Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother

I had barely gotten a grip on the chaos when my mother—the fire-blooded woman who gave birth to both Álvaro and me, stepped forward, her eyes unwavering as a winter wolf.

"Wait," she called, voice hushing Rosa’s hysterics. "María José, what did you mean by a cottage in the woods?"

Every head turned. Even Rosa shut up for a second, which was, frankly, more magical than any damn witchcraft she was claiming María José might’ve done.

María José, so small and calm, looked up at my mother without flinching. "I meant what I said, señora. There’s a cottage. If everyone is willing, I’ll lead you there right now. Everything you need is in that place."

She said it like she was offering directions to a bakery. Like we weren’t on the verge of a full-pack civil war. I swear I heard Rosa inhale to object again, but my father was quicker.

"Then lead us," he said, standing from his throne chair. "Now."

He turned to the other Alphas, the ones from the neighboring territories who’d come to witness the mating ceremony and were instead being treated to a front-row seat at our family’s implosion.

"This... this is not who we are. Our pack is not disordered. I swear on the moon itself, those responsible for this madness will be punished. But for now, allow us to uncover the truth."

For men like my Father and Don Diego, whose reputation was everything to them, a scandal like this in the presence of their competitors was a huge blow.

I knew that deep within them, they were stewing with pure rage and shame. Especially Don Diego whose daughter was the catalyst of everything.

With that, we moved.