Jennifer’s Pov

The first thing I felt was pain.

A dull ache throbbed at the back of my head. I tried to lift my hand to rub it but I couldn’t move. My wrists were tied to the arms of a heavy wooden chair.

My eyes flew open.

“Dad,” My voice cracked, “are you there?”

Nothing.

“Hello? Brian?”

“ Is anyone here?

Silence pressed back at me.

I pulled at the ropes, twisting my wrists, trying to slip free. They only bit deeper into my skin. My hair fell into my face, wild and tangled, and I shook it back so I could see.

I stared up at a ceiling I didn’t know. Dark wooden beams. Silver patterns carved into them. Thick velvet curtains hung over the windows.

This room was too fancy to be anywhere in Solara.

Where was I? Why couldn’t I remember anything past last night?

Then the sound of a key turning in the lock made me freeze.

A young maid stepped in carrying a silver tray. She stopped when she saw I was awake, a little surprised.

“Where am I?” My words came out too fast, tripping over each other. “Why am I tied up? What is going on? Please, someone has to tell me something.”

“You’re in Moonridge Castle,” she said. “In Lunaris.”

Moonridge Castle. I knew that name. Everyone knew that name.

My whole body went numb. “That’s not possible. That’s not… I don’t understand. Why would I be in Lunaris? I’ve never even left Solara in my life.”

She didn’t answer. She just set the tray down and wouldn’t look at me.

I tried to remember anything, from the night before. There was a carriage. There was Brian’s voice… then…

nothing.

My thoughts scattered in a hundred directions at once, none of them making sense.

“Please,” I said, my voice shaking now. “I need you to untie me. I need to go home. My family will be looking for me.”

The maid still said nothing.

“Do you understand me?” My chest was heaving. “Something is wrong. I don’t belong here!”

Two guards walked in next.

“Lady Sophia,” one said. “His Majesty’s attendants will arrive shortly. Prepare yourself.”

The name hit me like cold water.

“Sophia?” I stared at him. “Why would you call me that? I’m not Sophia. My name is Jennifer.”

Neither of them even looked at me.

“Did you hear what I said?” My voice cracked upward, panic climbing fast now. “I said I’m not Sophia! There has been a mistake! You have the wrong girl!”

They said nothing. They just started untying my wrists like I hadn’t spoken at all.

That was when it started coming together in my head, piece by piece, and I hated every piece of it. Sophia. My own twin. The selection had been for her. Not me.

“Wait.” My breath caught. “Wait, please, listen to me. I was switched. Someone switched us. This is supposed to be my sister, not me. Please, you have to believe me, I was replaced!”

More attendants filed in and started working on me without a word, like I was a doll being dressed for someone else’s shelf.

“Please.” I could hear how desperate I sounded and I didn’t care anymore. “Please, somebody has to listen. I’m not who you think I am. Check again. Ask someone. Anyone. This is a mistake, I swear to you, this is a huge mistake!!!”

—

They untied my wrists only to hold them still while they worked. They bathed me in warm scented water while I sat frozen, my mind still screaming that none of this was real. They brushed the tangles out of my hair until it fell smooth, and dressed me in a crimson gown lined with silver thread. A silver circlet was placed on my head like I was something to be shown off.

I felt sick through all of it.

“Please…” I whispered one more time, quieter now because my voice had nothing left to give.

When they finished, they led me to a large ceremonial hall. Other girls stood there already, dressed the same way, fear written on every face. I searched each one for Sophia’s face and didn’t find it, and that told me everything I already feared.

She did this. My father did this. And Brian, who promised me a wedding, must have known too.

The High Priestess of Lunaris stood in front of us, her voice sharp and cold.

“Listen carefully. When the Alpha enters, no one looks at his face. Heads stay down. No one speaks unless he speaks to you first. If you disobey, you will be killed where you stand. Do you understand?”

We nodded fast. Nobody dared say a word. Everyone in that hall knew what Alpha Christian was capable of.

One by one the girls were called to stand before the sacred stone.

Some of the girls had already started breaking down.

“I don’t want this,” one of them sobbed, dropping to her knees. “Please… please just let me go home.”

Another was shaking so hard she could barely stand. “I have a family in Solara. Please. I can’t do this.”

