He Rejected Me, So I Married the Lycan King

For ten years, I was the invisible backbone of the Silver Creek Pack.

I cooked the books to hide Alpha Ethan's gambling debts. I ghostwrote the peace treaties that kept our borders safe. I warmed his bed every night, waiting for the bite that would mark me as his Luna.

On the night of our tenth anniversary, I didn't get a ring.

I got replaced.

Ethan walked into the gala with Ashley, a wealthy heiress dripping in gold, clinging to his arm.

When I tried to speak to him, he didn't just ignore me. He used an Alpha Command—a biological weapon that hijacked my free will.

"Go to the kitchen," he ordered, forcing my knees to hit the floor in front of the entire pack. "Ashley is sensitive to the smell of stress. You're ruining her night."

He humiliated me in the house I helped build. He wore the crown I polished for him, thinking I was nothing more than a glorified housekeeper he could discard at will.

He forgot that while he held the title, I held the passwords.

I didn't go to the kitchen. I went to the office.

I initiated a permanent wipe of the cloud backups, reformatted the local servers, and deleted ten years of financial strategies.

Then, I snapped the mate bond and walked out into the rain.

Three days later, I walked back into the conference room.

Ethan laughed, thinking I was there to beg for my job back.

I threw a foreclosure contract onto the table.

"I'm not here to serve drinks, Ethan. I'm the new owner of your debt. Get out of my chair."

Chapter 1

POV: Chloe

The bass of the music thumped against the floorboards of the Silver Creek Pack House, vibrating through the soles of my cheap heels. Ten years. That's how long Ethan had been Alpha. That's how long I'd been invisible.

I adjusted the sash of my dress. Charcoal grey. Practical. The uniform of someone who exists to serve, not to be seen.

Chloe, where are the appetizers for the Elders? The tray on the east table is empty.

Gamma Marcus's voice cracked inside my skull like a whip. The Mind-Link. Once, I thought it was a spiritual connection. Now, it was just a wireless shock collar.

I'm on it, I projected back, flattening my mental tone into perfect submission.

I grabbed a fresh tray of venison tartare-the Elders liked it bloody-and navigated the crowd. The ballroom reeked of pine, musk, and expensive cologne. To a human, it was a party. To a wolf, it was a screaming match of pheromones and ego.

Then I saw him.

Ethan stood near the fireplace. He wore the tuxedo like armor, sandy hair swept back, looking every inch the leader I'd helped build.

Hanging on his arm was Ashley.

She wore gold. Not just gold, but look-at-me gold, a gown that cost more than my annual stipend. She wasn't his Mate. I knew that. He knew that. But she was