Marked, But Unwanted

Chapter: 1 

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“The Bond That Broke Me”

I walked through the crowd, careful not to spill the drinks balanced on the tray in my hands. Laughter and chatter filled the air, blending with the clink of glasses and the rustle of silk ball gowns brushing against the polished floors.

I tried not to look up,  just focus on each step. One wrong move and the entire tray could crash to the ground.

And wouldn’t they love that?

A wave of anxiety rippled through me at the thought. The shame would sting, but the whispers would be worse. They already hated me enough.

For now, though, no one noticed me. I was invisible, and for once, I found a bit of peace in that.

Every eleventh month of the year dragged old memories I tried desperately to bury. And tonight was no different, for me, at least.

But for them?

Tonight was something more.

After fifteen long years, the Alpha of Crescent Moon Pack was finally returning.

The Alpha who vanished without warning… to rectify the chaos left behind by the previous one, my father.

His mission had been clear, or so they whispered: fix what the tyrant broke, cleanse the name of Crescent Moon, and restore peace with the neighboring packs.

And now, he was back, or almost here. I didn’t want to know.

On the very night of the annual ball, a celebration meant to mark our so-called freedom from the darkness I was born into.

With every fiber of my being, I hated this time of year. But who was I to say that aloud? Even daring to whisper such words could be my end. And as cruel as life had been, I still didn’t want to die, at least not like this.

Well… maybe if it were by his hands. The man I always fantasized about.

As soon as I finished serving the last drink, I saw her.

That figure—tall, commanding—stepped into the hall, her eyes scanning the room like she owned the air itself. Conversations died. Attention shifted. A chill surged through my veins as beads of sweat gathered on my forehead.

I moved quickly, slipping into the farthest corner I could find, praying she wouldn’t see me.

I bit down hard on my lip, holding back the tears clawing their way to the surface.

I remembered everything.

Every moment.

Every haunting second.

This time last year, it happened, infact, it happens every year since I could remember. The sin I didn’t commit.

The shame that never belonged to me.

And yet, every year, I was reminded of it. Forced to wear it like a second skin.

“Where is that cursed bitch, Alera?”

That voice, it was Elyra

Even in my sleep, I knew it. It echoed in my nightmares, tearing me apart piece by piece.

It had never been my fault. Not even a little. But I still bore the punishment. The Crescent Moon Pack made sure of that. And Alpha Kael sealed my fate, demoting me to a mere Omega, stripped of every shred of dignity.

I could hear the hush of whispers now, the slow wave of anticipation and pity. They were looking for me.

And then—

“There she is!”

That familiar, soul-piercing voice.

Elyra Voss.

My greatest nightmare.

The Beta female. Alpha Kael’s second-in-command. The woman everyone believed she is destined to be his Luna.

Eyes turned to me, one after another, until the whole room was watching.

You’d think I’d be used to this by now. The annual shame parade. But no matter how many times it happened, it never hurt less.

“Come out here to the stage, please,” she said, her voice soaked in mocking laughter. The crowd followed suit, laughing like I was some sick joke meant to entertain them.

Without hesitation, I clutched the front of my maid’s dress tightly and stepped forward.

The last thing I wanted was to be beaten again—for being disrespectful, for being defiant. The last time, I had bruises for days. Who knew what worse might follow this time?

As soon as I stepped onto the stage, I bowed my head low, not daring to look up. But I didn’t need to. I could feel them—every gaze, every stare, burning into my skin with quiet contempt.

“We all know the story of this girl,” Elyra began, her voice laced with venom. “And not just her—but her father, Alpha…”

She paused. I risked a glance upward, only to be met with the familiar look of disgust painted across her face.

“...Well, I don’t even need to say his name. You all know it. We all remember what he did, don’t we?”

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd.

“Because of him, we suffered. We starved. We watched our warriors die in wars he started with neighboring packs. We lost so much,” she continued, her voice rising like fire catching wind. “And when the Moon Goddess finally decided to punish him, it was brutal. And deserved it.”

A chorus of howls answered her words, echoing approval, pain, and something close to triumph.

