Davina POV:

The Elder's voice echoed in the grand hall, each word a hammer blow against my skull. I stood on the cold marble floor, the fine silk of the ceremonial gown feeling like a shroud.

My soul was screaming. A silent, unending shriek that no one else could hear.

Three days ago, I was Davina Ramsey, a top-tier military surgeon in the 22nd century. Then came the explosion, the darkness, and I woke up here. In this body. The Omega foster daughter of some pack elder, in a world that felt like a twisted medieval fantasy.

The Elder's voice rose, grand and final. "...will be joined as a secondary mate to His Highness, Crown Prince Kaelen Monroe, to solidify the alliance between the royal family and the Beaumont clan!"

What the hell?

Secondary mate? A concubine? In my world, that word belonged in a history museum.

I lifted my head, my gaze locking onto the blond Alpha standing beside the throne. Crown Prince Kaelen. He was offering me a slick, possessive smile, the kind a man gives when admiring a prize he's already won.

Whispers erupted around me like the hissing of snakes. The eyes of the nobles were a disgusting mix of scorn, envy, and morbid curiosity. They felt like a thousand tiny needles piercing my skin.

"A country Omega," a lavishly dressed lady murmured to her companion, her voice just loud enough to carry. "It's an honor for her to be the Prince's mate at all, even a secondary one."

I took a deep breath. The air, thick with the cloying scent of lilies and roasted meat, made my stomach churn.

The Elder finished his damned pronouncements and fixed his gaze on me, his expression stern and unyielding. "Davina Ramsey, come forward and receive the Prince's mark."

Every eye in the hall was on me, waiting for me to walk forward like a docile lamb and offer my neck.

Kaelen had already risen, leisurely adjusting the cuffs of his tunic. His light brown eyes were filled with an arrogance that made my skin crawl.

My heart pounded a heavy, frantic rhythm against my ribs. I knew, with the chilling certainty of a surgeon facing a fatal diagnosis, that if I complied, my life was over. I wasn't some sacrificial lamb. I was Davina Ramsey.

In the suffocating silence, I straightened my spine.

"I refuse," I said. My voice was clearer and steadier than I felt.

The noise in the hall cut off as if a switch had been flipped. A wave of collective shock rippled through the crowd. Everyone stared, their faces a mask of disbelief.

Kaelen's smile froze, then shattered. He stared at me as if I'd just sprouted a second head.

"What did you say?" he sneered, his voice dripping with ridicule. "An Omega, abandoned by her own foster father to rot in the countryside, dares to refuse a gift from the royal family?"

The mention of my foster father, Preston Ramsey, sent a jolt of cold fury through me. That man had tossed me aside like garbage for his own political gain, and now he was trying to sell me for an alliance.

I met Kaelen's gaze directly. "I said," I repeated, each word sharp and deliberate, "that I, Davina Ramsey, refuse to be anyone's secondary mate."

The color drained from Kaelen's face, then returned in a furious, blotchy tide. Being rejected so publicly was the ultimate humiliation for an Alpha of his standing.

Beside him, his intended mate, the true future Luna, Genevieve Beaumont, let a small, almost imperceptible smile touch her lips. Her eyes danced with amusement as she watched the show.

Kaelen's breathing grew harsh. A wave of his Alpha dominance washed over me, a suffocating pressure designed to force submission.

My legs trembled—an instinctive Omega response—but I clenched my jaw and forced myself to stand even straighter.

"You..." Kaelen choked out the word, his entire body shaking with rage.

The Elders on the dais finally stirred. A white-bearded one pointed a trembling finger at me. "Insolence! Davina Ramsey, do you have any idea what you are doing? This is treason against the Crown!"

"I know exactly what I'm doing," I replied, my voice cold. "According to the laws of the Silvermoon Kingdom, a pairing requires the consent of both parties. I do not consent."

The only thing I had done for the past three days was devour every legal text I could find in the castle library.

Venom filled Kaelen's eyes. He stared at me as if he wanted to tear my throat out.

Then, suddenly, he laughed. It was a cold, cruel sound that held no humor. "Fine. You have spirit."

He turned to the Alpha King on the throne, his father, and bowed. "Father, since Miss Ramsey is unwilling to be my mate, I have a better suggestion."

My heart plummeted. I knew this wasn't over.

Kaelen's voice rang through the hall, laced with malicious glee. "She is so fiercely loyal, she surely wouldn't mind a mate who is truly 'one of a kind.'"

He paused, letting the tension build, before speaking a name that felt like a death sentence.

Davina POV:

Kaelen's malicious voice hung in the air. Every muscle in my body went taut, like a bowstring pulled to its breaking point.

The hall was a sea of expectant faces, all focused on the drama unfolding before them.

Kaelen's gaze slid from me to a dark, forgotten corner of the hall, as if he were pointing out a piece of trash.

"Since Miss Ramsey so desperately seeks a faithful, singular bond," he said, drawing out the words with theatrical cruelty, "I propose we grant her wish. Marry her to my 'illustrious' uncle, Hartwell Monroe."

Hartwell Monroe.

The name was a boulder dropped into a silent pond. Gasps echoed through the hall. The whispers of the nobles became a tidal wave.

"Gods, the crippled war god?"

"He was ruined three years ago. They say the silver poison has left him less than a man."

"Prince Kaelen is too cruel. This is a fate worse than death."

The words were knives in my ears. My mind raced, pulling up the information I'd gathered on the royal family.

Hartwell Monroe. The King's own brother. Once the kingdom's most celebrated Alpha warrior, the "God of War." Three years ago, during a battle with Rogues, he was struck by a silver-laced weapon. Since then, he'd been paralyzed, confined to his gloomy estate, a forgotten relic of a glorious past.

