The Supreme Alpha's Defiant Substitute Bride

Celina Cross POV:

After dying a tragic death as a substitute bride, I unexpectedly came back to life and was reborn, returning to this very day.

Curtis Decker stood in the doorway, brushing invisible dust from his tailored brown suit. As the eldest son and heir of the Decker Pack, he looked down at me with the same condescending disgust I remembered from before my death.

"Stop playing dead," Curtis snapped, stepping into the room. The heavy soles of his leather shoes clicked sharply against the floorboards. "The Mcleod Pack's convoy has already crossed our territory line. Put on the dress and get downstairs."

I stared at him through the dim light. Memories of my past life flashed before my eyes-how this family had bled me dry, thrown me away like trash, and left me to rot.

When I didn't move, Curtis narrowed his hazel eyes. He flared his Alpha aura, sending a heavy, suffocating wave of dominance crashing down on me. In the Decker Pack, I was known as a wolfless disgrace, a girl raised in an isolated sanctuary who had never manifested an inner wolf. Under the absolute law of our kind, a wolfless was supposed to cower before an Alpha's command.

Instead, the dormant White Wolf bloodline sleeping deep inside my soul stirred. The ancient power absorbed his aura without effort, dissolving the pressure into nothing.

"I am not marrying anyone," I said, my voice hoarse but steady. "Not unless you meet my conditions."

Curtis let out a sharp, mocking bark of laughter.

"You? Negotiate with the Decker family?" He sneered, curling his lip in pure derision. "A wolfless parasite who can't even shift? You should be on your knees thanking us for finding you a billionaire mate."

He reached into the breast pocket of his designer jacket, pulled out a signed check, and flicked it dismissively at my face. The crisp paper fluttered onto the blanket.

"There's one million dollars. That's more money than a backwater reject like you will ever see in a lifetime. Take it and be grateful."

I didn't even glance at the number. I raised my hand and swiped the check off the bed, sending it fluttering into the dirty corner of the room.

"I want a formal severance agreement," I said coldly. "Dual-notarized under both human legal code and the Royal Court's blood oath."

Curtis froze. The mocking smirk vanished from his face, replaced by sudden, violent rage. He took two menacing strides toward the bed, towering over me.

"Have you lost your mind?" he snarled, veins bulging along his neck. "Without the Decker Pack's protection, the moment you step outside our borders, Rogues will tear you apart!"

I met his glare without flinching.

"Protection?" I gave a humorless smile. "You're forcing me to take Clarissa's place and marry Houston Mcleod-a dying Alpha poisoned by silver. You aren't offering protection, Curtis. You're sending me to be buried alive."

Curtis's face turned ash-gray. Exposed, his primal wolf instincts flared, and his right hand drew back into a fist. He intended to knock me out and drag my unconscious body to the car.

I moved faster.

My hand shot out, grabbing the thick glass tumbler from the bedside table. In one fluid motion, I slammed it against the wooden edge, shattering the rim. I jammed the jagged glass shard directly against my carotid artery.

The sharp edge pierced my skin. A warm bead of crimson blood trickled down my pale throat.

Curtis stopped dead in his tracks. His pupils dilated in sheer panic.

"Call Kerrie and the Pack's legal counsel," I commanded, my hand holding the glass completely steady. "Draft the severance agreement right now. Otherwise, you can deliver my cold corpse to the Mcleod convoy and explain to their war council why the bride is dead."

Curtis stared at the blood on my neck, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He knew exactly how badly the Decker Group needed this alliance to avoid bankruptcy. If the bride died on their territory, the Mcleod Pack's wrath would wipe them off the map.

"You're insane," Curtis spat through clenched teeth, pointing a trembling finger at me. "Don't you dare regret this! I'm getting mother!"

He spun on his heel and stormed out, slamming the broken door frame so hard the walls vibrated.

The room fell into silence. I lowered my hand, tossing the bloody glass shard onto the floorboards.

Looking down at my right palm, a faint, dark-golden mark of a dire wolf flickered beneath my skin before vanishing. My supreme Healer abilities and pureblood lineage had returned with me. These arrogant fools had no idea what they had just discarded.

I got out of bed, walked to the chipped wardrobe, and pulled out a plain, floor-length black dress. I changed quickly, shedding the past.

In the cracked mirror, the girl looking back at me was pale, but her silver eyes held none of the desperate hunger for family love that had once lived there. There was only razor-sharp resolve.

Outside, the low, synchronized rumble of heavy engines echoed through the valley. I walked over to the window and pushed the curtains aside. Three black, armored SUVs bearing the silver crest of the Mcleod empire were parked at the front iron gates.

On the manicured lawn below, several low-ranking Omega maids were huddled together, casting mocking glances up toward my window.

"That wolfless trash is done for," one maid sneered, her voice carrying on the wind. "Alpha Mcleod is a dying monster. She won't survive the week."

I pushed the window pane wide open and let a sliver of cold, predatory intent bleed from my gaze. The maids froze instantly, shivering as if they'd been dropped into an ice bath, and scattered in terror.

I turned away from the window and walked toward the bedroom door. Every step I took was measured and absolute. The weak, obedient Celina who begged for their approval died in my past life.

I walked down the dim, wood-paneled hallway, ignoring the dusty portraits of past Decker Alphas hanging on the walls.

At the top of the grand staircase, the brilliant light of the chandelier illuminated the marble foyer below, where my biological mother's shrill voice cut through the air.

"If that ungrateful wretch dares to stall," Kerrie Decker shrieked, "break her legs and throw her into the car!"

I stepped onto the top stair, looking down at them from above.