The Marking

I was the daughter of the Blackwood Pack's Alpha, and my mate, Damien, was the Alpha heir of the neighboring Pack. We grew up together, and when we turned eighteen, our wolves recognized each other as mates. I thought I would be happy forever, until Damien rescued an Omega named Sarah at the border. She was beautiful, appearing as fragile and innocent as a doe. Two months later, Damien finally made his decision. "Elena, let's break the mate bond. My wolf might have chosen you, but that's just instinct. I’ve never actually loved you, Elena. You've always just been like a sister to me." In my past life, I cried until I fainted. My father, heartbroken for me, personally pressured the Shadowcrest elders. Ultimately, Damien was thrown into the dungeon and Sarah was exiled. However, Sarah was killed by rogue wolves on her way out of our territory. Damien remained despondent for six months. Eventually, through my patient companionship and care, he pulled himself together and marked me. But fifteen years later, as I lay in bed suffering from silver poisoning, Damien appeared before me holding Sarah’s hand. He personally injected the final dose of silver into my body, watching me struggle and die in agony. But when I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the year I turned eighteen. After my rebirth, I severed all ties with my Alpha mate, Damien. In my previous life, I had spent six months pushing myself through combat training I wasn't suited for just to attend the Alpha Academy with him, leaving my body covered in scars. This time, I tore up the admission offer and headed to the Royal Lycan Academy of Healing in Europe. Years later, I returned to the pack house for my marking ceremony with my second chance mate—the Alpha King, the most powerful werewolf in existence. Damien knelt outside the pack house, his eyes bloodshot. "Please, just give me another chance to love you..."

I am the sole heir to the Alpha King of Northaria, but I'm an Omega. All of Northaria awaits the day I come of age, hoping I'll awaken the kind of Alpha bloodline strong enough to claim the throne. But when the day finally comes, I'm still just a low-rank Omega. So, they say that the true heir must be one of the three "pledged Alphas" my father adopted from the major tribes. Whichever one of them marks me becomes the ruler of all Northaria packs. But none of them have ever truly looked at me. The one I like most is Quin Lawson. When I fainted on the snowy plains as a child, it was he who carried me back to the pack. I've tried countless times to get close to him, only to be met with nothing but cold, contemptuous stares. I used to think he was just emotionally distant—until the Moon Goddess Festival. That night, I saw him kneel before Silvia Anderson, the daughter of my father's second-in-command. His voice is soft, and his gaze is tender. "I'm marrying Evelyn only to repay the Alpha King's kindness. Once I get the inheritance, I'll make you my Luna. As long as she doesn't harm you, I'll even grant her a piece of land to live out her life in peace. You're my true mate." The night before the marking ceremony, my father asks me who I choose. I think of the way all three of the pledged Alphas look away whenever our eyes meet. I smile and say, "I'm the rightful heir of Northaria. My mate should be someone who brings the greatest strength to our pack. And so, I choose Alpha Heath of the Pyraxis pack." The air goes still. My father frowns. "Him? Are you sure? Every one of his mates has died under mysterious circumstances. His wolf is known to be vicious—no one dares get close to him. You truly want to be his mate?"

