Chapter 1
“Mom! Mom! We did it–we passed!!”
I was in the kitchen preparing dinner when two excited voices thundered from the study.
“Mom! Adrian and I both got into the Royal Warrior Academy!”
In the next instant, my twin sons barreled out of the room and wrapped me in a fierce embrace, their tall frames towering over mine.
I gazed up at them, pride swelling in my chest.
“You two are incredible. You’ll always be my greatest honor.”
My mate had been gone for many years.
As a lone mother, I had raised these twin boys on my own for eighteen long winters.
Now, they had finally earned what every young wolf in the kingdom dreamed of–the right to train at the Royal Warrior Academy, a place reserved for future Alphas and the strongest of our kind.
Long ago, my mate Edward and his first love, Vivian, had perished together during a Blood Moon Hunt, leaving behind two tiny pups.
Everyone in the pack had urged me to abandon them, sneering that they were nothing but “bastards.” But I had ignored their scorn and
raised the twins as my ownL
Eighteen years later, my sacrifice and devotion had borne fruit. The boys had become strong, disciplined warriors, the pride of the entire pack
“Mom, thank you…. for everything, you’ve done for us.”
“Yeah, Mom. Without you, we wouldn’t be here today.
Their voices trembled with sincerity. They had always been filial, always promising that once they graduated and made their mark, they would ensure I lived the rest of my life in peace.
My throat tightened with emotion. Watching them now, I could almost believe that promise.
And then I remembered their coming–of–age ceremony was only two days away.
But this tim
In past years, I had celebrated quietly, booking a small hall and preparing a simple feast. this time was different. This time they had been chosen by the Academy. This deserved more than a small dinner.
This deserved a true celebration–a Rising Ceremony worthy of future Alphas.
So I booked the grandest banquet hall in the city.
At the same time, I sent word of their achievement across the pack’s mental link, the network that bound us all together.
The moment the news spread, congratulations poured in.
“Adrian and Lucas have made the whole Stone family proud!”
“If only Edward could see his sons now…
w… he would rest easy at last.”
I scanned the flood of messages, then shared the banquet’s time and location with the entire pack.
After that, I put the communicator aside, quietly waiting for the day that would change everything
Chapter 2
The Rising Ceremony was set for ten o’clock in the morning, two days later.
At dawn, I arrived at the banquet hall early, checking the feast and the order of rituals again and again, determined that not a single detail would be out of place.
Most of the guests were from the Stone family.
None of my own kin came. They had never forgiven me for raising Edward and Vivian’s bastard pups. Even after all these years, they still thought I was a fool who had thrown away her life for children who weren’t even mine.
Edward’s parents entered the hall, propped up by attendants, and went straight to the Alpha’s table. They seated themselves in the place of honor as if they were the true hosts of the celebration.
Edward’s elder brother and his sister Melissa came in with their families, filling the rest of the seats at the table.
Eight places, all occupied. My sons sat in the middle, flanked by doting relatives. And yet–there wasn’t even a chair left for me.
“Clara, why are you standing there? Pour water for your elders,” Melissa sneered, cracking open a seed between her teeth.
Melissa had always been bitter. Her mate beat her and cast her aside because she failed to produce a male heir. Only last year, at the age of forty, she finally birthed a son. Since then, she had strutted about with her chin high, pride swelling with every word.
The Stones were not like other wolf families.
Most packs in our kingdom valued both sons and daughters, knowing that strength and loyalty could emerge in any wolf, male or female. But the Stones had always been different. For generations, they clung to the belief that only male heirs could carry the Alpha’s legacy
It was said that one of their own elders once declared, “A bloodline without sons is a bloodline already dead.”
And so the daughters of the Stone family grew up in the shadows, pushed aside, their worth measured only by the sons they could bear. My boys started to rise and help me, but their grandparents quickly pushed them back down
“Stay, my precious grandsons,” Edward’s mother crooned, pulling Lucas close. “Look at them so tall, so strong. They are the pride of the Stone bloodline.”
“They resemble their father… though I’d say they look more like Vivian,” Edward’s brother muttered.
A glare from the elders silenced him at once.
1 circled the table like a servant, pouring wine, fetching dishes, while the Stone elders basked in the glory of my sons. At last, the boys could stand it no longer. They dragged an empty chair to the middle and forced me to sit between them.
“Mom, today’s our birthday too. It’s the day you suffered for us. Please, sit and rest.”
Their words made the table fall uncomfortably silent.
Melissa smirked. “If my brother knew his bastards had been raised so well, he’d be laughing in his grave.”
Edward’s father coughed sharply, and she shut her mouth.
Then Edward’s mother turned to me, her eyes gleaming with false kindness.
“Clara, since today is such a joyous day, there’s something I’d like to discuss.”
forced a smile. “Go ahead.”
“Adrian and Lucas are grown now. Soon they’ll be leaving this territory for higher training in the capital. You’ll be rattling around in that den of yours all alone.”
Her smile widened. “When they depart, your father–in–law and I will move in. You can continue working, and I’ll handle the meals.”
Chapter 2
So that was her scheme.
The den I lived in had been bought with my parents‘ coin. They had insisted the deed carry only my name, since Edward had died in that reckless Blood Hunt with Vivian before we ever built a life together. My parents had even helped me keep up the payments when grief nearly broke me.
And now, with the boys nearly grown, the Stones had set their sights on my territory.
I kept my voice calm. “It’s not that I don’t want you there, but Adrian and Lucas will be bound to the capital’s Alpha training halls soon. I’ve already given up the den. I’ll take a smaller place for myself and dedicate the rest of the wealth to their future.”
Edward’s father slammed his fist on the table, his face dark as storm clouds.
“You are still a Stone daughter–in–law! How dare you make such a decision without consulting the family?”
I blinked at him in feigned surprise. “Everything I’ve done has been for Edward’s sons. Isn’t that what you always wanted?”
“Then where is the wealth?” he barked. “Give it to your mother–in–law to guard. You’ve always been reckless with resources.”
Any other day, they might have let me be. But now, with the twins about to rise higher than the family ever dreamed, they no longer saw me as necessary.
Fsteadied my breath and said evenly, “The wealth has already been bound by a Blood Oath Contract overseen by the Moon Priestess. Starting next moon, Adrian and Lucas will each receive a warrior’s stipend until they are forty. It belongs to them–no one else.”
At that, Edward’s father’s rage faltered, though his eyes still burned with resentment.
“At least you had the sense to leave it for my grandsons,” he muttered.
Edward’s mother leaned closer, her voice syrupy but sharp beneath.
“Then don’t waste what’s left on another den. Just rent some small place. There’s no need to waste coin.”
