His Unwanted Luna: Revenge Of The Crippled Bride

Elena POV:

"A wolfless cripple? I'd sooner marry a corpse than make her my Luna!"

Kade Warren deliberately raised his voice, making sure every noble in the Silver Hall-and especially the pack members and wealthy young nobles gathered around him heard every word.

His friends and followers burst into laughter, eagerly joining in his public humiliation of me.

I dragged my stiff left leg toward the altar, every step sending agony through the shattered bones beneath my silk skirt. Hundreds of eyes followed me, some mocking, others openly disgusted. Not one person offered to help. They had come to watch me humiliate myself, and my fiancé was making sure they got their money's worth.

Moonlight caught Kade's pale blond hair, but his murky gray-brown eyes held nothing but contempt. As the future Alpha of the powerful Warren Pack, he made no effort to hide his disgust.

"The Rich family must be insane," a noblewoman whispered behind her feathered fan, loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Sending a wolfless cripple to form an alliance!"

In our kingdom, any werewolf who failed to awaken their Inner Wolf by eighteen was branded wolfless-unable to shift or use the mind-link, condemned to be treated as an ill omen.

A warrior knight sneered. "How could Young Master Kade accept such a useless Luna?"

Wolfless. Cripple. Disgrace. The insults followed me up the steps. In their eyes, I wasn't a noblewoman. I was a defective bargain the Rich family had failed to unload.

My biological father, Pack Alpha Burdell Rich, sat upon the high lord's throne. He should have silenced them. Instead, he avoided my eyes and swallowed his wine.

Beside him, my stepmother, Concetta Rich, twirled a blood-red stone ring around her scarlet-painted finger. Her smug smile told me everything. My humiliation was entertainment to her.

Swallowing the pain in my knee, I reached the altar and raised my right hand, following the ancient royal etiquette. Kade was supposed to clasp it, test our spiritual bond, and complete the final marking.

He didn't move.

"Do you really think I'd entrust the future of the Warren Pack to trash without a wolf soul?"

My hand remained suspended between us. He wouldn't even touch me.

With a look of utter disdain, Kade finally delivered the words he had clearly been waiting to say.

"I, Kade Warren, reject you, Elena Rich, as my mate!"

Kade's rejection took effect, and an invisible force slammed into my chest. Our spiritual bond snapped, sending a violent shockwave through my body. Pain exploded behind my ribs, and something deep within my mind suddenly shattered.

Then, memories came flooding back.

Three days ago, after enduring brutal torture, my body had fallen into a deathlike state. At the brink of death, my soul had somehow been pulled into an entirely different world-a vast interstellar civilization beyond anything imaginable in this kingdom.

While my body remained here, I had lived another lifetime among the stars. Time flowed differently there, allowing me to spend years studying and mastering countless disciplines, from medicine and forensic science to human anatomy and advanced technology.

But that second life had ended in a catastrophic accident. After my death, my soul had somehow returned to my original body. Yet the memories and experiences I had gained among the stars remained sealed deep within my consciousness.

Until now.

The violent shock of Kade's rejection, combined with the humiliation he had inflicted upon me before the entire hall, finally shattered that seal. Every memory, every skill, and every fragment of knowledge from my life among the stars came rushing back.

I was Elena Rich. I had always been Elena Rich. But now, I carried the knowledge and abilities of an entirely different world.

And finally, I was fully awake.

My fingers dug into the carved stone altar to keep me upright.

I had no idea why fate had sent my soul across two worlds, or why I had been given a second chance after two brushes with death. But one thing was certain: I wouldn't waste it. I certainly wouldn't beg a man like Kade Warren to love me.

I brushed my fingertips over the silk covering my mangled left leg and met his gaze.

"Trash?" My voice was cold and steady. "A comminuted fracture of the left tibial shaft, with fang-inflicted lacerations at a thirty-seven-degree angle. Kade, have you forgotten how I got this scar? I took the hit from that rampaging silver wolf to save someone else."

The color drained from his face. A low, restless growl rumbled deep in his throat as his Inner Wolf paced in agitation. His gaze darted away from mine.

He remembered. He knew perfectly well that I had shattered my leg saving him from that rampaging silver wolf.

Back then, he'd promised to make things right. Instead, he'd abandoned me to suffer with a crippled leg.

And now, the very man who owed me his life was standing before an entire hall of nobles, using my disability to humiliate me and justify breaking our engagement.

To hide his panic, Kade kicked the silver incense burner. It crashed down the steps, scattering burning ash across my path.

Gasps rippled through the hall. Hundreds of eyes waited for me to break.