Another name: TEARS OF A FLOWER "What do you want, Victoria?" Victoria walked closer to Vega, her eyes held hatred in them. "Look, let me warn you, don't even dare try to ruin my marriage, or else I will make your life a living hell!" "You knew he wasn't your mate, and you let him mark you, didn't you?" Vega asked with anger brewing inside her. Victoria lowered her gaze a little, which meant she actually knew. "So what if I know? I'm the one he marked, not you!" She yelled, showing Vega her marked neck. ****************************** What happens when your twin sister is accidentally marked by your one true mate? Victoria and Vega are twin sisters born to the Alpha of white snow pack. These sisters are so identical that it was very difficult to differentiate between them. Their Father Alpha Blake Gilbert sometimes found it hard to tell their differences too. Fortunately they had two distinct features that separated them, one is the fact that Victoria who happened to be the eldest was reckless and stubborn, while Vega was calm and quiet. But sadly, Vega was the one who always got punished for her sister's crime. Everyone in the white snow pack thought Vega was the black sheep among the two. Vega suffered silently. Secondly, Victoria's wolf was brown while Vega's was white, but no one had seen Vega's wolf which was a rare kind. Alpha Reynold Flames of Blue Stone Pack happens to be the most famous and well-respected Alpha in the northern province of Westland. He is a Lycan and he was very powerful. At the age of thirty, Reynold was still without a mate. When he visited white snow pack, his wolf sensed the presence of their mate. Excited as he was to find his mate, he was deceived into marking the wrong woman (Victoria) since she smelled just like his mate (Vega). What will happen to these three lives which have become entangled for life? Will there be a breakthrough for them or will things get even worse?

During the holidays, Ellie Harper, my wife who's a hospital director, tells me once again that she has taken on a few operations at the last minute, so she can't go home with me to spend time with my parents. But soon, I see her assistant, Jaiden Roth's social media feed. Apparently, Ellie is slaughtering pigs at Jaiden's village in preparation for a holiday party. The caption writes, "Dad says having a daughter-in-law who works as a doctor is amazing. To think that she's this skilled in slaughtering pigs as well!" With a cold smirk curling on my lips, I leave a like on the post. I also comment, "That's her major, after all." My colleagues keep gossiping among themselves in various group chats. They all think I'll definitely get into a huge fight with Ellie this time. Ellie wastes no time in calling me. I can already imagine the impatient look on her face and the way her brows are drawn into a tight frown. "Jaiden's village is hosting a huge party for the holidays, so I'm there to lend them a helping hand! What's with that passive-aggressive tone of yours, huh? "There isn't anyone who can help out in his household, you know! Do you know how badly it'll reflect on his family if no one from his side helps out at all? I was just helping him out as a friend! What's there to kick up a fuss over? "Hurry up and remove the like and the damn comment! Don't make life difficult for Jaiden at the hospital, you hear me? "Once I get back from the village, I'll pick a good date to go back to your hometown with you, okay?" Another empty promise from Ellie, it seems. All she does is making empty promises that she can never keep nowadays. I'm completely stuffed with those promises, and I can't afford to wait for her anymore. Once the holidays are over, I'll receive the divorce certificate marking the end of our seven-year marriage once and for all.

When Diana sacrificed everything to save the Silver Moon Pack, she never imagined that her mate, Alexander, would spend eight years punishing her for it. After losing their unborn child to a vicious attack from Alexander's lover, Diana begs for freedom from her loveless union. But dark secrets lie beneath the surface—secrets that could shatter both packs. The birth moon approaches, and Diana must decide whether to keep her promise of silence or finally break free from the Alpha who never wanted her. A tale of betrayal, sacrifice, and the thin line between love and hate. At the Silver Moon Pack's annual full moon ceremony, I was viciously shoved to the ground by Alexander's female companion, Selena. Wearing silver-tipped boots, she stepped directly onto my swollen belly. In an instant, bright red blood stained my white ceremonial dress. Alexander glanced at me with a slight frown. "Pregnant but not staying in the den to take care of yourself? Out here challenging pack hierarchy again? Trying to frame Selena, aren't you? The sacred ground is stained with your blood—so unlucky! What a disgrace to a Luna!" After saying this, he turned away without hesitation, wrapping his arm around Selena's waist as they left. Even the urgent howls of the pack healer didn't make him look back at me once. The bitter wolfsbane medicine churned inside my body, and in the end, the pup couldn't be saved. Clutching my now-empty belly, I had just come out of the healer's den when I saw Alexander on the pack's communication crystal, passionately marking Selena with his scent. A sharp pain shot through my abdomen, piercing straight into my heart. Wiping the cold sweat from my forehead, I looked at my mother-in-law standing by the healing bed. "Elder Mardanna, it's been eight moons. The Silver Moon Pack's crisis was resolved long ago. I really want to break the mate bond. Please, let me go..."

