THE ALPHA'S CURSED BRIDE

***VERA***

"Can you believe it, Vera? I'm Luna!" Tricia squealed, clutching my arm like I was supposed to share in her joy.

I stood frozen, my heart pounding so loudly I could barely breathe.

"No," I whispered, blinking hard to keep the tears from spilling. "I actually can't."

She laughed, spinning in delight. "I know, right? Even I can't believe it."

But my eyes weren't on her. They were locked on Alpha Conry-my mate. My fated one. My supposed savior. The man who had just chosen my sister instead of me.

Marking Tricia meant rejecting me. The truth cut deep, sharp as a dagger. My vision blurred, and I forced a smile that felt brittle, like glass cracking under pressure.

"Enjoy yourself. I'll be back," I said softly, prying Tricia's fingers from my arm. Then I turned and walked away as fast as I could, praying the tears wouldn't fall until I was alone.

*Why, Moon Goddess?*

*Why curse me like this?*

*What sin did I commit to deserve such humiliation?*

"Vera."

I froze. My whole body went stiff at the voice I least wanted to hear. Slowly, I turned.

"You knew," I said, glaring through the tears that blurred my sight. "You knew I was your Luna... and you still chose her?"

Conry's expression didn't waver. "You're right," he said evenly. "I knew."

The world tilted. "Then why?" My voice broke, raw and desperate.

He glanced around before answering, his tone low and sharp. "My pack needs a Luna who is strong. Someone who can protect them when it matters most. You... are not that Luna. Your wolf is a disgrace, Vera."

His words gutted me. I stumbled back, my breath catching in my throat.

"A disgrace?" I whispered. "I didn't ask for this wolf. I didn't choose this fate. The Moon Goddess made me this way. And it hurts more that my own mate-the one who was supposed to protect me-calls me worthless."

He stepped closer, voice dropping to a cold warning. "No one must ever know you are my mate."

Then, as if to twist the knife deeper, he reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his touch gentle and cruel all at once.

And then... he walked away.

Just like that.

Leaving me trembling, hollow, and on my knees.

Maybe the Moon Goddess should just take me now. Maybe I wasn't meant for this life.

A sharp kick to my side snapped me out of the fog. Pain shot through me as I looked up through blurry eyes. Lana stood over me, her lips curled in a smirk.

"Pathetic," she sneered. "Crying again? You look even worse than usual."

She crouched low, tilting my chin up with her finger. "You're jealous, aren't you? Your mate chose your sister. You're nothing but a shadow, Vera. Always have been."

Her nails dug into my skin as she yanked my hair hard enough to sting.

"Why do you always do this?" I rasped.

"Because I hate weak wolves," she said with a laugh. "And you're the weakest of them all." She tugged harder, enjoying my pain.

Something inside me cracked.

I didn't even think. I grabbed her ponytail and yanked with every ounce of strength I had. She shrieked, stumbling backward. My knee slammed into hers and she collapsed to the ground.

"Why stop now?" I snarled, hauling her back up by the hair. "Didn't you want to play?"

Her friends gasped and rushed toward me, but my fear was gone-burned away by something wild and fierce that I didn't recognize.

I ripped the dagger from her belt and held it tight, my hands trembling but firm.

"I swear I'll use this," I growled, my voice shaking with fury. "Even if I die for it, I won't die cowering anymore."

One of the girls lunged at me. I shoved her back-too hard. The blade nicked her arm, leaving a thin line of blood. She screamed.

The world froze.

Everyone stared at me, eyes wide with shock. My chest rose and fell fast, my heart thundering, but there was no fear anymore. Only fire.

All the years of torment. All the shame. All the rejection.

*Enough.*

I dragged Lana up again, slapped her hard across the face, and spat, "You don't get to own me anymore."

Her lip split, blood smearing her chin. For once, she looked scared.

The guards came running, shouting orders. One of them grabbed me by the shoulders, rough and commanding.

Without thinking, I pushed him away-except he didn't just stumble. He flew.

His body hit the wall with a sickening thud, blood splattering across the stone.

I froze. My breath hitched. My hands shook as I stared at them.

That strength... had come from *me.*

The other guards charged, but before they reached me, a strange force surged outward, knocking them all back like a storm wind.

The dagger trembled in my grip. My pulse raced out of control.

"What... am I?" I whispered.

From the shadows beyond the courtyard, a figure emerged-or maybe he had been there all along. His mismatched eyes, one green and one black, glowed faintly under the moonlight.

"Impressive," he murmured, voice smooth and dangerous.

I blinked, and he was gone-vanished like smoke.

Silence fell again, heavy and unreal.

The guards groaned on the ground, Lana whimpered, and the night air crackled with something new-something alive.

I clutched the dagger to my chest, trying to steady my breathing. The weight of everything pressed down on me-the betrayal, the humiliation, the pain. But beneath it all... something else stirred.

A spark.

Power.

It wasn't fear anymore that made my heart race. It was realization.

I wasn't weak. I wasn't broken.

I was something else entirely.

Something the Moon Goddess herself might have tried to hide.

And for the first time in my life, I didn't feel small. I didn't feel sorry. I didn't even feel like crying.

I felt alive.

As I stood there beneath the pale light of the moon, surrounded by the chaos I had unleashed, I finally understood.

The curse everyone spoke of... maybe it wasn't a curse at all.

Maybe it was my power.

My beginning.

My vengeance.

And as the wind swept across the courtyard, carrying the scent of blood and fire, I whispered to the night-soft, steady, and certain:

"Things will be different now."