I was Alpha Kade's secret mate for four years.

The night he marked me, in the throes of passion, he gazed into my eyes for a long, long time.

"You know, Anya," he'd said, his voice husky, "what I love most about you are your beautiful eyes."

To protect his claim to the Alpha title, I agreed to remain by his side, posing as a Beta warrior.

That is, until I watched him publicly wrap his arm around my half-sister's waist, beaming with pride.

It was only when the whispers grew louder, when everyone murmured that the beautiful she-wolf the Alpha brought home had my eyes, that the devastating truth finally hit me.

It was never me he loved.

I confronted Kade, demanding an explanation.

His face was a mask of contempt. "An explanation?"

"What did you think this was? It was a temporary mark, nothing more. I've only ever seen you as a sister."

I didn't cry. I didn't make a scene.

I simply opened a mind-link to my childhood friend.

"I accept the invitation to become Head Warrior of the Silver Crest Pack."

Later, when Kade discovered I had caught the eye of his greatest rival, he went absolutely insane.

After so many years by Alpha Kade's side, I thought the mating ceremony I'd longed for was finally within reach.

But when Chloe's mind-link crashed through my mental barriers like a lightning strike, I learned I was nothing more than a stand-in.

"Anya, the pack is buzzing! Can you believe my heartless brother actually found his fated mate and didn't tell a soul?"

The hand gripping my silver dagger trembled. The problem was, I was the subject of her gossip.

Her brother, Alpha Kade of the Black Moon Pack, and I had been secret mates for four years.

At first, I never told Chloe about our secret relationship.

It was partly because of our friendship, and partly because Kade and I had marked each other in secret right after he came of age and became the Alpha.

I just never imagined that as soon as he secured his position, he would publicly claim another she-wolf.

The thought forced a bitter smile to my lips. "Did he tell you himself?"

"Hell no." Chloe's mental voice crackled with excitement. "His precious mate just came back to the pack from the human world today. He threw this huge welcoming ceremony for her in the Elders' Hall..."

I cut her off. "Are you sure you didn't mishear?"

"No way. My brother plays the part of the stoic, unfeeling Alpha with everyone, but tonight he personally fought off a challenger from a rival pack for her, then gifted her a priceless moonstone necklace."

Chloe kept chattering on through our mind-link, but I couldn't hear a thing anymore.

My wolf howled restlessly within me, a wretched sound I couldn't suppress.

I even began to wonder if I was losing my mind.

I forced myself to calm down, trying my best to steady my trembling thoughts as I asked with feigned indifference, "How long has their mate bond been established?"

"That, I don't know. But from what I can see, he's pretty obsessed with her."

"You know, I seriously never thought my brother had it in him to be so devoted."

"He's been after her since he was a teenager. He was even willing to give up his claim to the Alpha position for her. And guess what happened?"

"The little beauty was in love with someone else, a half-breed, and followed him into the human world. Kade's wolf went absolutely feral for a long time after that."

"Later, the she-wolf was attacked by hunters in the human world. The moment he heard, he went after her that same night. The whole thing nearly sent the entire North American werewolf community into a panic..."

"I only heard all of this from our mother later on. I was always so curious about who this girl was."

"To have Kade obsessed with her for so many years... and when I finally saw her for myself today, you'll never guess what I realized."

After a beat of silence, I barely managed to force the words out. "What?"

"She looks just like you! It's the eyes, especially."

Every word was a silver blade stabbing into my soul, making my wolf howl in agony.

A terrible suspicion began to take root in my heart.

I felt the blood in my veins turn to ice, a chilling cold seeping into my bones.

I remembered the day Kade took his place as Alpha. He had gotten blackout drunk at the pack's full moon celebration.

Chloe was out patrolling the border and asked me to pick him up.

I finally managed to get him back to the Alpha's residence, only to have my lips captured by his the moment we stepped through the door.

His body was like a furnace, his movements possessive and rough, leaving me no room to escape.