I'd had a crush on my brother's best friend, Ethan—the most powerful Alpha of our Northern Territory—since I was twelve years old. When I was fifteen, I boldly confessed my feelings to him. He laughed and patted my head, casually promising, "When you turn eighteen and shift, if you're my mate, I'll mark you." That offhand promise became my greatest hope for three years. I spent every day waiting for my wolf to awaken, praying to the Moon Goddess that she would designate us as mates. But on the night of my eighteenth birthday, after my wolf first awakened, I was shocked to discover that Ethan truly was my mate! Ignoring the intense shifting pain coursing through my body, I immediately shifted into my wolf form and ran toward Ethan's training grounds. I clutched the gift I'd prepared long ago, but instead heard Ethan urgently confessing to his Omega assistant Victoria: "Who would be stupid enough to actually care about a true mate? The bond between her and me is just the Moon Goddess's mistake. I only love you. I'll only mark you as my Luna." The words hit me like silver bullets to the chest. My wolf whimpered in pain, the mate bond burning like acid in my veins. I stood frozen behind the trees, watching the man I'd loved for six years dismiss our sacred connection as if it meant nothing. Later, Ethan introduced Victoria as his "fiancée." When Victoria demanded that I publicly bless their marking ceremony, Ethan remained completely indifferent to my humiliation. "Sylvia should give us her blessing," Victoria announced at the pack meeting, her voice sweet as poison. "After all, she's been like a little sister to Ethan all these years." Every wolf in the room could smell my distress. But Ethan said nothing, refusing to even look at me. When rogue wolves attacked our territory and I was surrounded, Ethan didn't hesitate to scoop up Victoria—who had only a tiny scratch on her finger—and carry her away to find the pack healer. He left me bleeding and alone, silver claws ha

Alpha Ethan's first love, Sarah, died unexpectedly just days before their marking ceremony. His grief was so profound, it sent shockwaves through the entire Duskrend pack. I spent my youth walking beside him, helping him crawl out of that darkness. And finally, when he was ready to love again, he chose to mark me. In the first two years after he marked me, I got pregnant twice. Both times ended in miscarriage. Ethan, heart aching, told me he couldn't bear to see me suffer through childbirth again. That he didn't want me to endure that kind of pain anymore. But in the third year, I conceived again. On the way to see the pack healer for a routine checkup, I was attacked by a wild beast. My wolf, desperate to protect me, burned through most of her life force holding the creature off. Ethan arrived just in time and carried me to the pack hospital himself. But the healer shook his head. We had lost too much time. The pup couldn't be saved. Worse, my ability to bear pups would be permanently damaged because my wolf was too injured to ever carry life again. My mother clung to me, sobbing. Ethan stood in the corner and smiled. "Joy just can't have pups anymore," he said. "But Sarah—Sarah lost her life because of people like you." Then he looked at my mother, his voice edged with contempt. "You were the one who forced Sarah to abort. You watched her—an Omega without a wolf—scream herself to death. So now, your daughter shall feel that pain too." Five years after severing our mate bond, Ethan had become the most powerful Lycan Chairman the region had ever seen—courted, admired, endlessly celebrated. And me? I was working at an underground club. I was dressed in scraps of fabric, smiling until my cheeks ached, bowing and pouring drinks for whoever walked into the VIP room. There shouldn't have been any reason for our paths to cross again. But Ethan held me tight, eyes red and refusing to let go— “Say it,” he whispered, voice breaking. “Call me your mate.”

