At the marking ceremony, where Elsie was supposed to be the Luna, her sister Giovanna took her place.

The grand hall of the Silver Moon Pack was filled with pack members, their eyes fixed on the stage where Amos Hunter, the Alpha, stood tall and imposing. His broad shoulders and commanding presence were a testament to his rank, his aura radiating dominance. Beside him, Giovanna looked delicate, her hand resting on her stomach as she gazed at Elsie with feigned sorrow.

Everyone in the pack supported Giovanna, their loyalty to the Alpha unquestionable. “She’s your sister,” Amos said, his deep voice carrying the weight of his Alpha tone. “How can you be so heartless? Becoming my mate was her dying wish. Don’t make a scene.”

Giovanna’s voice was soft, almost a whisper, but it carried through the hall. “Don’t worry, Elsie. I won’t stand in your way with Amos. I don’t have long to live,” she said, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “After I’m gone, please take care of the baby.”

Elsie’s heart sank as she realized the truth. Giovanna was pregnant with Amos’s child. Their parents, Naomi and Dilan, clung to Giovanna, their faces streaked with tears. Naomi, a respected elder of the pack, handed Elsie a medical report. The name on it was hers.

The report confirmed what Elsie already suspected. She was healthy, while Giovanna was terminally ill.

...

On the day of the marking ceremony, Elsie found herself locked in the Luna’s chambers, still dressed in the ceremonial gown she had prepared for the occasion.

Her parents stood outside the door, their voices firm. “Behave yourself, Elsie,” Naomi said. “Today is Giovanna’s day with the Alpha. Don’t spoil it.”

Elsie leaned against the door, her tears soaking the fabric of her gown. Amos’s voice came through, cold and unyielding. “This is Giovanna’s and my marking ceremony. We didn’t tell you earlier because we didn’t want any trouble,” he said. “Stay here until it’s over. I’ll let you out then.”

Why were they treating her this way? Just last night, Amos had held her in his arms, whispering about how excited he was to mark her as his mate. How had everything changed overnight?

After they left, Elsie managed to escape through the window on the second floor. Limping, she burst into the grand hall just as Amos and Giovanna were about to exchange the marking bite.

“Stop!” Elsie shouted, her voice echoing through the hall. All eyes turned to her. Her parents hurried over, blocking her path. “How did you get out?” Naomi demanded, while Dilan, a senior warrior of the pack, tried to push her out of the hall. Elsie stood her ground, her eyes locked with Amos’s on the stage.

For a brief moment, she thought she saw hesitation in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a hardened expression. He gestured to the pack warriors. “Remove her from the hall.”

As the warriors approached, Elsie dodged them, weaving through the crowd of pack members until she reached the front of the stage. “Amos, why did you betray me?” she demanded.

The hall fell silent at her words. Some pack members who knew them began to whisper. “Wasn’t the Alpha supposed to mark the younger sister? Why is the elder one up there?” one murmured. “Seems like the Alpha couldn’t choose between them,” another added. “Is the elder sister the other woman? What’s going on with their family?”

The whispers made Giovanna pale. Her delicate shoulders trembled, and she looked as though she might collapse. Amos quickly wrapped his arms around her, his Alpha aura flaring as he glared at the gossiping pack members until they fell silent.

He turned back to Elsie, his eyes filled with irritation and anger. “Elsie, I was never with you. How could there be any betrayal?”

Elsie felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her, leaving her cold to the core. After almost eight years together, he dismissed everything with a single sentence.

Seeing her devastated expression, Giovanna smirked subtly from within Amos’s embrace. Naomi and Dilan were beside Elsie now, each gripping an arm, trying to pull her away.

Elsie was ready to give up, but Giovanna wasn’t finished. She rubbed her belly, her eyes rimmed with tears, and tearfully implored their parents. “Mom, Dad, it’s my marking ceremony. Let my sister stay, please.”

“Even though she’s tried to seduce her brother-in-law, I won’t hold it against her. She’s still young,” she continued. “But Elsie, I’m carrying the Alpha’s child, and we’re about to become a real family. Please, just let us have this moment.”

Her words rang with the perfect mix of sincerity and helplessness, casting her as the pitiful yet forgiving sister. The pack members, who had been watching with a blend of sympathy and skepticism, turned their disdain towards Elsie.

