Marked By The Monster: The Lycan King's Bride

I stood at the altar, ready to bind my soul to Holden, the man I had loved since we were pups.

But the moment his stepsister, Jaidyn, let out a shrill scream, he ripped his hand away from mine.

He abandoned me in front of the entire pack, cradling her in his arms and claiming his wolf had chosen her over me.

The humiliation didn't end there.

When I tried to leave, Holden kidnapped me.

He locked a silver collar around my neck, searing my skin and cutting off my connection to the world.

He dragged me to a filthy dungeon, ignoring my screams, and began draining my blood to "save" Jaidyn.

As my life force faded into the IV bag, I watched Jaidyn smirk behind his back, her "wounds" healing instantly.

Holden called me a monster for hurting her, blind to the truth.

To him, I was just a weak, latent wolf-a spare blood bag for his mistress.

But they made a fatal mistake.

They didn't know that the "weakness" inside me was actually a dormant power waiting to explode.

And they certainly didn't know that my rejection of Holden had already summoned a new mate.

The terrifying Lycan King, Alphons, was coming.

And when he arrives, he will burn their world to the ground.

Chapter 1

Eloise POV:

The Moon Stone was cold against my bare feet, a sharp contrast to the humid summer air, but it did nothing to cool the nausea churning in my gut.

This was supposed to be a rehearsal. Just a practice run for the Mating Ceremony that would bind my soul to Holden's forever.

The pack gathered around the altar, their murmurs low and respectful. The Bowers Pack territory was beautiful tonight, bathed in the silver light of the full moon.

I looked at Holden. My fiancé. The man I had loved since we were pups. He looked handsome in his ceremonial robes, but his focus was entirely elsewhere.

His gaze kept snapping toward the front row, where his stepsister, Jaidyn, sat. She looked fragile, wrapped in three layers of blankets despite the heat.

"Eloise," Holden said, his voice trembling slightly. "Are you ready to recite the vows?"

"I am," I smiled, though my wolf paced uneasily inside me. She didn't like this. She didn't like him. But as a latent wolf with dormant powers, I usually ignored her instincts.

Just as I reached for Holden's hand, a shrill scream pierced the air.

Jaidyn collapsed.

She fell from her chair like a broken doll, convulsing on the grass. A scent hit my nose immediately-not the fresh pine of the forest, but something cloyingly sweet, like rotting lilies. It was the scent of a dying wolf.

"Jaidyn!" Holden screamed.

He didn't just turn. He abandoned me. He ripped his hand away from mine so violently I stumbled back against the stone altar.

He was at her side in a second, scooping her up.

"Her wolf is fading!" Jaidyn's mother shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at me. "The ceremony! The energy is too strong for her delicate constitution! Stop it!"

Holden looked up at me. His eyes were wild, filled with a panic that wasn't for me.

"We have to stop," he shouted.

"Holden, it's just a rehearsal," I said, stepping off the dais. "We can call the healers-"

"No!" He cut me off. "She needs me. My wolf... my wolf is calling to her. It says she needs protection."

The crowd gasped.

In our world, the Alpha is the protector. But for an Alpha to claim his wolf chose another woman over his intended mate during a ceremony? That was blasphemy.

"Holden," I said, my voice turning hard. "If you leave this altar now, you humiliate me. You humiliate my family."

He looked at the woman in his arms. Jaidyn's eyelids fluttered. She looked at me, and for a split second, I saw a smirk curl her pale lips before she let her head loll back against his chest.

"I don't care about your pride, Eloise!" Holden roared. "I care about her life! I'm sorry."

He didn't look sorry. He looked relieved.

He turned his back on me. He carried her away, the crowd parting for him like the Red Sea, leaving me standing alone under the moonlight.

The silence that followed was heavy. It was the sound of three hundred people pitying me.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest, the snapping of the tentative bond we had started to form. It wasn't a true Mate Bond, thank the Goddess, but the rejection still stung like a physical slap.

My father stepped forward, his face red with fury, but I held up a hand.

"Don't," I whispered.

