4- Unwanted Marking

 Before I could react— His hand seized my wrist in a painful grip.

“No…” I tried to pull away, narrowing my eyes in desperation, “No, no…”

He ignored my call as my strength was nothing compared to his iron grip.

“Please… Don’t.”

“Take your hands off my daughter!” 

Father charged forward, uncaring of the consequences for challenging the strongest Alpha.

Every wolf in the courtyard was ready to bring out their wolf.

Alpha Zarius didn't spare them a glance. His attention remained fixed solely on me.

“Try. If you can.”

His claws slid free. Razor-sharp. Prepared to attack my father.

A gasp escaped my lips.

“No!”

I struggled with everything I had to rip free.

I kicked. Twisted. Pulled. 

Nothing worked.

“Stop moving.” 

“I'm not your mate!” I screamed frantically, using the only option I had left.

“He- He is lying! An act to lure you! Wh-Why would I be your mate, Alpha?!” 

Useless.

“I'll be the judge of that.” 

He didn't care. He had waited long enough for his mate. He didn't care who she was.

Only if she was the one or not.

He pushed my hair over one shoulder, ripping the fabric to expose my neck to me.

The morning air brushed against my exposed skin, my knees were giving out. I failed to uphold my energy and stumbled.

“Please, Alpha… Please don't.”

He didn't listen.

Humiliation burned hotter than fear. Dozens of people were watching in anticipation.

I couldn’t help but to sob miserably at my fate. 

This wasn't how I imagined my marking.

“Please…” I whispered, shaking my head, “Don't…”

For one fleeting moment… His hand lingered follow by sharp pain.

His fangs pierced my neck, biting down to imprint his mark impatiently on me to find out the truth.

His other hand was already prepared to kill me the moment he was done. 

A cry ripped from my throat, trying to push him away but he was far stronger, teeth sinking deeper into my skin. 

It wasn’t long when the bond slammed like lightning.

Humming my blood in his rhythm and flooding heat in every vein. 

Something ancient awakened inside my soul. A warmth, a strong longing… and an unquenchable thirst. 

A pull so overwhelming it stole every breath and forced me to submit to the sudden powerful rush of the mate-bond.

At the exact same moment, he froze. His grip loosened instantly with an uneven breathing.

Our gazes met.

And I saw it.

Pure shock.

“...Impossible.”

For the next five seconds, the soulless Alpha seemed lost. But I ssensed his deepest depths.

His rage.

His endless exhaustion.

His darkness.

Just for a heartbeat.

Beneath it all, relief of finding the one he sought though it couldn’t last long. 

As quickly as the sensation arrived, it vanished with the same speed.

Alpha Zarius abruptly released me and stumbled back a step.

Every eye was on him, waiting.

He stood there, breathless, running a hand down his face. 

I held my neck where a mark was blooming along with a trail of blood.

Then, he laughed. 

A low, dark and bone-chilling sound that made everyone– including his own people– to take a step back.

“I… I have found her…. I have actually found her.”

He looked at the sky, holding his hands out as though mocking fate, and Moon Goddess itself. 

“My Luna. My curse…”

The words rolled effortlessly from his tongue. His smile spread wider than I thought possible as he looked directly at me.

“...finally has an end.”

My fingers instinctively held the fresh mark on my neck tighter, to tear the mark away, to scream and reject this mismatched bonding.

Instead, I could only cry.

Alpha Zarius tilted his head, the amusement in his eyes had transformed into a deadly possession.

“Bring her.” He ordered, holding a hand out. “And burn this pack.”

His warriors immediately moved.

A decision of hundreds of lives was spoken so casually that panic erupted, people began to scream.

How… how could he order a massacre so easily?

“No! You- You can’t do that, Alpha!”

I threw myself between him and my family.

“They- they are your mate's people! Her pack!”

He replied calmly, “I promised nothing."

“Please!” My voice cracked, seeking mercy.

“They've done nothing.”

“They sheltered you.”

“They didn't even know!”

“They exist. Here. Right now.”

His every answer grew crueler and colder. He took a step closer, staring dead into my eyes.

"They're witnesses and my witnesses don't live, little one.” 

Despair swallowed me, “No…”

I looked at the terrified faces behind me.

Mother. Father. Robbie. The elders. Children who had never held a weapon. Everyone… No, I couldn't let him kill them. 

They won’t pay the price of my silence.

My lips trembled as I struggled to breathe, “If...if you won't spare them…”

He waited. I gulped. 

Trying to sound strong, using the only method I had.

“...I'll kill myself.”

His brows knitted together. Failing to understand the depth of my bold statement.

I forced myself to continue.

“Yo-you have marked your true mate. If I die...your curse wins. You'll lose me... An-and whatever this bond is..."

I removed my trembling hand from the mark, allowing it to catch some cold breeze and for him to witness what he had done.

"...it dies with me."

For several long seconds, all he could do was to stare, contemplating what I had just dared to do.

Threaten the strongest Alpha alive. 

To my complete surprise… He smirked with genuine interest.

“...There she is.”

I blinked.

“The woman brave enough to threaten me.”

A quiet chuckle escaped him, closing the distance between us, his knuckles hovering near the mark. 

"I was beginning to think fate had paired me with a frightened rabbit."

He almost touched, sending a deadly shiver down my spine, leading those knuckles to the side of my face.

“You've finally said something worth listening to.” 

His thumb brushed away a tear from my cheek.

“I accept.”

Hope flickered through the crowd. He slowly turned toward the waiting warriors, giving a gesture of hand.

“Stand down.”

I couldn't believe it.

He had actually agreed.

“You have…” His gaze swept over my family, “...five minutes. Five minutes to say goodbye.”

I almost turned.

Without a warning, he took my hand in his, his eyes darkening. 

“After that…” He gave my hand a tight squeeze.

“You belong to me.”