Unwanted By The Alpha Heir, Marked By The Northern King

Elois POV:

"Elois, the Crown is rewarding your mother's massive donation with a noble title, and I need you to voluntarily step aside and let Carson have it."

Alston's words shattered the romantic atmosphere of his private greenhouse in an instant.

We had been courting for two years. I had been certain this was the moment he would finally propose.

My smile froze, the warmth draining from my face.

My chest tightened with a profound sense of irony. My inner wolf whimpered in confusion before baring her teeth in sudden realization. Over the past two years, I had showered him with the finest treasures from the Lara Consortium, funding his lavish banquets and political bribes. My mother had donated that massive fortune purely to help him build a benevolent reputation before the King. Otherwise, why would we settle for a mere hereditary title as a reward? Moreover, he knew exactly that I desperately needed that title to wash away my lowly merchant background so I could finally marry him and become his Luna. It was supposed to be our future. Yet, it turned out this hypocrite never once intended to make me his Luna. He actually wanted to keep me as a secondary mate, forever bowing my head to another woman.

"And you want to give my reward to my cousin?" I whispered, my voice trembling, my inner wolf pacing furiously against her cage as I tried to hide the absolute disgust bubbling in my throat.

"Your family has already agreed to this arrangement," Alston said, offering a hypocritical, soothing smile as he poured a cup of Earl Grey tea. "After all, you and Carson are sisters from the same family. Whoever gets the hereditary noble title, it brings glory to the Rowe Pack all the same. Carson is such a sweet, innocent girl. She even said she did not want to cause a rift between sisters over this small matter and offered to let you have it. But how could I let her suffer? You are the older one, Elois. You should be sensible and not fight with your younger sister over such a vain title."

A bitter laugh echoed in my mind. How ridiculous. A group of thieves stealing my belongings with such self-righteousness, and Carson, that shameless bitch, playing the generous martyr after snatching what was rightfully mine. She had always been jealous of me, and now she was using my own mother's charity to steal the man I loved.

All the love I ever felt for him withered and died in that single, horrifying moment. I looked at his handsome face and saw a greedy, calculating stranger. He was too weak to claim his throne on his own merit, needing my mother's money and my uncle's name to secure his path. He was not a king, just a beggar in a prince's clothing, pocketing charity meant for the starving.

I realized that arguing with this hypocrite was utterly pointless. Any tear shed here would only feed his bloated ego. I forced my inner wolf into submission, swallowed the bile in my throat, and forced a perfect, icy smile onto my face. I took a step back, the fabric of my silk dress rustling softly, and offered a flawless, submissive curtsy.

"As you wish, Alston," I said softly, my voice betraying none of the absolute rage boiling inside me.

Without another glance, I turned my back on him and walked away, my spine rigid, my head held high. Each step was a silent declaration of war.

He did not follow. I heard him sigh with deep relief and satisfaction, accompanied by the soft clink of his teacup against the saucer.

"Timothy," I heard him call out to his aide, his voice returning to its smug, arrogant command. "Go and inform Miss Carson that everything is settled."

"My lord, is Miss Elois angry?" Timothy asked hesitantly.

Alston laughed, a brittle sound full of arrogant delusion, releasing a faint wave of his Alpha aura to assert his dominance. "Angry? Elois has loved me for years. She has given so much for me. How could she possibly bear to be angry with me? She knows her place. She will come around soon enough."

As I stepped out of the greenhouse, the bright sunlight was blinding. It stung my eyes, but I refused to let a single tear fall. The pain in my chest was a living thing, a coiled serpent of fury. He thought he was dealing with a lovesick girl. He had just made the biggest mistake of his life.

"My lady," my maid Gwyneth whispered anxiously as I approached my waiting carriage. "Are you truly going to be his secondary mate?"

A cold, ruthless sneer escaped my lips, my amber eyes flashing with a dangerous light. "Secondary mate? I have spent a fortune feeding a pack of ungrateful wolves, and now they want to suck my blood dry to nourish someone else? There is no such good deed in this world. They are about to learn what happens when you cross the Lara Consortium."