AYLA
My eyes widened in fear. The Lycan King was cursed. Rumour had it that every woman he had ever had an encounter with died. Giving me to him was a death sentence, as a weak Omega like me wouldn’t survive. Calista would have survived because she was the Gemini Wolf.
"No." I shook my head desperately, tears stinging my eyes as I flicked my gaze to Father. "Father, you won’t allow this, right? You cannot let them take me away."
"You should be grateful that your useless self will finally be put to good use. You’ll be saving the pack and also your sister from being sacrificed," my father, who was supposed to be my saviour, grunted emotionlessly.
"I am your daughter too. Why do you keep treating me like this? Why do you hate me so much?" I cried, tears streaming uncontrollably down my face.
"You should’ve never killed my wife!" Father retorted harshly.
"It wasn’t my fault!" I screamed, my voice breaking.
Venom and dread consumed my entire being as I spoke in a dangerously low tone. "If you had loved your wife that much, then you would’ve never cheated on her with her best friend. So much so that her child and I were born on the same day. How do you think she would’ve felt when she found out about your betrayal?"
Father flew into a rage, and before I could even blink, he was already standing in front of me, a resounding slap landing across my face.
"You ungrateful bitch!" he growled.
I placed a hand over my burning cheek and stifled a sob. Though this wasn’t the first time. My cheeks had received more slaps than they had ever received caresses from anyone.
I lifted my head and looked at him defiantly.
"I am not marrying the Lycan King!" I retorted firmly. "I don’t want to."
"It doesn’t matter whether you want to or not. You are taking her place, and that’s final!" he growled emotionlessly, throwing me to my death as though he had never played a part in my birth. He wasn’t my father. He was just a fucking sperm donor.
My mother had given up the ghost while bringing me into this world, so he believed I had killed her. That had always been his excuse for treating me like a slave all my life, making me do manual labour while my sister, Calista, was treated like a princess. Calista had never lifted a broom in her life, except when she used one to beat me alongside her wicked mother.
I sucked in a deep breath and used the back of my hand to wipe the tears from my face. "Putting aside the fact that marrying the Lycan King is a literal death sentence, how do you plan to deceive him into believing that I am the Gemini Wolf? Once he finds out he has been deceived, the entire pack will be put in danger!"
"I am not the Gemini Wolf. The Lycan King cannot be deceived. He will find out!" I yelled, my eyes darting between everyone present in the room.
"We’ll make sure he doesn’t," Alpha Tobias, Rowan’s father, said. "The twin crescent marks of the Gemini Wolf on Calista’s back will be imitated on yours. Then the Lycan King will have no reason to doubt our story."
"No. No." I shook my head desperately. "I will not comply. I will tell him that I was switched. Going there would be a death sentence."
"We knew you wouldn’t agree easily. Should he ever find out that he has been deceived, he’ll kill you immediately, and the entire pack will be wiped out," Alpha Tobias said.
"Yes, please. Do not make me do it!" I cried desperately.
"Which is why we’ll take preventive measures." He gestured to one of the guards standing in the corner.
The guard approached me, pulling a syringe from his pocket.
Two other guards grabbed my arms to hold me still.
"Father. Mother. Calista..." I called their names desperately, but the people I called my family seemed fully accepting of my death sentence.
My eyes settled on Rowan, silently pleading for him to help me. He was the pack’s Alpha now. He had the power to. But he simply turned his face away.
The needle pricked my skin, and the contents of the syringe emptied into my bloodstream.
"The next time you wake up, there’ll be a tattoo on your back, and you’ll think you are Calista—the Gemini Wolf. Our witch will make sure of that. The spell will only last twenty-four hours. After that, you’ll regain your true memories," Alpha Tobias’ voice wafted into my ears as my eyes rolled back, and I lost consciousness.
...
My eyes snapped open, and the first face I saw was Mother’s. A hard frown was etched across her face.
"Finally. You’re awake. Get up." She patted my legs roughly. "The Lycan King will be here soon."
"The Lycan King?" My brows furrowed in confusion.
"Yes. A contract was signed. You’ll become his bride and bear his children for a year. Have you forgotten? Today is your wedding," Mother said coldly. "Now, get up."
I remembered that I was to become the Lycan King’s bride, though the memory felt hazy. Something was... off.
She grabbed my hand and forcefully pulled me to my feet. Mother seemed so cold today. What happened? Did I do something wrong?
Omegas trooped into the room carrying a wedding dress and various bridal accessories. In less than two hours, my makeup was finished, and I was dressed in a beautiful white wedding gown with my hair perfectly styled.
My sister, Ayla, walked into the room with a contemptuous smile on her lips.
"Oh, Ayl—" She abruptly stopped, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Calista, you make a very beautiful bride. Isn’t the Lycan King lucky?"
Hearing that name felt strange, as though I wasn’t used to being called it.
What was wrong with me today? Was it because I was nervous about marrying the Lycan King?
A constant fear was lodged in my throat over this marriage. Deep down, I didn’t want this, but it felt as though I had no choice but to accept it.
The veil covered my face as Ayla wrapped her arm around mine and led me out of the bedroom. Mother joined us, holding my other arm as we made our way towards the hall. Along the way, however, Ayla disappeared down one of the corridors.
When Mother and I reached the aisle, Father took over.
A hard frown crossed Father’s face when he looked at me, which was strangely unusual. He always used to say I warmed his heart and that I was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He doted on me so much that he neglected my sister, Ayla.
Everything felt strange.
He walked me down the aisle, my heart pounding violently against my ribcage. As I lifted my head to look at the man before me, a shiver ran down my spine.
The Lycan King.
Ezra Blackthorn.
He was the most handsome man I had ever seen.
His eyes were a striking shade of gold, and his brown hair was neatly styled. Even beneath the tailored navy-blue suit he wore, the powerful build of his body was unmistakable. Yet there was something oddly familiar about him, as though our paths had crossed before. No matter how hard I searched my memory, I couldn’t remember where.
"You!" he growled the moment I stopped in front of him, his nostrils flaring with rage.
I jumped in shock.