Marked By The Ruthless Alpha King

Annamarie Whitmore POV:

The grand hall of the Blackwood Pack was filled with the scent of pine and the solemn atmosphere of the mate ceremony. I stood on the dais in a simple white dress, surrounded by powerful werewolves dressed in their finest attire.

Everyone here knew I was wolfless, a genetic defect that made me different from every other werewolf in the pack.

The whispers had followed me for years. Some looked at me with pity, while others considered me a weakness that brought shame to the Whitmore name. I had learned to ignore those voices, but standing in front of the entire pack today, I could still feel every gaze on me.

The Elder stepped forward and raised his voice.

"In the witness of the Moon Goddess, Jared Hayes, do you accept Annamarie Whitmore as your one, your only, your lifelong mate?"

The entire hall fell silent. All eyes turned toward Jared.

I looked at him and tried to calm the uneasiness in my chest.

The Moon Goddess had chosen our bond. A fated mate was a blessing that no werewolf could question.

Jared had never shown open disgust toward me before. Even though I was wolfless, he had always maintained the appearance of acceptance, responded to my feelings, and treated me with the courtesy expected from the future Alpha of the Blackwood Pack.

I believed the Hayes family's teachings had given him enough honor and responsibility to respect the bond chosen by the Moon Goddess.

More importantly, I didn't want to be rejected.

Because I knew what would happen after Jared rejected me.

Without the future Alpha's bond, I would lose my value in the Whitmore family. I would become nothing more than an abandoned piece, a burden they could discard or trade away whenever it benefited them.

I couldn't let that happen.

My fingers tightened around the fabric of my dress as I looked at Jared. For a moment, I waited for him to speak the words that would change my life.

Then Jared smiled. The expression on his face made the uneasiness in my chest grow heavier.

He didn't look at me. He turned toward the crowd and spoke in a clear, steady voice loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear.

"I, Jared Hayes, reject you, Annamarie Whitmore, as my mate."

The moment Jared's words fell, my mind went blank.

The hall around me seemed to spin, and the voices of the crowd blurred into a distant noise. The pain from the broken mate bond surged through my body, forcing me to take a step back.

Jared narrowed his eyes and looked at me, his expression cold and distant. "You are wolfless, Annamarie. You cannot shift, you cannot sense the emotions of our wolves, and you cannot carry the responsibilities expected of the future Luna. I refuse to bind the Blackwood Pack to a mate who can never truly stand beside its Alpha."

A murmur swept through the hall. Some guests lowered their eyes, while others exchanged knowing glances. A few even nodded in agreement, as if Jared had finally said aloud what everyone had already been thinking.

My legs almost gave out. I pressed my fingers against the edge of my dress, using the fabric to keep myself standing.

No one came forward to defend me. The whispers grew louder, and every word carried the same conclusion: a wolfless female had no place beside the future Alpha.

At that moment, Carrie rushed toward me.

"Annamarie..." Her voice was soft and worried. "I know this hurts. Seeing my sister treated this way... it breaks my heart."

She reached out as if she wanted to comfort me. But the moment she came closer, memories from the Whitmore family flashed through my mind.

I remembered how she had deliberately ruined my first official training uniform before a pack gathering, then cried and apologized when everyone found out, making me the one who looked unreasonable for being angry.

The disgust rising in my chest made me take a step back. I looked at her coldly and said nothing.

Carrie's eyes immediately turned red. "Annamarie... I was only trying to comfort you. Why are you looking at me like that?" Her voice trembled, loud enough for everyone around us to hear.

The people nearby immediately looked at me with disapproval.

"She rejected her sister's kindness?"

"Carrie was only trying to help."

"Maybe this is why Jared made his choice."

The whispers grew louder.

I stood there silently, watching the same people who had just witnessed my rejection now judge me for refusing Carrie's performance.

Before I could respond, the Elder's voice sounded again.

"Annamarie Whitmore, you must accept his rejection."

I lowered my eyes. The last trace of hope I had for Jared disappeared completely. My voice was quiet but steady.

"I, Annamarie Whitmore, accept your rejection."

