After hearing rumors of my unattractive appearance, Omar Taylor hastily rejected our mate bond, turning his attention to my alluring stepsister instead. Left with no other choice, I was forced to accept a mate bond with his cold and distant older brother.

"The ugly girl and the sickly Alpha—a match made by the Moon Goddess herself," they mocked.

We became the laughingstock of the pack overnight.

But when Omar came to offer his respects after the marking ceremony, his eyes lingered on me, unspoken regret flickering in his gaze.

Ryker, my mate, stood beside me, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Brother," he said smoothly, "pay your respects to your Luna."

---

After the official announcement of Omar’s mate bond with Mikayla Hoffman, the Taylor pack spared no expense in preparing for their union. Gifts and offerings flowed into her quarters, nearly overflowing her chambers. The entire pack buzzed with excitement, servants and warriors alike bustling with joy.

Meanwhile, my own quarters remained silent, untouched by the festivities.

"Alpha Iliana," one of the pack’s older Omegas sneered as she delivered the news, "it’s clear you couldn’t capture Omar’s heart. Not like Mikayla. The moment he caught her scent, he was smitten. Twenty-eight crates of gifts! Who else in the pack would go to such lengths for a mate?"

Her words were meant to sting, and they did. Omar had been promised to me by his mother, Davina Diaz, my late mother’s closest friend.

My mother, a noblewoman from the Oliver pack, had defied her family to marry my father, a scholar with little status. She never complained about the hardships of their life, dedicating herself to raising me and caring for my father’s family.

But when my father rose through the ranks and gained favor with the Lycan King, he grew tired of her reserved nature. He brought in a chosen mate, a cunning and manipulative woman who quickly won his affection. My mother, bound by the traditions of her upbringing, couldn’t compete.

Heartbroken and betrayed, she fell ill. On her deathbed, she reached out to Davina, the Alpha Queen of the Taylor pack, to secure my future.

Davina, a fierce and loyal friend, held my mother’s hand as she spoke her final words.

"You’ve always been so strong, so steadfast," Davina said, her voice thick with emotion. "But this... this was a mistake."

My mother smiled weakly. "My time is over, but Iliana is still young. Without me, this pack will devour her."

Davina understood immediately. "She will be my Luna," she vowed. "No one will take that from her."

Yet here I was, the rejected mate of Omar, bound instead to his brother Ryker—the Alpha who had always been seen as weak and distant. The pack whispered behind my back, and even the Omegas dared to mock me.

But as I stood beside Ryker, his aura steady and commanding, I felt a flicker of something I hadn’t expected. Perhaps this wasn’t the end of my story, but the beginning of something far greater.

This honor, it seems, was never meant for me.

After a lifetime of diligence, Aunt Lin, worn down by years of overwork, followed my mother to the grave five years later. Fortunately, Uncle Lu, true to Aunt Lin’s wishes, never annulled the betrothal between me and Omar Taylor.

But Omar had other plans.

Ever since my mother passed, Father elevated Zhang to the position of Luna, and her daughter, Mikayla, became the pack’s legitimate heir. Zhang spared no effort to ensure Mikayla married into a prominent family. She groomed Mikayla to be stunningly beautiful, even teaching her the art of charming and pleasing a mate. Zhang also made sure Mikayla attended every high-profile pack gathering, showcasing her daughter like a prized jewel.

Over time, Mikayla’s beauty and virtues became the talk of the city among the young werewolves. Meanwhile, I, who rarely showed my face and remained hidden in the shadows of the pack house, was rumored to be ugly and jealous, a poor match for any mate.

Mikayla’s suitors were countless, but most were deemed unworthy by Zhang—either their lineage wasn’t noble enough, or their rank wasn’t high enough. After much deliberation, the only suitable candidate turned out to be Omar, who was already betrothed to me.

Uncle Lu, the Alpha of the Taylor pack, was often too busy with pack affairs to pay attention to his sons. Omar, the younger son, grew up pampered in his grandmother’s care, becoming spoiled and reckless. After Aunt Lin’s death, he grew even more unruly.

When he heard rumors of my supposed ugliness, he immediately moved to reject the mate bond. On the day he came to break the bond, he “accidentally” crossed paths with Mikayla at the Oliver pack house. Captivated by her scent—a mix of lavender and vanilla—he decided to pursue her instead.

When Uncle Lu returned from pack business and learned of this, he grabbed a nearby glass and hurled it at Omar, leaving him bleeding from the head.

“Desiring your mate’s sister? What kind of beast does that make you?” Uncle Lu roared in his Alpha tone, his aura flaring with dominance.

Omar, clutching his wound, retorted, “Iliana is no mate of mine! We’re not mated, and we never will be. That bond means nothing!”

