After My Alpha Mate Chose the Fake, I Married the Northern Wolf King

He Chose the Half-Blood Fake, So I Became the Northern Luna 1 Everyone laughed at me. The great heiress, chasing after a lowly bodyguard for three years like a lovesick fool. I once shielded him from gunfire and nearly lost my life, yet he treated me with extreme indifference and gave all his favoritism to my illegitimate younger sister. Until that night. I caught him, the man who always kept his distance, gripping my sister's hair ribbon in his fist, breathing hard as he touched himself. Truly disgusting. I threw him out like trash. Then I took my three gold mines and married the Northern Wolf King in my sister's place. A month later, when he learned the truth behind that bullet-blocking incident, he dragged his broken legs and knelt desperately outside my coronation ceremony, crying like a stray dog. On the night of the full moon, cold moonlight spilled through the half-open door of the castle's guard room. Cecilia stood outside, clearly witnessing the scene within. Aaron leaned against the stone wall, his tall, broad frame revealing traits of a half-frenzied werewolf in the dim light. His usually cold, dark-gold eyes were now a bloodshot crimson. His large hands held a death grip on a ribbon smelling of white camellias, as if it were his only salvation on the brink of death. He lowered his head, inhaling deeply the scent on the ribbon, letting out a low growl unique to a werewolf in heat. "Lilith... so good..." That was the hair ribbon belonging to Lilith, her illegitimate half-sister. Cecilia's nails dug deeply into her palms, a chill crawling down her spine and spreading throughout her entire body. Three years ago, she had saved a stray, dying Aaron. She had even taken a fatal silver bullet for him, coughing up blood in bed for half a month before snatching her life back from the jaws of death. She thought she had found her destined mate. For him, defying her family's objections, she had taken the initiative to submit an application for a mate contract to the Supreme Court. Although they had not yet held the final marking ceremony, the contract had already established a preliminary soul bond between them. Aaron accepted this bond with peace of mind, even though he was always as cold as ice toward her; Cecilia, too, had always believed that he was just naturally cold-blooded and didn't understand love. It wasn't until today, seeing him lose control and turn into this pathetic state over a ribbon belonging to Lilith, that she finally understood—he wasn't incapable of love; he just didn't love her. He only went into heat for Lilith. After an unknown amount of time in the stone room, Aaron finally quelled his beastly nature. He grabbed the black, custom-made phone on the desk and answered a call. Sensing something amiss, Cecilia expressionlessly pulled a miniature voice recorder from her pocket and pressed the button. The red light flashed faintly, silently recording every following second in the darkness. The line connected, and another man's voice came through. "Your Highness, how long are you going to play this stray guard game? You're the sole Central Alpha heir. Since you've determined that Lilith was the one who saved you back then, just take her back to the Central Pack. Why insist on acting as a watchdog for her sister?" Aaron's long fingers deftly gathered his messy black shirt collar, his tone returning to its usual coldness. "I've checked. Although Lilith is of the Blackwood bloodline, she has lived walking on thin ice in this castle since childhood." A hint of heartache flashed in Aaron's eyes. "She has been oppressed by Cecilia for so many years and is extremely lacking in a sense of security. Rashly revealing my identity would scare her. I want to take it slow." "Fine, you're truly devoted. I thought you'd fall for that bright, arrogant Cecilia who teases you every day. After all, that woman even submitted a mate contract application for you; you're just short of a ceremony." Aaron sneered, his tone revealing undisguised contempt, as if he found Cecilia's deep affection extremely ridiculous and disdainful. "Her? Not interested. She can't even compare to a single strand of Lilith's hair." These words, along with his previous calculations, were recorded word for word into the voice recorder blinking with a red light. Outside the door, Cecilia subconsciously touched her collarbone, where a hideous, unerasable scar lay, a wound she took from a silver bullet to shield Aaron. Her stomach churned violently. It felt as if she had swallowed rotting meat; a physical nausea rushed up her throat. So he was never some lowly stray werewolf. He was the Central Alpha heir, hiding his identity and playing with people's hearts from high above. He even foolishly mistook Lilith for his savior from back then! Cecilia pressed the stop button and tucked the recorder safely back into her pocket. Since he believed Lilith was his salvation, she would grant his wish. She would settle this debt with him when it would be most fatal. She turned and walked through the cold corridors of the castle, pushing open the study door of her father, Alpha Darius Blackwood. "Father," Cecilia said, looking at Blackwood sitting in his leather chair. Her red lips parted, her tone completely flat. "The poisoned, comatose Wolf King of the Northern Realm? I'll marry him." Blackwood abruptly stood up. "Cecilia, you've figured it out? Excellent! The North is pressing us; since you're willing to marry him in place of Lilith, it couldn't be better for the Blackwood Pack." "But I have conditions," Cecilia's eyes were freezing, devoid of any attachment to her father. "I want the transfer contracts for the three premium gold mines. Also, since I've decided to marry into the North..." She paused, a mocking arc lifting the corner of her mouth. "Transfer Aaron to be Lilith's personal guard. He's practically hers already anyway." Blackwood froze. "Weren't you the one who cared about Aaron the most? You even submitted a mate contract for him, you were only a marking ceremony away! How can you bear to..." "I don't want him anymore. I'm just glad I haven't been fully marked yet, so I can walk away at any time." Cecilia turned, looking coldly at her father. "Prepare a guard termination contract." She paused. "And an application to dissolve the fated mate bond. I will personally hand him over to Lilith."