Fake Heiress True Luna (Irina) novel Chapter 24

Chapter 24: She is Mine

Lancer’s POV

Claim

From the moment I realized what a mate was, I think I instinctively knew it would be Irina.

The protectiveness I felt towards her ever since we were kids told me she was going to be mine one day, and it made sense.

She was the Alpha’s daughter. I was the Beta’s son. She could be mated to an Alpha, but for some reason, I knew she was mine.

We were raised side-by-side. I saw how she turned from a kid into a teen and then a woman. The three-year difference was nothing; I would wait until she turned eighteen to claim her as

mine.

I can say I had a crush on her, but how could I not? She was beautiful, even as a gangly teenager, all sharp wit and brighter smiles. But more than that, she was good. She carried the weight of her future role with a grace that astounded me, treating every pack member with a kindness that felt innate, not taught.

That made me think that perhaps he was mated to an Alpha, and the thought scared me.

I tried to put some distance between us, scared that the moment she became of age, she wouldn’t recognize me as her mate.

“She is ours!” My wolf, Lyle, repeated, but until we felt the bond, I wouldn’t celebrate.

Then came her eighteenth birthday.

I was so nervous, even though I tried to appear cool. I pretended not to notice when I saw her blush. I pretended not to notice the crush she had on me.

I had to, or else I would let that happiness and hope get inside my head.

The moment she shifted into that stunning white and cream wolf, her scent hit me like a tidal wave-raspberries and lemon. Lyle exploded with triumphant joy. “Mate! Finally! Ours!”

The bond snapped into place, and everyone was happy for us. Irina would stay in the pack; she wouldn’t leave to become a Luna somewhere else.

I noticed the slight disappointment in the Alpha’s eyes. He was expecting her to be mated to someone else, someone who could help the pack become stronger through a political alliance, but that disappointment quickly vanished.

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Irina was still mated to a high-ranking wolf, meaning she would have strong pups.

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I was over the moon, I couldn’t wait until I took her to our room and mark her as mine. But then, our happy ever after was shattered.

The Elder arrived, revealing the truth about Irina.

She was not the Alpha daughter we all thought she was. She was only an omega, and the girl he brought with him was the true heir.

Nobody could deny it.

The moment Julie lowered her hood, revealing features that were a mirror of the Alpha and Luna, my world tilted off its axis.

Irina wasn’t the heir. She was… a placeholder. An orphan who had stolen a life.

The bond in my chest, once so bright, suddenly felt like a lie. A trick. Lyle howled in denial, but my own mind was reeling with betrayal. Every lesson, every kindness, every moment we’d shared-was it all part of the deception? Had she known?

When Alpha Richard denounced her, called her a leech, a fraud… a part of me, the part that was loyal to my pack and my Alpha, believed him. The evidence was undeniable. The bond felt tainted.

And then Julie spoke. So compassionate, so selfless, begging for mercy for the girl who had stolen everything from her. She was the victim. The picture of grace under unimaginable pain. My heart broke for her. This was the true Alpha’s daughter. This was the Luna I was

meant to serve.

Lyle snarled. “Our mate was a baby! She couldn’t deceive anyone! Help her!”

But I couldn’t. All I could smell was Julie’s tragic story and Irina’s shocking fall from grace. So, I made a choice-the choice of a Beta. I chose the pack.

I waited, I truly wanted to believe that Irina would become my mate one day, but I realized

very

soon how much she had lied to me.

She was not the woman I thought she was.

She was evil and resented Julie for coming into the pack and throwing her away from a high-ranking position into the lowest of the low.

She couldn’t stand serving her and wanted to hurt the only person who avoided her

banishment.

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I couldn’t stand it, so I rejected Irina publicly.

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The moment the bond snapped, Lyle cried in pain, a visceral, soul-deep agony that reverberated through my entire being. But I made sure to keep my face neutral. Irina would never see how much it cost me. She didn’t deserve that victory.

I told myself it was justice. Righteous anger. She had fooled us all, and now her true, spiteful nature was revealed. I threw myself into my new role: Julie’s devoted protector. It was my duty. It was what the pack needed.

