After My Alpha Chose Her, I Took His Throne

The Manhattan night air bit at my skin as I patrolled the territory boundary, my boots crunching softly against the frost-covered earth. This was supposed to be a routine check before tomorrow's mate ceremony—the day I would finally become Luna of the Silverfang Pack, Lucca's official mate after years of waiting. But something felt wrong tonight.

Lucca had insisted on handling the northern border himself, claiming he needed to 'sort some pack business.' I'd nodded, accepting his explanation as I always did, but something in his voice had been off. Now, as I inhaled deeply, letting the cold air fill my lungs, my enhanced senses caught something that made my blood freeze.

Floral. Musk. A scent that didn't belong here—not in our territory, not mingled with the commanding silver-wolf aura that could only be Lucca's. I stopped walking, my hand instinctively pressing my thumb against my wrist where his mark would soon be permanent. The scent was intimate, entwined with his in a way that spoke of proximity, of shared breath, of a connection that went beyond mere presence.

My heart hammered against my ribs as I followed the scent trail, moving silently through the dense winter woods. Each step brought the aroma stronger—jasmine and something darker, more primal. It wasn't just that Lucca had been near this she-wolf; his wolf had responded to hers in a way I'd never experienced, not in all our years together.

The clearing appeared suddenly, moonlight spilling through the trees to illuminate a scene that would burn itself into my memory forever. Lucca stood there, his broad shoulders tense, his silver-streaked hair gleaming in the pale light. But it wasn't his appearance that shattered my world—it was the way he was looking at the woman before him, a stranger with wild auburn hair and wide, startled eyes.

His wolf was at the surface. I could see it in the gold flecks dancing across his irises, in the way his nostrils flared as he breathed in her scent with a hunger that made my stomach twist. I'd never seen him look at me that way—like she was the missing piece of his soul.

'What is this?' My voice cut through the night air, sharper than I intended. Lucca's head snapped toward me, his expression shifting from desire to something cold and controlled in an instant.

'Lakelyn.' My name on his lips sounded like a dismissal. 'You shouldn't be here.'

'Shouldn't be here?' I stepped forward, my fingers curling into fists at my sides. 'This is our territory. Tomorrow is our mate ceremony. And you're—' I gestured helplessly at the scene before me, words failing to capture the depth of this betrayal.

The stranger—Zara, I realized dimly, remembering Lucca's mentions of a college she-wolf—shifted uncomfortably, but Lucca didn't move. He didn't deny it. Didn't apologize. Instead, his eyes hardened, and when he spoke, it was with the mild Alpha tone that made my knees want to buckle despite my fury.

'I'm sorry, but there will be no ceremony tomorrow.' His words fell like stones into still water. 'I need to delay it. Pack priorities. We can discuss this later.'

Pack priorities. On the eve of our mating. While standing before another wolf whose scent was all over him.

I watched, frozen, as he turned back to Zara, his hand briefly touching her arm in a gesture of reassurance that felt like a dagger to my chest. Then they were walking away, leaving me alone in the clearing with the shattered pieces of everything I'd believed in.

The Moon Goddess had blessed our union. The pack had celebrated our fated bond. And Lucca had just destroyed it all without a second glance.