Sealed Under His Name

Liora Ashwin POV

Wolves howled in the distance.

My eyes blinked before fully regaining sight. The curtains were drawn, the room dimmer than I remembered, and above me was Helene, fidgeting with some herbs.

“Oh my, you’re awake,” she said, relief visible in those calm eyes of hers.

I tried sitting up, but my body jerked violently. My hands instantly flew to my neck. There was no wound, but the skin where I had been marked burned as though hot liquid had been poured on it.

“Ahhh… make it stop,” I begged, my other hand trembling as it tightened on the silk sheets.

“You have to accept it,” I heard Helene’s voice echo, distant and hollow.

I shook my head. “No… please, make it stop,” I cried, tears streaming down my face. My body trembled, sweat soaking into the sheets. I felt as though I was dying.

I didn’t want this kind of control over my life. I wanted to be free, to leave and make my own decisions. I wasn’t about escaping one cage only to enter another, but the mark was stronger than I had anticipated.

Usually, as long as a wolf didn’t agree, the mark wouldn’t form. The bond wouldn’t happen. But in this case, the latter was happening.

I felt him entangle within me.

My pulse spiked for a brief moment, then everything vanished as though it had never existed. The pain disappeared. My body relaxed, my temperature returned to normal, but I wasn’t normal.

I felt healthier. Stronger. Not tired.

My vision sharpened, as did my sense of smell and hearing. My hand trembled as I reached for the marked area, and without doubt, it was there, imprinted on my skin.

Then came his presence.

The connection with him.

“No…” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

But nothing shocked me more than my wolf’s nonchalant attitude. While I fought to reject the bond, she accepted it without delay. She moaned in my head like someone waking from a pleasant dream.

“How can you be so calm?” I asked her.

Her answer didn’t come in words. She stretched and rolled with satisfaction. While I felt sick and wrong, she felt pleased, almost eager to jump at him the next moment.

This wasn’t happening.

I had lost everything, including my wolf, to a man I hated.

A bitter chuckle escaped my lips. “This is pathetic,” I laughed, tears shimmering in my eyes.

Helene quickly grabbed my hand, checking my pulse, temperature, and the baby. I felt her body stiffen, her fingers hovering above my belly a little too long.

“He did it,” she said quietly.

“He said I didn’t need to agree, but I, ”

Her jaw tightened. “Of course he did.”

“What… what do I do?” I asked desperately. “I don’t want this.”

Helene drew in a long breath, her gaze settling on me as if contemplating whether to speak.

“Please help me,” I begged. “Can you undo whatever he did to me?”

The sad look she gave was the answer before her words followed.

“You’ve been claimed,” Helene announced.

But that wasn’t all.

She exhaled slowly, choosing her next words carefully. “What he did can’t be undone. Unlike other Alphas, he doesn’t need permission. From this moment onward, not only this pack but the realm at large has felt the bond. They know he has taken a mate, a Luna Queen who will rule by his side and bear him an heir.”

She looked at me.

“You are the one, Liora. And this fate of yours is sealed with his.”

My world crumbled harder than when I discovered Ryan’s betrayal. My chest twisted as tears streamed down my face.

“I will never accept him… never!” I roared.

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Your body will call out to him, crave him, cling to him like life itself.”

Helene turned and began packing her items.

It was over.

There was nothing left of me.

I leaned against the headboard, my hand over my invisible baby bump.

The door opened again.

This time, I didn’t scream or crawl backward.

I felt him before I saw him.

The air shifted, heavy, commanding, alluring, wrapping around me like a blanket. Suddenly, I could smell him everywhere, thick and suffocating, like he was the air I needed to breathe.

My wolf stirred, eager to go to him, to snuggle into his arms.

But who was he to us?

My fingers curled into the sheets as I fought the pull.

Kael Veyron stood in the doorway, watching my every reaction, his eyes digging deep into my soul. He was composed, with a black coat, gloves, a mask, and boots.

Helene noticed his presence and bowed instantly. “Alpha.”

“Leave us,” he said calmly, but his words cut like steel.

She nodded and left, closing the door behind her.

Now it was just us, in a room that felt too thin to breathe in.

“You’ve stabilized faster than I expected.” his gaze shifted to my stomach. “Good.”

“Good?” I snapped. “You’ve branded me like property, and you say it’s good?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped closer, his footsteps hammering against the marble floor like a war drum.

“I secured you,” he said coldly.

“I didn’t want this,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I told you I already had a mate.”

He stopped before the bed, something dangerous flickering in his gaze before vanishing.

“You had a weakness,” he corrected. “One that almost got you and your child killed.”

“That still doesn’t give you the right.”

“It gives me every damn right, Liora Ashwin,” he roared.

I crawled backward.

He leaned closer, his finger brushing against the wound on my neck. “They already tried to kill you under my watch. Next time, they won’t miss.”

My body shuddered under his touch.

“From this moment onward, no Alpha will dare look at you without fear. Your child will be born under my name, my protection, and my claws.”

“What about me?” I asked softly. “What do I get?”

His lips curled upward. “You live,” he said quietly.

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

“And in time,” he added, “you will understand.”

Despite the chaos inside me, my wolf pressed forward, eager for his touch, eager to lean into him. I turned my face away.

“I won’t forgive you,” I whispered.

“I didn’t ask,” he replied coldly.

He strode toward the door, his back turned to me. “You will get used to it.”

The door slammed shut.

Silence settled.

And for the first time since the night I was rejected, fear wasn’t the only thing tightening around my chest.

Revenge brewed quietly in a distant corner.

If I had to pay this price, then others would pay theirs.

And his name was Kael Veyron.

Certainly, I wouldn’t be the only one to suffer.