But Lyle refused to fall in line.

“Liar,” he’d snarl every time I took Julie’s arm. “Traitor. Our true mate suffers, and you comfort the viper.”

“The only viper is Irina. She hurt Julie several times because she couldn’t stand her new position,

“I reminded him.

“She lies. Can you not smell the falseness on her? Like perfume over rot.”

“You are the one who can’t see the truth, Lyle. I know you think Irina was the one for us, but she isn’t!” I argued, but he wouldn’t listen.

“You are so dumb, Lancer. Look at what she does and how much she pretends. You will regret what you did to Irina later.”

The worst part was, the more time I spent with Julie, the harder it became to silence him. Her “compassion” felt rehearsed. Her tears always arrived right on cue. Her stories of hardship began to have inconsistencies, little details that shifted each time she told them.

And Irina… Irina never broke. She took the humiliation, the back-breaking labor, the venomous glares from the pack she had once led with kindness, and she endured. There was a quiet dignity in her silence that unnerved me more than any protest ever could.

Then, she left for the Alpha Gathering, and I knew she would encounter Aiden Keaton.

He tried to hide the huge crush he had on Irina, but I noticed. Everyone in our circle did. For years, at every inter-pack gathering, his cold, grey eyes would track her.

At first, I thought it was admiration, but then I saw how guilty he felt. Aiden was older than us -almost seven years older than Irina-but the moment she turned sixteen, it was obvious

what he wanted with her.

And that thought got on my nerves.

I made sure Aiden hated Irina. I didn’t want him to look at what was mine with desire, and I

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succeeded.

Aiden despised Irina.

Claim

Or at least that was what I wanted to believe, because she was no longer mine and was going to his pack. No longer as the Alpha’s daughter, but as a mere omega who went there to serve Julie.

I asked Serim to take me with him. It was common for an Alpha to take his Beta, but Aiden

was clear.

I couldn’t come.

The thought of Irina there, vulnerable and humiliated, under the gaze of a wolf like Keaton, sent a jolt of something ugly through me. It wasn’t protectiveness. It was jealousy. A bitter, possessive anger that she might be seen by him in her fallen state.

Lyle latched onto the feeling with vicious satisfaction. “You see? Even now, you cannot stand the thought of another looking at her. You know she is ours. You know it in your bones, you fool.”

“Shut up,” I growled inwardly, shoving the feeling down. “He hates her. I made sure he hated her with every fiber of his being. He’ll probably make her life even more of a hell than it is here.’

“Or he will see what you are too blind to see,” Lyle countered, his voice laced with a terrifying hope. “He is an Alpha. She is an omega, and since you rejected her, he will soon discover all the

lies

you fed him.”

The days they were gone were agony. My mind conjured up a thousand different scenarios, each worse than the last. Aiden, realizing she was free game, claiming her out of spite. Aiden, seeing her weakness, tormenting her for the amusement I’d always implied she deserved. Aiden, the formidable Shadow Alpha, seeing through every poisonous word I’d ever whispered about her.

When the cars finally pulled up, I was waiting, my heart a frantic drum against my ribs. Julie emerged first, looking petulant and tired. Then Serim. And then… Irina.

My eyes scanned her instantly, searching for any mark.

There was nothing. Her uniform was clean, if worn. Her posture was the same defeated slump. She looked pale, exhausted, but untouched. A wave of relief so potent it made me lightheaded washed over me.

Serim confirmed it later. “Keaton was as cold and arrogant as ever,” he reported, pouring a drink. “Treated Julie with barely veiled contempt. And Irina…” He shook his head. “He barely looked at her. Called her ‘Omega’ like she was dirt on his shoe. When the Elder suggested an

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alliance through marriage, he was furious.”

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“It must have been hell, but at least it is all over. I don’t think you should pressure your sister to take a chosen mate yet, and if you want, I can fulfil that role,” I suggested. “Everyone knows I rejected Irina, and a second chance, mate, is rare.”

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