Fingers pointed and whispers surrounded her. A few who actually knew the truth dared not speak up.

Amos frowned at Elsie as if she were a troublesome child. With a gesture of his hand, the pack warriors forced her into a seat.

And so, Elsie was made to endure the entire marking ceremony, watching them on stage, reciting the vows to be with each other for life, embracing and marking each other…

The mating ceremony had just ended, and Giovanna couldn’t wait to flood her social media with pictures of her and Amos from the celebration. The images portrayed them as an ideal couple, radiating love and dominance, as befitting an Alpha and his chosen Luna. Comments below were filled with congratulations and best wishes from pack members and allies, praising the union as a boon for the Silver Moon Pack.

By the time Elsie returned to her den, darkness had fallen. She gazed at the remnants of the celebration—white banners adorned with the pack’s crescent moon emblem, and balloons that still hung in the air, their cheerful colors mocking her. The sting in her eyes was unbearable. Just then, the door creaked open behind her.

She didn’t need to turn around to know it was Amos. He brought with him the scent of whiskey and exhaustion, his imposing frame filling the room. His Alpha aura was heavy, almost suffocating, as he wrapped her in an embrace from behind. He rested his chin on her shoulder, his warm breath tickling her ear.

"I’m sorry for putting you through this," he murmured, his voice low and gruff.

His breath was a mix of alcohol and another woman’s perfume—Giovanna’s scent, floral and cloying. It almost made Elsie gag. She pulled away from his arms and turned to face him. Tears rolled down her cheeks despite her best efforts to hold them back.

Seeing this, Amos reached out to wipe away her tears, his touch firm yet tinged with pity. She turned her head to avoid his hand. "Stop pretending to care," she said, her voice trembling.

For a moment, the air between them seemed to freeze. Her abrupt rejection erased the guilt on Amos’s face, replacing it with irritation and a hint of disdain. His Alpha tone cut through the silence, sharp and commanding.

"Can’t you be rational? I should be with Giovanna today. She was worried you might do something drastic and asked me to be with you instead."

"So I should thank her? Thank her for taking you and then gracing me with your presence?" Elsie shouted, her body trembling with anger. Amos’s face flushed with alternating shades of red and white. Finally, he gritted his teeth, his Alpha aura flaring in frustration.

"It was just a marking ceremony. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

"The pup? Is the pup pretend too?"

At the mention of the pup, Amos faltered, but quickly regained his composure, his dark eyes narrowing as he stared at her defiantly.

"That was because I was drugged by an enemy. She helped me out," he said, as if it were the most natural thing.

Elsie couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. This wasn’t the first time he had been drugged. She remembered once when he was in the same situation, he had chosen to injure himself with a small knife rather than touch the female who had been sent to him. But now, everything had changed. He seemed oblivious to his wrongdoings, standing more self-righteously than ever.

"I’ve hurt your sister. Besides, the healer said her condition can’t handle any stress, so I had to agree to mark her."

But it was Elsie who was sick. When she found out about her illness, she kept quiet to avoid worrying them. She never planned to mark Amos, afraid of burdening him. But he was insistent, pleading earnestly to make her his mate. He had held her, saying his greatest wish was to be with her. She loved him too much at the time. She thought she could be selfish just once.

But on the day of the marking ceremony, she regretted it. She planned to tell him the truth, but... she was no longer the one standing beside him.

"Elsie, your sister is already going through so much. Can’t you just let her have this? Please, don’t make a scene."

He softened his tone, but it wasn’t for her—it was to protect her sister. Elsie looked at him and suddenly found him unfamiliar. Before he could come closer to hold her, she pushed him away with all her strength.

Wiping her tears, she enunciated, "We are breaking the mate bond."

He looked at her in disbelief, then let out a mocking laugh. "Breaking the bond with me? Are you still just angry?"

He casually sat on the sofa and lit a cigarette, the smoke curling around him like a shroud. But Elsie couldn’t stand the smell. She had allergic rhinitis, and the smoke made her feel miserable. He knew this.

It wasn’t until he saw her tearing up from the coughing that he finally put out the cigarette, his dark eyes locking on hers with a mix of irritation and something deeper—something she couldn’t quite place.

Amos’s piercing amber eyes bore into her, his Alpha aura radiating an intimidating mix of frustration and impatience. His broad shoulders tensed under the weight of the situation, his voice sharp and commanding.

