My Alpha Slept With My Maid of Honor, So I Gave His Brother My Wedding Night

The chatter in the Great Hall died down the moment I stepped onto the balcony landing.

Below me, dozens of pack council elders, allied ambassadors, and media correspondents were packed into the gallery. Flashbulbs went off in scattered bursts.

Marcus stood at the podium in a fresh charcoal suit, looking every bit the polished heir. Right beside him stood Serena. She wore a modest cream dress, dabbing at her dry eyes with a linen handkerchief, playing the part of the distraught best friend caught in a terrible misunderstanding.

Glittering against Serena's collarbone was the custom diamond pendant Marcus had claimed was stuck in customs three weeks ago.

"The footage circulating online is an unfortunate fabrication taken out of context," Marcus spoke into the microphone, his voice smooth and commanding. "My fiancée, Elena, was simply overwhelmed by the pressure of the upcoming ceremony. She needed a moment to collect herself, which led to a misunderstanding among our staff. Our mating ceremony is merely postponed by three days."

He looked up, spotting me on the stairs, and extended a welcoming hand. "And here is my future Luna now."

A murmur of approval rippled through the older council members. Serena offered me a tearful, apologetic smile that did not reach her eyes.

I walked down the marble steps in silence. I had washed away the grime of the utility room and changed into a high-collared dark green dress, but every step sent a sharp throb through my bruised hips. Before leaving my room, I had picked the silver Luna crest off the carpet and pinned it to the left side of the dress.

Marcus caught my arm the second I reached the platform. His fingers clamped around my elbow with punishing force, pulling me toward the bank of microphones.

"Smile and tell them you overreacted," he murmured under his breath, his lips barely moving. "Put an end to this circus right now."

He leaned in to kiss my cheek for the cameras, but the moment his face neared my neck, he froze.

His nostrils flared. His jaw went rigid as the lingering scent of cedar, fresh ozone, and pure, dominant Alpha rolled off my skin.

Marcus jerked back, his eyes blowing wide with unfiltered rage. His polished mask shattered in an instant.

"You really did it," he whispered, his voice shaking.

The microphones picked up his sharp intake of air. The hall went completely silent.

"Marcus?" an elder called out from the front row. "Is everything all right?"

Marcus ignored him. He reached up and violently dragged down the high collar of my dress, exposing the dark purple bruises covering my throat and collarbone.

A collective gasp echoed across the room. Cameras flashed in a blinding storm.

"Look at her!" Marcus shouted, losing all control as he shoved me toward the edge of the stage. "Ten years! I gave you ten years of devotion, and on our wedding night, you ran off and spread your legs for a stray!"

"Marcus, stop," Serena gasped, though a smirk flickered across her lips.

"No, let them see!" Marcus bellowed, his face flushed red with humiliation. "She did this to spite me! To get revenge over a harmless mistake! You think you can sleep with a filthy rogue and still sit on the Alpha throne beside me? An Omega who lets an animal touch her isn't fit to be Luna of the Silver Moon!"

The council elders began murmuring in disgust, their hostile glares shifting squarely onto me.

I didn't cower. I didn't pull my collar up to hide the marks. I stood straight, letting the cameras catch every bruise.

"A harmless mistake?" I asked, my voice ringing clear across the silent room.

Marcus glared at me, his chest heaving. "It was nothing compared to this! You ruined our reputation!"

"You fucked my maid of honor in the suite next to our altar," I said, looking directly into the nearest broadcast lens. "You slept with Serena for months while looking me in the eye every morning. I slept with someone once, after catching you bare-assed on a dresser. So tell me, Marcus—why do you look more betrayed than I ever was?"

A stunned silence fell over the gallery. Marcus opened his mouth, but no sound came out. His fists trembled at his sides.

I reached up to the left side of my dress, unhooking the heavy silver brooch shaped like the Silver Moon pack crest. The metal gleamed under the chandeliers—the sacred heirloom meant only for the ruling Alpha's true mate.

I turned to Serena.

She took a half-step back, her eyes darting between me and the cameras.

I grabbed her wrist, pried open her fingers, and slapped the silver crest firmly into her palm.

"You spent months crawling into his bed to steal it," I told her, my voice dead calm. "It's yours now. Keep him. I wouldn't take him back if he was the last male on earth."

Serena stared down at the pin, completely speechless.

"Elena, you don't get to walk away from this!" Marcus roared, lunging forward to grab my shoulder. "You don't humiliate my family and leave! Guards! Lock the doors!"

Four heavy enforcers stepped forward, blocking the main exits of the grand hall.

"Tell me who he is," Marcus demanded, his voice dropping into a vicious growl. "Who did you bring into my territory? Who touched you?"

"I don't owe you a single word," I said.

Marcus turned to his head of security, his eyes wild with fury. "Search the perimeter! The rogue who breached the lower levels last night is still here. Find him and tear him to pieces!"

Before the enforcer could answer, the massive oak double doors at the back of the hall slammed open with a deafening crack.

The heavy wood rebounded against the stone walls, the echo cutting through the room like thunder.

The guards near the entrance immediately drew their sidearms, but as the smoke and morning mist cleared from the doorway, every single enforcer froze. The weapons lowered in their shaking hands.

A tall, broad-shouldered man walked into the hall.

He wore a long black wool overcoat over dark tactical gear. His presence was overwhelming, suffocating the entire room under a wave of absolute, crushing dominance that forced half the elders in the front row to stagger back against their chairs.

It was him.

The rogue from the utility room.

My heart slammed against my ribs. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.

He didn't spare a single glance at the armed guards lining the aisle. He walked straight down the center of the hall, his dark eyes locked entirely on the stage.

The cedar and ozone scent rolled off him in waves, identical to the marks on my skin.

He stopped at the base of the platform, stepped up onto the marble, and positioned himself directly at my side. He didn't touch me, but his broad frame shielded me completely from Marcus's reach.

Slowly, the man turned his head, his cold, dark gaze slicing straight into Marcus.

"If you want to know who touched her," he said, his deep voice carrying effortlessly across the frozen hall, "ask me."

Marcus turned as pale as a corpse. The rage drained from his face, replaced by pure, paralyzing terror.

His lips trembled as he backed away from the podium, his voice barely a rasp.

"Long Time No See, Brother."