Claimed by the Rogue King

IVY’S POV

They say your twenty-first birthday is supposed to be special.

Mine started with my hands in a bucket of soapy water, scrubbing the marble floors of the Silverpine pack house while everyone else prepared for my sister's big moment.

"Ivy! Where are the silver platters?" Rachel's voice cut through the kitchen chaos like nails on a chalkboard. My stepmother didn't look at me when she spoke, she never did. "The ceremony starts in two hours and nothing is ready."

I pushed myself up from the floor, my knees aching. "They're already polished and set out in the dining hall. I did them this morning."

"Then why are you still down here? The flowers need arranging. Honestly, if you put half the effort into being useful that Isla puts into everything…"

"I'll get it done." I grabbed the bucket before she could finish. I'd heard the comparison a thousand times. Isla was perfect. Isla was powerful. Isla had a wolf.

And I was just... here.

The great hall was already filling with pack members when I slipped in through the side entrance. Tonight, my twin sister would officially become Luna-in-training. Tonight, she'd be paired with Carter Blake, our pack's Beta and the guy I'd been secretly dating for three years.

Tonight, everything was supposed to change for me too.

Because today was my twenty-first birthday. The day wolves fully mature. The day my wolf was supposed to finally show up.

"Hey." Carter's voice made me turn. He stood near the doorway in his ceremonial robes, looking perfect. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just busy."

He glanced around, then stepped closer. "I know today's hard. But once your wolf comes, everything changes. Your dad will have to acknowledge you. We won't have to hide anymore."

I wanted to believe him so badly.

"What if it doesn't come?" The words slipped out. "Carter, what if I really am broken?"

"You're not broken." He reached out like he was going to touch my face, then dropped his hand. "Your wolf is just late. And when it shows up, everyone's going to see what I've always known, that you're just as strong as Isla."

"Carter!" Isla's voice rang out from the upper balcony. "Mom needs you!"

He winced. "I have to go. But later, after the ceremony, meet me at our spot. We'll celebrate your birthday. Just you and me."

He left before I could answer. Isla stood on the balcony in a white dress that probably cost more than I made in a year. We were identical twins, but somehow she always looked like the finished version while I looked like the rough draft. I turned back to the flowers before the jealousy could show.

By the time guests started arriving, I'd changed into the simple grey dress Rachel left in my room. I found a spot in the back of the hall, pressed against the wall where I could see but wouldn't be seen.

The ceremony was beautiful. Isla glided down the aisle like she'd been born for this. Our father, Alpha Nathan Hayes, stood at the front looking proud in a way he'd never looked at me. Carter waited at the altar.

I checked the clock. 11:47 PM. Thirteen minutes until my birthday. Thirteen minutes until I'd know for sure if I had a wolf. My skin felt too tight, like something inside me was trying to break free.

11:52 PM.

Then it happened.

Something slammed into my chest like lightning, making me gasp, grabbing the wall. The mate bond. I knew what it was instinctively, and it was pointing straight at Carter.

My Carter. My boyfriend. My best friend.

He was my fated mate.

Joy exploded through me. This was it. The universe was finally telling me I was supposed to be with him. I took a step forward. Carter's head snapped toward me, his eyes going wide. He felt it too.

He took a step in my direction, the crowd slowly parting. And damn! Hope bloomed in my chest.

Then my father stepped into his path. I couldn't hear what he said, but Carter just stopped. He looked between me and Isla, and he slowly turned away.

He took Isla's hand, and he spoke the words that destroyed my world. "I, Carter Blake, reject the false mate bond. Isla Hayes is my chosen mate, now and forever."

The pain was immediate and physical. Like someone ripped out everything vital inside me. I couldn't breathe or think as the crowd erupted in cheers. Isla was beaming bright, Carter also smiling at her. But his eyes found mine across the room, and there was regret there. Not love, not fight. Just regret.

I ran.

I didn't care who saw me. I just needed to get out. My feet carried me through the pack house and into the forest, past the training grounds and into the trees. I ran until my lungs burned and my legs gave out.

I collapsed at the base of an oak tree and the sobs came hard and ugly. Twenty-one years of being second best. Twenty-one years of being invisible. And the one thing that was supposed to be mine was just given to my sister like it was nothing.

"Well." A voice cut through my crying. "That was painful to watch."

I jerked my head up. A man stood about ten feet away, leaning against a tree. He was tall with jet-black hair and glowing ice-blue eyes. Scars cut across his shoulder, disappearing into his black shirt. He looked dangerous in a way that made every instinct scream at me to run.

But I was too broken to care.

"Who are you?"

He pushed off the tree and walked closer. "Damon Crescent. Though most people call me the Butcher, or the Rogue King, depending on how scared they are."

My blood went cold. Everyone knew about Damon Crescent. The exiled prince who'd supposedly murdered his own uncle. The monster who led the largest rogue army in North America.

"You should run," he said. "That's what smart people do when they meet me."

"I don't care." And I didn't. What was he going to do, kill me? At least then I wouldn't have to feel this pain anymore.

Something like surprise crossed his face. "Interesting."

"What do you want?"

"To make you an offer." He studied me with those blue eyes. "I watched your ceremony. Watched your mate reject you for your sister. Watched your father let it happen."

Shame burned through me. "So you came to mock me?"

"No, actually. I came to offer you a way out."

"What kind of way out?"

"Marry me. Become my Luna. Come to Crescent Hollow and leave this pack that treats you like garbage."

I almost laughed. "Why would you want me? I don't even have a wolf."

"See, that's where you're wrong." His voice dropped. "You're not wolfless, Ivy Hayes. You're a Phantom Wolf. Your bloodline is so rare everyone thinks it went extinct three hundred years ago."

"That's impossible."

"Is it? Then why can't anyone sense your wolf? Why has your father been so protective?" He pulled a small glass vial from his jacket. "Your father's been poisoning you since your mom died. Wolfsbane in your food. Just enough to keep your wolf suppressed."

My hands were shaking. "You're lying."

"This is the suppressant he uses. I took it from his office last week." He watched my face. "Even if you don't believe me, you know something's been wrong your whole life. You felt it tonight, something trying to break free."

He wasn't wrong. I really felt something.

"Why would you care? Why help me?"

"Oh no darling, don't get it wrong.” He said, smirking. “I'm not helping you out of kindness. I need a Phantom Wolf for something I'm planning. You need to escape a pack that's spent twenty-one years making you feel worthless. We’re helping each other."

"And if I say no?"

"Then you can go back. Go watch your sister become Luna, watch her mate with the guy you love, and you’ll spend the rest of your life as the broken twin." He extended his hand. "Or you can take my hand, stop taking the poison, and find out what you really are."

I looked at his hand. Behind me was Silverpine, my father who'd lied, my sister who had everything, Carter who'd rejected me. Ahead was a rogue king with a dangerous reputation and a plan I didn't understand.

Stay invisible, or risk becoming visible. Stay broken, or risk discovering who I never was.

I reached for his hand. His fingers closed around mine, and I felt that same electric shock from before. But it’s different this time, stronger.

Damon's eyes widened slightly. "Well. That's unexpected."

"What?"

"We'll deal with it later." He pulled me to my feet. "Can you walk?"

"I think so."

"Good. Because we're leaving. Now."