<i>Zephyrine </i>


    It was already morning when I arrived back at my pack, exhausted and heartbroken. I blinked to keep myself steady, numb with pain and agony.


    Slowly, the horse came to a halt in the Ash Pack, and my brother, who seemed to have been waiting for me, walked forward, reaching for my hand to help me down perfectly.


    “You reek of the curse, King,” he murmured, but without waiting for an answer, he pulled me toward the direction of the meeting hall. “The elders have some reports to approve.”


    I walked beside him, his palm at the small of my back. The door opened gently, and at once the elders stood, bowing as my brother pulled out my chair and lowered me down carefully. He walked to take the report, cing it before me.


    “Approve it,” he said gently, though themand in his tone was unmistakable. Whether I liked it or not, I had to approve the reports.


    I swallowed hard. ncing at the documents, my senses disoriented, I approved them as the Alpha. The reports were taken away immediately.


    Not long after, the elders began to leave, one by one, without a word. I swallowed hard as thest one exited, closing the door and leaving me at the mercy of my brother, who I felt was studying me intently.


    kept my eyes on the table, memories of Lycannar fresh in my mind. He hadn’t denied killing


    y father.


    nstead, he’d been full of apologies, and had even made a date to meet me. I blinked to push away the lingering tenderness of his touch just as my brother sat across from me, his intense gazepelling me to meet it.


    He was… so handsome, so dominant. Behind his ear, I noticed a scar that hadn’t been there before. Then it urred to me. Nyroth hade herest night. Why?


    “I heard


    you


    used thepensation money for our parents for something,” he finally said, making me pause.


    For a while, I couldn’t speak, then in guilt, I lowered my gaze and nodded.


    “Five years ago, I was foolish. I gave Nyroth of Hue Pack permission to use it to elevate his pack. He was my ex–mate… and I’m sorry, Varyn.”


    No words came from him for a long moment. When I lifted my gaze, I saw him staring gently, neither using nor angry. <fn6d40> Get full chapters from find·novel</fn6d40>


    “You were only tricked. It wasn’t your fault,” he said softly, shrugging. That shrug told me something significant wasing. “You know I invited Nyroth of Hue Pack herest night.”


    I paused. Yes, he had.


    “We had a conversation. He confessed how foolish he had been, and now he realizes his mistakes. He wants you back.”


    I waited, unsure where my brother was going with this.


    “He said he will make everything right, Zephyr. Reading him… I can’t tell if he’s truthful. But there won’t be any harm in… trying.”


    My heart leapt to my throat. I stared at my


    brother.


    “What are you talking about?” I asked.


    “Marriage,” he said simply.


    I went cold. Literally still. Did I hear that right?


    “I can’t marry Nyroth. I hate him.”


    “You will love himter. The date has been set, and earlier this dawn, I gave the order for the wedding invitations to be sent out.”


    I froze. Exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally, yet now this?


    “Varyn, I can’t marry Nyroth,” I said, my voice trembling. “He cheated on me repeatedly. I was called a rogue in his pack. He spat on our parents‘ Moonstone vessel. He never once paid his respects, and…”


    vision “At least he didn’t kill them, did he?” His question froze me. Our gazes locked, my blurry as tears threatened. “Nyroth wasn’t cursed. He didn’t kill our father. At least not that, did he?”


    I bit my lower lip stubbornly.


    “I won’t marry Nyroth, Varyn. You would have to kill me first.”


    “And why would I do that?” he asked, his gaze hot. “Get ready. The wedding is a few days away, on the full moon night, at Hue Pack. You will be a bride and take your vow.”


    My heart dropped.


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    “The wedding was only a bait, wasn’t it?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. I shot to my feet, looking at him dangerously. “It’s a facade to lure the Lycan King because you know he won’t let me marry another man. Isn’t that it, Varyn?”


    He paused, expression unreadable, then smirked gently.


    “Under the full moon… I will expose him, Zephyr. You’ll see for yourself that the man you are foolishly in love with is nothing but a monster. A creature that needs to be shackled and tortured until he dies.”


    Cold chills ran down my spine at the hatred in his voice. I could barely fathom it.


    “What if he doesn’te?” I asked, voice trembling. “What if Lycannar doesn’t…?”


    “Then we proceed to n B. That’s what a war strategist does,” he said before walking out, leaving me shaken and stunned.


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