The Lycan Prince's Fated Mate

**DACIANA**

My hands trembled at my sides, my nails digging into my palms so hard they felt like claws.

I stood frozen and nailed to the floor in the doorway, watching them - watching Darius, who was supposed to be my mate, curled up in bed with my stepsister Liana, kissing and smooching on our very matrimonial bed.

A soft moan slipped out of Liana's lips, and my breath hitched in my throat like it had slammed into a wall.

My eyes stung really bad. I tried to hold back the tears, but I couldn't.

"Yes, Darius! I will marry you," I heard Liana squeal in excitement as she said yes to Darius's proposal. "I will always be your mate," she said, wrapping her hands around Darius's neck as she kissed him.

My heart was too heavy to take it anymore.

Why? Why did they have to do this today?

Why did they choose to break me this way on a very special and important day of my life?

Why would they even do this to me at all?

What had I done to deserve this kind of cruel, heartbreaking treatment?

Today, I was supposed supposed to be crowned the Alpha of Crescent Fang Pack. Darius and I got married just two days ago - as my mate who would rule alongside me. We needed to get married in order for me to ascend the throne.

My father passed away two years ago, and I was supposed to take over the throne by being the next Alpha once I was of age, as my parents had no male child, and I literally was the first child of the Moonbeam family.

Darius was the son of my father's trusted and loyal friend, Alpha Graham of the Silver Wood Pack, a small pack in the east not far from ours.

Darius had stood by my side yesterday, trying to cheer me up as I was being too nervous about the upcoming ascension. He had assured me that everything would be alright. That I'd be a great Alpha, and that he'd stand by my side every step of the way. He had told me how much he loved me and was ready to take this journey with me so many times that I couldn't count how many times he said it.

But I was too stupid and blinded by love to have believed his lies.

I saw the red flags he had been giving me all this while, but I chose to ignore them.

But would I blame myself for loving him blindly?

I remember when we first saw each other at a ball I had attended with my dad. Our first encounter felt so real, and I instantly felt I had found him.....or so I thought.

"I belong to you alone, Liana my love. You're my one and only true mate," Darius said, kissing Liana back dearly.

Darius had never held me with such tenderness and admiration.

The sight of them in that position shattered my heart.

No wonder he hadn't touched me, even though we were already married. He said we'd consummate our marriage once everything is done completed.

I never for once thought it was because he loved someone else and not me.

I took a few steps backwards, unable to control my emotions. I couldn't stand this anymore. It was breaking me too much.

I decided to leave them. I needed to get myself together before I could confront them. I couldn't let my emotions get the better of me right in front of them.

I knew I was going to burst out any moment from then.

But as I turned, I heard Darius's cold, blood chilling voice behind me.

"What are you doing here?" Darius questioned, his voice filled with rage, making me shiver in fear.

I stopped in my tracks, hesitantly turning to face them, only to meet Darius's eyes glaring Daggers at me.

"Oh, look who finally decided to show up." Liana walked to where Darius was, wrapping her hands around his waist as she lazily turned her head, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

My breath became shallow, feeling my heart cracking wide open more than it already had.

Liana felt no single remorse. She was happy that I saw what had happened with my own eyes.

"Why...?" My voice came out barely above a whisper.

"I'm glad you saw this yourself," Darius replied, smirking.

What?!

I couldn't believe my ears! Was he kidding me?

I wasn't that surprised that something like that came out of his mouth, though.

"You were never meant to rule, dear sister. Or should I say 'stepsister'?" Liana giggled mockingly, unwrapping her hands from around Darius, strutting forward like a queen in her own right. "Did you really think Father's blood made you untouchable?"

"Father chose me!" I snapped, regaining my voice, which still trembled with pain. "He named me his heir. I am-"

"A hybrid," Liana spat in disgust. "You were always a mistake, Daciana."

Something instantly shattered in me, just my heart, but the fragile trust I had clung to all my life. The whispers I had silenced, the side glances, the quiet coldness I thought would fade over time. It had all been heading here.

Many pack members have always hated me for being a half-werewolf.

My father had loved and cherished me so dearly despite that, the same way he loved my mother.

My mother had died when I was only a kid, and my father remarried a few years later - Lina's mother.

He married her all for my sake.

And then, my father died two years ago, and things changed.

"You're my mate, Darius. Why are you doing this?" I whispered, turning my gaze to Darius, as if saying it aloud could undo what I had seen. "You chose."

"Are you that blind and stupid? What makes you think Darius is your mate?" Liana barked angrily, slapping me across the face, hard.

What I said about being Darius's mate really proved her.

Now I was starting to understand things better. Everything was starting to make sense now.

"Calm down, my love. She's a nobody. Stop stressing yourself out because of her," Darius's words stung me cruelly, my hand on my stinging cheeks as I watched him caress Liana tenderly, calming her.

The pain was just too unbearable.

I staggered back, shaking my head in denial, unwilling to believe this.

"You've always been a wolfless burden to me and every member of this pack, but today...." Darius stepped forward, eyes burning with rage. "I, Alpha Darius Morvain of Crescent Fang Pack, reject you, Daciana Moonbeam."

I shook my head, the tears I had been holding back streaming down my cheeks as I felt the sharp, excruciating pain in my heart, causing my legs to tremble.