Chapter 2

Aaliyah POV

"She ran away."

The words hung in the suffocating, herb-scented air. Charlotte's usually immaculate posture crumbled as she sank into the velvet chair beside my bed. The rich scent of blooming peonies that always surrounded her had soured, tainted by the sharp, acrid stench of pure panic.

"Elaina left a letter," Charlotte continued, her voice trembling. "She called the sacred Fated Mate bond an 'archaic shackle.' She wrote that she refused to be a breeding mare for the Brewer Pack and went to seek her 'true freedom.'"

I kept my face perfectly blank, though my heart hammered against my ribs. I knew exactly what Elaina was doing. The transmigrated soul occupying my cousin's body thought she was the invincible heroine of a romance novel. Right now, she was likely wandering into the dangerous border territories, playing a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the incognito Alpha Jaden Livingston.

"Alpha Heir Kendall Brewer is devastated, but his mother..." Charlotte choked on a sob, her manicured fingers digging into her lilac dress. "Luna Antonia Brewer is furious. She sees this as the ultimate insult to their pureblood lineage. She is threatening a Pack war unless we provide a Substitute Mate of equal noble blood to complete the Marking ceremony."

Charlotte slowly lifted her tear-stained face, her bloodshot eyes locking onto mine.

A chill violently swept through my veins. The plot was trying to correct itself.

In the original novel, the Wolfless Aaliyah was the sacrificial lamb offered to the Brewer Pack. I remembered the gruesome details vividly. Kendall's Inner Wolf, obsessed with the scent of agave and his lost Elaina, violently rejected the Wolfless substitute. He subjected Aaliyah to years of cold abuse and psychological torture.

But that wasn't the worst part. The true nightmare was Alpha Jaden Livingston. When the ruthless male lead eventually launched his bloody crusade to claim Elaina, he disposed of anyone who had ever occupied her rightful place. My phantom fever from last night flared up again-I could almost feel the jagged fangs of Jaden's feral Rogues tearing into my throat, ripping my flesh apart while I screamed in the desolate wilderness.

"Aaliyah, my sweet girl," Charlotte reached out, grasping my cold, clammy hand. Her thumb rubbed my knuckles in a desperate, pleading gesture. "You have Hayes blood running through your veins. If you take Elaina's place, I will transfer fifteen percent of the Hayes Pack's core shares into your name. You will be a Luna. You will have wealth, status, everything a Wolfless girl could ever dream of."

I stared at the woman who had raised me since my mother died. She was willing to send me to a living hell just to buy time for her runaway daughter.

I slowly, deliberately, pulled my hand from her grasp.

"No, Aunt Charlotte."

Charlotte froze, her tears halting instantly. "What did you say?"

"I said no," I replied, my voice quiet but steady. I gripped the edge of the blanket, forcing myself to meet her shocked gaze. "Let's be rational. Alpha Kendall's Inner Wolf is already devoted to Elaina. Do you honestly believe a powerful Alpha will accept a Wolfless substitute forced upon him? He will despise me. And when his resentment boils over, he will direct his wrath right back at the Hayes Pack."

Charlotte's lips parted, but no sound came out.

"Furthermore," I continued, leaning forward slightly, "what happens when Elaina inevitably returns? Do you expect us to tear each other apart over the Luna title? It would be a bloodbath that would make our family the laughingstock of the entire werewolf society."

"You... you are just a Wolfless," Charlotte stammered, her Luna's aura flickering erratically as her mind struggled to process my defiance. "You have no future here. This is your only chance-"

"I am a Hunter," I cut her off, my tone slicing through the heavy air like a silver blade.

The room went dead silent.

"My surname is Hunter," I repeated, watching the color completely drain from Charlotte's face. "My father was a Hunter. And my marriage, Substitute Mate or not, cannot be decided by the Hayes Pack. It requires the explicit consent of my uncle."

I paused, letting the weight of the name settle between us. "Are you prepared to tell Elder Alpha Griffith Hunter that you are using his niece as a sacrificial pawn to cover up your daughter's scandal?"

At the mention of Elder Alpha Griffith, Charlotte's Inner Wolf let out a visceral, instinctual whimper of terror. Her entire body began to tremble violently, the thick layer of makeup unable to hide the sheer dread consuming her features.