Alpha's Secret Bride

She knew exactly who he meant, but admitting it felt like giving in too easily. Maybe if she played dumb, she could delay it... even just a little.

He looked at her knowingly, winked, and walked toward the door.

She exhaled softly, her shoulders dropping. He saw through her as always—her sibling never missed a thing. And somehow, that made it even harder to refuse him.

"Go and reconcile with Arianna."

"No, father; it’s over between us. I need... fresh air," he said before dashing out. Emma gently sat beside her father.

There was a brief silence. Then Ashley began,

"The documentation ritual has already begun. By tomorrow, the sealing and signing will be complete. We will be officially mated and that will make you my legitimate pup," he said, gripping Emily’s hand firmly, as though the bond were already sealed. " Soft fang, make sure you invite your moonallies to Sunday’s party."

"Ashley, I...."

"Father!" Emily corrected sharply. Emma realized their customs were different.

"Let her be," Ashley chuckled. "Speak to me, my soft fang."

"I met some wolf earlier," Emma continued carefully. "A she-wolf... with an Italian accent. She seemed... unstable."

"Did she hurt you?" Emily asked quickly, her eyes searching her face for any hidden pain.

"No." She responded, though her chest tightened slightly as she watched Ashley’s expression, wondering what memory she had just stirred.

"Who was she?" Emma pressed.

Emily inhaled slowly.

Then—Ashley hesitated for a moment before speaking, his voice lower now.

"She was my moonmate," he said.

Emma didn’t respond immediately.

The words didn’t just land—they settled heavily, like something that had always been there but was never spoken aloud. Her fingers curled slightly against her lap as her mind tried to catch up.

"...your moonmate?" she repeated, softer this time.

Ashley gave a small nod, his gaze steady—but not untouched. There was something restrained behind it. Something he refused to reopen.

A brief silence stretched between them.

Not empty—just... full.

"You broke things off with her?" Emma finally asked.

Ashley exhaled through his nose, his jaw tightening for the briefest moment.

"Yes."

The answer was firm. Too firm.

Emma tilted her head slightly, studying him now.

"Why?"

For a second, he didn’t respond.

Then—

"Do you expect me to cheat on your mother?"

Before Emma could process that, he turned, closed the distance, and kissed Emily.

Not gently. Not hesitantly. Deliberately.

Emma’s breath hitched.

She looked away almost instantly, her gaze darting toward the glowing monitors across the hall—but her mind wasn’t there. Not even close.

So Brandon was right...Seeing him with another she-wolf would only deepen her turmoil.

The realization settled slowly this time.

Emily still loved him. And perhaps Ken was right too—there had definitely been a fight between them earlier.

And whatever had happened between him and that other she-wolf...

...it wasn’t simple.

"I know she’ll feel bad... but it’s just a moonmate—nothing more. That was always the deal." He paused for a few seconds, then rose to his feet and absently ran his fingers through Emma’s hair. "I’ll be in the sitting chamber," he added before walking out with effortless grace.

"Mother... what happened?" Emma asked after the door shut.

Emily didn’t answer right away.

She sat there for a moment, her fingers brushing faintly against her lips—as if the memory of the kiss still lingered there... or perhaps something deeper.

"Nothing," she said at last. "It was just a kiss."

Emma frowned slightly.

"That’s not what I meant."

This time, Emily looked at her.

Really looked.

And something in her expression changed—subtle, but enough to make Emma’s chest tighten.

"I thought I was done with him... I really did. But the last moonfall..." she paused, her voice thinning, "it didn’t feel that way anymore."

"What happened?" Emma asked, her voice dropping slightly as curiosity and concern mixed in her tone.

"He took me to his chamber after you all left, and we talked. His moonmate kept sending him notifications, insisting he come see her at the witching hour. He ignored it at first, but after the fifth call, he left. I... I broke down in tears. My wolf couldn’t take it. My chest felt like it would shatter. When he returned and saw me crying, he left again without a word. Then he came back... and told me he had ended things with her. I never asked him to... but hearing it... it felt right. The little time he gave me... it changed everything in my life."

He remained with me until moonrise. Nothing about him shifted. He is still the same beast he was twenty-four winters ago."

"Oh, my Moon Goddess! You mean you actually had...?" Oh...Ken was right, the discussion really did turn into another fight right?" she asked, tilting her head in amusement

"I’m sure you don’t need an answer to that question," she replied with a distinct Belarusian accent, rising gracefully to her feet.

They both giggled softly, the tension easing as the moment turned lighter between them.

"Mother, please sit, I want to discuss something with you."

