Cursed Lycan: A Stand-in for My Sister's Mate

"Why would I like her? That face resembles Selia. That's all. Ultimately, she is not Selia. Maybe after the night passed, Selia would be my mate..." The future Beta, Danny Brook's voice rang from the crowd. Behind the tree, Iris Wellington nearly stopped breathing.

Tears pooled in her eyes. His words were akin to a knife stabbing her heart, twisting it.

She knew that she was an outcast. She had nothing to offer, so she thought he was approaching and caring for her with no ulterior motives.

It was all wrong. He made a fool of her.

Despite possessing similar looks, Iris has a fate the opposite of her sister. Selia Wellington was the darling daughter of the Silver Moon pack's Alpha, the girl whom everyone adored. On this day, she officially turned fifteen, which meant also her coming of age ritual would be held.

Everyone gathered, excited for their Alpha's daughter and, if she was lucky, she could even find her fated mate. There was none who didn't present in this ritual; most werewolves had abandoned whatever they were doing, freeing the schedule just for this gathering.

"Have you congratulated Miss Selia...?" Danny's close friend asked him.

Iris looked away from the sight, her heart still clenched in pain.

Her coming of age ceremony was held a few months ago. Only a few people came, and some did out of pity. The abandoned daughter of Alpha Wellington that was always invisible.

One of the few who came was Danny, someone whom she thought cared for her. Today, she found out it was all lies. He treated her merely as Selia's substitute.

She wasn't as strong nor charismatic as her half-sister, who had successfully turned to her wolf form at the age of five. Selia was touted as a genius that only appeared once in a hundred years. Everyone was so excited when the news spread that they held a party and celebrated her transformation for days.

When she came out behind the tree, everyone became silent. They stole her a glance, yet devoid of any guilt.

"Miss Iris, you don't want to come forward to accompany your sister? All your family members are there." Someone suddenly said to Iris, who was standing at a corner in all her quietness.

She scrutinized the person briefly, then looked away without answering. The man clicked his tongue and then walked away, leaving Iris alone under the shadows of the trees and faint moonlight.

There was no need to look in the man's direction to see what he would do next. He had approached a group of werewolves that stood together near Danny, discussing something. Definitely gossiping about her right now.

In the middle of the werewolves gathering, and right beside the flickering fire, Selia did the formality of turning to her werewolf form; something that most would happen to most werewolves when they reached adulthood, in exception of strong ones who could turn to their wolf's form in their childhood.

She howled loudly to the moon above, the thundering voice resonating through the woods. The action was followed by the other werewolves of the packs. Then they shifted to their wolf form, including Alpha Wellington. Led by him, they ran through the woods to return to their residents.

Iris was one of the last werewolves to shift to her wolf form and followed from behind. She had just gotten control of her emotions, hurtful but manageable. Anyway, who told her to catch feelings? None.

She had actually been fidgeting since earlier. It was unknown whether it was just the heartbroken mood affecting her.A premonition was telling her that something bad was about to happen. Most importantly, they were out in the open. Although the woods still belonged to their pack's territory, it was situated near the Nether Mountain.

She sniffed, and the unpleasant smell instantly assaulted her senses. Out of instinct, she instantly told the werewolves running ahead of her through mind link. "Be careful!"

As usual, they acted like they didn't hear her, treating her as if she didn't exist. They continued to run in relaxed speed, still in the euphoria of their Alpha's genius daughter finally coming of age.

"Watch your surroundings!" The premonition in Iris's heart grew stronger and she couldn't help but give another warning.

"It's your sister's coming of age today, Miss. Don't destroy it by doing a stupid prank," someone sneered.

"We won't fall for your stupid trick. You are just jealous of your sister's lively coming of age ceremony," another one added.

Thus, they ran ahead and insisted on ignoring her.

Yet, only a few seconds after her warning, the situation grew chaotic. The formerly quiet forest had turned into a situation akin to purgatory; blood splattered on the ground, pained howls and the smell of blood thick in the air. Her words had come true.

Originally, she thought that it was the demons attacking them, but Iris found out soon that she was wrong. They were unlucky. In the coming of age ritual this time, they had accidentally chanced upon a group of rogue werewolves.

