THE RUTHLESS ALPHA'S MARKED BRIDE

Questions without Answers

Lyra's Pov

I have two weeks to figure out if I'm marrying my mate or losing my mind.

The ride home from the council building was quiet. Marcus kept smiling like he had won the biggest prize of his life. When we walked through the front door, Helena was already waiting with a bottle of wine. "This calls for celebration," she said, pouring glasses. "Our family is finally moving up."

I sat at the dinner table feeling completely numb. The food tasted like nothing. Marcus raised his glass. "To Lyra. You will bring honor back to this family. Do not embarrass us up there."

I nodded without really hearing him. My mind kept replaying those red-gold eyes. The way the mark burned when Theron looked at me. The way his control slipped for one second before he shut it down completely.

Helena was already making plans. "With the Northern connection, we can push for better matches for Ivy. This is going to open so many doors." She glanced at me. "You should be grateful, Lyra. Not many girls get this kind of opportunity."

Ivy sat across from me picking at her food. I could see the conflict on her face. Part of her was jealous that I was going to the most powerful Alpha on the continent. The other part enjoyed watching me get sold off like this. "At least someone wants her," she said with a sweet smile that did not hide the bitterness.

I excused myself as soon as I could and locked myself in my room. The walls felt like they were closing in. I sat on the edge of my bed and tried to make sense of what happened today.

It has to be him. The eyes were the same. The height, the build, the power that rolled off him. Even underneath the expensive cologne, I caught the faint wild scent from the forest. And the mark. It had never burned like that before. Not once in all the days since that night. My wolf was certain. She kept pushing the same word at me. Mate.

But then why did he look at me like a stranger? Why the cold dismissal? Why the "no heirs" clause in the contract if he was the one who marked me during my heat? If he was my mate, why pretend he did not know me? Why leave me alone in the forest that morning?

Maybe I am wrong. Maybe the stranger was someone else. Maybe my mind is so desperate for this nightmare to make sense that I am seeing connections where there are none. The thought made my stomach twist. Am I really going crazy? Did I want it to be him so badly that I am imagining all of this?

I pressed my fingers to the mark. Warmth spread through me immediately. Not just heat. Emotions that were not mine. Conflict. Longing. Pain. I pulled my hand away fast. My wolf snarled inside me. "It is him. He is lying. I do not know why, but it is him."

I did not know what to believe anymore.

Mara snuck into my room later that night. She closed the door quietly and rushed over to sit on the bed beside me. "Tell me everything. What happened?"

I told her. The words spilled out in a rush. The red-gold eyes. The way the mark reacted. How he looked at me like I was nothing. How my wolf screamed that he was mine.

Mara's eyes went wide. "Oh my god. Your forest stranger is the Beast of the North?"

"I do not know," I whispered. "Why would he pretend not to know me? Why act so cold?"

Mara thought for a moment. "Maybe he did not recognize you at first. But that seems unlikely with how strong wolf scent memory is." She kept going. "Or he is testing you somehow. Or he is ashamed of marking you during your heat and wants this to stay strictly professional. Maybe he only wants the political alliance and does not want the mate bond to complicate things."

I shook my head. "Or I am completely wrong and he is just some similar-looking Alpha and I am desperate and losing my mind."

Mara grabbed my hand. "Your mark literally caught fire when he walked into the room. That is not a coincidence, Lyra."

We sat together in heavy silence. The questions kept spinning. No answers came. Only more confusion and fear about what waited for me in two weeks.

The next morning a formal contract arrived by Northern messenger. The papers were thick and official. I read through them with shaking hands. Two years. Public Luna duties. Political obligations. Very little allowed in terms of personal belongings. A strict schedule for fittings, meetings with advisors, and preparation to move.

One line stood out and made my breath catch.

"The mark on your neck will remain visible. Do not attempt to cover it."

Why would he specifically say that? Why would the ruthless Alpha care if I hid the mark or not? Unless he wanted to see it. Unless he wanted everyone else to see it too. A small spark of hope kindled in my chest. He knows. He has to know.

Derek found me later that afternoon in the pack house hallway. He smelled like alcohol and looked miserable. His eyes were red and his shoulders slumped. "So you really did it," he said, stepping in front of me. "Contract bride to the Beast himself."

I tried to walk around him but he blocked me again.

"You know he will never love you, right?" Derek said, voice bitter. "Contract marriage means nothing. You are still going to be alone."

Something inside me finally snapped. I looked him straight in the eyes. "Better to be alone with some honor than stuck with you."

Derek laughed, but it sounded ugly. "You think you have won something? He bought you. Like furniture. At least I pretended to care."

I surprised us both with my response. The words came out strong and clear. "I would rather be bought by a Beast than loved by a coward."

Derek stared at me, stunned. I walked past him without looking back. My hands were shaking but my steps felt steadier. It was the first time I had really fought back. The small victory tasted bitter, but it was mine.

That night I dreamed of the forest again. But this time when the stranger stepped from the shadows, he had Theron's face, and he was weeping.