I Returned as Royalty to His WeddingChapter 1

I hid my bloodline and lived as an unclaimed Omega with Caelan Blackthorn.

The day I learned I was carrying his pup, he spoke without warning: "The Grand Advisor Alpha's eldest daughter and I are to be mated in three days."

"I'm actually the Alpha heir of the Blackthorn Pack. She and I are a proper match in rank. The bonding gifts have already been delivered to the Ashveil estate, and... she and I have already consummated our union."

When he saw me frozen in place, he added, "I'll set you up in a residence. You and the pup will want for nothing."

I stared at him in disbelief. "So I'm to be your kept Omega, hidden away for the rest of my life. Is that it?"

Caelan turned his face away. "She's a proper and virtuous mate. As long as you don't cause a scene in front of her, I can give you and the pup everything except the title."

A sharp sting hit the bridge of my nose. I never imagined I meant so little to him. Something deep inside me, something wolf and raw, went very quiet, the way a creature goes still before it understands it has been wounded.

"What if I told you my rank could match yours?"

——

Caelan went still for a moment. A long silence passed before he spoke.

"Seraphina Silvercrest, I know it was wrong of me to hide my identity and take another mate. But there are no what-ifs in this world. The only she-wolf in all the Silvercrest Dominion who matches my standing is the Grand Advisor Alpha's eldest daughter."

"You and I lived as mates at the foot of this mountain for three years. I know exactly who you are."

But he had hidden his identity. How could he be so certain I hadn't done the same? His nostrils hadn't even flared when he said it. He was that sure. That blind.

I looked around. The den we'd built with our own hands. The moonflower beds we'd tended together, their pale petals still catching the light. I wanted so desperately to believe all of it had been real.

"Caelan, I'm carrying your pup. Can't we go back to the way things were? Please don't mate with her."

My eyes locked onto the man before me. If he would just say yes, I was willing to forgive everything.

But all he did was press his lips together and say, his voice flat, "She and I have already consummated our union. I have a duty to her."