The Wolf Duke's Contract Bride

The full moon hung like a tarnished silver plate in a starless sky, its pale glow stained with streaks of crimson. Deep in the wilderness, a dense forest stretched endlessly, its silence thick with menace. A cold wind howled, tearing through the trees as a blood-curdling scream pierced the air. Evelyn Voss lay pinned beneath a hulking brute, his scarred face twisted into a grotesque sneer. His grimy hands clawed at her torn dress, shredding the fabric as he rasped, "Your b***h of a mother sold you to me! You’re mine now—body and soul!" Her mind reeled. The woman she’d once called family, the same woman who’d stolen her father’s love, had betrayed her. Fury surged through Evelyn’s veins. Groping blindly in the dirt, her fingers closed around a jagged rock. With a guttural cry, she smashed it into the man’s temple. He roared, rolling off her. Evelyn scrambled to her feet and fled into the moonlit labyrinth of trees, her bare feet slicing through thorns. Behind her, the brute’s curses shook the branches, scattering birds into the night. "I’ll skin you alive, you little w***e!" Her lungs burned. Her legs threatened to give out. When she finally paused to gasp for air, his meaty hands seized her again, slamming her into the dirt. A slap cracked across her face. "Try running again. I’ll break your legs!" Tears blurred Evelyn’s vision as she pressed the rock’s sharp edge to her own temple. But before she could act, a wolf’s howl split the darkness. The man froze, his scarred face paling. Evelyn shoved him away and sprinted deeper into the woods until a gothic castle loomed ahead，its gates yawning like the jaws of some primordial beast. Behind her, the man’s footsteps faltered as black smoke erupted from the fortress, lightning splitting the sky. Inside, shadows swallowed her whole. Evelyn leaned against a crumbling doorframe, her torn dress clinging to sweat-slicked skin. Bruises bloomed across her arms, each step sending fresh pain shooting through her body. A low growl rumbled through the hall. Her blood turned to ice. In the pitch-black chamber ahead, two glowing emerald eyes locked onto hers, wild, predatory, and unmistakably human. Another wolf's howl shattered the silence. Evelyn collapsed onto the cold stone floor, her trembling fingers twisting the torn fabric of her dress. Wolves? Here? Her breath hitched as heavy footsteps echoed through the chamber. Before she could blink, an iron grip seized her waist. The world spun violently as she slammed against marble tiles. A voice like molten darkness purred, "Who dares trespass?" Moonlight carved the stranger's face into a paradox, angelic beauty clashing with feral danger. His chiseled jawline glowed silver, while the shadow swallowed the rest of him whole. But those eyes... Emerald irises burned with primal intensity, freezing Evelyn's blood. "I... I..." Her throat closed. He leaned closer, nostrils flaring. "What sorcery is this?" His breath ghosted over her neck, inhaling deeply. "Not roses... Not jasmine... Something wilder." Evelyn's back hit the wall as he advanced. Moonbeams caught the dangerous glint of elongated canines. "P-please," she choked out, "I'm lost." "A lost lamb in wolf's territory." His laugh held no mirth. In one fluid motion, he pinned her wrists above her head. "On the blood moon? You reek of destiny." Her struggles only made him growl, an inhuman sound vibrating through her bones. The scent he'd mentioned seemed to intoxicate him, pupils dilating until green nearly vanished into black. "Stop! You don't understand." "Oh, I do." His thumb brushed her racing pulse. "The cure to my curse walks right into my den." With deliberate cruelty, he let her see the transformation, human teeth sharpening into fangs beneath the full moon's glow. When he claimed her mouth, it wasn't a kiss but a claim. Evelyn's scream tore through the castle as white-hot pain seared through her. The beast showed no mercy, his obsession with her scent driving him to take and retake what he deemed his antidote. Hours blurred. Each time she thought consciousness