The moment I spoke those words, the final connection between Jared and me disappeared.

Pain spread through my entire body. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, but I swallowed it. I refused to collapse in front of them and become the entertainment of this hall.

Jared turned away from me and walked toward Carrie. The crowd surrounded them with congratulations and smiles.

I stepped down from the dais and headed toward the exit.

But before I could leave the hall, Cornelius appeared in front of me. Beside him stood a wealthy older man I had never seen before.

My foster father's eyes fell on me with open greed, as if he were looking at a valuable possession that had finally become available.

"Annamarie," Cornelius said, smiling. "Come here. I have someone you need to meet."

I looked past him at the unfamiliar man standing beside him. The man's eyes lingered on me with undisguised interest, making my skin crawl. I understood instantly.

This was the future Cornelius had prepared for me. In his eyes, I was no longer a daughter, but a resource that could be exchanged for his own benefit.

The moment his hand reached for my arm, I stepped back and pulled away. "No."

The smile on Cornelius's face faded.

"Don't make this difficult, Annamarie." His voice was no longer gentle. "You should be grateful. After losing the future Alpha's protection, this is the only value you have left."

His words cut deeper than I expected.

I saw the greed in his eyes and the man's undisguised desire beside him. After everything that had happened tonight, after Jared had publicly rejected me, I refused to let another person decide my life and turn me into something they could control.

When Cornelius reached for me again, I turned and ran.

"Stop her!" The shout erupted behind me.

Heavy footsteps followed immediately, closing the distance with every second.

I lifted my dress and pushed through the crowd, ignoring the shocked voices around me. I didn't look back.

I already knew what would happen if they caught me. I pushed through the side door and ran into the cold night.

The Forbidden Forest was ahead. A place even Rogues avoided. But I no longer cared.

If I stayed, I would become someone's possession. If I ran, at least my fate would still belong to me.

I lifted my dress and disappeared into the darkness. Behind me, the people chasing me stopped at the edge of the forest.

"Forget it. That woman is crazy. She actually ran into the Forbidden Forest." The footsteps behind me suddenly stopped. Their voices faded into the distance as the people chasing me finally gave up. "I'm not going in there to die."

I kept running deeper into the Forbidden Forest. The trees closed around me, and the path behind me vanished completely. Branches scratched my skin, and roots caught my feet. My white dress became torn and stained with dirt and blood.

My body grew weaker with every step, but I kept moving. Survival was the only thing left in my mind.

I didn't know how long I ran before the sounds of the Blackwood Pack's celebration faded completely. The laughter, music, and cheers from the ceremony disappeared behind me, replaced by the silence of the forest and my own heavy breathing.

Then a powerful scent reached me.

Blood and a deep sandalwood scent mixed with something cold and dangerous.

I stopped.

A moment later, the sound of metal clashing echoed through the trees. I followed the sound and hid behind a massive oak tree.

In the moonlit clearing, several figures surrounded a tall man. Their weapons reflected a silver glow. Silver blades, weapons designed to kill werewolves. The moment I saw them, I realized I had walked into an assassination.

I wanted to leave, but my exhausted body refused to move. The man in the center noticed every attack before it reached him. He moved instantly, his strikes precise and powerful. One attacker after another fell before him, unable to resist.

Then one of them was thrown through the air and crashed into the oak tree behind me. The impact forced me out of hiding and into the center of the clearing.

The entire area fell silent. Every gaze turned toward me. Including his. Amber eyes locked onto mine.

The man finished the remaining attacker within seconds before walking toward me. His expression remained cold as his gaze fell on my pale face and torn white dress.

When he realized I was wolfless and had appeared in the middle of the Forbidden Forest during an assassination, a trace of disbelief flashed through his eyes.

How could someone without a wolf appear in a place even ordinary werewolves avoided?

His voice was low and powerful.

"A wolfless?" He looked at me carefully. "Why are you here?"

I wanted to answer and explain everything, but the rejection, betrayal, and fear I had endured finally overwhelmed me.

My vision blurred, and my body lost its strength.

