Silas's POV
"I, Zarek, Alpha of the Ironclaw Pack, I reject you Silas as my mate and Luna."
The ground beneath my feet seemed to slip away upon hearing this, because Zarek, with whom my arrange marriage alliance had been decided since childhood, rejected me on my 18th birthday. And the cause of all this was my twin brother, Ciel.
Ciel was the same age as me, but he had always played with both of us since childhood. I never thought he would take my alpha from me, but what angered me even more was Zarek—how could he do this to me?
Ciel was standing in front of me, hugging Zarek's arms, the position of Luna that was supposed to be mine, now belonging to Ciel.
"Zarek, don't you feel any shame, being in a relationship with my own brother while cheating on me?" I said, looking straight into Zarek's eyes.
I was just waiting for his response, hoping that my reaction might make him realize that what he was doing was wrong.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of. It's not like you were my fated mate or something," Zarek replied and immediately wrapped his arm around Ciel's waist, pulling him closer. His eyes met mine after that, as if he were showing me how close the two of them were.
"You're right. You deserve Ciel, someone who's an orphan and doesn't even have royal blood," I was furious. After all, Zarek had been in a relationship with me for so many years, and now, just when we were about to be bound together for eternity, he was leaving me and choosing my brother. Or perhaps they had been in a relationship for a long time, right under my nose, and I never even knew.
"How dare you speak like that about your own brother, Silas?" My gaze shifted to the side as soon as I heard that scolding. My dad was standing there, his eyes red and his face clearly showing how angry he was at me. And why wouldn't he be? He loved Ciel the most. Even though I am his biological child, it never felt that way.
From the look on Dad's face, it seemed like he already knew about Zarek and Ciel's relationship but chose to stay silent. That's how it has always been, ever since my childhood.
I still remember it vividly. When I was a child, my twin brother and I went to watch a festival with Dad. But my twin brother got lost there. Even though we were twins, our faces were quite different, though both of us had blonde hair like our mother. After my twin got lost, Dad brought Ciel home from an orphanage and made him his son.
From the very beginning, Ciel has always liked everything that belonged to me. And Dad, without hesitation, happily gave him everything that was mine. He never cared about me, never thought about me. All his love was reserved for Ciel.
"Once again, you took something that was mine and happily gave it to him. You don't care about me at all. In your eyes, you have only one son, and that's Ciel, who deserves to have everything." All the tears, pain, and anger that I had buried inside me for years came pouring out at once. I was crying, but the fire of rage was burning within me.
"What about me? Even if you take everything away from me, why would it matter to me?" I covered both my eyes with my hands because I didn't want to cry anymore in front of people who didn't even care about me.
I wiped my own tears and looked ahead. Dad was staring at me with wide, shocked eyes. I knew it—he probably didn't even consider me his son. That's why doing this to me didn't make him feel even a bit of guilt.
Everyone from both packs was present there, watching everything unfold, but they had all decided to stay silent, which is why no one spoke a word. I knew I would have to accept Zarek's rejection.
I looked at Zarek and Ciel, wanting to respond to the rejection, but before I could, Ciel ran toward me and grabbed both of my hands.
"Silas, please don't be sad… Even if you didn't get Zarek, there are plenty of Alphas who want you," Ciel said. The moment his words reached my ears, I pushed him away from me, and he fell straight to the ground.
"Ugh… Silas, I'm sorry," Ciel mumble, tears streaming down his eyes, but he didn't stand up until Zarek came over and helped him himself. Then Zarek turned and glared directly at me, as if threatening me with just his eyes.
Ciel immediately hid in Zarek's arms and started crying. I hadn't even pushed him that hard—definitely not as much as he was making it seem.
"How dare you push my mate?" Zarek growled. Maybe this was exactly what Ciel wanted, which is why he exaggerated so much. But he forgot that I'm not someone who will just take things lying down.
"Zarek, I curse you and Ciel to remain fated mates, but may you never live happily together."
After hearing my curse, the entire crowd began murmuring among themselves because I had said something that was bound to spark a discussion.
"I accept your rejection" I made the announcement, glaring at Zarek and Ciel with disgust, before turning to leave.
But there was one last thing I needed to say to my dad, so I turned back toward him.
"Dad, years ago, you lost one son, and today, after all these years, you've lost the other one too. Congratulations. Enjoy your life with your adopted son."
As soon as I said those words, I saw tears in Dad's eyes. I didn't know why they were there. They couldn't possibly be for me. Maybe mentioning my lost brother brought back painful memories for him. But I didn't care anymore.
I had spent years trying to earn Dad's affection, working harder than ever, but in the end, he handed the company over to Ciel, saying he was more deserving. In Dad's eyes, I was never worthy of anything.
I walked out of Zarek's mansion. Outside, my car was parked, waiting for me.