My Alpha Claimed My Sister at Our Mating Ceremony

By mid-morning, Cassandra had already begun.

I heard it first from Marcus, who had been moving through the common areas with the deliberate casualness of someone gathering intelligence. He found me in the east wing sitting room, where I had taken my chamomile tea and a book I was not reading.

"She's telling them it was political," he said quietly, closing the door behind him. "A border alliance. She's saying the marking was sanctioned by Preston to secure a neighboring territory that's been hit by rogue raids. She's making it sound like a sacrifice she made for the pack."

I set the teacup down. The porcelain made no sound against the saucer. "And they believe her."

"Some of them do." His jaw tightened. "She's good at this, Chelsea. She's using all the right words — necessity, duty, sisterhood. She's not hiding. She's walking through the pack house like she has nothing to be ashamed of, and that confidence is doing half the work for her."

I pressed my thumb against my wrist. Hard. "What about the witnesses."

"That's the other problem." Marcus moved to the window, his back to me, and I could see the tension in his shoulders. "Preston's loyalists are applying pressure. Quiet pressure. No direct threats — they're too smart for that with the Council on territory — but implications. Reminders about pack housing. Questions about whether a wolf's loyalty is to the Alpha or to someone who might not be Luna much longer."

The burn on my neck flared, phantom and sharp. I breathed through it.

"The patrol wolves," I said. "Are they holding."

"For now." He turned to face me. "But I need to move them. If they stay in general quarters, Preston's people will find ways to get to them. I'm repositioning the first one — Garrett — to the Council's wing. Protected witness protocol. Once he's registered with the elders, no one can touch him without creating an incident."

"Do it," I said. "What about the second patrol wolf."

"Mira's solid. She'll hold. I'm moving her tonight." He hesitated. "There's one more witness. The most important one. But she's terrified."

I looked up at him. "Who."

"Nora. The Omega who does laundry for the Alpha quarters."

The name landed like a stone. Nora. Small, quiet Nora, who never spoke above a whisper and always kept her eyes down. I had seen her a hundred times in the halls, carrying linens, and I had never thought to ask her anything.

"What does she know," I said.

Marcus's expression darkened. "Everything. Cassandra ordered her to change the bedding after every night she spent in Preston's quarters. And she told Nora to put your pillow on his bed. Your pillow, Chelsea. To mask the scent."

The air left my lungs.

My pillow. The one I had slept on for five years. The one that carried my scent, my presence, my claim. Cassandra had used it to cover her tracks, to make it look like I had been there when I had not. It was not just betrayal. It was erasure with my own belongings.

I stood. The book slid off my lap and hit the floor. I did not pick it up.

"Where is Nora now," I said.

"Servant quarters. She won't come out. She thinks if she testifies, Preston's people will make sure she loses her position. Or worse." Marcus's voice dropped. "I've been trying to convince her for two hours. She's not listening."

"Take me to her."

He blinked. "Chelsea—"

"Take me to her, Marcus."

He studied my face for a long moment. Then he nodded.

---

The servant quarters were in the lower east wing, a narrow corridor of small rooms that smelled like soap and old wood. Marcus knocked on the third door. No answer. He knocked again.

"Nora," he said quietly. "It's Beta Marcus. Luna Chelsea is with me. We need to speak with you."

A long silence. Then the door opened a crack. Nora's face appeared in the gap, pale and drawn. Her eyes flicked to me and away, too fast.

"I can't," she whispered. "I can't do it. They'll—"

"May I come in," I said.

She froze. Then, slowly, she opened the door wider.

The room was tiny. A narrow bed, a single chair, a small table with a candle burned halfway down. Nora stood with her back to the wall, her hands twisting in front of her. She would not look at me.

I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. Marcus stayed in the hall.

"Nora," I said. My voice came out quieter than I intended. "I need you to tell me what you saw."

She shook her head, fast and desperate. "I can't. If I testify, they'll say I'm lying. They'll say I'm trying to hurt the Alpha. And then—" Her voice broke. "I have nowhere else to go, Luna. This pack is all I have."

I took one step closer. Not close enough to crowd her. Just close enough that she had to hear me.

"I know what they told you," I said. "That your housing depends on the Alpha's goodwill. That the Council won't stay on territory forever. That if you speak against Preston, you will lose everything."

She nodded, her eyes wet.

"They are lying to you," I said. "The Lycan Council is here now. Once you are registered as a protected witness, no one can touch you. Not Preston. Not his loyalists. Not anyone. It is pack law, and it is older than this territory."

She looked up at me for the first time. Her face was young. Younger than I had realized.

"But what happens after the tribunal," she whispered. "When the Council leaves. What happens to me then."

I held her gaze. "If the tribunal rules in my favor, Preston will not be Alpha anymore. He will have no power over you. And if it does not—" I stopped. The burn on my neck pulsed once, sharp and immediate. "If it does not, I will make sure you are protected. You have my word."

She stared at me. Her hands were still shaking.

"They made me put your pillow on his bed," she said, and her voice cracked on the words. "Every time. Miss Cassandra told me it was to keep the scent right, so no one would ask questions. I didn't want to do it, Luna. I didn't—"

"I know," I said. "And I need you to tell the Council exactly that. Tonight. In front of everyone."

She closed her eyes. A single tear slid down her cheek.

Then she nodded.

---

Marcus moved her to the Council wing within the hour. I watched from the corridor as he escorted her past the main hall, where a cluster of Preston's loyalists stood near the pillar. One of them — a warrior named Dane — tracked Nora's movement with his eyes, then looked at Marcus. His expression was unreadable.

Marcus did not slow. He walked Nora straight to the Council's quarters and registered her as a protected witness before Dane could take three steps.

When he returned, his face was grim.

"Garrett was cornered this morning," he said. "One of Preston's men told him his family's housing was dependent on the Alpha's goodwill. Told him the Council wouldn't be here forever."

My hand went to my wrist. I pressed down.

"Where is Garrett now," I said.

"Council wing. I moved him an hour ago. He's protected now. They can't touch him without violating tribunal law."

I nodded. The burn on my neck had settled into a low, constant ache.

"How many witnesses do we have secured," I said.

"Three. Garrett, Mira, and Nora. That's enough. The scent testimony from the patrol wolves proves Preston and Cassandra were together before any border alliance was discussed. And Nora's testimony—" He stopped. His jaw worked. "Nora's testimony proves intent. Premeditation. It proves Cassandra was not just sleeping with him. She was replacing you."

I looked at him. His face was steady, but I could see the weight he was carrying.

"You did this," I said quietly. "You secured them. You protected them. This tribunal happens because of you."

He shook his head. "It happens because of you, Chelsea. You invoked the Accord. I just made sure the witnesses would be alive to testify."

I wanted to say something else. Something that acknowledged what he had risked, what he had chosen. But the words would not come.

So I nodded.

And outside, the sun began its slow descent toward the horizon.