"A cripple who can only crawl in the mud doesn't deserve to stand beside me," he spat.

Cold sweat dampened the back of my dress, but I drew a slow breath and held his gaze without blinking. He would get no tears from me.

Kade spun toward the throne. "Lord Burdell! The Warren Pack refuses to marry a cripple. I demand a bride swap!"

Burdell jerked, spilling red wine over his embroidered robes. "S-swap for whom?"

Kade pointed toward the velvet curtains.

"I will marry Carmen Rich! She is the only true Luna worthy of me!"

The hall erupted in whispers. My fiancé had rejected me in front of everyone and now demanded my younger half-sister as my replacement, as if I were nothing more than a broken contract.

Carmen was Concetta's biological daughter. Although we shared the same father, she had always been the pampered darling of the Rich family, while I was treated like an unwanted reminder of my dead mother.

Concetta sprang to her feet, pressing a hand to her chest in an exaggerated gasp. Greed gleamed in her narrow brown eyes.

"Oh heavens! Carmen is Elena's younger sister!"

Her feigned shock couldn't hide the triumph in her eyes. The woman who should have protected me was already imagining her daughter wearing my crown.

Around us, the nobles murmured. Kade unleashed a wave of Alpha aura toward Burdell, pressuring my cowardly father to make a choice, while Concetta whispered urgently in his ear.

I shifted my weight, using basic orthopedic principles to ease the pressure on my twisted knee. Then I straightened my spine, forcing my injured leg to bear just enough weight to keep me standing tall.

I looked directly into Kade's eyes.

"I, Elena Rich, accept your rejection."

Kade froze, clearly expecting tears, pleading, anything but my calm acceptance.

The crowd fell into stunned silence. They had expected me to crumble. Instead, I stood tall.

I turned away from Kade and faced my father and stepmother.

"Father. Stepmother. Do you truly believe letting an outsider trample our family laws at the sacred altar will buy you peace?"

Elena POV:

My question echoed off the vaulted ceiling of the Silver Hall, making Burdell squirm in his carved throne as the nobles whispered among themselves.

Seeing that I remained completely composed instead of weeping on the floor, Kade's jaw tightened. He took another heavy step forward, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword.

"Lord Burdell!" Kade barked, his voice dripping with threat. "Either Carmen takes her place at this altar today, or the Warren Pack tears up every trade and military treaty with the Rich Pack!"

Up on the dais, Concetta caught the eye of Elder Beatrice, the robed priestess officiating the ceremony, and gave her a subtle nod.

Elder Beatrice stepped forward and slammed the iron base of her ceremonial staff against the flagstones. The dull thud silenced the hall as she used her religious rank to suppress the crowd.

"My Lord Alpha," Elder Beatrice intoned, her face a mask of pious authority. "The Moon Goddess witnesses all unions. Since a rift has appeared in this bond, following the young Alpha's will to change the bride is the only righteous path to preserve peace between both packs."

I turned my head toward the old woman who had clearly pocketed my stepmother's gold, letting a cold sneer settle on my lips.

"Following his will?" I asked aloud. "Using betrayal and scheming to soil a sacred vow-Elder Beatrice, when did your holy staff become a tool for backroom deals?"

Stripped of her righteous mask in front of hundreds of nobles, Elder Beatrice's wrinkled face turned beet red. She raised a trembling finger and pointed her staff at my nose.

"Insolent whelp! How dare a wolfless cripple question the judgment of an Elder of the Moon!"

To crush my defiance once and for all, Kade unleashed the full weight of his high-ranking Alpha aura. In werewolf society, an Alpha's spiritual pressure was a genetic weapon meant to force lower-ranking wolves into physical submission.

The invisible storm slammed into the altar area. Three low-ranking servants near the pillars gasped for air, clutching their chests as their knees buckled, dropping them onto the cold stone with muffled groans.

"Kneel and learn your lowly place!" Kade snarled through clenched teeth, pouring his spiritual power directly onto my shoulders.

A dull ache flared inside the bone crevices of my broken left knee as the damaged nerves screamed under the heavy air.

The knowledge I had regained from my years in the interstellar world allowed me to understand exactly how my body responded to the pressure. I drew a slow breath and adjusted my posture, shifting my center of gravity to reduce the strain on my injured leg. I used the arch of my right foot and the support of my left heel to stabilize my stance, carefully aligning my joints to keep my body upright.

I wasn't immune to his Alpha aura. Without an Inner Wolf, I had no natural defense against it. But I knew how to make the most of the body I had.

My knees didn't bend a single millimeter. I lifted my chin and looked down at Kade's contorted face as if examining a specimen on a metal tray.