Besides the demons residing in the Nether Mountain, rogue werewolves were another threat dangerous to normal werewolves, because often, they had lost their sanity. Rogue had a bigger body as they were full of explosive power, black fur, and a crazed look in their eyes.

"Protect Miss Selia!" a lot of them shouted. The stronger werewolves began to retaliate against those rogue werewolves. Of course, they would have her as a priority, because she was also the hope of their pack.

Iris tried to maneuver herself in the midst of the attacks. She was nimble enough to avoid claws directed at her, although her body also slammed against others a few times; she had to struggle to balance herself.

It was also beyond her how she somehow arrived near Selia, where there were a lot of werewolves forming a circle around her. Even their father, Alpha Wellington, always stayed beside Selia, warding off any attack coming their way. He was so strong that he easily snapped any rogue's neck with one claw.

Iris' eyelashes fluttered, hiding emotions swirling within her eyes.

"Don't just stand there, you are so useless!" Until she heard someone shouting at her. It was Danny, who appeared beside her and tore open a rogue's neck with his claws.

The lapse of focus had caused her to almost lose her life, and she gasped. Danny shot her a disdainful look, and he growled as he shoved her towards the place where Selia was standing and said with a sneer. "Go stand there. Be as wise as your sister and don't bother us."

Everyone was panicking, and things were all in a mess. There were screams of agony, crying, and mourning in the middle of this battle.

"Let me. I can also fight." Selia tried to bypass some werewolves that were guarding her. Accidentally, it was at the same time that Danny had shoved Iris towards her. Both of them were kicked outside of the protective circle from the rebound force of colliding against each other.

Iris groaned as her body hit a tall tree. Not far from her, there was also Selia, who had just slammed against a rogue werewolf. She fought a bit with it, but because she wasn't ready, she accidentally hurt her arm. Luckily, she managed to kill it before the rogue bit her neck.

It was also at this very moment that a group of rogue werewolves swarmed toward them. Iris's pupils constricted, and she struggled to get up. She fought those rogue werewolves until her fur was all red and covered in blood.

She nearly couldn't hold it in anymore, gasping for breath as another claw managed to get her neck. Blood spurted out, which made the rogue werewolves around her crazier. At this very moment, she was desperate.

None came to save her.

However, the sight of the battle nearby couldn't break her heart further. Although Selia was back protected by the werewolves of their pack, her father, Alpha Wellington, still stayed close to his favorite daughter.

In her desperation, Iris even felt like giving up. She had always been invisible anyway; an awkward existence that shouldn't exist, so she shouldn't disturb Alpha Wellington's family. Wasn't he, Luna Lucy, and their daughter, Selia, a perfect family?

She never felt so lonely, fighting this horde of rogue werewolves. The enormous body of a rogue slammed against her. She bounced a few meters to the ground. When it jumped at her slumped figure, she could sense the death approaching.

Iris sent one last look at Alpha Wellington. Then, the blurry figures of Selia and Danny who were closely fighting back to back, in harmony and complete understanding of each other. She closed her eyes.

When Iris was called to the Alpha's study, she had just gotten back from the woods. Her eyes flashed silently before she confirmed to the servant delivering the order that she would be there.

"Alright, Miss Iris. Our Alpha is already waiting." The servant left with a warning. Not far after she walked away, she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Iris was gone for a week, one of the longest time she had been away. She no longer wished for her father's approval. When that spark of hope flickered again, she hurriedly extinguished it. She had been hopeful for so many times, and always ended up getting disappointed.

Her father, the Alpha, might was just going to scold her because she had gone for too long. Not because he cared, of course. It was all for a show.

After Iris finished cleaning herself, she changed her attire and headed toward the Alpha's house.

"Miss Iris, this way," the servant forced a smile on her face and led her in.

It hasn't been long since she was gone, yet the atmosphere in the pack was strangely different. More solemn and a little tense. What was happening?

Iris did sense some unfamiliar werewolves jumping around in the woods earlier. She frowned, her pace quickened. There seemed to be something wrong; her senses told her that a terrible thing had happened.

"Iris, you are here." Arthur Wellington, the Alpha of the pack, spoke.