I walked down the steps of the altar. I didn't run. I didn't cry. The Bowers bloodline might be dormant in me, but it was proud.

I reached the privacy of the pack house and went straight to my room.

My phone buzzed. It was a Mind-Link notification, translated into text for convenience.

Holden: Eloise, don't be dramatic. Jaidyn is critical. We need to postpone the wedding indefinitely. My wolf tells me I need to be her anchor. You understand, right? You've always been the strong one. Make room for her in the inner circle.

I stared at the screen.

He wasn't asking. He was commanding. He thought because I was a "weak" latent wolf, I would just roll over and accept a mistress in my marriage.

My inner wolf let out a sound I had never heard before. It wasn't a whimper.

It was a low, dangerous growl.

He is unworthy, she whispered in the back of my mind.

I typed a reply, my fingers steady. I understand perfectly.

Then I blocked him.

I scrolled through my contacts. Past my father. Past my friends. Down to a number I had saved years ago, a number everyone said was a death wish to dial.

Alphons Woodward.

The Lycan King. The ruler of all packs. And Holden's estranged, terrifying older half-brother.

Rumor had it he was a monster. A cold-blooded killer who crushed skulls with his bare hands. He was looking for a Luna, but no she-wolf had ever survived his intensity.

I pressed the call button.

One ring. Two rings.

"Speak," a voice answered.

It was deep. Baritone. It vibrated through the speaker and seemed to caress my skin, sending a jolt of electricity down my spine. My breath hitched.

"King Alphons," I said, surprising myself with the steadiness of my voice.

"You have five seconds before I hang up," he said. He sounded bored, dangerous.

"Holden Callahan is a fool," I said. "He just abandoned me at the altar for a woman who smells like rotting flowers. He is weak, and he is unworthy of the Woodward blood."

Silence on the other end. Then, a low sound. Amusement?

"And?"

"And," I took a deep breath. "You need a Luna. I need a husband who isn't a coward. I am Eloise Bowers. I am offering you a deal."

"A deal?" His voice dropped an octave, becoming a purr that made my toes curl. "You are the one he rejected?"

"I am the one doing the rejecting," I corrected him. "Meet me at the Central Administration Center. Thirty minutes."

"You command a King?"

"I offer a King an opportunity," I said. "Don't be late."

I hung up.

My hands were shaking now, but not from fear. I felt alive. The fog that had clouded my instincts for years began to lift.

I grabbed my coat and walked out the door. I was done being the victim.

Eloise POV:

The Central Administration Center was neutral ground. It was a sleek glass building where wolf law met human bureaucracy.

I sat in the private waiting room, checking my watch. Twenty-nine minutes.

Had I made a mistake? Alphons Woodward was a myth, a nightmare used to scare pups into behaving. He didn't do blind dates. He destroyed packs.

The elevator chimed.

The air in the room changed instantly. The oxygen seemed to be sucked out, replaced by a heavy, oppressive pressure. This was Aura.

The doors slid open.

He walked in, and my world tilted on its axis.

He was huge. Over six and a half feet tall, with broad shoulders that strained against his charcoal suit. His hair was dark as a raven's wing, and his eyes...

His eyes were liquid gold.

When his gaze locked onto mine, I didn't just see him. I smelled him.

It hit me like a physical wave. Rain on hot asphalt. Deep, ancient pine forests. And something smoky, like a wood fire in winter.

Mate.

My inner wolf screamed it. She didn't just growl; she howled, clawing at my ribs, desperate to get to him.

Alphons froze mid-step. His nostrils flared. A low rumble started in his chest, a sound so primal it made the glass table vibrate.

He crossed the room in two strides.

I stood up, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.

He stopped inches from me. The heat radiating from his body was intense. He reached out, his large hand hovering near my face.

"Mine," he growled.

It wasn't a question. It was a statement of fact. A decree.

"Yours," I whispered, the word slipping out before I could stop it.

His fingers brushed my cheek.

Zap.

A shockwave of static electricity snapped between us, loud enough to hear. My knees buckled. He caught me, his arm wrapping around my waist like a steel band.

The touch was intoxicating. It felt like coming home after a long, cold war.

