Fiancé Ditched Me, So I Chose a Better Alpha

In order to avenge Lily Bauer, an orphan staying with the Frostfang pack, Ethan Hawkins doesn't show up at the agreed time on the day of our betrothal party.

He only sends his Beta to my door with a message. "Last time, you injured Lily with wolfsbane pollen, humiliating her at the pack gathering. Today is just a lesson. Apologize to Lily and send over the necklace she likes, and then we'll get betrothed."

Overnight, I become the laughingstock of the entire pack.

My brother, Ryan Fuller, says, "Lily just lost her parents. Let her vent her anger. Ethan is meant to be your mate anyway. Delaying your betrothal by a few days is no big deal."

Really? It isn't a big deal?

The Frostfang pack's ancestral token isn't something just anyone can covet.

I turn around and grip the wolf-shaped crest offered by the Blackwood pack. "I accept the Blackwood pack's proposal for a mate alliance."

In the Frostfang pack's banquet hall, candlelight cast a reddish glow on the oak long table.

My fingers were turning white as I clenched the hem of my gown, the embroidered silver threads on the fabric digging painfully into my palms.

According to custom, I should be sitting at the head of the table beside Ethan Hawkins right now, receiving the pack's blessings.

But the other side of the main seat was glaringly empty.

Malcolm Tolliver, the butler, said in a trembling voice, "Ms. Blair, Ethan's Beta is here."

Having served my father for many years and watched me grow up, Malcolm's eyes were now filled with pity.

When I looked up, Ethan's Beta, Travis Mercer, had already stepped through the door. A silver emblem of the Bonevein pack was pinned to his suit lapel. The wolf's head on that emblem was something Ethan had personally shown me last year.

"This will be your emblem too from now on," he had said in a tone soft enough to melt, while his fingertips brushed against my earlobe.

Now, he wouldn't even look me in the eye.

Travis pulled a neatly folded paper from his briefcase and slapped it on the table. "Our Alpha says the betrothal party today is canceled."

With a collective gasp, discussions erupted throughout the hall.

A female guest's voice was the loudest. "Canceled? But the time has come. Is he making a fool of the Frostfang pack?"

Her mate chimed in from beside her. "Isn't it because of Lily Bauer? Yesterday, I saw Ethan buying strawberry pastries for her. He queued for half an hour!"

The tips of my ears burned.

A werewolf's sense of smell was three times sharper than a human's. I had already smelled the sweet scent of strawberry pastries on Travis, but I just didn't want to believe it.

My fingertips pressed against the paper, the inked words feeling harsh beneath them. I said hoarsely, "And the reason?"

"Ms. Lily injured her arm with wolfsbane pollen last Monday," Travis replied, pulling out a pink-and-white box. "The