I spend three torturous years in a dark underground cell after taking the fall for Cole Greyhouse, a member of the nobility.

He once held my hand tightly and tearfully promised that he would wait for me to return. Then, he would take my hand in marriage.

However, he doesn't show up on the day I'm released from prison. I head to the palace to look for him, but all I see is him with his arm around another woman. He also has a mocking smile on his face.

"Do you really think a former convict like you deserves to become a member of the royal family?"

Only then do I understand that he's long since forgotten about the three years he was supposed to wait for me.

I'm devastated, and my heart dies. I accept the marriage my family has arranged for me.

On the big day, Cole crashes my wedding with his comrades and laughs raucously. "Are you that desperate to be my secret lover, Leah? How dare you put on a wedding gown meant for a royal bride to force me into marriage? You're pathetic!"

Just then, his uncle, Fenryr Greyhouse, the youngest Alpha King in Lunholm's history, hurriedly arrives. He drapes a shawl around my shoulders and slides a wedding ring onto my finger.

That's when Cole panics.

"What are you doing here, Leah? Did you honestly believe that I, a member of the royal family, would marry a woman who's been in prison? I only told you what you wanted to hear so you'd go to jail for me. I can't believe you fell for it!" Cole sneered at me as he walked past me, already dressed up for his wedding.

I would never have agreed to take the fall for him if he'd sneered at me like this three years ago.

At the time, Cole got down on his knees and begged me to go to jail for him.

He told me my father's former victory had earned me eternal protection from the royal family, and because of this, he wanted me to take his place in prison. He even promised to marry me when I got out. I gave in to him after that.

But now, I hated myself for trading my father's former victory for a peaceful life for Cole.

When Cole's huddle of shit-eating friends came over and saw me, they started mocking me as well. "Isn't she the orphan of the Alastair family? I heard she tore three werewolves to pieces and had her tail shaved clean when she was bound by a silver chain in the dungeon."

Another one of Cole's friends snorted. "Check out her wedding dress. She's not here to force Cole to marry her, is she? How pathetic. What made her think she'd get away with marrying into the royal family? Doesn't she know she'd stain the royal bloodline?"

The sharp, condescending words stabbed through me like daggers, but the wedding was about to start, and I had no intention of starting a fight with Cole. As such, I pointed them to the door and said icily, "Cole, I didn't know you were getting married today. I'm wearing a wedding dress because I, too, am getting married."

Cole and his friends guffawed like I'd just told them the biggest joke of the century.

Cole scoffed and eyed me with contempt. "You're getting married? Nonsense! Everyone in Lunholm knows you've trailed after me like a lapdog since we were children! Besides, who in their right mind would marry a woman who's been in jail?

"You know what? We go way back, don't we? I might consider making you my mistress if you lick my shoe now."

His friends jested, "Hey, let us have a go at her if you ever get bored with her, Cole."

"I heard women who've been to jail are freaks in the sheets. I bet she'd be a fun ride!"

Cole seemed a little peeved by his friends' remarks, but he crossed his arms and drawled menacingly, "Fine by me. Once my wedding with Camilla is over, everyone can take turns riding Leah every night. Go crazy, for all I care."

Unable to put up with Cole and his friends' crass commentary any longer, the Elder of Ceremonies beside me spoke up in my defense. "Sir, Ms. Leah does indeed have a wedding here today. Didn't you hear that the Alpha King will marry her today?"

A deathly silence fell upon the room. The next second, Cole kicked the Elder of Ceremonies and sent the latter flying into the corner of the wall. He growled, "How dare you, a mere Elder of Ceremonies, make up such filthy lies about my uncle?

"My uncle told the public that he will be marrying a daughter of nobility today, one who was sired by a hero of Lunholm, no less! Leah isn't worthy of such an honor! One more lie from you, and I'll rip your tongue out!"

I argued, "My father, Alastair, died protecting Lunholm, which makes me a hero's daughter. Furthermore, I come from a long line of nobility. How does that make me undeserving of the honor of marrying the Alpha King?"