There were only her, the Alpha, Luna Lucy, the Beta, the Danny and a few elders of the pack.

"Come here and sit." A voice commanded her. She obediently walked over and sat in the remaining empty seat on the round table. Danny had his eyebrows furrowed when he saw her sit on it, but he didn't make any comment.

Only then did Iris notice that she hadn't seen Selia ever since she entered the door. This seat was hers.

This meeting looked like an important one; probably to prosecute her that she was colluding with the demons or anything so that they could finally get rid of her? Her mind couldn't help but wander upon all of the worst potential scenarios.

"Listen carefully, Iris." Alpha Wellington looked at her with a serious expression. His next words caused her to freeze. "Your sister, Selia, is missing right now."

It didn't take long for her to recover her senses, and once she did, she stood up. The chair made a creaking sound as she did so. She began to march toward the exit as if she had just been given a mission of great importance.

"Iris, come back here!" Alpha Wellington shouted as he held his throbbing head.

Iris acted as if she hadn't heard his order, taking big strides as though she was running from a ghost.

"She's getting more lawless," one elder commented with great dislike.

"Bring–" The elder's words were cut off.

Luna Lucy had stood up and, in a flash, she quickly appeared beside Iris, clutching her arm roughly. She said with a hint of condescending tone, "Follow the order from your Alpha."

The vice-like grip stopped Iris' movement. For a moment, she was tempted to rip this woman's hand off her arm, but she quickly controlled herself.

"I am going to look for her," Iris said stubbornly, and for a moment she detected a flash of emotion in Luna Lucy's eyes.

"What can you do when the entire pack can't do it?" The elder sneered, and the wrinkled skin on his face made him look sinister. "You will end up dead somewhere. At least make yourself useful before-"

"Enough!" Arthur Wellington hollered angrily. The entire room turned quiet. Even Iris, who was trying to shake off Luna Lucy's hand, stopped what she was doing and looked at him.

The elder knew that he had stepped out of line when he said that. He turned as quiet as a mouse, only sending occasional glares at Iris.

Even though Iris was an unwanted child, she was, after all, still the Alpha's own blood and flesh. He immediately understood this concept that in a way, he had also disrespected his leader.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Iris."

Iris still had a rebellious look in her eyes. Before she could respond, she was caught off guard by the woman next to her. Luna Lucy had dragged her body back forcefully and threw her to the empty chair.

The Alpha let out a breath, and he continued, "Selia disappeared, and the Silver Royal pack is currently on the way here to pick her up..."

Iris had a premonition that she wouldn't like what she was about to hear next.

"You should come with them to replace Selia." He gazed at her with the emotions that Iris couldn't quite describe. However, she was also too immersed in her shock to care right now.

"Are you crazy?" Iris shook her head as she swept her gaze on the attending people as though they had lost their mind.

"We are not crazy." Luna Lucy scoffed, but obviously her state also wasn't quite right. She seemed a bit distracted the entire time, as if she was hiding her grief that her daughter was missing.

"Then I don't care whether you are crazy or not." Iris took a deep breath. "I am not doing it."

There were various expressions once she uttered her refusal. Most were only exchanging looks while others looked like they were looking at an ingrate.

"This pack has raised you until you became an adult." The previous elder criticized her. "Yet you can't do one thing to repay us?"

Iris was instantly annoyed when she heard about this. After that incident during Selia's coming of age ceremony, she hadn't even eaten a grain of rice from this pack. She made sure she was always out to hunt for herself.

Iris slammed the table in front of her arrogantly as she stood up. Looking at the elder with a condescending gaze, she said sarcastically, "The pack has also raised you until you are this old and senile. How about you replace Selia instead to repay back the pack?"

The elder's eyes went wide and raised his finger shakily, the whole body trembling with anger. "You... impudent wench!"

The Alpha ignored the elder and turned to Iris and said. "This is an order for you, Iris Wellington."

Iris went silent for a moment, and the quietness of the room began to make anyone uncomfortable. The elder didn't speak again, only gazing at Iris with the look that he wished he could kill her right now.

Looking into the Alpha's pair of clear eyes, Iris somehow felt a bit bitter. She lived in the shadow of her sister all this time and now, even after Selia had gone, she still had to pick up the pieces for her.

