Micheal's Pov
THE PRESENT
As I arrived at the auction, I only had one option: to destroy the place—the Black Market.
The fact that in our realm, which was far more modernized than humans, they still practiced such a ridiculous culture within the lycanthrope aristocrats was just baffling.
If not for the fact that I had once been one of their slaves, I never would have known of the existence of such atrocity.
Which was why, the moment I became Alpha of the Dark Wolves, my first purpose was to destroy every form of trafficking.
It took me years of plotting, but soon I saved more than hundreds of werewolves—enough to form my own pack of loyal lycans.
I also managed to tame a few rogue packs, making them bow to me and turning them into soldiers. That was how I could break out of the Alpha King's thumb.
He was happily married now, to a woman who bore an awful resemblance to my mate and yet was completely different.
That day when my mate died…
I couldn't take her body.
Swarms of assassins were suddenly after her body, and I had to run away or be killed.
Did I feel guilt for letting her die?
Not even a little.
In fact, as much as it pains me to say, I felt thrilled when I held her breathless in my arms.
Now, that doesn't mean her killer had to go free. I have been doing my investigations, but the murderer must be someone of great power, capable of covering it up so well that they even formed a rumor that the Queen's twin sister was ill, mentally and physically, and had been kept in seclusion for the past one year.
The exact amount of time the real Alpha Queen Eren had been dead.
The scariest part was that I attended her wedding, and I could swear the woman in the dress was not my mate.
I sat there and watched her walk down the aisle. She didn't sense my presence.
Neither could I sense hers.
Yet somehow, she had my mate's face, my mate's body. That's when I realized that my mate had a twin sister.
I returned to the kingdom a couple of months later with a jaw-dropping one thousand werewolves at my command.
It was then that the Alpha King Matthew crowned me Alpha of the Dark Wolves.
It was there I met her again.
She had even taken her name, Eren.
I took her hand and kissed it. She didn't recognize me.
This woman was an imposter, but she seemed far too kind to be capable of something as cruel as murder.
If anything, she looked terribly pale and starved. Like she was abused, only I could see no scars or bruises to prove it, as every inch of her skin was covered.
Which mounted my suspicion.
Alpha Queen Eren, the real one, was quite capable of murder as she had led an army to war. She was no gentle, soft-spoken, or frail being.
This fragile being before me, however, was nothing like the cruel, proud, pompous princess who had rejected me.
There was every possibility she wasn't the actual villain in the story.
Something was missing. Before I left the Lunar Kingdom, I ventured to see the so-called ill twin sister, Eldora.
That confirmed my suspicion, as I snuck through her window, her room was heavily guarded that night.
Servants went in and out of the room with trays. A figure lay in bed, but when I looked at it, it was nothing more than a porcelain doll.
A means to deceive the people.
It's been a year since I visited that place. Further investigation proved what exactly occurred on that day and how long this plot had been perfected. Who was the true mastermind?
I sighed. The further I dug, the more dangerous it became. Connections leading up to the emperor made me halt my investigation. I didn't have that extent of power—yet.
They handed me a mask at the door of the establishment, which looked nothing more than an ordinary bar. Though the décor of the inside was like that of a theater or a circus.
In this room sat people of different calibers, all indicating their ranks by the seat they were appointed.
I took my seat in the far back corner, even though I was a Platinum. Mostly because being in the shadows would help me observe and identify some of the participants.
I looked for obvious house symbols, watches, signet rings, lockets.
It seemed most of the people here didn't wear those, as their identities were kept extremely anonymous. Not surprising. It would just make this job extremely difficult. I sighed as the auctioneer began to speak.
"Let the auction begin!" he announced, pulling a red curtain off—and my heart stopped.
There she was.
Every muscle in my body throbbed for her. The bond was so strong that even her rejection wouldn't let me turn my back on her.
I was yet to see her face, but I'd recognize the gold of her hair anywhere, the shade of her flesh, and the sound of her breath.
She left me breathless in ways I could not explain.
This was why there was never a tomb. This was why I never found her body.
Because my mate was alive, and my wolf howled with joy. The sound of their bidding was a distant hum in my eardrums, which pounded with blood.
She turned, and our eyes met in an earth-shattering moment. No sea, no sky could rival those lovely gems.
I heard her heart race.
I heard her wolf call to me, weakly. She was hurt. Again, she turned her face away from me, and my heart wrenched with pain in remembrance of her cruel rejection.
I frowned, and my fists clenched, as the emotion turned into something stronger and sourer than the sweetness of a mate bond.
What I felt for her in that moment, as she refused to acknowledge me for the second time…
Was deep HATRED.
I wanted her to feel the pain of my rejection.
So I raised up my paddle.
"One million wolf gold!" the auctioneer exclaimed in shock.
What had she said to me that day?
You are not worthy of me.
I froze. Oh, but she was very worth it.
Her eyes widened in horror, and it satisfied me even more.
You will soon find out.
How does it feel to be at the mercy of the one you rejected, Alpha Queen Eren?