After My Family Chose My Wolfless Stepsister, I Found the Alpha They Could Never Touch

I snatched the velvet box off the stone floor before Serena could register the silver crest stamped on the lid. Shoving the ring deep into my coat pocket, I ignored her shocked gasp and strode straight into the blinding chandeliers of the grand banquet hall.

Serena scurried after me, her fake tears already welling up. She darted behind the broad shoulders of Damian Ashford, Adrian Blackwood, and Chloe Bennett, using them as a human shield the second we entered the crowded room.

"My sister says I will always be an illegitimate child," Serena sobbed, clutching the lapel of Damian's suit. Her voice carried over the string quartet, drawing the eyes of dozens of elite guests. "I know I will always be a monster without a wolf. She doesn't have to remind me."

Damian stepped forward, his chest puffed out in a pathetic display of Alpha authority.

"Why are you still bullying people?" Damian demanded, his voice echoing across the sudden silence of the hall. "I will immediately sever our Mate Bond if you don't apologize right now and willingly go to prison to atone for what you did to her."

I stopped dead in the center of the room. A genuine laugh tore from my throat, loud and sharp.

"Haven't you realized our bond was severed a long time ago?" I asked, tilting my head to study his clueless expression. "Or were you too busy fucking Serena in her bed at the time to feel the connection snap?"

Gasps erupted from the surrounding crowd.

Damian's face flushed a violent, dark crimson. His hands balled into fists at his sides. "What happened between Serena and me was just an accident," he stammered, his confident facade crumbling. "You are twisting the truth. You bullied her on purpose."

Adrian stepped up right beside Damian, shooting me a look of pure disgust. "You should pretend the affair never happened, Aurora. Keep your mouth shut. After all, Damian is still willing to choose you as his Luna."

Chloe nodded vigorously, stepping out from behind my brother. "Aurora, we have all been so worried about you," she said, crossing her arms. "Serena cries every night over the pain you caused her wolf. And now you come back and insult her? Damian is offering you a second chance. Take it. You are throwing away a perfectly good future over a tiny mistake."

"A tiny mistake?" I repeated, my tone dropping to a dead calm. "No need to salvage anything. Someone who never believed me doesn't deserve to be my Mate. I've already mated with the heir of the Wolf Federation, Lucien Nightshade. And I will never apologize to Serena."

For a fraction of a second, raw, unfiltered jealousy twisted Serena's delicate features. Her eyes darkened with pure malice before she quickly blinked it away, replacing it with a mask of manufactured concern.

"Sister, why say that?" Serena asked, her voice thick with fake sympathy. "The consequences of spreading rumors about the Federation heir are very different from just bullying me. They will kill you for lying about a Nightshade."

"Our father would be ashamed to see you acting like a feral rogue," Adrian added, shaking his head. "Making up insane lies just to save face."

"Our father is dead," I reminded him. "And he would be ashamed to see his son defending a liar."

Whispers broke out among the pack elders standing near the buffet tables. I caught fragments of their gossip, calling me crazy, delusional, and broken.

I didn't waste another breath on them. I turned on my heel and walked out of the banquet hall, heading straight for the quiet corridor leading to the rear exit.

Heavy footsteps pounded against the carpet behind me.

"Stop right there, Aurora!" Damian shouted.

I ignored him, keeping my pace steady.

A hand clamped down on my shoulder, spinning me around. Damian shoved me hard against the heavy oak door of a vacant guest room. He twisted the brass knob, dragged me inside, and slammed the door shut, locking the deadbolt with a sharp click.

"Is it true?" Damian yelled, pinning me against the wood. "You really formed a bond with someone else? How could you betray me?"

I shoved my hands against his chest, trying to push him away, but his Alpha strength held me trapped.

"You betrayed me first," I spat, glaring up into his furious eyes. "While you were busy framing me and fucking my stepsister, didn't you consider my wolf would feel the agonizing pain of your infidelity?"

Damian ignored my words entirely. His gaze dropped to my throat, his pupils dilating with a sick, possessive rage.

"You belong to me," he growled, his voice thick with lust and anger. "Let's see if your new Alpha still wants you after your body truly belongs to me. Let's see if he wants my sloppy seconds."

He lunged forward, his mouth crashing roughly against my neck. His teeth scraped against my skin, trying to force a claiming bite.

"Get off me!" I shouted, bringing my knee up hard.

He dodged the strike, throwing his weight against my hips to pin my legs. His large hands grabbed the neckline of my silk dress and yanked downward. The fabric tore with a loud, sickening rip, exposing my bare chest and the lace edge of my bra.

"I am going to fuck you right here," Damian panted, his fingers digging bruising marks into my thighs as he hiked my ruined dress up around my waist. "I am going to shove my cock so deep inside your cunt you forget his fucking name. You are my mate, Aurora. Only mine."

He shoved his hand roughly between my legs, his rough fingers pressing hard against my underwear.

Revulsion churned in my stomach. I thrashed wildly, my nails clawing at his face, leaving deep, bloody scratches across his cheek.

"You fucking bitch," Damian hissed, wiping the blood from his face. He grabbed both of my wrists in one hand, pinning them above my head against the door. His other hand fumbled aggressively with his belt buckle, the metal jingling in the quiet room. "I'll make you beg for my knot."

"He treats me like a queen," I spat, kicking at his shins. "You treat me like trash."

"I'll treat you like a whore," Damian growled. He squeezed my exposed breast roughly, his grip painful. "I'm going to squeeze these until you scream my name. I'm going to fuck your wet cunt until you forget all about your precious Federation heir."

He forced his knee between my legs, spreading them wider.

"I am going to breed you, Aurora," he threatened, his voice dropping into a guttural snarl. "I'll put my pup in your belly, and then we will see if Lucien Nightshade still wants to claim you."

I closed my eyes, forcing my mind to focus through the panic. I pushed my consciousness outward, tapping into the secure frequency of the Nightshade pack network.

Get in here now.

Damian shoved his jeans down his hips, his erection pressing hot and heavy against my bare thigh. He leaned in, his foul breath washing over my face as he prepared to force himself inside me.

The solid oak door behind my back shuddered violently.

A massive force struck the wood from the outside. The deadbolt shattered. The door flew open, the impact sending Damian stumbling forward and completely off balance.

I scrambled away, pulling the torn pieces of my dress up to cover my chest.

Lucien Nightshade stood in the shattered doorway, the hallway lights casting long, terrifying shadows across his massive frame. His midnight-black suit was perfectly tailored, but the lethal, murderous rage radiating from his golden eyes belonged entirely to a wild beast. He stepped over the splintered wood, his gaze locking onto Damian's half-naked, pathetic form.

"Dare to touch Aurora Blackwood," Lucien said, pulling a sleek, silver handgun from his shoulder holster and pressing the barrel directly against Damian's forehead, "and you die."