My Alpha Chose My Stepsister, The Lycan King Chose Me

I dragged myself up the stone steps of the pack temple. The cheering from the square still rang in my ears, mocking my shattered bond.

"Ethan!" I shoved the heavy oak doors open.

He stood at the altar, his arm wrapped tightly around Sophia’s waist. They turned.

"What are you doing here, Isabella?" Ethan frowned, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling.

"You swore a vow to me." I choked out the words, pressing a hand to my bleeding side. "You promised I would be your Luna."

Sophia stepped away from him. The sweet, fragile girl from the hospital vanished entirely. She looked me up and down, a sneer twisting her lips.

"A bastard Luna?" Sophia laughed. The sound was sharp and cruel. "Do you really think the pack would bow to an illegitimate mistake?"

"Shut up, Sophia." I glared at her.

"No, you listen." She crossed her arms, tilting her chin up. "You have no noble blood. You are a stain on this family. Putting you on that stage would pollute the entire werewolf race."

"I saved your life!" I stepped closer. The searing pain in my stitches flared, but I refused to stop.

I pointed a trembling finger at her stomach. "You are only standing here because of me! I gave you half my kidney so you wouldn't die!"

Ethan stepped in front of her, shielding her from my anger.

"Enough, Isabella," he commanded. "You did what a sister is supposed to do."

My jaw dropped. "What did you just say?"

"Sophia's body is weak," Ethan said, his expression completely blank. "She needs my protection and my care. You are strong. You will recover."

"I am your fated mate!" I screamed, the injustice burning my throat.

"Stop being unreasonable." He turned his back to me. "The ceremony is over. Go back to your room and stop embarrassing yourself."

I stared at his broad shoulders. My sacrifice meant absolutely nothing to him. It was just a convenient transaction.

I turned around and stumbled out of the temple.

The night passed in a blur of agony. I lay in my dark room, clutching my wounded abdomen, waiting for the dawn.

Shouting jolted me awake the next morning. Heavy footsteps thundered down the hallway.

My bedroom door slammed open. Two pack guards marched in.

"Get up," the taller guard ordered.

"What is going on?" I struggled to sit up, wincing as my muscles pulled.

Margaret pushed past the guards. Her eyes darted around my small room with clear disgust.

"Search everything," she snapped.

The guards ripped my mattress off the frame. They threw my few clothes onto the floor, kicking my shoes into the walls.

"Stop!" I yelled, clutching the bedpost to stay upright. "What are you looking for?"

Sophia walked in, burying her face in Ethan's chest. She sobbed loudly.

"My necklace," Sophia wailed. "The Moon Goddess necklace. It's gone."

The heirloom. The silver pendant given only to the future Luna.

"I don't have it," I said, glaring at my stepmother.

"We will see about that," Margaret sneered. "Tear the closet apart."

A guard pulled open the bottom drawer of my desk. He reached under a stack of old notebooks. His hand emerged holding a glittering silver chain.

"Found it, Luna," the guard said, handing the jewelry to Sophia.

The room went dead silent.

"I didn't put that there," I said, my voice shaking. "Someone planted it!"

Sophia clutched the necklace to her chest. Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, her bottom lip quivering perfectly.

"Sister, why?" Sophia choked out. "Do you want to be Luna that badly? You tried to ruin my ceremony last night, and now this?"

"You are lying!" I lunged toward her.

A guard shoved me hard in the chest. I fell back onto the bare bed frame, gasping as pain shot through my torso.

"Isabella, how could you?" Ethan glared at me. Disgust twisted his handsome features. "Stealing from your own sister?"

"I didn't do it, Ethan! You have to believe me!"

"She is lying, Alpha."

My father, Richard, stepped into the doorway. He wore a perfectly pressed suit, looking down at me with absolute contempt.

"Dad?" I whispered.

"Do not call me that," Richard said coldly. "I saw her do it."

My stomach plummeted. "What are you talking about?"

"I woke up early this morning," Richard addressed Ethan, completely ignoring my existence. "I saw Isabella sneaking out of Sophia's room. She had her hands shoved deep in her pockets."

"No!" I screamed. "I was in my bed all night! I couldn't even walk because of my stitches!"

"Are you calling your father a liar?" Margaret crossed her arms, a triumphant smirk flashing across her face.

I looked at Richard. The man who gave me life. The man who begged me on his knees to save his legitimate daughter.

He stared right through me. He was willing to destroy me just to secure Sophia's position.

"You set me up," I whispered. The crushing weight of betrayal suffocated me. "All of you."

Ethan shook his head. "I thought you were just jealous, Isabella. I didn't think you were a thief."

"Look at me, Ethan," I begged. "Look into my eyes and tell me you truly believe I did this."

Ethan met my gaze. His eyes held no warmth, no memory of our shared past.

"You are nothing but a jealous rogue to me now," he said.

"Ethan, please—"

"Silence!" His Alpha command rippled through the room, forcing my chin down to my chest.

"The punishment for stealing a sacred pack relic is banishment," Ethan declared.

I gasped, fighting the heavy pressure of his aura.

"Throw her in the dungeons," Ethan ordered the guards. "I will announce her sentence to the pack at sundown."

The guards grabbed my arms, hauling me to my feet. Pain ripped through my surgical wound, but I clamped my mouth shut. I refused to give them the satisfaction of my screams.

As they dragged me past my father, he leaned in close.

"You should have died on that operating table," Richard whispered.

The guards hauled me down the winding stone stairs. The air grew damp and freezing cold.

They tossed me into a cell and slammed the heavy iron door shut. The lock clicked, echoing in the pitch-black space.

I curled into a ball on the filthy floor, finally letting the tears fall.

Then, a low, rumbling growl vibrated from the darkest corner of the cell.

I froze.

Two glowing red eyes opened in the shadows.

I wasn't alone.