She lowered herself again and fixed her gaze on Emma. Her face shimmered like moonlight on still water. She never knew her mother was this beautiful. Emma was truly dumbfounded.

"You are just forty-three. You still need contraceptive herbs, you know. Ken, unlike me, doesn’t look like some wolf who will welcome another sibling."

"I’m being careful. What do you want to discuss with me?"

"Daniel and his cohorts are planning to disgrace me before the council in the next gathering. They have he-wolves and she-wolves ready to testify that I was once a lowly she-wolf of the moonfall."

"What?"

"The High Luna wants me to find a weak excuse to avoid the gathering. The hearing wouldn’t hold in my absence."

"What did your mate say?"

"He never supported the gathering from the very beginning."

"My soft fang, you are not avoiding that gathering! You must attend it!" She sprang up and roared.

"I want to disgrace him too."

"Please, keep whatever you have planned for him aside until I’m done with him! Daniel wounded me deeply! I must tear him apart from his precious Lunara forever, the same way he tore us apart! I will unearth all his sins!"

"Do you know anything incriminating about him?"

"Yes, and I’m going to dig up even more! He was a frequent visitor at the howlclub where I worked as a cleaner. He courted Allison behind his mate’s back, and when he committed a crime, Allison bargained for him and covered his tracks. Do you know that Daniel did not keep his side of the pact? He thinks he is clever!"

"Who is Allison?" Emma asked.

"The renowned dancer who took me in when I ran out of coins," Emily said quietly, her gaze dropping for a moment as old memories pressed against her thoughts.

"Oh... my... Moon Goddess!! What did they do?" Emma’s voice rose, then broke slightly as unease curled in her chest. Something about the way Emily spoke made her feel like the truth would not be easy to bear.

"I’ll tell you later. We must pay her a visit after the legitimization ritual," Emily replied, forcing calm into her tone, though her fingers tightened subtly at her sides.

"There’s more, isn’t there?" Emma asked quietly.

Emily didn’t deny it.

Instead, she looked away.

"She’s not just gone..." Emma added, her voice tightening slightly. "Is she?"

A long silence followed.

Then—

"She’s locked away," Emily said.

Emma straightened.

"...where?"

"In a dungeon."

"W...why?"

The air in the chamber shifted.

"For a crime Daniel committed."

This time, the silence wasn’t soft.

It was sharp.

Emma’s pulse spiked, her thoughts stumbling over each other.

"No... that doesn’t...how is that even possible?"

Emma’s gaze hardened now, something darker surfacing beneath the calm she had been forcing.

"Because he made sure she took the fall."

"W-hat... what happened?" Emma stammered, her heart tightening as dread settled heavily in her chest.

"I’ll tell you everything after the legitimization. If Daniel thinks I’m going to forgive him for what he did to me or stand still and watch him disgrace my moonpup, then he is the most foolish wolf in the entire packland!" Emily declared boldly and rose. Emma shivered, unable to believe she was staring at Emily. Whatever Ashley did to her during the last moonfall truly reset her mind.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Emily asked after her outburst.

"I’m... surprised; I haven’t... seen you speak so boldly." She leaned back slightly, studying her with quiet curiosity. She drew in a sharp breath and sat again, as though forcing her composure back into place.

Emily’s chest tightened. She hated how easily her emotions slipped when the past was mentioned. Eighteen winters... why did that number feel heavier than it should?

"When did this happen?"

"Eighteen winters ago."

"Who told you that?" she asked quickly, her voice a little tighter than she intended.

She hesitated. A part of her didn’t want to reopen that memory, not because it was unclear—but because it still felt wrong to speak of it aloud.

"I wrote to Allison to keep watch over you since she was seeing Daniel, and she kept observing you. After three winters of exchanging letters with her, the owner of the howlclub responded to one of my letters and told me Allison was in the dungeon. I wrote my device number and begged her to pass it to her. Three moons later, Allison contacted me and revealed everything."

"Are you sure she is still there?" she asked, her voice tightening slightly with concern.

"She was sentenced to life in a dungeon," she replied, keeping her tone steady, though a faint unease lingered in her mind at how far the situation had gone.

"Did she still have evidence of what he did?"

"Yes."

"Where did she keep it?"

"The safe box holding all the information is with her mother," she said, pausing briefly, as the thought of tracking it down settled heavily in her mind.

"Do you know where her mother lives?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure she still lives there?"

"I’m not certain," she admitted, a quiet inner conflict sparkling through her—uncertainty pressing against her determination—but her resolve quickly strengthened. "But I know I must find her."

"We are going to visit Allison."

"Daniel must feel what I felt! I swear to the Moon Goddess! I will destroy him!"