"You are the latent one?" he asked, his voice rough, as if he was restraining a beast. "Bowers' daughter?"

"I was," I managed to say, drowning in his scent. "Now, I am just Eloise."

"No," he said, pulling me flush against his hard chest. "Now, you are Eloise Woodward."

He didn't ask for explanations. He didn't ask about Holden. He turned to the stunned clerk sitting behind the glass partition.

"Papers," Alphons barked.

The clerk scrambled, dropping a pen in his haste. "Y-yes, Alpha King. Right away."

We signed the documents in a daze. My hand shook as I wrote my name next to his. The ink was barely dry before he took the paper, folded it, and placed it in his pocket.

"The marking," he murmured, leaning down to sniff the sensitive spot where my neck met my shoulder. "I want to claim you. Now."

My breath hitched. "Not here. Not like this."

He pulled back, his golden eyes swirling with lust and violence. He took a deep breath, visibly reigning in his wolf.

"Patience," he muttered to himself. "She is not prey."

He took my hand. "Come. We go to your home. You will pack."

"My home?"

"You live with me now," he said simply. "The Bowers Pack is no longer your concern."

We drove to my private villa on the outskirts of the territory in his matte black SUV. The silence wasn't awkward; it was charged, heavy with unspoken promises.

When we arrived, I saw a familiar car in the driveway.

Holden.

He was banging on my front door. He looked disheveled, frantic.

"Eloise! Open this damn door!" he shouted.

Alphons growled low in his throat. I put a hand on his arm.

"Let me," I said. "I need to do this."

Alphons looked at me, assessing. Then he nodded. "I will be right behind you."

I stepped out of the car.

Holden spun around. "Finally! Where have you been? I've been calling you for an hour!"

He marched toward me, ignoring the massive figure emerging from the driver's side.

"Jaidyn is sick, Eloise. Really sick. The healers say she needs blood from a compatible donor to stabilize her wolf. You have the same blood type. You need to come with me."

I stared at him. The audacity was breathtaking.

"You left me at the altar," I said, my voice cold. "And now you want my blood for your mistress?"

"She's not a mistress! She's family!" Holden yelled. He tried to use his Alpha Voice on me. "I command you to get in the car!"

It was a pathetic attempt. His voice washed over me like a weak breeze. It had no power.

"No," I said.

"What did you say?" He stepped closer, raising a hand as if to grab me.

A shadow fell over him.

Alphons stepped into the light. He didn't speak. He simply released a fraction of his Aura.

The air crushed down. Holden choked, his eyes bulging. He stumbled back, his knees hitting the pavement.

"Brother," Alphons said. The word sounded like a curse.

Holden paled. "Alphons? What... what are you doing here?"

"Collecting my wife," Alphons said.

Holden looked between us, confusion warring with fear. "Wife? But... Eloise is my..."

"Your what?" Alphons took a step forward. "You rejected her. You abandoned her. You left a diamond in the mud to chase a piece of glass."

Alphons wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. The scent of him-power and pine-washed away the smell of Holden's desperation.

"Get off my property," I told Holden. "I am not your fiancée. I am not your donor. And if you ever try to command me again, I will rip your throat out."

I didn't know where the violence came from. Maybe it was the King beside me. Maybe it was the wolf waking up inside.

Holden scrambled to his feet, terrified. "You're making a mistake, Eloise! She's dying!"

"Then let her die," I said, turning my back on him.

I walked toward the door, Alphons at my side. I felt a thrill of dark satisfaction.

But as I keyed in the code, I didn't see the look on Holden's face. It wasn't just fear anymore. It was the twisted, desperate look of a man who had nothing left to lose.

Eloise POV:

The morning sun felt like a lie. It was bright and cheerful, completely at odds with the darkness brewing on my doorstep.

Alphons had left early for a council meeting-something about rogue movements on the northern border.

"I'm leaving two of my elite Delta guards at the gate," Alphons had said, kissing my forehead. "Do not open the door for anyone but me. I'll be back by noon to move your things."

I was packing a box of books when the doorbell rang.

