Fated To The Cruel Shadow King

NERISSA

“Elara!” My voice echoed down the empty corridor as I searched for my sister, my chest tightening with dread.

Sweat beaded my forehead as I walked around.

Of all days for her to disappear, it had to be today, her wedding day. As I reached her suite, I stopped on the spot.

A sign of do not disturb hanging on the door. A careless mark I knew all too well.

The sight twisted my stomach as unease pooled in the pit of my stomach. I reached for the door, the unsettling scent of lavender lingering in the air, a scent I knew belonged to him.

Hands trembling, I twisted the doorknob, but it was locked.

Ignoring the unease spreading through my chest, I slipped a pin from my hair and picked the lock, my heart pounding as I turned the handle and pushed the door open.

The scene that greeted me nearly knocked the air from my lungs.

There, on the bed, sat Elara, wrapped in nothing but a white sheet, her makeup smudged, hair tangled. Her head snapped up, eyes widening in shock before she covered her mouth, running to the bathroom to retch.

But I couldn’t move.

The scent in the room was overwhelming, pressing in on me like a dark, unescapable wave.

My wolf clawed at me, urging me to look around, to find the source of the smell, but I already knew.

I didn’t need to see him. I didn't want to see him.

My eyes burned with tears as I looked at the floor as if it was my enemy.

A deep voice broke the silence, filled with regret I didn’t want to hear.

“Nerissa…”

It was Theron.

The sound of my own name from his lips felt like a knife twisting into my chest.

“No… please, no,” I whispered, swallowing back the bile rising in my throat.

I tried to look away, to close my eyes, to wake up from this nightmare, but I couldn’t move.

He took a step toward me, reaching out to grab my arm, and I flinched at his touch. “Nerissa, let me explain,” he murmured, his voice soft, pleading.

I wrenched my arm away, every part of me screaming to run.

“Explain what, Theron? That you were with her?”

“It’s not what you think,” he whispered, pain flickering across his face, though I couldn’t tell if it was real or just for show. “Elara… she came onto me, Nerissa. She… seduced me.”

A bitter laugh tore from my lips, but I hardly recognized the sound. I stepped forward, giving him a resounding slap. “Seduced you? I am your mate, Theron. How can you be so easily seduced? You’ve been… with her, haven’t you? How long?” My voice broke, and I hated how fragile it sounded.

He dropped his head, eyes filled with something that might have been shame. “A few months. But I didn’t want this! I wanted you—”

“Then why?” I nearly choked, stepping back, the reality sinking in like ice. “Why her? Why Elara?”

“Because she was there!” he shouted, voice desperate as he grabbed my hand again. “I thought you didn’t want me, Nerissa. I thought… I thought I’d lost you.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Because you lost the baby, Nerissa. You lost the baby…and…you changed…I…I was hurt and depressed and…found an outlet which turned out to be…” he gulped.

I looked at him through the tears in my eyes. My mate. The man I had loved since childhood had…had left me because…I was sad over the death of our child.

The bathroom door swung open, and Elara leaned against the frame, a cold smile playing on her lips as she looked between us. “Oh, dearest poor sister,” she said in a sweet, mocking tone. “Happy birthday, by the way.”

Her words hit me like a slap.

She had remembered my birthday, and somehow that made everything worse. My heart twisted painfully as I looked at her, the sister I had once admired. “Why, Elara? How could you do this?”

She shrugged, a hint of satisfaction in her gaze. “Why not? He was willing, Nerissa. And let’s be honest—he didn’t exactly want you.”

I staggered back, feeling the walls close in around me. “You… You were supposed to marry Alpha Lucian,” I managed, though my voice sounded hollow. “You were meant to form an alliance, to protect our pack.”

Elara sneered, rolling her eyes. “Marry him? That beast? I would rather die than be shackled to a scarred, emotionless brute. No, Theron here is much more to my taste.”

Theron’s face paled as he glanced at her, an unspoken question in his eyes. “Elara… you don’t mean that,” he murmured, his voice shaking.

“Oh, don’t look so wounded, Theron. This was never about love.” She crossed her arms, a cruel smile tugging at her lips. “We both knew what this was.”

A flash of hurt crossed his face, and in that moment, I saw the truth, the way he had been nothing more than a tool to her, a means to an end.

But it was too late; the damage was done, and my heart lay in pieces on the floor.

“I can’t… I can’t stay here.” I turned on my heel, needing to escape the suffocating smell, the stifling silence that followed me out of the room.

Theron’s voice followed, filled with a desperation I almost pitied. “Nerissa, please… listen. I wanted you, I swear. I just… I made a mistake.”

“A mistake?” I stopped, my voice cold. “No, Theron. A mistake is something you regret, something you don’t repeat. But this? You chose her, over and over again.”

He didn’t move, his face etched with something that might have been sorrow, but I didn’t care. All the love, all the trust I had once felt for him was slipping away, leaving only a hollow ache that I knew would never fully heal.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, as if those words could change anything.

But I didn’t answer. I kept walking, willing myself to stay strong as I pushed open the door and stepped into the hallway, barely able to breathe.

Then, as I took a shaky step toward the grand ballroom, my father’s voice filled my mind.

—Nerissa, find Elara, now. She needs to be at the altar in minutes.—

I bit back a sob, not even bothering to respond. If only he knew, I thought bitterly. But it didn’t matter. I knew my place, my role as the obedient daughter, the unseen shadow of this family.

Just then, footsteps echoed behind me, and I turned to see Elara strolling down the hall, a smirk on her face, her gaze filled with satisfaction. “I hope you enjoy the ceremony,” she said, her voice dripping with mocking sweetness. “After all, it’ll be you at the altar, not me. Father agreed you’d make a perfect stand-in.”

My blood ran cold. “What are you talking about?”

She sighed, feigning disappointment. “Lucian wanted a bride today, and since I have more… pressing matters at the pack, I’m sure you’ll do nicely.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but she raised a hand to silence me. “Besides,” she continued, “someone needs to inform him of the little change of plans. And who better than my dear, weak sister?”

My throat tightened, my hands clenching at my sides as I stared at her.

“You… you knew,” I whispered, horror dawning in my voice. “You knew what this would do to me. He would kill me. He hates lies. He hates deceivers. He's cruel. Please…Elara.”

She shrugged, her smile never faltering. “Weak pleases doesn't work for me. You should know that by now. Go on, Nerissa. It’s almost time. Wouldn’t want to keep the Lycan King waiting, would we?”

For a long moment, I stood frozen, unable to process the cruelty in her eyes, the way she looked at me as though I were nothing more than an inconvenience.

But the sound of my father’s voice in my mind broke through my daze, his impatience sparking a fresh wave of fear.

Without another word, I turned and fled down the hall, my vision blurring as tears threatened to spill over.

When I finally reached the grand hall, I took a moment to steady myself, drawing in shaky breaths as I wiped at my eyes, willing myself not to break down. I straightened my shoulders, forcing back the raw ache in my chest as I reached for the heavy doors.

This was no longer a day for love, or family, or even loyalty. Those things were gone, snatched away in one brutal moment. All that was left was duty.

And maybe, if I were lucky, survival.

With one last shuddering breath, I opened the doors, forcing myself to step forward.

And at the end of the aisle stood Alpha Lucian.