Cursed Lycan: A Stand-in for My Sister's Mate

"Why would I like her? That face resembles Selia. That's all. Ultimately, she is not Selia. Maybe after the night passed, Selia would be my mate..." The future Beta, Danny Brook's voice rang from the crowd. Behind the tree, Iris Wellington nearly stopped breathing.

Tears pooled in her eyes. His words were akin to a knife stabbing her heart, twisting it.

She knew that she was an outcast. She had nothing to offer, so she thought he was approaching and caring for her with no ulterior motives.

It was all wrong. He made a fool of her.

Despite possessing similar looks, Iris has a fate the opposite of her sister. Selia Wellington was the darling daughter of the Silver Moon pack's Alpha, the girl whom everyone adored. On this day, she officially turned fifteen, which meant also her coming of age ritual would be held.

Everyone gathered, excited for their Alpha's daughter and, if she was lucky, she could even find her fated mate. There was none who didn't present in this ritual; most werewolves had abandoned whatever they were doing, freeing the schedule just for this gathering.

"Have you congratulated Miss Selia...?" Danny's close friend asked him.

Iris looked away from the sight, her heart still clenched in pain.

Her coming of age ceremony was held a few months ago. Only a few people came, and some did out of pity. The abandoned daughter of Alpha Wellington that was always invisible.

One of the few who came was Danny, someone whom she thought cared for her. Today, she found out it was all lies. He treated her merely as Selia's substitute.

She wasn't as strong nor charismatic as her half-sister, who had successfully turned to her wolf form at the age of five. Selia was touted as a genius that only appeared once in a hundred years. Everyone was so excited when the news spread that they held a party and celebrated her transformation for days.

When she came out behind the tree, everyone became silent. They stole her a glance, yet devoid of any guilt.

"Miss Iris, you don't want to come forward to accompany your sister? All your family members are there." Someone suddenly said to Iris, who was standing at a corner in all her quietness.

She scrutinized the person briefly, then looked away without answering. The man clicked his tongue and then walked away, leaving Iris alone under the shadows of the trees and faint moonlight.

There was no need to look in the man's direction to see what he would do next. He had approached a group of werewolves that stood together near Danny, discussing something. Definitely gossiping about her right now.

In the middle of the werewolves gathering, and right beside the flickering fire, Selia did the formality of turning to her werewolf form; something that most would happen to most werewolves when they reached adulthood, in exception of strong ones who could turn to their wolf's form in their childhood.

She howled loudly to the moon above, the thundering voice resonating through the woods. The action was followed by the other werewolves of the packs. Then they shifted to their wolf form, including Alpha Wellington. Led by him, they ran through the woods to return to their residents.

Iris was one of the last werewolves to shift to her wolf form and followed from behind. She had just gotten control of her emotions, hurtful but manageable. Anyway, who told her to catch feelings? None.

She had actually been fidgeting since earlier. It was unknown whether it was just the heartbroken mood affecting her.A premonition was telling her that something bad was about to happen. Most importantly, they were out in the open. Although the woods still belonged to their pack's territory, it was situated near the Nether Mountain.

She sniffed, and the unpleasant smell instantly assaulted her senses. Out of instinct, she instantly told the werewolves running ahead of her through mind link. "Be careful!"

As usual, they acted like they didn't hear her, treating her as if she didn't exist. They continued to run in relaxed speed, still in the euphoria of their Alpha's genius daughter finally coming of age.

"Watch your surroundings!" The premonition in Iris's heart grew stronger and she couldn't help but give another warning.

"It's your sister's coming of age today, Miss. Don't destroy it by doing a stupid prank," someone sneered.

"We won't fall for your stupid trick. You are just jealous of your sister's lively coming of age ceremony," another one added.

Thus, they ran ahead and insisted on ignoring her.

Yet, only a few seconds after her warning, the situation grew chaotic. The formerly quiet forest had turned into a situation akin to purgatory; blood splattered on the ground, pained howls and the smell of blood thick in the air. Her words had come true.

Originally, she thought that it was the demons attacking them, but Iris found out soon that she was wrong. They were unlucky. In the coming of age ritual this time, they had accidentally chanced upon a group of rogue werewolves.

Besides the demons residing in the Nether Mountain, rogue werewolves were another threat dangerous to normal werewolves, because often, they had lost their sanity. Rogue had a bigger body as they were full of explosive power, black fur, and a crazed look in their eyes.

"Protect Miss Selia!" a lot of them shouted. The stronger werewolves began to retaliate against those rogue werewolves. Of course, they would have her as a priority, because she was also the hope of their pack.

Iris tried to maneuver herself in the midst of the attacks. She was nimble enough to avoid claws directed at her, although her body also slammed against others a few times; she had to struggle to balance herself.

It was also beyond her how she somehow arrived near Selia, where there were a lot of werewolves forming a circle around her. Even their father, Alpha Wellington, always stayed beside Selia, warding off any attack coming their way. He was so strong that he easily snapped any rogue's neck with one claw.

Iris' eyelashes fluttered, hiding emotions swirling within her eyes.

"Don't just stand there, you are so useless!" Until she heard someone shouting at her. It was Danny, who appeared beside her and tore open a rogue's neck with his claws.

The lapse of focus had caused her to almost lose her life, and she gasped. Danny shot her a disdainful look, and he growled as he shoved her towards the place where Selia was standing and said with a sneer. "Go stand there. Be as wise as your sister and don't bother us."

Everyone was panicking, and things were all in a mess. There were screams of agony, crying, and mourning in the middle of this battle.

"Let me. I can also fight." Selia tried to bypass some werewolves that were guarding her. Accidentally, it was at the same time that Danny had shoved Iris towards her. Both of them were kicked outside of the protective circle from the rebound force of colliding against each other.

Iris groaned as her body hit a tall tree. Not far from her, there was also Selia, who had just slammed against a rogue werewolf. She fought a bit with it, but because she wasn't ready, she accidentally hurt her arm. Luckily, she managed to kill it before the rogue bit her neck.

It was also at this very moment that a group of rogue werewolves swarmed toward them. Iris's pupils constricted, and she struggled to get up. She fought those rogue werewolves until her fur was all red and covered in blood.

She nearly couldn't hold it in anymore, gasping for breath as another claw managed to get her neck. Blood spurted out, which made the rogue werewolves around her crazier. At this very moment, she was desperate.

None came to save her.

However, the sight of the battle nearby couldn't break her heart further. Although Selia was back protected by the werewolves of their pack, her father, Alpha Wellington, still stayed close to his favorite daughter.

In her desperation, Iris even felt like giving up. She had always been invisible anyway; an awkward existence that shouldn't exist, so she shouldn't disturb Alpha Wellington's family. Wasn't he, Luna Lucy, and their daughter, Selia, a perfect family?

She never felt so lonely, fighting this horde of rogue werewolves. The enormous body of a rogue slammed against her. She bounced a few meters to the ground. When it jumped at her slumped figure, she could sense the death approaching.

Iris sent one last look at Alpha Wellington. Then, the blurry figures of Selia and Danny who were closely fighting back to back, in harmony and complete understanding of each other. She closed her eyes.