"Stop flattering yourself, Leah. Your father stopped being a hero of Lunholm the moment he raised a criminal like you!" Cole sneered. "Why don't you ask your dead father if he's proud to have a felon for a daughter?"

He and his friends burst into raucous laughter after that.

I clenched my jaw and ground out frigidly, "I'll say this again, Cole: Fenryr and I are getting married today—"

Before I finished speaking, Cole lunged at me and dug his fingers into my face, his nails nearly clawing my eyes and the corners of my mouth. "My uncle is the Alpha King and supreme ruler of Lunholm. What makes you think a woman like you, who's been bound by a silver chain, is worthy of him?"

I shoved Cole away, my fingers grazing the fabric of my wedding dress as I panted. Fenryr had designed the dress and commissioned a few of the best tailors in the country to bring it to life.

When I first got out of jail, my family was so ashamed of me that they urged my mother to marry me off. None of the nobility wanted a criminal for a wife, so my mother had no choice but to seek out Fenryr Greyhouse, the Alpha King.

To my mother's surprise, Fenryr asked for my hand after hearing my story.

I had no idea why he would want to marry someone whose reputation was as ruined as mine. However, I had high hopes for our upcoming union when I saw how his eyes shone with sympathy at the sight of my shaved tail.

I would not let Cole and his friends' words get in the way of my wedding.

"Move, Cole," I snarled, my eyes flashing with a warrior's resolve. "I'm getting married to the Alpha King today. You should seek out your bride instead of getting in my way!"

Cole suddenly grabbed a fistful of my skirts and tugged roughly. "Where did you steal this dress from, Leah? Uncle Fenryr designed this dress himself for his future wife!"

Cole tugged on my wedding dress so roughly that he nearly pulled it off me. I gritted my teeth and held my dress up, snapping, "Get this into your head, Cole—your uncle and I are getting married today, and he had this dress tailor-made for me.

"If you get in the way one more time, I won't mind telling everyone at your wedding who was the real murderer three years ago!"

"What bravado!" Cole hissed in my ear. "You think they'll believe someone who did time for murder?"

"Cole!" A female voice rang out from down the hall just as Cole closed in on me.

The next second, Camilla showed up in her wedding dress and put herself between me and Cole. She regarded me with contempt and a challenge in her eyes. "Leah, are you here to attend our wedding? I don't know who invited you, but please leave right away. I don't want to see my father's murderer on my special day."

I raised a brow and looked past her at Cole. Sure enough, there was panic on his face. So, Camilla had no idea that the man she was marrying had murdered her father three years ago!

I fixed Cole with an icy look. Three years ago, he got Camilla drunk and attempted to force himself on her. Camilla's father saw this and tried to protect her, but Cole accidentally killed him.

After that, Cole told me he'd caught Camilla's father attempting to assault her. Cole had rushed to protect her, which was how he ended up accidentally killing her father. I might have believed him if I hadn't overheard what he said while he was drunk a few days ago.

The only thing stopping me from telling Camilla the truth was her long-running bullying streak. There was once a time when she used her position as a daughter of nobility to pick on my maid, an act that ended up killing my maid.

I couldn't wait to see Camilla's face once she learned the truth about her beloved groom.

I plucked the engagement ring from my finger to get everyone to back off. "You recognize this, don't you, Cole?"

The ring was an engagement gift from Fenryr. Rumor had it that the ring was a sacred relic passed down through the generations of the royal family, and only the future Luna Queen had the right to wear it.

Cole snatched the ring from me. "This can't be…"

He then threw the ring in my face and seethed, "I underestimated you, Leah. You certainly know how to make a convincing replica! Only Uncle Fenryr has custody of the Sacred Ring! Not even my father has seen it. Where did you get the replica made?"

His friends were roaring with laughter. "Pathetic! She thinks a phony ring will make her the Luna Queen of Lunholm!"

"As expected of a shameless woman," someone spat. "She's worse than the omegas of the pack!"

I felt their spit like venom on my face, stinging the scratches that Cole had left on my temples.