Iris' head went blank, and before she could control herself, she already blurted, "I understand."

All refusal seems vain at this moment, no matter what excuses she prepared.

As a young werewolf girl, she has dreamed about meeting her mate someday. A strong werewolf that would sweep her off her feet and loved her like no other.

Now, even that kind of dream seemed to be impossible and so out of reach. Her unknown mate had rejected her...

None wanted her.

Maybe that elder was right. She should repay what she owed to the pack, and after that, they would have nothing to do with each other again.

It was just that she didn't like being forced into something she didn't want to do; hence, treacherous thoughts like refusing the order till the end still occasionally invaded her thoughts.

Iris lowered her eyes to hide the tumultuous emotions.

Until the Beta's son, Danny, spoke. "Just make sure you don't sabotage it for us. The lives of the whole pack rest on your hand."

She sneered. Of course, this loudmouth, who worshiped the ground Selia walked on, would speak.

"Oh?" Iris tilted her head to the side. "Then you all need to treat me better, don't you? Who knows if my mood will turn bad?"

Some people's expressions contorted with unwillingness upon hearing that. However, that was no longer Iris' concern right now.

To be someone's mate, two individuals need a mate bond. Clearly, if the Silver Royal's Alpha's were really Selia's mate. How could it be easy for Iris to deceive him when they didn't have a mate bond in the first place?

Compared to the pack members, the probability of her getting killed was higher. Would Selia's mate ruthlessly slaughter his mate's pack, too? Selia would surely hate him if she found out.

When the sky turned dark, she had a sleepless night. As soon as she woke up after half an hour of sleep, she went straight to the Alpha to convey her refusal to be tangled in this mess. Her mind changed again. Well, she wasn't sorry for being so fickle.

She just never anticipated this group of despicable people to something so outrageous to her.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Iris raged as she coughed hard.

She wiped the unknown liquid from her jaw, her eyes full of anger. Danny, who had fallen to the ground because she shoved him in the midst of the struggle, got up. He smiled strangely.

"It's just water," He calmly said. "You don't need to worry too much."

Iris shot a sharp gaze toward him. She advanced, and before Danny could evade, she already grabbed his collar.

"Do you think I am a retard?" Iris snarled. "Quick, explain what you just gave me!"

Other pack members had helped Danny to hold her as he forced her to drink that suspicious liquid. She swept her gaze toward them and they instantly avoided her eyes.

Danny still insisted on keeping his silence, and she almost couldn't help herself from punching him. Iris gradually took a deep breath and let go of his collar. Danny took a few steps back.

"I will never hurt you, Iris." He assured. "I know you trust me."

She closed her eyes before turning around. Her announcement was loud enough for whoever was present in the building. "My decision is final. I don't want to pretend to be Selia in front of her mate!"

After she said that, she stormed off the building.

Iris went to the woods and stood up below a huge, towering tree. She tried to cough up whatever had gone down her throat, but even as she tried to make herself puke it out, she failed.

It was very unusual. She was sure there was something wrong with it. Danny lied. He always did. He always expected her to believe his lies and get away with it using his gentle smile.

Her face was red in anger. Frustrated that she couldn't make that suspicious liquid to leave her body, she punched the tree. The big three shook, and there was a creaking sound. After that, it was split in two.

Iris was alarmed, realizing that she had used too much force. She hurriedly left the place, shifting to her wolf form and dashing through the towering trees.

In case someone found out, that tree, which was now split in two, would surely cause a some commotion. She wasn't keen on showing those people her actual power. Let them continue to regard Selia as the strongest in the pack.

"I want to punch them all!" She growled.

She stopped below another three and slid down there. Running her hand through her long, silky black hair, she let out a sigh. Her body leaned against the tree trunk. The fresh air making her able to relax slightly.

There was no way to find out what those despicable people's actual plan was, and if she stayed as far away as possible from them, she would surely not fall into it, right? Let's just find out what the effect of that liquid was and deal with it.

That was Iris' last thought before she fell asleep. The exhaustion of overthinking, running, and exerting too much energy lulled her to the dreamland.

"It's you..." a man's voice muttered. Her eyes fluttered slightly, but she didn't wake up.

