The Mad Alpha's Substitute Bride

(ALICE)

I feel a strange sensation building inside me. I’ve never experienced it before. It’s like a fire within, something stirring, waking up from a long sleep. Emotions that are not my own course through me. Anger, rage, incredible hurt, outrage. It’s like there’s another being in there. It’s not me. These feelings are not mine.

Something stretches inside my mind, something sleek and graceful, something furious.

I always wondered what it felt like to have a wolf spirit. But feeling this other creature residing in my mind, watching through my eyes, is not how I imagined it. I don’t know how I know this is my wolf spirit. Perhaps it is instinct. I just know.

I don’t lack a wolf spirit! That’s another shocking blow.

But why now? Why show up when my life is breaking apart?

A small, desperate voice within me whispers wistfully, "Would Darian still reject me if he knew I do have a wolf spirit?"

That sliver of hope is crushed instantly by the small flicker of pride I have left.

"Alice Lane is not who she claims to be."

Darian’s words make me numb. Then, the whispers surround me.

"I knew it."

"He’s been escorting Beta Thomas’s daughter ever since the dance." "They make a better pair."

"No wolf spirit? What was the girl expecting?"

"Did you see the way she was smiling at him, like she thought she actually had a chance?"

"How embarrassing! How deluded does one have to be?"

Just then, the doors of the ballroom are thrown open, and five hooded figures walk in. They’re wearing white robes, the hoods concealing their faces. All attention falls upon them.

"Where is Alice Lane?"

I take a step back, and Mary immediately comes to stand in front of me protectively.

"What is this?" King Griffin growls. "Why are the white witches interfering in a wolf shifter event?"

One of the white witches speaks up. "We were informed by the prince that Alice Lane carries the bloodline of the dark witches."

Shocked gasps erupt from everyone around me.

What? But I’m not a—

I can’t help but start to shake in fear. I look at Darian, who is staring at me. Why did he lie to them? How deep does his hatred of me run?

The witch is not done speaking. "She carries the mark of the dark witches on her ankle. The prince has confirmed it."

I flinch, recalling the way he stared at my foot when we were in bed together. But he had continued on with our lovemaking instead of telling me the significance of the mark. Did he decide right then to reach out to the white witches and brand me as some sort of dark witch? Why?

"That’s her!" Willow declares, pointing at me. I’ve never seen her look so happy.

As the white witches approach, I retreat more, and Mary spreads her arms in front of me. "Alice is not a witch. She’s a wolf shifter—"

"Nonsense!" Willow cries out, her voice shrill. "She doesn’t even have a wolf spirit! I knew something about her was wrong the day I met her. She’s a dark witch!"

"She’s not a dark witch," Darian corrects her, his voice cold. "But those who carry the mark of the dark witches are not accepted by the Wolf Kingdom. I brought the white witches here to perform a sealing spell on Alice Lane so that she does not pose a threat to the Wolf Kingdom. She will be exiled after the sealing, and no wolf pack will be allowed to give her refuge."

I look at him, my insides churning, and I feel lost. Where did this version of Darian come from? Where did such hatred come from?

"Just kill her!" some of the shifters shout out. "Get rid of her!"

"I don’t think that’s fair." A voice speaks up from the crowd, and I look past Mary to see Jason walking over. "She hasn’t harmed anyone. If she truly carries the mark of the dark witches, I would like to see it before she is punished for it."

I don’t have the opportunity to so much as blink before two of the white witches grab me by the arms. I see Mary’s eyes turn amber, and I know she’s about to shift.

Willow notices the same, and her voice is filled with anticipation. "If you defend her, you are also a traitor. The healer is siding with the dark witch!"

There’s a wealth of glee in her voice. "She must be working for the dark witch!"

Panic fills me. "Mary, stop! Let them do what they want to do. Get away from here!" My friend freezes, and I continue, frightened. I don’t want anything to happen to her. "Just go! I don’t need your help!"

She stumbles backward, her eyes changing back to normal. There are tears in them. "But—"

Jason quickly grabs Mary, holding her steady.

The witches lift up my skirt, hiking it all the way to my waist such that the entire bottom half of my body is revealed. I feel the sting of humiliation, but there’s nothing I can do. I am being judged for something I’m not guilty of.

"She carries the mark!" the white witches declare.

"Even so," Jason intervenes, "she has not hurt anybody. This is the first I’m hearing of the dark witches’ mark. Your Majesty, are you going to let one of your people be executed because these witches say she’s a threat?"

"She doesn’t have to be executed. She doesn’t even have a wolf," Darian says coolly. "Seal her magic."

The white witches exchange a look before nodding. "Very well. But after, she will also be branded so that we can keep an eye on her."

Branded?

My body is shaking in fear. What are they going to do to me?

They release my arms, and I slump to the floor, my legs too weak to hold me. The five witches surround me, point their hands at me, and start to chant. My ankle begins to burn, and as it does, an excruciating pain courses through me.

I try to tolerate it, still not understanding what is happening. But it’s like tiny knives slashing my insides. And with each breath, the agony intensifies. It feels like acid is been thrown on me.

That’s when I begin to scream.

I can’t bear it. They’re flaying my skin. Peeling it off. They’re ripping out my heart.

I grip my head and curl into a ball, trying to hide from the pain, but it doesn’t stop. It just doesn’t stop.

I’m crying, screaming, my face wet, my body writhing in agony. "Stop!" I beg. "Please! Just kill me! Darian!"

My pride goes out the window as the pain shoots through my legs, up to my pelvis, exploding into a blinding whiteness. Sobbing, I implore him as he stares at me with a stony face.

"Kill me! I beg you! I’m sorry! I should never have looked at you! I shouldn’t have wanted to be with you!" I’m willing to say anything, do anything to make this end. "I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!"

But he just stares at me as if I’m nothing more than an insignificant insect. I can hear Mary’s shrieks, but I can’t think straight.

Someone end this. Somebody help me. Why isn’t anyone helping me?!

I tear at my own skin, trying to stop the pain, trying to replace it with something else. I feel my claws extend, and I rip into my wrists, trying to end it, but nothing works.

"Darian, please! I’m sorry! I’m begging you!"

But no matter how many times I plead with him, he doesn’t even blink. I try to crawl to him, but Willow kicks me in the face, and I fall back. Blood spurts from my nose, and I curl up again, barely breathing.

My heart is shriveling inside me. I have never felt as alone as I do in this moment. They’ve reduced me to something that doesn’t deserve any sort of dignity, any pity. I am nothing.

I can’t even scream anymore, strained gasps leaving my mouth, my body twitching. My muscles have gone limp now.

I feel empty. My wolf is fading.

That’s right. You should go, too. Abandon me. Like Darian, like my pack, like my parents.

I should have believed my pack. I don’t deserve even a lick of happiness. They always told me that, but I never wanted to believe it, still living in a fantasy that one day I would be happy, that all my problems would go away.

But now I’m going to die. I know it. I want it to happen. Just let it all be over with. All the dreams I had, the hopes I built up—none of them took place. I lived a miserable life, and I died a dog’s death. Is this what my parents wanted for me?

My eyes meet those of the king. His face is pale. Confidence in myself? Is that what he said to me? I’m no better than an insect in his eyes. He must be having a grand time right now.

Soundless laughter bubbles out of me.

What a fate! Despised to this extent. What a life to live.