Cast Aside by My Mate, Crowned by the Lycan King Chapter 01

Cast Aside by My Mate, Crowned by the Lycan King Chapter 01

At the Potion Competition, my foster sister made a name for herself by using a potion she had stolen from me.

What none of us expected was that this event had been secretly arranged as a selection for the Luna of the Lycan King—a savage, cursed creature known for his hideous appearance and inability to produce heirs.

That very night, the bond-sealing deal from the Lycan arrived. He wanted the she-wolf who created the potion to be his mate.

The moment my Alpha mate heard the news, he panicked. He immediately marked my foster sister at the mating night.

After they sealed the mate bond, she smugly showed me the mark on the back of her neck.

“Your mate is mine now. What will you do, Alexis? You’re turning twenty-five in just three days. If no one seals the mate bond with you before then, the Moon Goddess will randomly pair you with some old, ugly rogue.”

She was wrong. I still had one more option.

I found my parents in the foyer, where they were busy cleaning up the mess my adopted sister had left behind.

“If she won’t seal the mate bond with the Lycan King, I will.”

My words crashed through the silence like a thunderclap. My father was stunned and his hand froze midair, clutching the bond-sealing deal.

My mother’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Alexis, are you out of your mind? Adam—the Lycan—he’s born sterile, bloodthirsty, and brutal. Rumor has it he loses control every time he shifts, and nearly tears out the throats of his own pack members! Becoming his Luna is basically walking into the lion’s den.”

Before I could answer, my father cleared his throat.

“If she doesn’t bond with him, then what’s Chelsea supposed to do? She’s already bound to Alpha Brody by the mate mark…”

A flicker of hesitation crossed my mother’s eyes before she slowly let go of my hand.

My heart went cold suddenly.

I was their biological daughter, and yet they always sided with that little foster girl, Chelsea, who always acted all sweet and played the victim.

I let out a cold laugh. “Then I have one condition. On the day of the bonding ceremony, Chelsea must publicly admit she stole my potion.”

“How could you be so cruel? You’ll ruin your sister’s reputation!”

My father’s hand slammed against the table in fury.

My mother looked at me with disappointment, as if I were the one who had done something unforgivable.

I sneered. “The Lycan King wants to bond with the she-wolf who made the potion, not a liar. You can’t have everything. She can either keep her reputation—or secure her happy future.”

In the end, they compromised for Chelsea’s sake.

I turned and left without hesitation, but in the hallway, I ran right into Brody as he came out of Chelsea’s room.

He was shirtless, his chest covered in telltale love bites, drenched in Chelsea’s signature rose perfume.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out they’d spent the past three days tangled up in bed.

When I pinched my nose in disgust and tried to leave, Brody quickly blocked my path.

“Alexis, I know you’re angry. But I had no choice. It was the only way to protect Chelsea. The Lycan is possessive. Marking Chelsea was the only way to make him back off for good.”

I gave him a bitter smile.

“What about me?”

We were supposed to seal the mate bond when I turned twenty, but he always bailed on the bonding ceremony—every single time Chelsea threw a tantrum.

It got delayed again and again, and now, with my twenty-fifth birthday around the corner, he chose this moment to mark her instead.

My options had been reduced to two: either get randomly paired with a rogue, or become the Lycan King’s Luna.

Brody looked guilty. He grabbed my hand, desperate.

“Alexis, I won’t let them pair you with some rogue. There’s another way—I could brand you with a slave mark and bring you into my pack house. Then you won’t have to bond with anyone.”

“Don’t worry. It’s just for show, I swear. Once you’re in the darkmoon pack, I’ll treat you just like I treat Chelsea.”

I actually laughed from anger.

How could he be so shameless?

Only werewolves who had committed serious crimes or had nowhere else to go would ever accept the disgrace of a slave mark and lived as omegas.

The werewolf branded as a slave could be sold or traded at will. They would be inferior their entire lives and so would their children.

I yanked my hand free. “Brody, I’d rather form a mate bond with anyone than become someone’s slave. I’m an Alpha’s daughter. I have Alpha blood running through my veins.”

His face darkened in an instant, humiliated.

“Alexis! Don’t you love me? Is your pride really more important than being with me?”

I shot back coldly, “Oh really? Then why not brand Chelsea as a slave instead? That would’ve saved her too.”

Brody blurted out, “How could Chelsea be a slave? She’s delicate and sweet. She deserves to be pampered, not to suffer. She couldn’t handle a life like that.”

“And I’m your mate! How have you treated me?”

The years of silent suffering finally boiled over, making my eyes sting with tears.

Because she was the fragile, pitiful foster daughter of the pack, and I was the only white wolf—strong, resilient—my parents favored her. Even my Alpha mate pitied her.

All my pain, it seemed, was simply meant to be endured.

Brody flinched, stung by the mockery in my eyes.

Enraged, he scowled and snapped, “Think it over. Like it or not, you don’t have any other options.”

After he left, I dragged myself downstairs, numb, only to be met by a love token from the Lycan.

It was the diamond bracelet I had once tried to bid for at an auction, the final piece of the night. I hadn’t won it.

Warmth bloomed in my chest.

Maybe becoming Adam’s mate wasn’t a curse, but a chance to rewrite my fate.