I wrecked my alpha daddy's wedding to his sister-in-law

"Chole, bring your mother here. It's her elder sister-in-law's birthday-tell her to play the violin and sing. "

Father's alpha command booms through the air like a thunderclap.

I'm rooted to the spot before the imposing gates, every hair on my wolf form standing on end. The stench of this place, once a haven filled with the comforting aroma of Mother's warm hearth, now assaults my nostrils like a noxious fume.

In an instant, a flood of memories crashes over me, overwhelming my senses.

I recall Father's sporadic visits, the way his eyes would turn distant and cold whenever Mother entered the room, as if she were a specter from a past he desperately wanted to forget.

Clutching Mother's spirit tablet tightly to my chest, my hands shake violently.

Grief, raw and painful, claws at my heart. "She suffered for fifteen long moons, crying out for a healer! You refused to send help, leaving her to die alone!"

My voice breaks. "My mother is dead! Didn't the coffin-makers' howls of mourning reach your deaf ears?"

"Chloe Bennett, how dare you snarl back! Is this what your mother taught you? She thinks she can play dead to trick me. If she's not truly gone, I'll make both your pelts pay!"

Father's roar shakes the ground beneath my feet.

Just then, a chorus of howls rises outside, a chilling symphony of celebration.

"Answering Alpha Jonathan's call-here to celebrate Eleanor's natal moon."

"Eleanor, behold the gift I hunted for you!"

Another voice.

"Alpha Jonathan and Eleanor-truly the pack's envy!" The words are like daggers in my heart.

When my parents mated, the wolves were at war, and their union was seen as a symbol of hope and unity.

But now, it seems that love was nothing more than a casualty of power and politics.

Mother never showed her face in pack gatherings, declining every invitation with a gentle smile. Her true blood, the blood of a powerful seer, was a closely guarded secret, known only to a few trusted allies.

But after Alex White-our widowed cousin-returned, everything changed.

Alex's health failed, and Father summoned royal healers from far and wide, sparing no expense to save her.

Healers with rare gifts and ancient knowledge flocked to the manor.

But when Mother needed wolfsbane herb for her heart ailment, Father snarled: "All herb is for your aunt. Wasting it on your mother's worthless hide?"

Mother and I lived like lowly manor wolves, our every need ignored or dismissed.

When Alex and her daughter Elena caught a chill, Father hunted down the rarest cures, his wolf's instincts guiding him to the most powerful herbs and potions.

Servants treated us like strays, bowing only to Alex as if she were the true luna.

My wolf's anger boiling over.

But Mother always held me back.

"Chloe, do not blame your father. I hid the truth from him. When he learns, he'll return."

What truth could make her endure such cruelty?

Even as her lips turned white with pain, and her breathing grew shallow and labored, she whispered: "Understand your father, Chloe. When I'm gone, he's your only kin. Promise to thrive."

I saw the tear fall from her eye as she smiled her last, a smile that held a lifetime of love and sacrifice.

Years of coldness ended with her final breath, but the pain of her loss will haunt me forever.

As pack members stream in with howls of celebration, Father glares at me, his alpha snarl low and menacing.

"Half a moon-turn. I want your mother on that stage, or both of you are banished." "Jonathan Bennett, how dare you dishonor my mother! She's your bonded mate-"