“And as we all know,” she said, turning to me with a smirk, “wickedness doesn’t just disappear. It stays in the blood.”

My throat tightened.

“That’s why our generous Alpha—who will be joining us shortly—rightfully demoted her to an Omega,” she spat.

“I’m only calling her up here today, as we always do, to remind ourselves of how far we’ve come. To celebrate our freedom. Our independence from her father’s reign.”

The crowd roared. Laughter. Cheers. Hatred disguised as pride.

And me?

I was his last living child. The cursed daughter of a dethroned monster.

I wasn’t just demoted to Omega. I was shamed. Spat on. Turned into a yearly spectacle for their twisted entertainment.

They called it justice.

My father had been a terrible Alpha—cruel, power-hungry, a tyrant.

But I was the one paying the price.

Not only was I cast down, stripped of dignity and status…I was cursed.

My wolf, Ava, was weak—barely present. A fragile whisper where there should’ve been a roar.

“What was even the point of being alive?”

That thought lingered in the back of my mind more often than I’d admit.

I was the person no one wanted to look at—

Not just because I lacked a strong wolf…

But because I was the tyrant’s daughter.

Shunned.

Isolated.

Disconnected from the true power sealed deep within me, silent and waiting.

Then—

“Alpha Kael!”

The voice rang out, sharp and commanding. 

Heads turned. Conversations halted.

Even mine.

And for the first time in a long while...

I looked up.

There he was.

Alpha Kael.

He looked sharp, clean, powerful, like he hadn’t aged a day. His eyes scanned the room like they saw everything and nothing all at once.

And then—I felt it.

A sudden stir inside me.

Ava.

My wolf.

Growling. Awake. Alert.

Confusion sliced through me like a blade.

What’s happening? This has never happened. 

Before I could catch my breath, 

Dizziness crashed into me like a wave.

The room spun.

My knees buckled.

And I knew, deep down…

Something had changed.

The dizziness grew worse. My vision blurred, spots dancing like stars across the room.

No… not now.

I tried to fight it, to ground myself, but my legs betrayed me.

The tray slipped from my hands, crashing to the floor with a shatter of glass and gasps.

And then, darkness pulled at the edges of my mind.

I was falling.

But I never hit the ground.

Strong arms caught me.

Warm. Firm. Unfamiliar.

And yet... something deep inside me recognized them.

I blinked up, dazed and breathless—

Right into storm-grey eyes that burned with something wild. Something ancient.

His scent hit me like a punch to the gut.

Pine. Rain. Power.

Mine. Ava whispered inside me.

A growl rumbled in his chest. Possessive. Dangerous. Confused.

“Mine,” he murmured under his breath.

And then the whole room exploded into chaos.

Gasps filled the room.

My body trembled in his hold, not just from the shock, but from the storm raging inside me. Ava was awake, no, alive, and she was howling.

Mate! Mate! Mine! she snarled, clawing at the walls I never knew existed between us.

Kael stared down at me, his grip tightening like he was trying to convince himself I was real. That this connection wasn’t a hallucination.

His eyes,  gods, his eyes,  they burned with hunger, confusion, pain… and something terrifyingly close to relief.

“You…” he muttered. “You’re the one.”

I tried to speak. Tried to understand. But his scent, intoxicating, wild, was swallowing me whole. My knees gave out.

And just like that… his wolf surged.

“MINE!”

The word echoed like thunder, silencing the hall. Screams followed. Elyra’s voice broke into frantic protests. “Alpha Kael, what are you doing?!”

But it was too late.

His fangs grazed my neck.

I gasped, heart racing so fast it nearly burst from my chest.

“No…” I whispered, tears burning my eyes. “Not like this…”

But Ava? She rejoiced.

He sank his fangs into my skin.

Pleasure and pain exploded through me in one white-hot wave. My body arched. My breath caught.

The mark burned, sealing itself into me like a second soul.

When he pulled away, blood on his lips, the entire room starred in stunned silence.

The cursed daughter of a tyrant… just got claimed by their Alpha.

And the world,  my world, would never be the same again.