Their cries filled the hall. No one moved to help them. The guards stayed still. The High Priestess didn’t even look at them. My own hands were shaking now too. I pressed them together tightly in front of me, trying to keep still.

Then the High Priestess raised her staff.

The hall fell into a deeper silence, broken only by soft crying.

“The Selection will now begin,” she said. Her voice carried easily through the large space. “One by one, you will step forward. The sacred stone will decide. Do not lift your eyes. Do not speak unless spoken to. Anyone who disobeys will be punished.”

My stomach twisted.

They started calling names.

Girl after girl was ordered forward. Each one walked up with stiff legs and kept their head down. Each time, the sacred stone stayed dark. Some of them cried in relief when nothing happened. Others looked like they might faint from the fear alone.

I kept my eyes on the floor, counting my breaths, trying not to think about what would happen if the stone lit up for me.

Then I heard my name.

Or rather… the name they thought was mine.

“Sophia.”

My heart stopped.

I didn’t move at first. Someone behind me had to nudge my back before my legs finally worked. I stepped forward slowly, keeping my eyes down exactly the way we had been told. The floor felt cold even through my shoes. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure everyone in the hall could hear it.

I stopped in front of the sacred stone.

For a moment, nothing happened.

The silence stretched.

Then the stone lit up.

A sudden, blinding white light burst from it, so strong it made several people gasp out loud. The light washed over my face, my hands, my dress. I froze completely. My blood turned cold.

No.

Not me.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

A heavy shock seemed to pass through the entire hall. Someone whispered. Someone else started crying harder.

The High Priestess’s voice rang out, clear and final.

“The eighth bride has been chosen.”

The room went dead silent.

I couldn’t breathe properly. My hands were clenched so tightly that my nails dug into my skin. Sophia was the one who was supposed to be standing here. Not me. This was her place. Her fate. Not mine.

Then I heard footsteps, it was slow, deliberate and steady.

Coming straight toward me from the raised platform.

Every instinct told me to look up, but I forced myself to keep my head down. My whole body was rigid. I could feel the weight of every stare in the hall on me. The footsteps grew closer until they stopped right in front of me.

A gloved hand touched my chin.

It was firm, not rough, but strong enough that I couldn’t have pulled away even if I tried. He tilted my face upward slowly.

That was when I saw him.

Alpha Christian.

Long dark hair. The darkest gray eyes I had ever seen. His face was sharp and cold, the kind of face that made your stomach tighten just from looking at it. He looked like someone who had never once needed to raise his voice to be obeyed.

He studied me in silence.

The hall was so quiet I could hear my own pulse in my ears.

Then he spoke, his voice low and calm.

“Your name.”

My throat felt tight. For a second I almost said Sophia. It would have been safer. It would have been what everyone expected.

But the word wouldn’t come out.

I hesitated, unsure whether I should say Jennifer or Sophia. The fear made it hard to think.

“Jennifer,” I finally whispered.

One of the elders stepped forward immediately. “She isn’t Jennifer. She is Sophia. Jennifer is already married. This one is the other sister… the spare.”

Christian’s gaze never left my face.

“I’m not married,” I heard myself say. My voice shook, but I still forced the words out. “I am Jennifer..”

Christian didn’t blink, he just looked at me.

The hall was so quiet I could hear my own breathing. His fingers were still under my chin, holding my face up. I wanted to look away. I couldn’t. Those gray eyes were too cold, too still.

My stomach twisted.

Was I doing the right thing? If no one else believed me, would he?

What if telling the truth was the thing that got me killed faster?

But I couldn’t bear to keep carrying her name.

“Jennifer,” he said.

Just that.

The name sounded like a sentence.

“Yes,” I whispered.

He studied me a second longer. I could feel his stare on my skin. My legs were shaking. I was sure he could hear my heart. I was sure everyone could.

Then he let go of my chin.

The sudden space between us should have felt like relief. It didn’t. It felt worse. Like the only thing holding me upright had just been taken away.

He turned to the hall.

“She would be called Jennifer,” he said. “Remember it.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the voices answered together.

He walked away without looking back.

I stood there, unable to move. My chin still burned where he had touched me. My hands were clenched so tight they hurt. I could still feel his eyes on me, even after he was gone.

I had just been chosen as the eighth bride of the Wolf King.

The man who had already taken the lives of seven brides before me.