Chapter 2 TWO

Aria's POV

My mind raced. My body froze as I saw him standing in front of me, his face twisted into a smirk. His eyes gleamed with a predatory light, and that smile... it made my skin crawl.

Why is he smiling?

He's mated to his stepdaughter.

The daughter of his late wife.

"You are my new mate," Alpha Lucien's said

"Ah!" The sound tore from my throat and a raw cry of disbelief. My mouth dropped open, wide in shock.

But I wasn't even of age to be mated. This... this wasn't supposed to happen.

The hall, once filled with murmurs and shifting feet, now felt suffocatingly silent or maybe it was just me. Everything sounded distant, like I'd slipped underwater. My heart pounded like a war drum, but my feet refused to move. Tears slid down my cheeks before I could stop them; hot, bitter, shameful.

What have I done to deserve this?

To be mated at eighteen... to my cruel stepfather?

This... this was a taboo.

In a blink, his wolf surged to the surface. Without warning, his fangs sank into my neck, sharp and unforgiving.

A cry, raw and primal, tore from my throat. Pain exploded through me, burning, vibrant, blinding. I could feel the bond pulling at me, pulling me to him like chains. The coldness of his touch spoke of something darker than I could understand. The tears came harder now, falling like rain from a broken sky.

"Our Alpha has claimed another Luna," Elder Joe's voice rang across the hall.

Another Luna.

My mother had once stood beside this same Alpha. She bore his child before she was torn from this world, killed by an arrow meant for him.

You might be wondering: What was my mother doing on the battlefield?

Alpha Lucien never fought without her. Her wolf was the strongest among us. Fierce. Untamed. Respected.

"Orphan, you are mine," his voice dragged me back to the present.

Orphan.

Even now, he calls me that.

We, as werewolves, live long lives. But eventually, we all return to the Moon Goddess. To him, though, "orphan" isn't just a title. It's a stain. A reminder of how little I mean to him.

"No... no," I said, my voice trembling like a leaf in a water.

But no one moved to stop him. No one questioned the bond.

Instead, the crowd murmured. Gasps. Whispers. Some wolves looked away in shame. Others stared at me like I had committed a crime.

"Is that even allowed?" someone whispered in disbelief.

"She's too young," another murmured.

"Alpha Lucien's stepdaughter?"

My wolf stirred inside me, restless and agitated.

"This isn't right," she whispered. "We're not ready. We're not safe."

"I reject this," I said louder, my voice shaky but firm, sounding through the murmurs. "I reject this mate bond."

Lucien's head tilted slightly. That smile is a no, that smirk curled cruelly at the edge of his lips.

"You don't get to reject me," he said coldly, his words dripping venom. "The bond is sealed."

"No!" I shouted, chest tightening as I stumbled backward. My hand flew to the bite mark on my neck. It burned like fire. Like shame. The bond pulsed inside me like a curse and I hated it.

He stepped closer. I flinched.

His voice dropped, low and dangerous. "You're mine now. The Moon Goddess chose you. Even she can't undo what's been done."

I turned and ran, legs trembling, heart racing. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole. But no miracle came to save me.

I burst into my room, slammed the creaky door behind me, and locked it tight.

Tears blurred my vision as I collapsed onto the filthy bed, clutching my chest as though I could rip the bond out with my bare hands. The bite mark throbbed in time with my heartbeat.

What was I supposed to do now?

Why was I suffering like this?

My wolf growled weakly beneath my skin. "We need help."

"I can't stay in this pack. I can't!" I shot up from the bed, voice choked with tears.

"I have to run away."

"I don't care if I become an outcast... or if I'm killed by a rogue wolf."

"I just have to leave."

I staggered toward the wardrobe and yanked it open. Clothes spilled out, but I didn't care. I grabbed anything I could find, shoving them into a black polythene trash bag, the same one meant for discarded clothes.

The bag reeked of plastic and dust. I didn't care.

The clothes weren't even folded. They felt like weights in my hands, which reminded me of a life I couldn't escape fast enough.

I had to leave.

As I tied the bag shut and headed for the door, I twisted the knob with trembling fingers, only to find him standing there.

Alpha Lucien.

My heart sank like a stone in my chest.

"To where?" he asked, voice low and menacing.

"I-I..." My voice failed me. I didn't even know what to say.

But he didn't wait for words. He shoved me back into the room.

I crashed to the floor, pain flaring across my ribs.

My heart ached, not just from the fall, but from the violation. The shame. The fear.

"You think you can run away?" he growled.

"You think you can disgrace me in this pack?"

As he stalked toward me, something inside me snapped.

I didn't know where the energy came from. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was rage.

But I jumped at him. And he fell hard.

His back slammed against the ground, and for the first time, I saw something flash in his eyes like a surprise.

"No!" he shouted.

But I was already on my feet.

I darted for the door, my hands shaking as I yanked it open. I didn't look back. I ran.

Through the hallway. Down the stairs. Past confused pack members who stepped aside, unsure of what they'd just witnessed.

I didn't care. My legs moved on instinct, adrenaline pumping through my veins.

I had to get out.

The air slapped my face as I burst out of the packhouse and sprinted toward the entrance gate of the territory.

Almost there. Almost,

Thwack!

A sharp pain ripped through my shoulder.

An arrow.

I stumbled, gasping, but I kept going.

Another thwack, but this time, my leg.

I screamed and crashed to the ground, blood seeping through my torn dress.

My vision blurred, the world spinning. Through the haze, I saw two of Alpha Lucien's guards.

They were running toward me, eyes locked, expressionless and lethal.

No. No, no, no.

I tried to crawl, to move, to do anything but my limbs refused to respond.

"No... please..." I choked out, my voice barely heard.

My limbs were useless. My wolf whimpered, weak and fading inside me.

"We... we almost made it," she said, her voice flickering like a dying flame.

"What's going on there?"I Heard a voice from behind.

The guards paused.

I turned my head, vision blurry with tears and pain, but I saw him, a stranger. A warrior, tall and fierce, stepping into the pack grounds like he belonged there.

His eyes locked on mine, and something in them made my heart stutter.

"She's a she-wolf," he said, his voice smooth, deep... commanding.

"Treat her gently," he added, gaze sharp and unwavering. "No matter what."