The Billionaire Alpha’s Farming Luna: Too Late to Please the Herbal Queen! Chapter 01

The Billionaire Alpha’s Farming Luna: Too Late to Please the Herbal Queen! Chapter 01

I spent twenty years running a small herb farm in Hollow Creek.

So when eight high-end SUVs pulled up outside my small cabin, I was completely caught off guard.

An elder Alpha stepped out, gave me a once-over, and furrowed his brow.

“As the heir to the Ashford Pack, even if you were abducted, how could you let yourself fall this low? Surely one can still make something of oneself through hard work, even out here in the backwoods?”

“And to think you actually mated with a good-for-nothing layabout who doesn’t even hold a proper job—you have thoroughly disgraced the name of the Ashford Pack!”

Calder Ashford, my older brother, pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at me with pure disgust.

“I recognize only Nell as my sister. Everything belonging to the Ashford Pack goes to her in the future. Don’t even think about stealing from her.”

I looked at them, completely bewildered.

Since when was farming considered letting myself fall low?

The plot of land on my back hill—about sixteen acres—was filled with rare medicinal herbs.

As for my so-called useless mate?

Did they mean the current Alpha of the Whitlock Pack, the one who buried himself in the Whitlock Institute every day, obsessed with research?

…

When I arrived back at the Ashford Pack, I finally witnessed what an old pack looked like—lavish, opulent, a constant parade of feasts and finery.

My sister Nell Ashford was dripping in diamonds and pearls. She stepped forward gracefully, holding my hand with a look of deep apology.

“Maren, I prayed to the Moon Goddess night and day for Mom and Dad to find their biological daughter. Now that you are finally back, they have no regrets.”

As she lifted her wrist, her diamond Patek Philippe watch flashed in the light.

Alpha Graham Ashford, my biological father, sat sternly at the head of the table. His cold gaze swept over me as if inspecting a piece of expired trash.

“Maren, now that you’re back, you’d better learn some proper manners and etiquette. Don’t act so backward and embarrass the Ashford Pack.”

He took a sip of red wine, his expression dark and unreadable.

Before I could even agree, he kept talking.

“We found Nell on the side of the road the exact day you went missing. She is about to become the next Luna of the Greaves Pack, the medicinal herb titans.”

“Even though you are back, Nell has been with us for over twenty years. She is already our daughter in every way that matters. To the public, I will claim you are just a distant relative who came to the Ashford Pack for shelter.”

“Once you’ve learned to carry yourself with some dignity and grace, we will officially acknowledge you.”

I looked at my biological father calmly.

Thirty-odd years of life experience had taught me enough to see right through his calculations at a single glance.

He looked down on my background and wanted to observe me first. If I truly turned out to be hopeless, they simply wouldn’t acknowledge the relation at all.

From beginning to end, he didn’t care whether I had suffered after going missing, or how I had survived all these years.

The fantasy from TV dramas where they instantly hand over estates and car fleets didn’t exist here.

Not even a trace of it.

I let out a soft laugh.

“Fine.”

At least I had found the place I was born. That was closure enough for me.

They all looked at me in surprise, clearly not expecting this reaction.

Calder, who was sitting next to Nell, couldn’t hold back anymore. He raised his voice in warning.

“Nell is highly educated and graduated with honors from a top university. And her mate is exceptionally capable as well. So even if you are back, don’t dream of driving Nell away. Remember your place as a countryside peasant.”

“The Ashford Pack has no room for scheming troublemakers.”

Looking at this brother who shared my blood, I vaguely recalled a memory of him carrying me on his back, running happily.

But now every word out of his mouth was a warning, a guard rail. His eyes held only his new sister.

I smiled faintly and answered.

“Fine.”

Graham’s face darkened, and he slammed his teacup down.

“All you can say is fine. Do you not have a single opinion of your own?”

“Submissive and weak. People like you will never be fit for high society.”

“Let me remind you, if that so-called mate of yours is just as useless, break the marriage bond with him immediately. Don’t bring him here to embarrass us.”