After Rebirth, I Refused the Cruel Alpha and Married the Dead Alpha King

Kelli Nelson POV:

The whispers in the grand hall swelled like a gathering storm.

"Did she say secret lovers?"

"Lord Demonte and Lady Baylee were already involved?"

"So this so-called marriage of two brides, both sworn to protect the Nelson territory… was it nothing but a farce to seize the land?"

Demonte's face drained of color. He shot to his feet, his composure cracking around the edges. "Your Majesty, this is absurd! Kelli has lost her mind from grief! She has been shut away in her manor for months, confusing nightmares with reality!"

Baylee stumbled back against her maid, clutching her chest as tears streamed down her porcelain cheeks. "Kelli... how could you defame my maidenly honor before the entire court? I have done nothing but pity your misfortune!"

High on the dais, the Dowager Luna leaned forward, her silver hair catching the chandelier light. Her sharp gray eyes locked onto me. "Speak plainly, child. What are you implying before the throne?"

I kept my spine ramrod straight, though my shoulders shook with feigned weakness. "Your Grace, my father and brothers died drenched in northern snow to protect this kingdom. Every night, their spirits visit my dreams, bleeding and weeping. If I accept Lord Demonte's proposal under the guise of an honorable pack union while he harbors another woman in his heart, I would be dragging the Nelson war banner through the mud."

I turned my tear-streaked face directly toward the Alpha King.

"Therefore, I beg Your Majesty to grant me a different path. Allow me to fulfill a true sacred oath."

The King tilted his head, his golden wolf eyes narrowing with intense scrutiny. "What oath do you speak of?"

I drew a long, steady breath into my lungs. Every beat of my heart hammered against my ribs with icy clarity.

"I request permission to wed the late true heir of the Ironfang Pack," I declared, my voice ringing without a single tremor. "Let me enter a sacred honor-mate bond with Lord Edward Wiley."

If the hall had been noisy before, it was now as silent as a graveyard.

Demonte stared at me as if I had grown a second head. His mouth hung slightly open, his fists trembling violently at his sides.

Across the aisle, Lord Karson Wiley—the reigning Pack Alpha of Ironfang and Demonte's supposed adoptive father—slammed his goblet onto the wooden table. The dark wine splashed across the white linen cloth.

"Insolence!" Karson roared, his heavy brow drawn into a thunderous scowl. "My eldest son Edward fell in the northern wasteland a year ago! His body was never even recovered! Are you mocking the dead, girl?"

"I am honoring him, My Lord!" I countered instantly, raising my voice to meet his fury. "Lord Edward died holding the line so the Royal Crown Prince could escape the rogue ambush! He is the greatest hero this kingdom has seen in a century! Since Lord Demonte is so eager to manage the Ironfang succession and my pack's heritage, why should the true heir be forgotten?"

I looked directly at the Dowager Luna.

The old queen mother had personally raised Edward in the royal nursery alongside the princes. The grief of his loss had caused her severe chest ailments for months.

As my words echoed through the arches, I saw the Dowager Luna's withered hands grip the armrests of her throne. A look of fierce, protective emotion flashed across her aged face.

"A maiden willing to hold vigil for a fallen hero," the Dowager Luna murmured softly, her voice carrying a deep resonance. "That is an ancient tradition of the First Wolves. Rare in these cowardly times."

Demonte panicked. He could see his entire plan slipping through his fingers. If I married a dead man, the Nelson territory would be locked under the late heir's estate, governed directly by the Crown until a proper heir was designated-leaving him completely empty-handed.

"Your Majesty, she is lying!" Demonte shouted, stepping between me and the throne. "Kelli has always harbored feelings for me! She gave me a private token of her affection only three nights ago! She is only throwing a tantrum because she refuses to share my affections with Baylee!"

With a theatrical flourish, Demonte reached into his inner breast pocket and pulled out a delicate square of folded white silk.

He held it high above his head for all the court to witness.

"Behold!" Demonte proclaimed, his chest puffing out with triumphant arrogance. "Her own personal silk handkerchief, embroidered with the silver thread unique to the Nelson household! Explain this, Kelli, if you truly intended to remain faithful to a ghost!"