would spare her, those emerald eyes dragged her back into the storm. One Month Later Voss Family Mansion Evelyn's knees dug into the cold marble as her father Gregory loomed over her, his face purple with rage. "You ungrateful wretch! After all I've sacrificed, you spread your legs for some bastard and return pregnant? You've ruined us!" "Father, I swear..." Evelyn's nails bit into her palms. "There's no child. This is a lie." A manila envelope exploded against her face. Medical reports fluttered down like accusation confetti. Gregory stabbed a trembling finger at the papers. "Explain this prenatal record with your name, then! The Whitmores will hang us all when they discover their future daughter-in-law's carrying a bastard!" "Darling, look what I found!" Stepmother Victoria descended the staircase, waving a pregnancy test like a war trophy. "Right in her trash can. Such carelessness." The slap echoed through the hall. Evelyn tasted blood. "Repugnant girl!" Gregory roared. "The Whitmore wedding's in four weeks! How do we explain this?" "Let me retest!" Evelyn scrambled for the documents. "These are forged." "Forged?" Victoria's heel crushed her fingers. "Two pieces of evidence, dear. Who'd believe you now?" "Enough!" The younger sister Serena rushed forward, shielding Evelyn. "Father, this makes no sense. Let's investigate properly..." "Silence!" Victoria yanked Serena back, sending Evelyn sprawling. "Fix this, Gregory. When Julian Whitmore returns from Europe..." She snapped her fingers. "Serena could wear the engagement ring. The Whitmores never met grown Evelyn anyway." Serena gasped. "Mother, you can't!" "Brilliant." Gregory's nod sealed Evelyn's fate. Evelyn's world tilted. "You planned this!" She lunged at Victoria. "Staged the reports! Planted the test!" Another slap split her lip. "Liar!" Victoria clutched her chest dramatically. "After raising you as my own." "Enough!" Gregory pulled Victoria close, glaring at his eldest. "Apologize to your mother, or I'll disown you here and now." Evelyn's laughter rang hollow. Of course. The man who'd abandoned her dying mother now chose his mistress-turned-wife over his flesh and blood. "Father, calm down!" Serena threw herself between Evelyn and the lash. "Apologize," she pleaded over her shoulder. "We're family." "Apologize for what?" Evelyn spat blood on the marble. "A fake report condemns me? This isn't a family, it's a snake pit!" Gregory's leather whip cracked through the air. "Ungrateful bastard!" The first strike carved fire across Evelyn's back. Serena lunged to block the second blow. "Stop! You'll kill her!" Victoria yanked her daughter away. "Fool! Let the trash burn!" Evelyn scrambled behind a Ming dynasty vase as the whip hissed again. Porcelain exploded like a gunshot. "Twenty years!" Gregory roared at the shards. "My prized collection." "You killed Mother!" Evelyn staggered upright, dress clinging to bleeding welts. "Now you'll murder me for your w***e's lies!" The whip bit her collarbone. "I made you! Gave you everything!" Serena tackled his arm. "If she's truly pregnant..." "Better dead than shaming us!" Gregory's spittle hit Evelyn's face. Laughter tore from Evelyn's raw throat. "Demon... You're all demons..." "Out!" Gregory's final strike split skin. "Never show your face again!" Evelyn caught herself on the doorframe. Rain slashed her wounds as she limped into the storm. "This blood?" She wiped crimson streaks from her eyes. "I'll make you choke on it." The mansion gates clanged shut. Rain sheeted down in torrents, lightning fracturing the sky like shattered glass. A black Bentley idled at the curb, its tinted window rolling down just enough to reveal eyes sharper than the storm itself. "Sir, confirmed visual on the target." Benedict adjusted his glasses, tablet glowing with surveillance photos. "Facial recognition matches 98.7%, she's the intruder from the blood moon." The man's hands became ivory claws sinking into the seat's throat. "Certain?" "Three separate sources corroborate." Benedict's thumb hovered over biometric scans. "Shall I..." "Bag her. Now."