Before darkness took over, I felt a pair of strong arms catch me, their touch cold and steady as they held me while I finally lost consciousness.

Cyrus Montgomery POV:

I looked down at the woman lying unconscious in my arms.

She was lighter than I expected, almost weightless. Her scent was faint, carrying the trace of a rain-soaked forest. It was barely noticeable, just like her presence.

A wolfless.

My inner Lycan showed no reaction toward her. No attraction. No recognition.

Yet her sudden appearance in the middle of the Forbidden Forest felt like an unexpected move from the Moon Goddess, disrupting the carefully arranged path I had planned.

I lowered my gaze to the old scar on the back of my hand and rubbed it lightly with my thumb.

Tonight's ambush had been more troublesome than expected. The Elders had become increasingly impatient. They wanted to force me into a political marriage with the daughter of another Alpha, using my bond as a tool to strengthen their own influence. I had no interest in becoming a piece on their board.

My Beta, Dax, would arrive soon and handle the aftermath.

But this woman was a problem. Leaving her here meant certain death. Taking her back to the Bloodmoon Pack meant bringing an unknown wolfless into my territory, and that would only create more trouble.

My gaze returned to her face.

Her skin was pale, and faint shadows rested beneath her closed smoke-gray eyes. A crescent-shaped birthmark appeared near her collarbone, almost hidden beneath the torn fabric of her dress.

She looked fragile. Yet when I looked at her face, a strange sense of familiarity surfaced in my mind. I couldn't understand where it came from, but something about her features made me pause.

Then an idea formed in my mind.

They had been pressuring me to accept a political marriage, using my lack of a mate as an excuse to interfere with my decisions. If I had a mate, their demands would finally disappear.

My gaze fell on the unconscious woman in my arms. Perhaps her appearance was not only an accident.

I felt her trembling slightly in my arms. Her breathing was weak, and the rejection had pushed her body to its limit.

My fingers brushed against her cold cheek.

A mark could transfer my energy to her and help stabilize her condition. There was no time to hesitate.

I lowered my head and moved closer to the side of her neck. Her scent became clearer.

Cedar mixed with rain, carrying a clean and untouched freshness.

It did not awaken any reaction from my wolf, but strangely, the scent eased the restlessness that had been building inside me.

My canines extended, and the moment they pierced her skin, her body trembled. Warm blood touched my tongue, and a connection formed between us.

This was a mark created by my own choice, a declaration from Cyrus Montgomery, the Alpha King.

Through the temporary link, I felt her pain and fear, but my emotions remained unchanged.

When the marking was complete, I lifted my head and looked at the mark on her neck. From this moment on, she was connected to me, and her future had become something I would decide.

A faint sound escaped her lips, and a tear slipped from the corner of her eye. I wiped it away with my thumb, watching her fragile expression for a moment. She was too weak to understand what had just happened.

The sound of approaching footsteps soon came from the distance. Dax and the guards had arrived.

I straightened my clothes and covered the wound left by the silver blade. In front of my people, I could not show weakness.

Dax stopped when he saw the unconscious woman in my arms and the fresh mark on her neck. A trace of surprise flashed through his eyes, but he immediately lowered his gaze and knelt.

"Alpha King," Dax said respectfully. "What are your orders?"

"Clean everything. Leave no evidence behind." My voice remained cold. "As for her, she is my new attendant. That will be the official explanation."

Dax was surprised by my decision, but he never questioned my orders.

"Yes, my King."

Through Dax's report on what had happened around the area, I learned her name was Annamarie. I carried her toward the black armored vehicle waiting nearby and placed her carefully in the back seat before sitting opposite her, keeping a deliberate distance.

The vehicle moved toward the center of Bloodmoon Pack territory, where the towering penthouse overlooked the entire city. During the journey, my attention remained on her.

Her appearance had disrupted my original plan, but it also gave me an unexpected solution.

The Elders wanted a mate. Perhaps I could give them one.

Of course, this required rules. She needed to understand the arrangement and the position she would hold in my world.

The city lights passed outside the window as I looked at her sleeping face with an unreadable expression.

