RebeccaBeing in a room filled with men has been a huge trauma for me for as far as I could remember. But I had my bracelet on, so I was relatively safe…I guess.The silver threading across its band pulsed faintly with calming energy, woven with runes meant to dampen scent and suppress aura. It helped keep me hidden and untouched. Most of the time.I leaned against the balcony railing of the eastern wing, the sun kissing the marble beneath my bare feet as I watched warriors sparring in the distance. The clang of metal and the snarls that followed always made my skin crawl.The sight stirred a memory I had struggled to bury. It was the season I was to come of age. I was fifteen.Every child in the pack was tested when they reached fifteen. It was the law. The blood rites were sacred, an ancient way of assessing who would become what within the structure of our world.Most of us shifted for the first time, howling in the night like it was a celebration, and for some, it truly was.Some
Rebecca A knock came at the half-broken door. It was funny that they still thought to knock on the broken door, even when it was practically now a see through. But courtesy, I guess. I didn’t respond, but Charles stepped inside anyway. His usual stern face was drawn tight, and he looked like someone who had just aged a decade.“She shouldn't have come here,” he said, voice quieter than normal I picked up the teacup the maid had left earlier, the chamomile tea was now lukewarm. I sipped it anyway, as I held his gaze without saying anything.He shifted uncomfortably. “We’ll get the door fixed. And her...”“You’ll get her fixed too?” I asked, maintaining my calm despite how enraged I felt on the inside. “Like how you’ve fixed everything else so far? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like your entire system has been running on delusion and dysfunction.”Charles looked genuinely flustered. He worked his jaw, but no words came out for a while.Then, with a sigh, he stepped closer.
Rebecca.A pampered hostage.That was what I felt like. The moment the elders suggested that I stay in the same room as him to “stabilize” him, I nearly tore the IV from my arm.“Sleep in the same room?” I spat, glaring at Charles and the elders standing like looming statues by the door. “You seem to be forgetting that I am your Luna.” I spat angrily. They seemed shocked at my reminder. If I were married to the Alpha, didn't that make me Luna? I wasn't going to let them walk all over me. Not again.“The bond is fragile,” the second elder insisted, with his face tight with frustration. “He may stir again, and if he does, proximity to you will stabilize him—”“Stabilize him?” I barked out a bitter laugh. “He bit me like a feral animal. Marked me without consent. And now you want me to lie beside him like a sacrificial offering?”“He won’t wake again so violently,” Charles said. “You will help him. That’s what matters…”“No,” I said sharply, forcing myself upright. “If I’m his lifeline,
Rebecca's POV.His golden eyes glowed like twin moons in the room, pinning me in place. I couldn’t move.Then, he moved. Faster than I could blink.His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, yanking me forward. I screamed, as I landed chest-first against his body.His other arm came around me, locking me against him with so much strength that it made me wonder if he had actually been pretending or if he had fallen sick.“Mate…” he rasped again, voice deep and coarse, as if he hadn’t spoken in centuries.I thrashed against him, shoving at his chest, trying to pull away, but it was like I was trying to fight a mountain.“Let go of me!” I cried. “What are you?!”But he held me tighter, burying his face in the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply like I was the first breath of fresh air after drowning.That was it. I lost it.I let out a blood-curdling scream that echoed off the walls.Almost instantly, the door to the room burst open with a loud crash.Chris and two guards rushed in, weapons d
Rebecca“No,” I stumbled backward in disbelief. I had been set up.The man in the bed wasn’t awake. And no, he wasn't sleeping.Tubes ran from his arms to machines. His chest rose and fell slowly, aided by the soft hiss of an oxygen tank beside the bed. He was barely alive.Before I knew it, I was at the door, yanking at the golden handle. “Open the door!” I shouted, banging my fist against it. “Chris! What is this?!”There was no answer.I twisted the knob again. The door was locked.“Open the damn door!” My voice cracked, shaking with confusion, fear, and betrayal. “You can’t just leave me in here with him!”I turned back, pressing myself against the cold wood. My eyes were wide, searching the room again as if it had changed in the last two seconds.The bed was king-sized with dark navy sheets, and surrounded by machines that beeped softly, methodically. The man in it, Alpha King John Vaughn, looked like the opposite of the vibrant figure from the photo. His hair was longer, like he
RebeccaThe pen felt heavier than it should have.I stared down at the clear white paper, which had the words “Marriage Certificate” printed neatly across the top. My name was already typed in bold letters beside the title ‘Bride’. The line next to ‘Groom’ bore a name I barely knew.“Alpha King John Vaughn.”My soon-to-be husband and my punishment.I was dressed in a plain white dress. It was soft enough to drape over my skin and thick enough to hide the injuries on my back. My hair was pulled into a loose braid, barely held together by a silver pin that once belonged to my mother.There were no flowers. No guests. No music. Just me, a dusty old desk in the royal registry room, and a single frame placed on the table beside me.A picture of him.He was smiling in the photo, dark-haired and sharply handsome. His eyes… They looked happy and he looked younger than the 30 year old I was forced to marry.‘This is your husband now,’’ I told myself. ‘At least on paper.’I sighed.My life was