Abandoned by All, Until the Mad Alpha Claimed Me

OpheliaToday, I will be sold.No one needed to tell me. I could sense it in my bones--that my fate was about to change.The handmaidens who had always looked at me with cold contempt were now fussing over me with unsettling attentiveness, lacing me into an elaborate gown I had never been permitted to wear.Their hands moved with deliberate care, as though afraid to leave even the faintest mark on my skin.As though they were making the final preparations for a sacrifice.Such a reversal could only mean one thing: the day had finally come. Someone had offered my father a price he found satisfactory.As a princess, I was allowed to be covered in bruises.As a commodity, I could not have a single flaw."Smile." The handmaiden arranging my hair said it flatly, with the particular distaste one reserves for a well-trained animal.Smile. That, at least, came easily.I pulled the corners of my mouth upward, and the girl in the mirror transformed--perfectly compliant, perfectly pleasing, wear

OpheliaLeaving the great hall felt like breaking the surface of water after too long below.The garden received us in silence.Moonlight traced the edges of every leaf in silver, and the night-blooming jasmine drifted through the air in soft waves--threading through the wilder scent of him, combining into something that made my thoughts go pleasantly, dangerously loose.We walked without speaking.Our footsteps fell quietly on the cobblestone path, and I was acutely, helplessly aware of him beside me--the height of him, the warmth radiating from his frame, the way the air shifted slightly whenever our arms brushed.Each accidental touch sent that strange current through me again, the one I still had no name for.He stopped when we reached a clearing where the path widened.Moonlight fell directly between us, rendering him in sharp relief against the dark.Those amber eyes caught the light the way a predator's do--luminous, alert, missing nothing."Princess." His voice was unhurried.

Ophelia"Come, my daughter." My father's voice had taken on a tenderness so unfamiliar it made my skin crawl.He extended his hand. "We need to talk. Just the two of us."His palm closed around mine, and to anyone watching, it would have looked like a father reluctant to let go.But his fingers found my wrist and tightened--slowly, deliberately--until his nails were pressing crescents into my skin.I kept my face neutral. I didn't make a sound.We moved through the corridor together, a picture of familial affection. He nodded to the courtiers we passed, smiled at the servants, played the role with the effortless fluency of a man who had been performing it his entire life.And I walked beside him, my wrist screaming under his grip, and I smiled too, because that was what I had been built to do.The study door closed behind us.He shoved me away from him so hard I hit the wall, shoulder-first, sliding down it slightly before catching myself.When I looked up, the warmth was gone entirel

OpheliaAs the wolf lunged at me, a blur of grey fur passed from the side, colliding with the attacking one in mid-air. The two wolves clashed, snarling and snapping claws at each other.I stumbled back, my heart racing, as the wolves tore into each other. The attacker was massive and vicious, but the other wolf was even stronger as I watched its jaws close around the attacker's throat.The fight was over in seconds, almost as rapidly as it began. The attacker soon went limp, and the new wolf stood over it, its chest heaving. Its eyes met mine, and I immediately recognized it.Alric.I looked to my side and realized he was no longer standing beside me; I was too distracted to notice he was missing.He stood up, his eyes never leaving mine, and I saw the moment he transformed. His body shifted and contorted, fur turning to skin, claws changing into fingers.He stood before me, human and naked, his chest still heaving. "Ophelia, are you okay?" he asked, his voice rough with concern.I c

OpheliaI stirred, feeling warm and comfortable, the kind of comfortable I had never felt before, and as I opened my eyes, I realized I was face deep in a muscular chest, and Alric's arms were wrapped tightly around me.My eyes widened with shock as they stared into his chest, and I tried to push him away, but he growled a low warning, his eyes snapping open.For a moment, we froze, our faces barely an inch apart. I could feel his warm breath on my skin, and my heart was racing. His eyes were a deep, burning gold, and I wanted nothing but to look into them all day."Don't," he whispered, sleepily."You're safe," he added. "You fell asleep in my arms, and I think you should stay where you are." He explained.I couldn't help but wonder how he managed to stay still all night, without even making me wake up once.I felt a flutter in my chest as I realized being in his arms didn't make me uncomfortable, and I didn't want to pull away from him. My cheeks flushed red as my head tried to proc