Annamarie Whitmore POV:

I woke up in a bed so soft that my body sank into the mattress. Above me hung a crystal chandelier, its cold light reflecting across the unfamiliar room. The air was filled with a strange scent of sandalwood, deep and powerful enough to make me tense.

This wasn't my room, and I was no longer in the Blackwood Pack.

The memories returned all at once: Jared's rejection, the Forbidden Forest, the assassins, and the cold, powerful man who had caught me before I lost consciousness.

I sat up quickly, but a sharp pain shot through my neck. My hand immediately covered the injured area as I rushed toward the full-length mirror across the room. The moment I saw my reflection, my entire body froze.

A dark bite mark remained on my neck, an Alpha's mark left by a stranger. My heart sank as I realized what had happened.

My torn dress had been replaced with a clean silk nightgown, and the wounds from my escape through the forest had been carefully treated. Someone had saved me, but the thought did not bring comfort. The memory of the man's cold eyes made my body tighten with fear.

I checked myself carefully. Other than the mark on my neck, there were no other signs that anyone had violated me.

A small sense of relief appeared beneath the fear.

Before I could understand what had happened, a knock sounded at the door.

I immediately stepped back as a man in a black suit entered. His presence was calm and powerful, carrying the scent of a Beta. He looked at me with an unreadable expression after confirming that I was awake.

"Miss Whitmore." He gave a slight nod. "I am Dax, the Alpha's Beta. The Alpha ordered me to deliver this once you woke up."

He placed a black folder in front of me.

My fingers tightened as I opened it. The title on the first page made my expression change.

"Personal Attendant Service Agreement."

I read through the contents, and the colder my expression became.

This was not an ordinary employment agreement. It was a contract that restricted every part of my life, requiring me to serve as the Alpha's personal attendant, follow his orders, remain within designated areas, and obey every rule written inside. My living arrangements would be provided, but my freedom would no longer belong to me.

The most humiliating part was the explanation of the mark on my neck.

It stated clearly that the mark had no meaning beyond a temporary measure and that my relationship with the Alpha was only that of an attendant and master.

My fingers tightened around the paper.

"What is this?" My voice came out hoarse. "Then what is the mark on my neck?"

I touched the bite mark, feeling a sharp sense of humiliation.

Dax's expression did not change. "The Alpha marked you because your condition required it. The mark does not represent a mate bond or any personal relationship."

His calm explanation made my chest tighten.

I had escaped being treated as a possession by one family, only to become a possession of someone even more powerful.

I looked at him. "And if I refuse to sign?"

Dax was silent for a moment before answering. "You are currently on Bloodmoon Pack territory. Without the Alpha's permission, you are considered an outsider who entered illegally. Under our laws, outsiders who threaten the pack's security can be punished."

His words erased the last bit of resistance I had left.

I was alone, with no family to return to and no pack willing to protect me. Compared with being sent back and sold as a bargaining piece, staying here as the Alpha's attendant was the better choice.

The mark on my neck had tied my fate to this man, but at least I was still alive.

I lowered my eyes and forced myself to calm down. Survival came first.

As long as I stayed alive, there would always be a chance to change my situation.

I picked up the pen Dax offered and signed the bottom of the contract.

Annamarie Whitmore.

Dax took the document back and nodded. "Good. Follow me. I will show you your room."

I followed him out of the luxurious guest room and through the cold, modern corridors of the building. We entered a staff elevator and continued downward, leaving behind the penthouse overlooking the city.

When the doors finally opened, Dax stopped in front of a narrow room. Inside was only a single bed, a wardrobe, and a small window. Compared with the guest room I had just left, this place felt like a storage space.

Dax handed me a key card. "This is your room. Your duties begin tomorrow. The Alpha's schedule will be sent to your terminal. Remember your position."

He turned and left without another word.

I stood alone in the small room and slowly walked toward the window. The view outside was not the city skyline. Only a cold, empty wall of another building.

I slid down against the wall, clutching the key card in my hand.

The mark on my neck continued to ache, reminding me of the price I had paid for surviving. I had escaped Jared's rejection and my foster father's plan to sell me, but I had only entered another cage.