Chapter Two

Dahlia’s POV

“Dahlia, leave! Go wherever you want, but leave this house!”

Those words sent shockwaves through my body, widening my excitement and surprise. Alpha Darius was asking me to leave the pack. He was setting me free. I would leave the shithole and go into the big city. I could find any menial job and join a sorority house. I could study for a college scholarship and become a doctor, a lawyer, or a journalist. I had never felt so alive. I was finally free of the suffering and the pain. I wanted to cry out with joy!

But the strong hands around my waist suddenly jolted into my mind, forcing me back to reality. I raised my head, heart thundering in my chest.

His eyes were on me—dark, unreadable, but intense enough to make me forget how to breathe.

“You are my mate," he rasped, his voice deep yet soft. "I've been looking for my whole life; I've been in pain.”

“Hmm...” I stuttered, my lips trembling. “I'm sorry...”

“This is all a huge misunderstanding, Alpha Darryn,” my uncle suddenly interjected, stepping forward. He reached forward to pull me out of Alpha Darryn's hold, but he shot him a deadly glare.

“Hera is to be your bride. Our families have agreed upon it.”

“My agreement with your pack stands,” Alpha Darryn said. “You still get the financial support, business contracts, and the warfare support. I'm just changing the bride; technically, the moon goddess has done the changing. I cannot marry someone else when the moon goddess has sent my mate to me. I know you understand my point.”

“No, Alpha, you cannot marry her." He pointed sternly with irritation in his face. “She isn't enough for you. My daughter Hera is proper for you. She is educated, beautiful, and presentable.”

“Yes,” I hurriedly said, nodding in agreement. “I cannot marry you, Alpha. I'm about to leave the pack and travel to the east of the land. I would no longer live here.”

“Yes." Lunar Jane and Alpha Darius said in unison, with the Lunar throwing another murderous glance in my direction. “We shall proceed with the wedding plans immediately.”

Alpha Daryn's eyes turned red, rage flashing across them. I tried to wriggle out then, but he only tightened his grip harder around my waist.

“I am Alpha Darryn of the Regal Wolf Pack." He growled, his voice growing thick and threatening. “I am the richest, the strongest, and the most powerful. I get whatever I want, whenever I want, and however I want it.”

He looked down at me then, the heat of his gaze searing through my blood. “And I want her.”

Without another word, he lifted me into his arms like I weighed nothing. I gasped but didn’t resist. My eyes darted to Alpha Darius, who stood frozen, jaw clenched, fury brewing under his skin. Lunar Jane’s hands were balled into fists at her sides, her face pale with horror. But they didn’t stop him; no one dared.

He carried me out of the kitchen and into the cool night air. The wind kissed my bloodied scalp, and my skin shivered, not from the cold—but from the fire of realization that something impossible was unfolding. The pack members who lingered in the garden watched us pass, mouths parting, eyes wide in shock. I kept my gaze low.

We stopped under the shadow of the stone archway that led to the east wing.

He set me down gently, like I was made of glass.

“How long?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “How long have you been in this hell?”

I looked up at him, struggling to find my voice. “Since I was five.”

His jaw tightened.

“Have you been fed properly?” he asked, brushing away a blood-slicked strand of hair from my face.

“Sometimes,” I answered honestly.

He touched my chin then, lifting it to inspect the bruises. His eyes dimmed in pain. “And your health?”

“I’m alive,” I said with a small, bitter laugh.

His thumb caressed the corner of my mouth. “You won’t just be alive anymore, Dahlia. I will love you. I will care for you. You’re mine now, and I protect what’s mine.”

Something fluttered inside me at his words. Something ancient and sacred. The moon bond. I felt it like a pull in my chest—a golden thread tightening, drawing me toward him.

His arms circled me once more, and without thinking, I melted into his warmth.

For the first time in years… I felt safe.

He tilted his head, his lips brushing my temple. “Come,” he murmured.

With a commanding nod, he ordered one of his guards to bring a fresh change of clothes. Within minutes, I was dressed in a flowing velvet gown in midnight blue, my hair gently brushed and tied away from the injured side of my head.

Then, he took my hand and led me back through the main entrance of the ballroom. All chatter ceased the moment we walked in. The room fell still.

Darryn stood tall beside me, his arm securely wrapped around my waist.

"This," he said, voice rich with authority, “is Dahlia Wolfheart. The moon goddess has chosen her for me. She is my mate. And from this moment forward… she is my fiancée.”

Gasps rippled through the ballroom like thunder rolling through the hills.

Hera’s glass dropped from her hand, shattering against the floor. Her lips trembled. She began to move toward us, fury clouding her features, but before she could get close, Darryn stepped in front of me with a deadly glare.

“Don’t,” he warned.

“But she’s nothing,” Hera snarled. “She’s a thief! A servant!”

“She is mine,” he snapped, his voice sharp as steel. “You will not touch her. Leave.”

Hera’s face crumpled, her eyes narrowing into slits, but she turned on her heels and stormed off, the guests parting to let her pass.

Darryn leaned close to me. “I’m staying in the city’s elite tower suite,” he whispered. “I want you to come with me tonight.”

My lips parted, heart thudding. It sounded like a dream.

“No,” I whispered. “Not yet. I just… I need to think. Please.”

He studied me for a long moment, then nodded. “As you wish. But be safe. I’ll have my guards around your quarters.”

I nodded, and he kissed my forehead before releasing me.

I returned to my bedroom, my heart still fluttering with everything that had happened. But the moment I pushed open the door, I stopped short. Hera was already there. She sat on my bed like a queen, her back straight, eyes alight with rage. Her voice was poison when she spoke.

“You little worm,” she hissed. “You bewitched him. You stole my future. He is mine!”

“I didn’t steal anything,” I said, my voice shaking. “The moon goddess chose…”

“You’re a liar!” she screamed, suddenly launching at me.

Before I could move, she shoved me hard.

I stumbled backwards and fell out of the window.