I checked the security feed. It was Jaidyn.

She stood there, not in a wheelchair, not looking pale. She was wearing a tight red dress, checking her reflection in my window. She looked perfectly, infuriatingly healthy.

Rage, hot and sudden, flared in my chest.

I opened the door, confused as to why the Deltas hadn't stopped her. Maybe they were patrolling the perimeter?

"You made a miraculous recovery," I said, leaning against the frame.

Jaidyn jumped, then composed herself. A sickly sweet smile plastered onto her face. "Oh, Eloise. You know how it is. The healers gave me a boost. But I'm still so fragile."

"Cut the act, Jaidyn," I snapped. "Holden isn't here."

Her smile dropped. Her eyes, usually wide and innocent, narrowed into slits.

"You think you've won, don't you?" she hissed. "Because you ran crying to the big, bad King?"

"I think I dodged a bullet," I corrected. "You can have Holden. He's weak. You deserve each other."

"I don't want Holden," she laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "I want the title. I want the power. And you... you're just a beta bitch standing in my way."

She stepped forward, invading my personal space. She smelled wrong. Underneath the expensive perfume, there was that scent again-rot. But it wasn't sickness. It was corruption.

"Get off my porch," I warned.

"Make me."

I reached out to shove her back. My fingers barely grazed her shoulder.

"Ahhh!" Jaidyn threw herself backward.

It was a performance worthy of an Oscar. She flew off the porch steps and landed in the grass, screaming as if I had poured acid on her.

"Help! She's killing me!"

"Jaidyn!"

Holden burst from the bushes.

"Where are the guards?" I shouted, backing up.

Two men in black tactical gear emerged from the tree line. Mercenaries. One of them wiped a bloody knife on his pant leg. They had ambushed Alphons' men.

He didn't hesitate. He didn't ask questions. He charged at me, his eyes flashing red.

"Kneel!" he roared.

This time, he put everything he had into the Alpha Command.

I wasn't a wolf yet. I didn't have a rank. The command hit me like a physical blow to the stomach. My legs locked up. I couldn't breathe. I slumped against the doorframe, paralyzed.

"You vicious monster!" Holden screamed, spitting in my face. "She came here to apologize, and you attack her?"

"She... faked..." I gasped, fighting the invisible weight crushing my lungs.

"Save it!" Holden signaled to the mercenaries. "Grab her."

"Holden, you can't," I wheezed. "Alphons..."

"Alphons isn't here!" Holden grabbed my hair, yanking my head back. "And by the time he finds you, you'll be begging for forgiveness."

He pulled something from his pocket. A collar.

It gleamed with a dull, menacing luster. Silver.

Pure silver is poison to us. It burns the skin and cuts off the wolf from the human host. It blocks the Mind-Link.

"No," I whispered.

He snapped it around my neck.

The pain was instantaneous. It felt like a ring of fire searing into my flesh. I screamed, but the sound died in my throat as my energy was sucked away. My connection to the world, to the pack, to Alphons, vanished.

Static. Just static and pain.

They dragged me to a van. As they shoved me inside, I saw Jaidyn standing up. She brushed the grass off her dress, smirking at me. She blew Holden a kiss as he climbed in beside me.

"Where are we going?" I managed to rasp, the silver burning my vocal cords.

"Somewhere quiet," Holden said, looking at me with cold, dead eyes. "Somewhere you can think about what you've done to my family."

The van sped away.

I tried to reach out with my mind. Alphons! Alphons, help me!

Nothing. The silver collar acted like a Faraday cage for the soul. I was alone.

We drove for hours. When the van finally stopped, the air smelled damp and metallic.

They dragged me down a flight of stone stairs. A dungeon. This was the old Callahan estate, abandoned years ago.

Holden threw me into a cell. The bars were coated in silver dust.

"Rot here for a while," he spat. "Maybe when you're humble, we'll talk."

He slammed the gate shut. The lock clicked.

I lay on the cold stone floor, the collar eating into my neck. I closed my eyes, fighting the darkness threatening to swallow me.

I had to survive. I had to hold on.

Because when my King found out about this... the world would burn.