The Alpha Proposed to My Sister While I Was Dying

I did not remember leaving the festival grounds.

Only the weight of Sable’s hand locked in mine. Only the sound of the pack’s howls fading behind us, sharp and triumphant, like they were celebrating a victory instead of a betrayal. The night air felt too cold against my skin, biting through my dress, but I didn’t slow down.

If I stopped, I would break.

And I could not afford to break in front of them.

Sable struggled to keep up, her shorter steps uneven as she glanced back again and again. “Auri… where are we going?”

“Home,” I said automatically, though the word felt wrong in my mouth.

The pack house loomed ahead, its windows glowing softly, warm and familiar—and suddenly unbearably чужд. I ushered her inside, bolted the door behind us, and leaned against it, chest heaving.

Only then did my legs give out.

I slid down the wood, dragging Sable with me, my vision swimming as pain exploded behind my eyes. It felt like claws scraping the inside of my skull, like my wolf was thrashing against an invisible cage.

“Auri!” Sable cried, dropping to her knees beside me. “You said you weren’t sick!”

I pressed my forehead to the floor, fighting nausea, fighting darkness. “I’m okay,” I lied, again. “Just… just dizzy.”

She hovered, frightened now, small hands clutching my sleeves. “Did Alpha Father make you sick?”

The question pierced deeper than the pain.

I forced myself upright, pulling her into my arms. “No,” I said hoarsely. “This isn’t your fault. And it isn’t his fault either.”

The lie burned.

I held her tighter, breathing her in like oxygen, because the thought that crept into my mind terrified me more than the sickness ever could.

If I disappear, who will protect her?

---

I woke sometime later to silence.

The house was too quiet. The kind of quiet that didn’t mean peace—it meant something was missing.

My head throbbed. My limbs felt heavy, sluggish, as if my body had decided without me that it was done fighting.

“Sable?” I called, already sitting up.

No answer.

Cold dread slid into my chest.

I pushed myself out of bed and stumbled down the corridor, panic sharpening my senses despite the haze in my mind. Her room was empty. Her blankets neatly folded. Her moonstone comb gone from the vanity.

“Sable?” My voice cracked.

I hurried into the main hall, heart hammering, only to stop short when I saw the figures waiting near the hearth.

My parents.

And Alpha Vaelor.

My mother rose first, her expression tight, carefully composed. “You’re awake.”

“Where is my daughter?” I demanded, the words coming out sharper than I intended.

Vaelor didn’t look at me. His gaze was fixed on the fire. “She’s with the pack elders.”

My blood went cold. “You took her without my consent?”

“You were unwell,” my father said, his tone clipped, disapproving. “We didn’t want to disturb you in that state.”

“That state?” I laughed weakly. “You mean unconscious?”

My mother sighed as if I were being difficult. “Aurelian, please. Don’t make this harder than it already is.”

Harder.

Everything was always harder when it involved me.

I stepped forward, anger cutting through the fog. “She is my child. My responsibility. You had no right.”

Vaelor finally turned toward me. His expression was calm. Too calm. “She’s safer this way.”

“Safer from what?” I snapped. “From me?”

Silence stretched.

My mother looked away.

That was answer enough.

“You humiliated the pack last night,” my father said flatly. “Your behavior was inappropriate.”

“Inappropriate?” My laugh came out broken. “You watched your Alpha reject his Luna under the full moon, and I embarrassed the pack?”

“The Alpha made a necessary decision,” my mother said gently. “You should try to understand.”

I stared at her, something hollow opening in my chest. “Understand what?”

“That the pack needs stability,” she continued. “An heir. A Luna who can stand strong.”

I tasted blood again.

“So this is about strength,” I said quietly. “About appearances.”

Vaelor’s jaw tightened. “This isn’t personal.”

I looked at him fully then. “You rejected me in front of our daughter.”

“She needs to see unity,” he replied coolly. “Not weakness.”

The word hit like a slap.

Weakness.

I stepped back, suddenly dizzy again, my vision dimming around the edges. My wolf whimpered faintly inside me, exhausted.

“I want to see her,” I said. “Now.”

My father shook his head. “Not yet.”

Something inside me snapped.

“You don’t get to decide that,” I hissed. “None of you do.”

My mother moved closer, lowering her voice like she was calming a child. “Aurelian, listen to me. Virelya is with child. The pack is celebrating. This transition needs to be smooth.”

“Transition,” I echoed. “You mean replacement.”

She didn’t deny it.

“Until things settle,” she said, “it’s better for Sable to stay with her father. With the future Luna.”

The room tilted.

“You’re taking her from me,” I whispered.

Vaelor’s gaze finally flickered—just briefly. “She’s still your daughter.”

But the bond between us—mate, pack, family—felt like it was unraveling thread by thread.

“Leave,” my father said suddenly. “You need rest. This conversation is over.”

Over.

Just like that.

I stood there shaking, fury and grief tangling until I couldn’t tell them apart. “If anything happens to her—”

Vaelor cut in. “Enough.”

I laughed, a thin, hysterical sound. “You really think I’m the problem.”

He didn’t answer.

They left shortly after, their footsteps echoing down the hall like a verdict.

When the door closed, I sank to the floor, my strength finally giving out. My chest burned. My head pounded. My wolf was silent now—not even whimpering.

Just… quiet.

I curled in on myself, arms wrapped around empty air, and cried until there were no tears left.

---

Later, when the pain dulled enough for me to think, I reached for my phone.

No messages.

No calls.

Not from my parents. Not from Vaelor. Not from the pack.

I opened the pack network instead.

The first post froze my blood.

A photo of Vaelor and Virelya standing together beneath the moon. Her hand cradling her stomach. His arm around her shoulders.

For the future of the Nightborne Pack.

The comments poured in.

She looks perfect beside him.

Finally, a Luna worthy of the Alpha.

The pack will be stronger now.

Then I saw the second image.

Sable.

Sitting between them. Smiling uncertainly, but smiling nonetheless. Virelya’s hand resting lightly on her back, possessive.

My vision blurred.

The pain in my head surged violently, sharper than before. I gasped, clutching my temple as warmth slid down my nose.

Blood.

I wiped it away with shaking fingers.

My breath came shallow and fast. The room spun. My phone slipped from my hand as darkness crept in from the edges of my vision.

The last thought I had before everything went black was devastatingly simple.

They’ve already started teaching her how to live without me.