She was too exhausted. When she woke up again, she instantly became alarmed. She found that she was in an unfamiliar environment. Sleepiness was gone, and she became alert of her surroundings.

"Miss, are you awake?" A voice asked. She snapped toward the source.

It was a young girl around her age, someone that she had never seen before in her pack. Had she run so far that she trespassed to another pack's territory?

She erased that thought as soon as she scanned the place she was in. She wasn't out in the open. The tent was so big that she almost mistook it for a small dwelling.

"Who are you?" Her voice was sharp.

Iris was sleeping below a tree, and she would never forget that. She had actually let her guard down that someone could take her away like this. Their intention was also questionable.

The girl seemed a bit stunned, and she quickly recovered her senses.

"Miss, we found you sleeping under a tree earlier and there were some wounds on your hand, so we also bandaged it," she explained. There was hesitation flashing in her eyes. Iris managed to catch that in her expression.

"Who are you?" Iris repeated.

Before the girl could respond, the tent was opened, and a man walked in. Iris' pupil constricted; she felt the man was very strong, stronger than anyone in her pack.

She guessed that those people must be from a large pack. However, there were no large packs around the area, and some packs were only the size and possessed similar power to her pack.

Could it be...?

A slight despair took over her heart. They were building tents and also from a large pack. Most likely, they were the traveling Silver Royal pack members heading to her pack for Selia.

She glanced at the robust figure that was heading toward the two of them. He had such a towering figure that made him look like a giant, and a terrified thought flashed across her mind. He couldn't be Selia's mate, right?

"Miss, you are awake." His voice woke her up. "The young lord is already waiting for you."

Iris almost heaved a sigh of relief before she became tense again.

She tentatively asked. "You know me?"

There was a brief silence. Iris began to wonder whether she had said something wrong. She suddenly became nervous; after all, she wasn't very sure of the relationship between Selia and her mate herself, not to mention people around him.

"Miss Selia might not remember me, but I am one of my lord's guards. My name is Caleb Hector." He said, noticing Iris' nervousness.

"This is my mate, Mary Davis." He continued as he gestured to the girl beside her.

Oh, no wonder he received the news so quickly. Mary must have informed him through their mate bond.

She only entertained the thought briefly before panic gripped her. She subconsciously bit her lips. In order to avoid them, she had stayed far away from the pack. As luck would have it, she stumbled upon them instead.

No wonder they didn't stop her from escaping. Was her pack confident that she wouldn't be able to escape or did they know beforehand this Silver Royal pack's group was heading there? Was it a coincidence that she stumbled upon them?

"Miss, can you follow me?" Mary asked, and Iris realized that Caleb had walked out of the tent.

"S-sure," Iris stuttered slightly before she gave her a forced smile.

Mary looked concerned. "Are you still feeling uncomfortable anywhere, Miss?"

As she glanced at her bandaged hand, Iris went silent. The force she exerted to punch the tree had ruptured her skin, but she was not hurt anywhere else.

"No, no." She shook her head, and there was a slight pause before she unwillingly said, "Please, lead the way."

Iris racked her brain as she followed behind Mary. She really needed to get away before she met the Alpha's son of the Silver Royal pack. She was confident that she was one of the strong werewolves, but seeing this small group, she still wasn't sure she could fight off all of them.

"Um," she then coughed to gain Mary's attention. The girl looked over at her and she began to ask, "Do you have a bathroom?"

Mary thought for a moment before she led her toward the temporary bathroom. Iris followed as she secretly hatched a plan that she would run away after they arrived there. When Mary was the least expecting it, she would dash toward the woods.

Sounds like a plausible plan, right?

It would indeed have been an awesome plan, if not because she didn't look where she was going and tripped over a branch of a tree. Cursing her luck today in her mind, Iris hurriedly struggled to balance herself.

She must have been the most stiff werewolf in the world.

"Watch where you are going, little wolf?" A deep chuckle resounded from in front of her as she bumped into a hard chest.

Iris could feel the dangerous aura that suddenly enveloped the entire area. This kind of threatening presence; strong, evil, and full of oppression. The kind that was impossible to be ignored, even if one wanted to.

At that very moment, she realized that she was doomed.