The unique scent of a young Alpha, a mix of cedar and whiskey, completely enveloped me.

That dangerous, masculine scent clouded my mind, and my wolf clawed for control.

But my fumbling response earned a low, rumbling laugh from him. "First time, little wolf?"

I snapped back to my senses and shoved him away. "Kade, sober up. Look at me."

Kade didn't seem to care. He closed the distance with a wicked smirk, his heated body pressing against mine. "I'm perfectly sober, little warrior. And your wolf is crying out for me."

That was it.

Whether as a pack warrior or as his sister's best friend, I had thought my love for him was perfectly hidden, that no one could see it.

But Kade's tone was utterly certain.

He had seen right through me. I lowered my gaze, ashamed and indignant. "No, she's not..."

"Don't be so quick to deny it, little wolf..."

Kade casually tipped my chin up. The moment our eyes met, I saw the young Alpha's gaze, as bright as the stars on a moonlit night.

"Don't you know? Your pretty eyes never lie."

"I'm giving you one last chance. You can push me away..."

The smell of alcohol assaulted what little reason I had left.

Strangely, my once-frantic heart suddenly grew still.

I boldly met the young Alpha's gaze and pressed my own lips to his.

Kade held the back of my neck, leaving no room for refusal, and leaned in to kiss me deeply.

I gradually lost myself in that possessive kiss, my wolfish instincts surrendering completely.

That was the night we marked each other.

Kade was a tireless beast, claiming me through a night of wild abandon.

At the peak of our passion, he leaned down and kissed my eyes, his voice low. "Good girl, open your eyes and look at me. Your eyes... are so..."

I didn't hear the rest. In the haze of the moment, I just assumed he was going to say they were beautiful.

Now I understood.

That night, he hadn't said "so beautiful." He had said, "so much like hers."

He had drunk himself into a stupor because the woman he idealized, the love of his life, had left the pack for a human.

Our entire night together was nothing but a drunken impulse.

Even his obsessive need to gaze into my eyes while we made love... it was all because he was seeing her.

The tears I had been holding back finally broke free.

I desperately tried to stifle my sobs and cut the mental link.

Just then, a knock came from the front door.

I composed myself and opened it.

"Anya, the Alpha is blackout drunk. I brought him back."

I thanked him and took Kade's arm, supporting his weight.

For once, Kade was docile, burying his face in my neck and murmuring incoherently.

"Don't go... Anya... no... Selena... my Luna..."

The words hung in the air, and the living room fell silent.

"Uh... Anya, don't read too much into it. The Alpha's just drunk. He was probably telling some guest not to leave."

"Besides, he was still calling your name..."

I managed a bitter smile. "Yes, I know."

Seeing my composed expression, Ryan let out a quiet sigh of relief and left in a hurry.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my gaze inexplicably drawn to the scattered scrolls on the nightstand.

It occurred to me that in four years as his secret mate, I had never once set foot in his study.

Now, I just wanted to confirm one thing.

Was the Selena he murmured about the person I thought she was?

I stared at the unconscious Kade.

"Don't go..." he mumbled again, his arm instinctively reaching for me.

After a moment's thought, I walked toward the study.

This was the Alpha's private sanctuary, a place where even Chloe was not allowed.

I stepped through the heavy oak door.

The shelves were lined with yellowed tactical manuals and dusty pack law codices.

I looked at a stack of ancient scrolls in the corner, hoping to find a clue.

I walked over, carefully arranging the tomes that carried the legacy of our werewolf lineage.

Suddenly, a photograph slipped from between the pages of a book.

I bent down to pick it up, and my blood ran cold.

The photo was so worn at the edges from repeated handling that it was clear someone had treasured it for a long time.

The young she-wolf in the picture had a pair of eyes almost identical to mine.

Of course they were similar. How could they not be?

After all, this was my half-sister, Selena.

My hand trembled as I held the photo, a sharp pain piercing my chest.

Just then, a powerful mind-link pulse hit my mental barriers.

