Moonchild

The Discarded Heiress: Marrying My Lethal Husband

Xiao Wang

The rain in Detroit was slick with grime when my family finally came to fetch me. They didn't want a reunion; they wanted a sacrificial lamb to marry into the Kaufman empire to save their failing business. I thought I was just being sold off, but the limo ride ended under a dark overpass where six hired thugs were waiting with chains. My own sister had ordered them to "break my spirit" so I’d be a shaking, pathetic mess by the time I reached the altar. They called me "Detroit trash" and sprayed air freshener when I sat on their leather seats. My stepmother wanted a video of me begging for my life, and my father was ready to trade me like a used car to a man everyone called a "vegetable." They expected a submissive country girl, unaware that I was a high-level "cleaner" who could snap a radius bone before they could even scream. When I finally reached the Kaufman estate, I found my fiancé, Barron, slumped in a wheelchair, drooling and silent. But as soon as the doors closed, the "invalid" grabbed my wrist with a grip of iron and whispered a command that changed everything. I didn't understand why my own blood was so desperate to see me destroyed. What had I ever done to deserve a hit squad and a forced marriage to a man they thought was a corpse? But Barron isn't a vegetable, and I'm not a victim. We just touched down at the Moon family gala in a matte-black helicopter, and as the doors slide open, the "broken" bride is about to show them exactly what happens when you throw away the wrong daughter. "If we're going to crash a party," Barron whispered, his eyes burning with lethal clarity, "we should make an entrance."

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Elvira

I gasped for air, my throat burning as if I'd been screaming for hours. My wrists ached, the sharp bite of metal digging into my skin. I tried to move, but the clinking of chains told me I was trapped.

Where am I? It was dark, cold and suffocating.

The air smelled damp, like decay. My heartbeat pounded in my ears as I struggled to piece together my last memory. Wolfbane.....I had been sent to Elder Marwen's hut to retrieve the sacred vial that would seal my mate bond with Alpha Deric of Shadowfang Pack. I remembered the excitement thrumming in my veins, Deric and I had exchanged letters for months, planning this day.

My eighteenth birthday. The day I would finally meet my mate. But I never made it back.

I clenched my fists, wincing at the sting of cuts and bruises. My body ached, throbbing with pain I couldn't remember earning. Something wasn't right. How did I end up here? Suddenly, I heard muffled voices above me. The steady sound of a crowd. A ceremony.

My blood ran cold. A pack gathering? But why? I strained to listen, my body frozen in fear. Then, a familiar voice echoed through a microphone, clear and triumphant.

Felen, my stepmother.

"Tonight, we celebrate the sacred union between Shadowfang Pack and Bloodmoon Pack! A bond sealed by the Moon Goddess herself. Let us welcome Elyra to the stage!"

My breath caught in my throat. No. That wasn't my name.

I struggled against the chains, my pulse hammering. Someone else was taking my place. Someone was pretending to be me.

"NO!" I tried to scream, but my voice was weak, barely audible. My throat was raw, my body too battered to fight.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to hold back the panic climbing its way up my chest. How? How did this happen? Tears burned the back of my eyes as another name was called.

"Alpha Deric!"

A roar of approval followed. The mate bond flared inside me, hot and stinging, only to be replaced by a searing agony that shattered through my soul. My mate was bonding with someone else. The connection was breaking. My body convulsed, my bones aching as if they were about to snap under the weight of betrayal.

And still, no one heard me. I bit my lip to keep from screaming, but the pain was unbearable. Every second felt like my soul was being ripped from my body. I wasn't just forgotten; someone trapped me here to take my place.

Twelve Hours Ago.....

"Please, can I send Martha instead? The tailor called me earlier for the final fitting," I asked, keeping my voice careful, measured.

Felen stilled, then slowly lifted her gaze to me.

"Say that again," she murmured.

I hesitated. "I'm sorry-I just thought-"

Her hand shot out, grabbing my chin, forcing me to look at her. Her nails bit into my skin.

"You thought?" she repeated, her voice steel. "And who told you you were even allowed to question me, Elvira?"

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