Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by the King

The first day I was brought back to the royal pack from the countryside.

Valeria Carter’s loyal beta, Juliet Kennedy, slapped me across the face and whispered a warning:

“So what if you’re the Lycan Queen’s daughter? Valeria is still the most respected female in this pack.”

“I’m warning you, don’t even think about competing with her. Stay in your place, and maybe you’ll keep your life.”

Sure, I was a rough-around-the-edges girl from the countryside.

But I wasn’t going to take this lying down.

When someone hit me, my first instinct was to throw myself to the ground and wail:

“Help! Someone’s trying to kill me! Is there no one here to protect the Lycan Princess?”

Juliet was startled and tried to cover my mouth, but I screamed louder, my hands gripping her arm with the strength of someone used to hard labor.

“Murder! There’s a murderer in the pack house!”

The commotion drew the attention of the pack members, and I was rescued.

Juliet was later exiled for assaulting a royal.

That day, Valeria hissed in my ear:

“Don’t think you’ve won.”

“You took one of my betas; I’ll make you pay a hundred times over.”

“With just one word from me, I can have you mated to an Omega—someone broken, someone without a wolf.”

Oh, great.

I’ve always had a thing for underdogs.

...

To comfort me after the ordeal, the Lycan King, my father, gifted me a small wolf pup as a companion.

The pup was pure white and utterly adorable.

I quickly adapted to pack life, even turning the patch of land outside my room into a small garden.

Just as things were settling down, Valeria decided to stir up trouble again.

During a morning pack meeting with the Lycan Queen, she brought up the topic of my mating.

The Lycan Queen, my mother, frowned and said, “Avery has just returned to the pack. I’m not ready to let her go.”

But Valeria insisted, “She’s not getting any younger. If we don’t settle her mating soon, people will start talking.”

She mimicked the gossipers, dramatically recounting the rumors circulating about me.

“A wild girl from the countryside, with no reputation to speak of.”

“Who knows what kind of diseases she might have? She might have even had pups already.”

“Such a crude girl, even if she’s a princess, no decent pack would want her.”

Valeria’s face was alight with glee as she said every cruel thing she could think of.

Under the guise of concern, she humiliated me in front of everyone.

Finally, she looked at me with mock pity:

“Sister, your reputation is in shambles. I doubt any respectable pack would even consider you now.”

She didn’t notice the Lycan Queen’s aura darkening on her throne.

Not long after, my mating was arranged.

The Lycan King himself declared I would be mated to Joseph Montgomery, the son of a prominent Alpha.

I didn’t care much, but Valeria was furious.

She and Joseph had grown