It wasn't for me, but the group link for Kade's inner circle.

As his marked mate, I could passively receive parts of their conversations when his mental energy was unstable, a failsafe to ensure I wouldn't miss important pack information.

I never thought it would be useful at a time like this.

"Yo, you guys are not gonna believe this. Last night the Alpha was holding Anya but calling out Selena's name. Nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Good thing I thought fast and covered for him. Otherwise, if she found out the Alpha only marked her on a whim, that little Beta would totally lose it."

"I thought the Alpha was supposed to be devoted. Wasn't the plan to dump her when he got bored? How come he's getting more serious now?"

"I know, right? It's weird. He used to complain that Anya was too old and boring for him. Why hasn't he dumped her yet?"

The conversation in the group link grew increasingly vile.

My wolf snarled in rage inside me, but my reason was consumed by despair.

I wanted to cut off the connection, but then I heard something even more heartbreaking.

What came next was even more vile.

"Hey, you know what Selena showed me? Anya's not boring at all," one of them said excitedly.

"Haha, turns out that quiet Beta is a total freak in the sheets."

Hearing this, I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.

"No wonder she managed to capture our Alpha's heart."

"Too bad for her. A placeholder is still just a placeholder. Now that the real thing is back, her time is up."

I desperately wanted them to shut up, but I was powerless.

I remembered another time, shortly after we were marked, when I'd accidentally overheard Kade's men discussing me.

Back then, Kade had stormed out, the full force of his Alpha's authority laced with killing intent. "Shut your mouths. Is Anya someone you can talk about?"

At the time, I thought he could protect me, that I would be willing to be his secret mate, even if it was temporary.

But now, he would only get drunk and pass out, again and again, for my sister.

I couldn't hear what they said after that.

So Kade wasn't just using me as a replacement.

He was willing to trample on my dignity for Selena's sake.

Those private, intimate memories, secretly recorded without my knowledge, were used to entertain Selena.

But why?

Selena was the bastard child of our mother's affair.

It was my mother who despised my father for the battle scars that covered his body. So why was everyone now siding with Selena and scorning me?

A tearing pain ripped through my chest, and tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

I quickly wiped them away, my hands shaking as I used my own memory crystal to record all of this as evidence.

I traced the connection back, uncovering even more horrifying schemes.

The late-night call to pick up a drunk Kade, with stray wolves arranged to "coincidentally" harass me on the way.

Deliberately getting Kade drunk on strong liquor while I was recovering from an injury, just to watch me entertain his guests while enduring the pain of my infected wound.

Even my father's worsening condition was due to a wolfsbane poison they had secretly administered.

Revelation after revelation, each one a silver blade twisting in my heart.

Tears blurred my vision. I bit my lip hard, suppressing the sobs that threatened to escape.

I was a plaything, the most convenient weapon at his side, but never his love.

All I wanted now was to delete those intimate memories that might have already been spread.

But when I tried to search for them in his mind, I was blocked by a powerful Alpha's mental wall.

I couldn't touch those humiliating "collections" at all.

I placed Selena's photo back where I found it, my heart as cold and dead as ice.

No wonder he always had excuses whenever I brought up making our relationship public.

My supposed mate bond was nothing more than the delusion of a placeholder.

As I walked out of the study, a pack messenger respectfully handed me a formal invitation sealed with a silver wolf crest.

"A formal invitation from Alpha Jasper of the Silver Crest Pack."

The messenger respectfully presented a silver envelope engraved with a moon goddess sigil.

"Alpha Jasper of the Silver Crest Pack formally invites the warrior Anya to serve as his Head Warrior. He awaits your reply."

"Tell your Alpha I accept the invitation."

I watched a flash of surprise in the messenger's eyes, a strange sense of satisfaction welling up inside me.

"When can you begin?"

"In one week."

After the messenger left, I put the invitation away, my mind already starting to plan for the future.

Since Kade only saw me as a stand-in, there was no reason to waste my youth on this sham of a relationship.