"You think this weak, hollow pressure is enough to make me bow my head?" I let out a dry laugh.

Kade's pupils shrank to pinpricks. It looked like he couldn't comprehend how a defective girl without an Inner Wolf could stand her ground under his direct Alpha Command.

Yet the threat of losing the Warren alliance was enough to break the man on the throne. Burdell's eyes darted wildly across the hall, panic washing over his fleshy face at the thought of losing his military backing.

Concetta seized the moment, leaning her soft body against Burdell's arm and speaking in a syrupy voice.

"My Lord Alpha, think of the pack's survival. Carmen is loved by all. Swapping the bride is the only way to save both families."

Burdell wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, his shifting eyes settling into a look of cowardly compromise as he opened his mouth to agree.

Watching my father prepare to sell me out for his own comfort, I reached inside my wide sleeve, my fingers brushing a roll of parchment as I prepared to demand a price they could never afford.

Elena POV:

Under the watchful eyes of the entire hall, Burdell pushed himself up from the throne, cleared his throat, and puffed out his chest to mimic the dignity of a ruler.

"For the sake of our two packs' friendship and the greater good," Burdell announced loudly, "as Pack Alpha, I formally agree to the bride swap! Carmen shall take over this marriage contract!"

The instant the words left his mouth, a flash of pure triumph lit up Concetta's narrow eyes, while Kade crossed his arms with a victorious smirk.

Low murmurs swept through the guests. Several nobles cast pitying glances my way, while others watched with undisguised amusement, waiting to see how an abandoned daughter would survive being cast aside.

I didn't shed a tear. Instead, I took a calm step forward toward the high dais, my clear voice cutting straight through the noisy chatter.

"Since the Pack Alpha has decided to change the bride, then according to the Moon Goddess Law and the royal inheritance statutes, the one million gold coins from my late mother Emmalee's dowry must be returned to me in full right now."

The money was never part of the Rich Pack's public treasury. My mother had brought it from the French Duchy as an independent noblewoman, and before her death, she had legally designated me as its sole heir. It was my inheritance, not an asset my father could hand over to another bride.

Dead silence dropped over the Silver Hall. I could hear the sharp intakes of breath from the front row of nobles.

The smug smile froze on Burdell's face, his neatly trimmed goatee trembling violently.

"W-what did you just say?"

Concetta bolted upright from her chair, the blood draining from her cheeks as she shrieked at the top of her lungs.

"Absurd! That money became pack public property years ago! How dare you demand to take it away?"

I let out a cold laugh, turning slightly so the entire hall of aristocrats could hear every word.

"Public property? My mother brought that wealth from the French Duchy as an independent noblewoman, protected by royal statute. When did her private inheritance become pocket money for you two to squander?"

Without pausing, I pointed a finger straight at Concetta's pale face.

"You orchestrated this bride swap today not just to steal my fiancé, but to quietly transfer my dead mother's one-million-gold dowry under your own daughter's name!"

An uproar broke out among the guests. Nobles who had been smiling politely a moment ago now looked at Burdell and Concetta with open disgust, whispering behind their hands about the shameful theft of a deceased Luna's estate.

Beside the altar, Kade's brows knitted tightly together. His jaw clenched as the whispers of greed and theft tarnished what was supposed to be his glorious wedding day.

Up on the throne, Burdell slammed his palm against the oak table, his face flushing purple with rage.

"Shut your mouth! Pack finances are not for a cripple like you to slander in public!"

Calmly, I pulled the yellowed sheepskin scroll from my sleeve and held it high above my head. It was the royal notarized inheritance record and inventory of my mother's dowry, which I had brought to the ceremony as proof of ownership. At the bottom of the parchment, the dark gold wax seal of the Royal Notary gleamed brightly under the chandelier's candlelight.

"The royal notarized inventory is right here in my hand!" My voice rang out like iron striking stone. "If a single copper coin is missing today, I will take this scroll to the capital and ring the Bell of Justice at the Royal Tribunal myself!"

Under royal law, neither the Pack Alpha nor the pack council had the authority to seize or transfer a legally registered inheritance. And with the original marriage contract now broken, there was no lawful basis for retaining my mother's dowry or transferring it to Carmen.

At the sight of the royal dragon-wolf emblem, Burdell's knees gave out, and he dropped heavily back into his throne, his chest heaving. Across the hall, aristocrats craned their necks to stare at the undeniable legal proof.

Concetta bit her lower lip until it turned white, her eyes fixed on the parchment in my hand with pure venom as the grand ceremony turned into a public trial of their greed.