Uncle Lu, furious, threatened harsher punishment, but Omar’s grandmother, Davina, intervened, unwilling to see her grandson suffer. “He’s right,” she said. “If you force him to mate with Iliana, he might do something drastic. And if anything happens to him, I won’t live to see it!”

Unable to withstand his mother’s hysterics, Uncle Lu reluctantly agreed.

Overjoyed, Omar took the twenty-eight boxes of gifts originally prepared for me by Aunt Lin and moved them to Mikayla’s quarters.

Thinking of this, I calmly replied, “Mikayla’s beauty deserves such attention. I can only envy her good fortune.”

The old maid, hoping to see me jealous or upset, was disappointed by my composure and left in a huff.

Suddenly, a servant from the front courtyard came running, calling out, “Miss Iliana, Miss Iliana, Alpha Ryker Taylor has come with the betrothal gifts!”

The maid, startled, widened her eyes. “What did you say?”

The servant, catching his breath, presented the gift list with both hands. “Madam, Alpha Lu and Alpha Ryker have arrived, saying the betrothal between the Taylor pack and Miss Iliana must stand. Since Omar won’t mate her, Ryker will.”

The maid, incredulous, asked, “How many boxes of gifts?”

She seemed convinced that my gifts would pale in comparison to Mikayla’s, hoping to salvage some dignity.

“Forty-eight boxes!” the servant announced.

Forty-eight boxes—nearly double what Mikayla had received.

The matchmaker, her face flushed with frustration, still refused to back down.

"How could this be? Does the Alpha truly have his eyes set on the eldest daughter?" she scoffed, her voice laced with disbelief.

The attendant stepped aside, turning to me with a respectful bow.

"Alpha Ryker has instructed me to convey his message to you, Miss Iliana. He acknowledges his physical frailty and worries he may not fulfill his duties as a mate to the fullest. Therefore, he has prepared additional gifts to ensure you are not slighted in any way."

He paused, his tone careful yet firm. "Should you find his condition unsuitable and wish to pursue another, he will not stand in your way. Instead, he will prepare another lavish gift and, in the name of the Taylor pack, send you off with the utmost honor."

The room fell silent, the matchmaker's face twisting as if she'd swallowed something bitter. She had no retort left.

"Miss Iliana," the attendant continued, "Alpha Ryker and his father are waiting in the hall for your response."

Ryker Taylor, the Alpha of the Taylor pack, had been raised under the care of my late aunt. If not for his fragile health, I would have been his mate from the start. Now, fate had circled us back to one another.

In this world, a female werewolf’s life is often dictated by the mate she chooses. The greatest measure of success lies in securing a considerate, ambitious mate and raising a family that thrives. From the way the Taylor pack had stepped forward to defend me today, it seemed my mother’s gamble had paid off.

If I refused now, my father, swayed by his chosen mate’s venomous words, would likely cast me out to live as a rogue, dooming me to a life of misery.

The thought sent a shiver down my spine. I retreated to my room to change into something more presentable, preparing to face Ryker.

As I entered the hall, the shrill voice of my stepmother, Davina Diaz, filled the air. She was relentless in her attempts to undermine me.

"Alpha Desmond," she said, her tone sweet but laced with poison, "Iliana is stubborn and difficult to manage. How could she possibly serve as the Luna of the Taylor pack?"

Alpha Desmond, Ryker’s father, calmly sipped his tea, ignoring her entirely. Davina, realizing her words had fallen on deaf ears, turned to my father, her eyes pleading.

My father, always quick to side with Davina, chimed in. "Indeed, my daughter is not fit for such a role. Perhaps, Alpha Desmond, you should consider another..."

I stepped forward, cutting him off.

"Father," I said, my voice steady despite the weight of the moment, "I am willing to accept Alpha Ryker as my mate."

The room fell silent, all eyes turning to me as I stood behind the screen. My voice carried clearly as I continued.

"The bond between the Oliver and Taylor packs was the wish of my mother and Alpha Desmond’s late Luna. If I become the Luna of the Taylor pack, I believe they would rejoice in the afterlife."

Davina’s face turned ashen, her fingers tightening around her handkerchief until her knuckles turned white.

Not long ago, she had been smug about her own daughter’s engagement to Ryker’s younger brother, Omar. But now, the disparity in our dowries was glaring—while Mikayla had received only twenty-eight boxes, I was offered forty-eight. And to make matters worse, Alpha Desmond and Ryker had personally come to deliver the gifts.

This was a public declaration that the Taylor pack valued me, the eldest daughter, far more than my stepsister. Davina, who thrived on appearances, was now being humiliated in front of everyone.

The satisfaction of her defeat was fleeting, however, as the weight of my decision settled over me. I was stepping into a role that would demand more than I had ever given, and the future stretched before me like an uncharted forest.