The Marked Wolf

~Lila's point of view~

I did not wait for the meeting to end properly before I stormed in just as the last of the board members filed out of Ethan's office. Ethan's back was facing me, broad shoulders tense inside a dark suit. He didn't even turn around, he Just wiped the edge of his lip with his thumb and said coldly, "What do you want?"

I didn't speak because I don't know what to say first at that moment. I simply stepped forward and held out the cheque book with both hands. My fingers trembled, not from fear but from exhaustion. I had worked myself out, starting from... nights at two cafés, I did make-up for people, clean houses just to gather what I could.

He turned slowly, his icy grey eyes dragging across my face before they dropped to the cheque. Without a word, he snatched it out of my hands, stared at the amount, and scoffed.

"What is this?" His voice dripped disdain.

"This is what I could raise, I mean… the debt my father owed you," I said softly.

Ethan's jaw tightened. He didn't even hesitate. He tore the cheque in half right in front of me, then again, and again, until the scraps fluttered to the floor like confetti made of shame.

"Are you trying to piss me off?" He asked with a cold voice, and I was confused.

"What did you mean by that?"

"Seriously, you asking? I told you," he said, stepping forward, "I want full payment."

"But I don't have it." My voice cracked, and I hated that it did. "I've done everything. Every job I could find. That's all I could come up with.

He shrugged. "And so? How is that my business."

"Then what do you want me to do?" I asked, my voice rising without my permission.

He leaned in, his breath brushing my cheek. "It's simple. Keep the promise your father made, before he died."

My heart sank. "What?" I narrow my eyes, "Is it really a must we get married? Come on... I don't want to get married to you!"

Ethan's smirk was cruel. "Your father sold you to me, Lila. I paid for your family's debts when your family nearly got humiliated, gave him time, and he promised you in return. If you can't pay me back, then I'll take what's mine." He glanced at the clock. "Be at the altar tomorrow. And if you don't, you will see the other side of me."

"Please," I whispered. "Give me a little more time... I promise..."

He raised a hand, silencing me. "You want a little more time? Fine. If you bring the full amount before the wedding starts tomorrow, I'll cancel it. But until then... get out. You're disturbing me."

Before I could say another word, he slammed the door in my face immediately he pushed me out of his office.

The hallway was silent. His employees looked up from their desks, staring without trying to hide it. I didn't meet anyone's eyes. I walked stiffly to the exit, holding the pieces of the cheque in my hand like they could somehow be glued back together.

Aurora was waiting for me in her car, parked under the shade of a dead maple tree. As soon as I got in, she looked at me, eyes searching.

"How was it?"

I stared out the window. "He still insists on full payment. Or I marry him."

She sighed, starting the car. "I understand, Lila. But… why don't you want him? He's our pack's Alpha. His handsome, wealthy and he has everything. Don't you know that, you'd be powerful, safe, if you marry him?"

"That's not what I want," I muttered. "I can't marry someone I don't feel anything for. He's… cold. Controlling... I don't know!" At that moment I feel frustrated.

Aurora didn't argue. She just drove in silence. "Fine," she said after a moment. "Then we look for the money. But if we can't find it…"

She didn't finish the statement, because she don't have too, I already know the answer. When I got home that night, I barely sleep. My brain was calculating how I will get this money, I call few people that I know, all of them turns me down. My body ached, but I couldn't rest. I kept thinking of my father's face, his trembling hands when he signed that deal with Alpha Ethan that day. I was fourteen years then, I had no say and now, I don't want to marry Alpha Ethan I need to pay him back to be free.

Morning came too fast, I stood in a white dress that wasn't mine and my hands were numb, my heart quieter than ever. Aurora tried to smile at me in the mirror, but we both knew it was hollow.

Then the priest said the words, "I now pronounced you husband and wife."

And just like that, Alpha Ethan and I were husband and wife, I hate this! Imagine, no music, no kiss just silence like a funeral.

He didn't even look at me as he signed the papers. I stood beside him, barely breathing and my heart didn't beat for him, and his eyes were as distant as they'd always been.

As soon as the priest finished the last word, Alpha Ethan stepped back like it was all a formality he couldn't wait to get away from. He didn't even glance at me at all, gush! This is too much for me, no nod, no acknowledgment, just turned on his back and walked straight out of the hall, like he came alone. I thought couples were suppose to walk out together? funny! All I was hearing was his footsteps heavy and deliberate, echoing through the silence that followed.

I stood there, frozen. My fingers clutched the edge of my dress, and my knees felt weak, but I didn't move. I could hear the murmurs starting already.

"Did you see that? He didn't even look at her."

"It's obvious. He just married her to keep her father's promise."

"Maybe she forced herself on him. He's the Alpha after all. That kind of power attracts desperate girls."

They didn't even try to whisper. Their words floated around me like smoke, sharp and choking. My vision blurred, but I blinked fast, refusing to let the tears fall in front of them, I won't show them my weakness.

On a normal day, I wouldn't have cared what anyone said because, I never needed their approval. But something about hearing it today, when everything already felt wrong, made it harder to breathe. Maybe because, deep down, I knew they weren't wrong. I never wanted this! I never wanted him, but I had no choice. I couldn't pay Alpha Ethan his money. And now I was paying in another way.

Aurora noticed, she always did as my good friend and she stepped forward like a storm with heels, her gaze landing hard on the small crowd that had formed near the exit, whispering and watching like vultures.

"Don't you people have something better to do?" she snapped, her voice slicing through their noise. "The ceremony is over. If you came for entertainment, sorry to disappoint. Now get lost! All of you! Go home, gossip mongers!"