"None of us have wronged you; we’re all just caught in a situation beyond our control."

His tone softened slightly, though it still carried the authority of an Alpha addressing a subordinate. "Besides, your sister is seriously ill and doesn’t have much time left. Why are you arguing with someone who’s living on borrowed time?"

"But I'm the one who's sick," Elsie said, her voice trembling as she struggled to meet his gaze.

Amos’s expression darkened, his lips curling into a frown. His towering frame seemed to loom over her, the dominance of his Alpha aura pressing down on her. "Are you really using this to seek attention?"

Elsie let out a bitter laugh, her voice rising with hysteria.

"Yes, yes, I’m the dramatic one, while you’re all so noble and innocent."

Her words grew sharper, each syllable laced with pain and anger, as if they could cut through the mate bond that still lingered between them.

"One person makes mistakes because of medication, and another selflessly gets pregnant for the Alpha’s sake, hahaha..."

Amos’s jaw tightened, his fists clenching at his sides. The Alpha tone in his voice deepened, a clear warning. "Enough, Elsie."

But she didn’t stop. She couldn’t. The betrayal, the humiliation—it all spilled out in a torrent of words.

Finally, Amos turned on his heel, his heavy boots thudding against the floor as he stormed out, slamming the door behind him with a force that reverberated through the pack house.

After the marking ceremony, Naomi and Dilan publicly disowned Elsie.

They painted her as the one who had come between the Alpha and his rightful Luna, using their status as respected elders of the Silver Moon Pack to tarnish her name.

Giovanna, now the Luna, appeared on a popular pack talk show.

On the show, she spoke with grace and poise, her words carefully chosen to twist the narrative in her favor.

She recounted countless moments of Amos’s devotion to her: how he had prepared extravagant Christmas gifts for her, even catching up on the years before they had met.

She shared how Amos had dropped everything to take her to see the northern lights after she casually mentioned it.

And how, even when she had a mild cold, he would fuss over her, ensuring she felt loved and cared for.

Elsie’s hands trembled as she watched.

Amos had never treated her that way.

Only then did she realize she had been nothing more than a placeholder, a pawn in Giovanna’s game.

No wonder Giovanna had scoffed when Elsie had announced her relationship with Amos,

"You? Are you sure he loves you? Ha, you really lack self-awareness."

Giovanna had known all along that Amos was in love with her.

She had watched Elsie stumble through the dream Amos had spun for her, all the while enjoying the show.

Giovanna’s words had their intended effect.

The pack’s social media was flooded with scorn and accusations against Elsie.

"Who is this shameless sister who would even steal her own sibling’s mate?"

"Where did this competitive she-wolf come from? She’s really unbearable."

Amos did nothing.

He didn’t step forward to clear Elsie’s name, nor did he defend Giovanna.

His silence was a tacit approval of Giovanna’s actions, a clear message to the pack that Elsie was no longer under his protection.

Elsie locked herself in her room, her heart twisting in agony.

She wanted to set the record straight.

But her accounts were shut down, her access to the pack’s communication channels revoked.

Even her anonymous attempts to defend herself were blocked.

Every message she tried to send vanished into thin air.

That’s when a message from Naomi arrived.

“Don’t blame us; if anyone’s to blame, it’s you for causing a scene at the marking ceremony.”

“We had no other choice; otherwise, the pack would label Giovanna as the intruder.”

“This time you’ll just have to endure it. Come home tonight, and we’ll have a family dinner to make it up to you.”

Make it up to her? A meal as compensation?

How laughable and tragic.

Elsie didn’t want to go back.

But Naomi’s next message carried a veiled threat.

“You must come back; today is Giovanna’s first time visiting home after the marking ceremony. If you don’t come, the pack will think our family is falling apart.”

Naomi’s voice was calm, but beneath it lay a warning.

That was the real reason they wanted Elsie back.

Compensation was just a pretense.

Elsie had always wondered, am I really their child?

Why, when they are both their daughters, do they favor one so heavily over the other?

For so many years, she had been the one overlooked.

As much as they cherished Giovanna, they were indifferent to her.

Finally, she could hold it in no longer. “Am I really your child? Why do you want to hurt me?”

On the other side of the line, Naomi and Dilan were taken aback, about to voice their rebuke, but in the end, they swallowed their words.