The Silver Crest Pack was stronger than the Black Moon Pack, and the position of Head Warrior offered a much better future than my current status.

I packed a small bag and drove to the veteran's quarters on the edge of the pack's territory.

"Anya?" My father opened the door, pleasantly surprised. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

His face was even paler than the last time I'd seen him, and the cough rattling from his old battle wounds had clearly worsened.

"I have good news," I said, taking his slightly trembling arm. "The Silver Crest Pack has invited me to be their Head Warrior."

My father was so excited he broke into a coughing fit. I quickly patted his back.

"Good, good! I always knew my daughter was the best warrior!"

Once he calmed down, he frowned. "But what about your relationship with the Alpha?"

My smile stiffened slightly. "What relationship?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You can't fool your old man," he said, his expression serious. "You need to have him hold a mating ceremony for you, and soon. It's the only way to secure your position."

"When you have time, bring him to see me. I need to talk to him."

A wave of bitterness washed over me, but not wanting to worry my father further, I nodded in agreement.

When I returned to the Alpha's residence, Kade had just woken up.

The hangover left him looking disheveled, his golden hair falling unkempt over his forehead.

"Anya?" He rubbed his temples. "What happened last night?"

"You drank too much last night. Ryan brought you home."

Kade sat up and suddenly reached out his hand to me. "Come here."

It was that commanding tone he always used, the one I used to obey without question.

But now, his voice filled me with a strange revulsion.

I instinctively took a step back. "I'll go make lunch."

"Anya." Kade's voice was laced with annoyance. "I said, come here."

I reluctantly walked to the side of the bed, but when his hand touched me, the nausea churning in my stomach intensified.

"What's wrong with you?" Kade sensed my discomfort. "You look pale."

"It's nothing, maybe..."

Before I could finish, I shoved him away and bolted to the bathroom, dry-heaving over the toilet.

Kade followed immediately, rubbing my back with a worried frown.

"I've been feeling a little off... My stomach has been acting up lately."

"You're not... pregnant, are you?"

His words made us both freeze.

I looked at Kade's reflection in the mirror and caught a fleeting glimmer of joy in his eyes.

He might not have even been aware of it himself, but the primal, instinctive pride of an Alpha learning his mate might be pregnant came through our bond, clear as day.

"I'll go with you to the clinic for a check-up this afternoon," he said.

I nodded, hesitating for a few seconds before carefully choosing my words. "This afternoon, could you... come with me to see my father?"

Kade was leaning against the doorframe, looking at his phone. He answered with a distracted "Mmm."

I was surprised he agreed so readily, and a complicated mix of emotions stirred within me.

Whether it was genuine or just an act, I couldn't afford to have a showdown yet.

I needed to put my father's mind at ease.

I went downstairs to the kitchen.

By the time I emerged with a bowl of seafood porridge, Kade was already dressed and heading for the door.

"I have an urgent meeting at the border this afternoon. You'll have to go to the clinic by yourself. Mind-link me if there's any news."

"What about my father..."

"Send me the address."

The sound of the closing door cut off whatever I was about to say.

I didn't say anything more. I sat at the table, took a few simple bites of porridge, and lost my appetite.

I pushed the porcelain bowl away and walked quickly to the pack's medical center.

In the healer's office, I took the test results with a hand that wouldn't stop shaking.

Positive.

To be pregnant at a time like this was the cruelest joke of all.

I could feel Kade's desire for this pup through our mate bond, clear as day.

But the existence of this child would make everything infinitely more complicated.

I carefully placed the report in my bag. Just as I stepped out of the clinic, I saw Kade's car parked nearby.

He was in the driver's seat, seemingly waiting for someone.

Selena, wearing a pale blue dress, walked briskly toward Kade's car, a sweet smile on her face.

"Kade, thank you for coming with me," she said, her voice soft and cloying.

"How did the check-up go?" Kade's voice was gentle in a way that felt alien.

"The doctor said everything looks good. The pup is very healthy."

My heart stopped.