A few people shuffled back, startled, some pretending to suddenly remember they had somewhere to be. Aurora turned to me, her expression softer now.

"Come on, Lila," she said gently. "Let's get you home. He's probably waiting for you."

I shook my head.

"No," I whispered. "I don't want to go."

"Lila..." she called, but I didn't wait.

I turned and ran away. I did not know where I was going. I just needed to get away, from the hall, the whispers, the smell of cheap flowers, and that suffocating silence Alpha Ethan left behind. I heard Aurora calling my name, her heels clicking hard against the pavement, but I kept going.

My chest burned as I waved down the first taxi I saw, the driver didn't ask questions when I climbed in, breathless, with tears finally slipping down my cheeks. He just looked in the mirror and nodded.

"Where to?"

"Just drive! Keep going," I whispered.

Aurora reached the curb just as the car pulled away, I saw her standing there, frustrated and helpless, her mouth slightly open like she still had something to say, but I was already gone.

The city blurred outside the window, I didn't know where I belonged anymore, but I knew it wasn't beside Alpha Ethan. Not in his cold house or in that forced marriage, and not among people who looked at me like I was some poor girl who'd trapped an Alpha just to survive.

No, I needed space, time, and maybe somewhere I could remember who I was, before my father's debt, before Ethan's name was ever tied to mine. Because even if I wore this ring… I didn't feel like a wife, I felt like a prisoner in white.

sitting at the back of the taxi, my hands clenched on my lap, heart pounding hard against my ribs. The driver didn't say a word, just kept driving through the quiet streets, but my mind wouldn't let me rest.

What if Alpha Ethan sends his rogues after me? That thought made my stomach turn, as an Alpha, he had the power, and can ask the wolves to track me down if he wanted. And I wouldn't stand a chance if he saw me running from him, not now that I wore his ring.

I swallowed the panic rising in my throat and leaned forward.

"Turn around," I said. "Take me back. To the Blackwood mansion."

He nodded without a word. By the time we arrived, dusk had settled over the city, casting gold shadows on the polished black gates of the estate. I quietly stepped out, hesitant. The mansion loomed like something out of a royal dream, massive glass windows, marble pillars, warm lights glowing from within. The garden alone looked like it belonged in a movie. Luxury cars lined the driveway, each one worth more than everything I'd ever owned in my life.

I walked up the steps slowly, unsure of how to carry myself. A maid opened the grand double doors before I could even knock.

"Welcome, Luna," she said, bowing her head low. "We've been waiting for you."

I didn't respond. I didn't know how to wear that title yet, "Luna." It felt foreign on my skin.

They led me down a long hallway and into a marble-tiled bathroom that smelled of lavender and citrus. My wedding dress was taken away quietly, replaced by a silky robe and soft towels. I showered in silence, letting the warm water wash off the weight of the day. When I stepped out, fresh clothes were waiting. A soft white blouse. Satin shorts. Slippers.

I dried my hair with trembling fingers and stepped back into the living-room. "Where's my room?" I asked the maid standing just outside.

"Up the stairs," she said with a small nod. "Turn left, first door, that's yours, Luna. We cannot go with you… Alpha Ethan has forbidden it."

"Why?" I asked.

Her voice lowered. "Because the room on the right is his. He values his privacy."

I nodded. "I understand."

The stairs creaked softly under my feet as I walked up, the air growing cooler, more silent. The house was beautiful, too beautiful with glistening chandeliers, paintings in gold frames, a place made for royalty. I reached the top of the staircase, turned left and something made me pause.

A laugh, a soft, playful, female laugh. It came from behind the door across the hall, probably Alpha Ethan's room and my heart slowed, I held my breath.

Then came his voice, so amused. "You're so sweet… I enjoy every part of your body."

Laughter again I could hear a woman giggling. "Come on, you're sweet too… I couldn't stop crushing on you earlier. Seeing you in that suit.... Gosh! I nearly dragged you away right there."

I narrowed my eyes, the voice, It was familiar. No, no! It can't be. I moved slowly, one step at a time, until I reached the door. My hand was on the knob before I even realized it, my blood was ringing in my ears.

I opened it, and the world stopped. Alpha Ethan was shirtless on the bed, his arm draped over a woman. Her back was to me but that dark red hair, that voice, that laugh.

She turned, It was no other than, Aurora! I couldn't breathe. My chest squeezed so tightly I thought my ribs would crack.

Ethan sat up, startled, his expression twisting into fury. "How dare you barge into my room like that?" he snapped.

But I couldn't answer, I couldn't speak, I couldn't even blink because the girl who'd defended me just hours ago… The only one I trusted… All my life? We grow up together! It a dream right? Aurora was in bed with the man I was forced to marry and all I could do was stand there with tears running silently down my cheeks.

~Lila's point of view~

The first words that slipped from my lips were barely a whisper, but they held all the weight in my chest.

"Why did you do this, Aurora?"

She rose from the bed slowly, no shame in her eyes, just boldness, cold, and she walked towards me, still wrapped in one of Ethan's sheets, her lips curled into something smug.

"Come on, Lila," she said, her voice dripping with venom disguised as pity. "I'm not the one who asked you to be stupid. Ethan and I have always loved each other, and he only married you because that's what your father wanted, not because he wanted you."

I took a step back, but the floor felt like an ice under my feet. Before I could say a word, Ethan's voice hit like a slap.

"You heard her," he said, sitting up with lazy disdain in his eyes. "I never loved you. I bought you, remember? And don't get it twisted, you're no different from the maids in this house. So don't act special."

The tears stung, but I let