During the outdoor orientation boot camp, Wanda Lawson, the daughter of the richest tycoon, suddenly suffered from a heart attack. She collapsed to the ground and went through a seizure, her complexion bluish-gray. My boyfriend, Joseph Jensen, the drill instructor of the boot camp, overheard my pretentious roommate, Ella Ziegler, murmur, "She's usually fine, so why is she suddenly suffering from some sort of attack when it's time for the drills to start? She must be faking it in order to laze around!" Because of those assumptions, Joseph kicked the medication that Wanda managed to pull out of her pocket into the nearby river. "Get lost if you want to play dead! Don't drag us down with you!" I quickly dived into the river and scooped the medication out. Thanks to my efforts, Wanda's life was saved. Her father was enraged when he found out about the news and wanted to hold someone responsible. With tears streaking down my face, I begged Wanda to not expose Joseph. She nodded quietly to me. Joseph narrowly escaped the judgment. But Ella was expelled by the university right away for her malicious and provocative words. She even had a permanent stain of poor conduct marking her record. On the third day after Ella returned to her village, her family forced her to marry an older man who had remained single for far too long because of his violent temperament. Wanda's father was grateful to me for saving Wanda's life, so he listed me into the list of beneficiaries of his family's trust fund. The amount of money I received was second only to Wanda's portion. On the night news of Ella getting beaten to death by her husband got out, Joseph lovingly invited me to the place we first met so that we could go hiking. When I stood on the steep slope of the mountain, Joseph suddenly snatched the backpack filled with supplies, which included a life-saving whistle, from me. Then, he shoved me off the slope. "Why must you be such a busybody? If you never saved Wanda, she wouldn't have been able to testify against Ella because she'd have died! A murderer like you should just die!" Having broken my spine from the fall, I ended up dying at the foot of the mountain. After my death, not only Joseph got to receive the trust fund thanks to his relationship to me as my fiance, but he also began sponsoring low-income students by using Ella's namesake. That was how he reaped both wealth and reputation in one go. When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day Wanda suffers from the heart attack.

Leon Vincent, the shark of Warren Street, is the one who raised me. Twelve years ago, a fire tore through the orphanage and took everything from me. He was the one who pulled me out of the flames and gave me a second chance at life. To repay him, we make a weird deal—a 99-debt contract. I have to either obey him or be abandoned 99 times. After that, the debt will be cleared. Every time he goes on a date with some high-society socialite, he'll toss another insanely expensive piece of jewelry into my safe. In just two short years after turning 18, I've accumulated 96 diamonds in my safe, each one marking the 96 times he's cast me aside. One day, his fiancee, Elena Harrington, sends me a provocative email. "Dearest Isabelle, Leon and I are finalizing the wedding invitations. Do you think velvet with gold foil or matte leather would be more elegant? The ceremony's early next month. Can't wait to see you there! Love, Elena." Right after that, Leon calls, asking me to pack his bags for the summit in Parienne tomorrow. I simply send the wedding gift I've prepared in advance—a seven-figure emerald necklace—straight to his darling Elena without any words. That night, Leon returns to the apartment and finds out what I've done. He praises me for being considerate. Late into the night, he pulls me into his arms with rare tenderness. Nothing is left between us; no clothes, no holding back. He whispers that he wants to give me a special kind of reward, one that only I can carry. Somehow, Elena discovers my pregnancy. She stands on the balcony of Vincent Estate, screaming like her life depends on it. "Leon, I'm begging you! Don't let her have that baby! If you do, I'll jump!" The cold and proud Leon begs me, for the first time, to get rid of the baby. Everyone at the party awaits my breakdown, but I just smile softly and nod. "Alright. I will." He whispers in my ear, "Our marriage is just a business arrangement. I don't even like her. Once we're divorced, I'll give you another baby." What he fails to realize is that it was never in my plans to keep this one. There are only three more times left before I pay off this life debt from when he pulled me out of that fire all those years ago. After the 99th time, I board a ship bound for Azara to join a medical research mission. From that moment on, my life will be mine alone to live for.