneered. "A useless wolf should learn her place."

Laughter exploded around the hall. It came from every direction, crashing over me again and again, as though the entire room were determined to grind me into the dirt.

I looked at the three faces I had once nearly died to save. For the first time, all I felt was how ridiculous it had been.

Seraphina pressed a hand to her injured arm and spoke weakly, "Your Highness... I feel so dizzy..."

Bryce immediately draped his coat over her shoulders. When he looked at me, there was nothing but disgust in his eyes.

"Layla, it doesn't matter which one of us ends up marrying you. None of us will ever love you."

Cyril turned and ordered someone to summon the healer. Then he looked back at me, barely holding back his anger.

"Once she's feeling better, you'd better apologize to her."

With that, they turned to leave with Seraphina.

Aiden lifted her into his arms with incredible care.

As he passed me, he didn't even slow down. "You went too far tonight."

The doors of the hall closed behind them. Red wine was still dripping from my dress.

I calmly tucked a wine-soaked strand of hair behind my ear.

Whatever warmth I had left for them died at that moment.

The candidate list was still in my hand.

In front of every noble in the hall, I drew a line through Aiden's name. Then Bryce's. Then Cyril's.

One by one, I crossed them all out.

Afterward, I walked back to the center of the hall and raised my voice.

"I hereby announce my chosen mate. My future husband will be Cassian Dusk."

The hall erupted.

"The exile from Dusk Fortress in the North?"

"She chose the Black Wolf Lord?"

"Layla's lost her mind. That's the Mad Wolf they're talking about!"