Why?

Willow’s POV

“Take it off!” the Alpha commanded.

My eyes stung from the tears as I slipped out of the coat and let it fall to the floor.

All I wanted was to die.

Death, where are you? I was ready.

“Turn around” the Alpha said, his voice lower now but still firm. I did as I was told and turned so my back faced him.

I felt cold when his hand pressed against my lower back. Another tear fell. This was it. 

My brain could not make sense of what was happening? Why was the alpha touching my back? 

“How do you have this mark on your body?” he asked.

He meant the birthmark on my back. It was the shape of a moon with fire around it. 

“I was born with it,” I said in a shaky breath. I turned and slid the strap of my lingerie so he could see the same mark on my right shoulder. His finger pressed on it and rubbed, like he wanted to make sure it was real and wasn't ink. 

“Get out!” he yelled, but he was not shouting at me. He was shouting at the guards of Sir Augustus and the crowd that had gathered. 

“But sir, we haven't…” the head guard began, but the Alpha cut him off. “Question me one more time and I'll have your head”

“I'm sorry, Alpha,” the guard said. He bowed and left with the others. I saw my uncle and aunt standing there, confused before they drifted away with the crowd.

“Pick up the coat and put it on” the Alpha ordered.

I did not know if I should feel happy, but the coat on my shoulders felt like a small relief. It gave me hope. 

The Alpha motioned to the Luna. They both stepped back into the house and left me standing alone.

But I was not truly alone. Logan was still there. He had been watching me.

He smiled when our eyes met. Even though fear was all I could feel, something small moved inside me at the sight of his smile.

He stepped close to me, I Instinctively stepped back from the proximity. I could feel the heat from his body, it almost burned me. He reached for me and adjusted the coat, covering me up properly. 

“That birthmark just saved your life” he said. Maybe it was the way he said “saved” but something in his voice pulled me in. It was a feeling I had only felt once before and that was also today. 

“What’s going to happen to me?” I asked him

He shrugged, maybe he also didn't know

“You're about to find out” He gave my shoulder a light squeeze, like he wanted to be kind, and then he went into the house. 

Right after he left, a maid came out. “I've been assigned to take care of you. Follow me” she said.

The words take care of you sent a chill through me, but the maid looked kind. I looked around, the only sane decision was to follow her. 

She took me to a room that felt like Sir Augustus’s place. She helped me take off my clothes, prepared a warm bath, and gave me clean clothes. It should have felt safe, but I kept thinking back to how this was exactly what Sir Augustus's people did for me before sending me to pleasure him. 

“The Alpha will see you now” the maid said when I was dressed. My stomach dropped. No way history would repeat itself. I would rather die.

When the maid reached for my hand, something in me snapped. I ran. I did not know where I was going, only that I would not be a possession. I headed for the back door as soon as I saw it. My heart was pounding hard against my chest. 

Before I reached it, someone grabbed the back of my top. I was lifted and slung over a broad shoulder in one motion.

“Let me go!” I struggled, but the man did not let go.

He marched until he dropped me before the Alpha and Luna. “She was trying to escape” he said.

“Thank you, Julian” the Alpha replied. I looked at the man who had carried me. He was tall and muscular. He had on a guards uniform but he looked too young to be a guard, something about him was strangely familiar. 

Julian bowed and left.

“No more running away, Willow” the Alpha said, his voice was serious as if my running away somehow affected him. 

“How do you know my name?” I asked, standing up on shaky legs.

“I’m the Alpha. I know my subjects” he answered.

​"What do you want with me?" I shot at him, using all my willpower to sound brave even though I was scared to my bones.

​"Watch your tone, young girl" the Luna snapped. I fell silent immediately.

​The Alpha ignored her. He stepped closer, his eyes locked onto my face, searching for something. He didn't look angry anymore. He looked... fascinated. Like a miner who had found a diamond inside a lump of coal.

​"Do you know what that mark on your back means, Willow?" he asked, his voice was deceptively calm.

​I shook my head slowly. 

"My aunt said it was just a birthmark" confusion clouded my senses. How was my birthmark suddenly so important?

​"It is not just a birthmark" the Alpha said, walking around me slowly. 

"It is the Mark of the Moon-Fire. It only appears once in a generation" 

​He stopped in front of me.

​"It brands you as a True Mate. Specifically, a mate designed by the Goddess for the Alpha bloodline"

​My breath hitched. 

"I... I don't understand. I'm wolfless, I can’t be… "

He cut me off immediately

​"Power does not always require a wolf" he muttered, almost to himself. Then he looked at his wife, the Luna. 

"She is the one”

​He turned back to me. The look in his eyes made me shiver. It wasn't kindness. It was something scary

​"You are alive because you are no longer a person, Willow. You are a necessity. That mark binds your soul to my sons"

​"Your... sons?" I whispered, my heart hammering against my ribs.

​"One of them is your mate" the Alpha declared with finality. 

"And until we figure out which one, you are the property of this house. If you try to run again, you won't just be breaking a law. You will be committing treason against the Crown"

​He motioned to the guards standing at the far exit.

​"Take her to the Royal Wing. She is not a prisoner anymore. She is the future Luna”

In that moment I knew, my life was never going to be the same.