The Crippled Alpha's Secret Wolfless Bride

Elise POV:

I was reborn. I had returned to the day I was sold to Blood River Pack as a sacrificial bride.

I gasped, my lungs burning as if the freezing snow of the northern wasteland were still choking my throat.

My fingers clawed into the sheets, tangling in smooth, heavy silk instead of frozen dirt.

The scent of rich cedar, aged whiskey, and the sharp, suffocating dominance of an apex Alpha hit my senses.

Above me hung a crystal chandelier, casting pale amber light across an enormous penthouse master bedroom.

I was alive.

The heavy thud of rubber and metal rolling across the thick rug outside the doorway made my stomach drop into an icy pit.

Every terrifying rumor about Blaine Wells rushed through my mind-the crippled Alpha, the scarred tyrant whose silver-burned flesh had driven him insane, the beast who murdered every woman sent to his suite.

The double mahogany doors swung open.

Cold air from the corridor swept in, outlining the massive, imposing figure sitting in a motorized wheelchair.

I forced my trembling legs over the edge of the mattress, my bare feet hitting the polished hardwood floor as I stood upright against the bedpost.

Blaine rolled into the center of the room.

The left side of his face was covered by jagged, darkened silver-burn scars that stretched from his temple down past his jawline, a brutal reminder of the silver weapons that had crippled his pack's defenses three years ago.

Yet his amber eyes, glowing like molten gold under the dim lights, pinned me where I stood.

In werewolf society, an Alpha's Command carries absolute genetic authority over every lower rank, and even without uttering a word, the sheer weight of his Lycan aura made the air feel like lead.

I did not scream.

I did not cower.

I took a slow breath, smoothed the lace of my wedding gown, and lowered myself into a flawless, unhurried curtsy.

"Good evening, Alpha."

His dark eyebrows pulled together, a low growl rumbling deep in his chest.

"The Glenn family sent me a wolfless runt, yet you carry yourself like you have a spine."

Before I could reply, his hand shot out with terrifying speed, his cold, calloused fingers clamping around my jaw.

His grip was steel, pressing hard enough to bruise the bone, forcing my chin upward.

I stared straight into his molten eyes, keeping my pulse steady even as my skin burned where his rough knuckles touched my throat.

"You think playing the obedient little doll will keep you breathing until sunrise?" he sneered, leaning closer so his cedar scent enveloped me completely.

"I only want to survive," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, but steady and clear. "And keeping me alive is far more useful to you than a corpse."

His eyes narrowed dangerously, his thumb pressing harder into the curve of my jaw as if debating whether to snap my neck on the spot.

A sharp knock at the heavy door shattered the silence.

Blaine released me instantly.

I stumbled back a step, catching myself against the bedpost, drawing air back into my starved lungs.

"Alpha," a young maid in uniform whispered from the doorway, her head bowed in terror. "The arrangements are set."

"Ruby," Blaine commanded, his tone dropping to absolute zero as he spun his wheelchair around. "Take her to the adjoining guest suite."

The maid hurried forward, avoiding Blaine's gaze completely. "Luna, please follow me."

I straightened my torn lace gown and followed Ruby into the hallway.

The cool night breeze blowing through the corridor vents cleared the adrenaline from my head.

I had survived the first hour.

Ruby escorted me into the spacious guest room, bowed nervously, and pulled the door shut, locking it from the outside with a muffled click.

I walked to the floor-to-ceiling glass wall, looking out over the glittering skyline of Blood River Pack's corporate metropolis.

Down in the streets, high-end armored cars patrolled the territory borders.

The Glenn family thought they had thrown away a useless Wolfless daughter to be slaughtered by a monster.

They had stripped me of my research, stolen my healing potions, and handed all the glory to my sister, Arleth.

They had no idea that I had returned with every memory of my past life intact.

I turned toward the en-suite bathroom, turned on the cold tap, and splashed water over my face.

The mirror showed pale skin, dark circles, and eyes burning with cold vengeance.

My neck bore no bite mark; I was unmarked and unbroken.

Blaine was not a helpless cripple.

The lethal power in his grip proved his wolf was anything but dead.

If I used my ancestral herbal knowledge to purge the silver poison from his veins, I could turn this monster into my greatest shield.

Blaine POV:

I sat alone in my dim study, rolling an empty silver bullet casing between my long fingers.

The casing clicked against the dark mahogany desk.

The Glenn family was arrogant enough to believe they could insult me by sending a Wolfless girl with no inner beast.

Yet when I gripped her throat, she did not flinch.

Her scent had lingered on my fingers for several seconds-a faint, distinct trace of crisp winter pine and rare medicinal herbs that made my inner beast stir in the back of my mind.

That scent felt impossibly familiar.

It dragged my thoughts back three years, to the blizzard in the northern ruins where a nameless girl had dragged silver shrapnel from my shredded chest.

I slammed the silver casing onto the desk.

Pressing the intercom button, I spoke into the encrypted channel.

"Caleb, pull every file on Elise Glenn. Every medical record, every outpost deployment from the past three years. Bring it to me by morning."