He was considered a living dead man. A royal shame.

Kaelen savored the look of horror he expected to see on my face. His smile deepened. "A country Omega for a crippled Alpha. It's a perfect match, isn't it?"

His words were a calculated insult, aimed not just at me, but at his own paralyzed uncle.

I understood his game. He was retaliating for my rejection in the most vicious way possible, shoving me into a pit far more miserable than being his concubine.

I looked at his face, twisted with triumph, and the emotion that rose in me wasn't fear. It was a cold, calculating rage.

My choices were few. Submit to Kaelen, or be thrown into Hartwell's fire pit.

But my surgeon's soul knew there was always a best option in a crisis. A living dead man was far more manageable than a prince who could crush me at any moment. At the very least, a cripple couldn't force me to do anything.

I made a decision. It was insane.

As Kaelen waited for me to break down and beg, I smiled. A calm, almost unnerving smile.

I met the deep, assessing gaze of the Alpha King on the throne. He had been watching everything in silence.

I took a step forward. My voice wasn't loud, but it carried through the silent hall. "I would rather be the sole mate of a paralyzed Alpha than the secondary plaything of a healthy Crown Prince."

My declaration was a bomb. The hall fell into a stunned, deathly quiet once more.

Kaelen's smile froze solid. He never imagined I would accept his insult, let alone turn it back on him as a weapon.

My words had just branded him a philanderer while elevating the status of the "cripple" Hartwell.

Kaelen's face turned a shade of purple. He pointed at me, sputtering, "You... you insolent..."

I ignored him, keeping my eyes fixed on the Alpha King, waiting for his judgment. I had thrown the ball into his court.

The King's gaze was sharp as a hawk's. He studied me for a long moment, so long I thought my heart would beat its way out of my chest.

Finally, he spoke, his voice a low, authoritative rumble. "As you wish."

He turned his gaze to Kaelen, a flicker of displeasure in his eyes. "Kaelen, your proposal is granted."

Kaelen blinked, then a look of manic glee spread across his face. The outcome was what he wanted, even if the path was twisted. He shot me a triumphant look that screamed, You're dead.

The Alpha King's voice boomed again. "I command it. From this moment, Davina Ramsey is to be paired with Hartwell Monroe. The ceremony will be simple. The order is effective immediately."

Davina POV:

The King's command settled over me like a lead shroud. The tense atmosphere in the hall dissolved into a strange, settled quiet.

The nobles now looked at me with a new mix of pity and the morbid excitement of watching a train wreck.

Kaelen strode up to me, his voice a low, triumphant hiss only I could hear. "Congratulations, Miss Ramsey. You got the 'sole' mate you wanted."

His breath, hot and sickeningly sweet, ghosted across my face. "My uncle hasn't been with a woman in three years. I hope you... survive his bed."

The vicious curse made my stomach clench, but I just stared at him, my face a cold, blank mask.

I knew any reaction would only feed his disgusting ego. I chose to meet his childish cruelty with silence.

He seemed disappointed by my lack of response, letting out a small huff before turning on his heel and stalking away, a preening rooster who'd won a fight.

The ceremony was over. The nobles dispersed in small groups, still chattering about the day's drama.

I was left standing alone in the center of the vast hall, an abandoned offering on a cold altar.

I had no idea what would happen next. Would they drag me straight to that crippled Alpha's manor? Would my foster father, Preston, even show his face?

My maid, Zoe Foster, scurried to my side. She was an Omega girl from the countryside like me, and her face was pale with terror.

"My lady, what are we going to do?" she whispered, her voice trembling on the verge of tears.

I patted her hand, forcing a calm I didn't feel. "Don't be afraid, Zoe. It's not the worst it could be."

I said the words, but I had no foundation for them. In this world, I was utterly alone.

Just as I was about to lead Zoe away from this suffocating place, the sound of steady footsteps approached from behind.

I turned to see a middle-aged man in the formal attire of a royal attendant. His face was impassive, his eyes empty.

He stopped before me and gave a slight bow. "Miss Davina Ramsey."

I noticed he had no wolf scent, no presence in that way. He was a wolfless. In this world, those born without an inner wolf were often relegated to specific servant roles within the palace, unable to participate in the pack's core abilities like the mind-link.

"I am Jasper Reynolds, attendant to the Alpha King," he introduced himself. "I am here on His Majesty's order."

He held a scroll bearing the royal wax seal.

My heart skipped a beat. So soon.

Jasper unrolled the scroll and read in a flat, emotionless tone. "Alpha King's Command: Davina Ramsey is to depart immediately for Blackwood Manor to complete the pairing with Hartwell Monroe. There will be no delay."

An Alpha King's Command. It was the highest decree, carrying the force of law. To defy it was treason.

Jasper rolled the scroll back up and handed me a small, lumpy cloth pouch. "Your dowry. Elder Ramsey had it sent."

I took the pouch. It was pathetically light. My dear foster father was truly generous.

Jasper gestured towards the grand entrance. "The carriage is waiting. Please, Miss Ramsey. You have no choice."

His words were calm, but they held the crushing weight of absolute power. This was monarchy.

Zoe gripped my arm, her body trembling.

I took one last look at the gilded, treacherous hall, then turned my back on it for good.

Stepping outside, the bright sunlight made me squint. A plain, black carriage stood at the bottom of the steps, flanked by two stone-faced guards.

This was my wedding carriage. No flowers, no blessings. Only a cold command and an unknown fate.

I took a deep breath and walked down the steps, each one feeling like a step onto a blade.

I had to go face the legendary crippled Alpha.