Charles’ breath quickened, and his movements became more urgent. “I’m close,” he gasped in my ear, his voice breaking between moans. My own pleasure surged, and I couldn’t hold back the scream that tore from my throat. A wave of electric tingles swept through me, my temples throbbed, and the world around me faded into white…
Every pore on my body felt wide open, heat radiating from me in waves. It was surreal, as if I were in a dream, feeling everything but grasping none of it…
I could hardly believe it—I had married this man, the infamous Alpha of the Black Valley Pack, Charles McLean, and I had just slept with him.
But there was no love between us. We weren’t fated mates.
Since his first shift at eighteen, Charles McLean had never found his fated mate. And after one engagement after another, each of his fiancées had died under mysterious circumstances. Rumor had it that he wore a mask to conceal his hideous face and that he was a cruel, violent man who would kill without hesitation. People whispered that he had murdered his previous fiancées.
His last fiancée—my sister—was terrified of him. Horrified by the stories, she had vehemently refused to marry him. And just before the wedding, she found her fated mate. So, without warning or preparation, I was forced to take her place, pushed into marrying Charles in her stead, to stand as his wife in name only and the unacknowledged Luna of the Black Valley Pack…

A Substituted Bride But A Fated Luna

Madelyn was curled up on the sofa with a cup of black tea in her hand. Just now, she told me the story of why she wanted to stay in our pack.


Last night's banquet was not only a diversion, but also a perfect activity for families seeking opportunities for cooperation and marriage. Madelyn's parents had been concerned that she had not found a husband, so they had high hopes for the dinner, expecting that Madelyn would find a mate among the upper-class boys.


"Moon goddess! I'm only 19 years old. Why are they in such a hurry to get me married?" She murmured to me.


Madelyn didn't understand what her parents were doing. This is not the first time, and certainly not the last, unless Madelyn meets her fated mate, or her parents help her find a match. But the feeling of being used as a marriage tool made her very uncomfortable.


58 I Can't Smell