THE RUTHLESS ALPHA'S MARKED BRIDE

The Proposition

Lyra's Pov

The contract marriage meeting is in three days, and I still don't know if I'm being rescued or sold.

Helena has taken over my room like it is her personal project. She stands in the middle of the floor directing everything with sharp hand movements. A dress hangs on the back of my door, modest and traditional with a high collar meant to hide the mark on my neck. She bought it yesterday without asking me. "This is your chance, Lyra," she says while adjusting the fabric. "Do not ruin it by looking desperate."

I stand there like a doll while the makeup artist she hired works on my face. The woman dabs powder under my eyes to cover the dark circles. Every touch feels like another layer of pretending. Ivy leans against the wall watching with her arms crossed. Her smile never reaches her eyes.

"It is going to take a lot of work to make her acceptable," Ivy says. "Look at those shadows. And that mark. Good luck hiding what she really is."

I clench my jaw but say nothing. Helena steps back to check me from different angles, treating me like a prized mare being prepared for sale. "Stand straighter," she orders. "Smile less. The Alpha does not want a weak girl. He wants someone who knows her place."

Marcus walks in and looks me over with a critical eye. "Be quiet during the meeting. Be grateful. Accept whatever terms he offers. This is not about love. It is about survival."

I meet his eyes in the mirror. "What if he rejects me too?"

The room goes quiet for a second. Marcus does not soften. "Then you have two weeks left to find someone else." His voice is cold. The numbers are running out fast. Thirty days felt like nothing when he first said it. Now it feels like a noose tightening around my neck. Desperation sits heavy in my stomach as I stare at this version of myself they are creating.

I slipped away later that afternoon to clear my head. The pack paths are busy, but I keep to the edges. Voices drift from a group of older wolves sitting near the common area. I stop behind a building and listen.

"Alpha Blackridge is coming himself," one man says. "They say he slaughtered an entire rival pack last year when they challenged him."

Another laughs nervously. "The Beast of the North. The Red-Eyed Monster. Theron the Ruthless. Pick your favorite name."

An older wolf with gray hair leans forward. "I saw him once at the Continental Council. Biggest Alpha I have ever seen. Radiates death. You feel it when he walks into a room."

"Why would someone like him want a contract bride?" a woman asks. "He could have anyone."

"Politics," the first man replies. "Needs an alliance. Wants an heir without the emotional attachment. Smart move for a man like that."

Their words sink into me like ice. This is the man who might own me. Brutal. Merciless. The kind of Alpha who makes entire packs tremble. My hands start shaking. I press them against the wall and try to breathe. Terror builds with every story I overhear. I am walking into something far more dangerous than I imagined.

The night before the meeting, Mara sneaks into my room after everyone else has gone to bed. She carries a small bag and looks like she has been crying. "I brought you some things," she whispers, closing the door softly behind her.

She pulls out a bag of herbs from the healer's den, a few protection charms, and some small childhood mementos I thought I had lost. We both know what this means. If I marry this Alpha, I am leaving Crescent Hollow forever.

"I should have protected you better at the ceremony," Mara says, voice breaking. Tears ran down her cheeks. "I should have stopped you from following Derek."

I pull her into a hug. "Not your fault. None of this is."

She holds me tight. "Promise me you will survive this. Promise me you will find happiness somehow."

I cannot promise that. Not really. But I lie because she needs to hear it. "I promise."

We stayed like that for a long time, arms wrapped around each other. She is the last piece of my old life saying goodbye. When she finally pulls back, she wipes her eyes. "Your stranger, whoever he was, he marked you for a reason. Maybe there is still hope."

I do not have the heart to tell her that hope died in the forest that night. I just nod and watch her slip out the window.

Alone in my room, I cannot sleep. I pack a small bag with the few things that matter. Most of what I own does not feel like mine anymore. I sit at my desk and write a letter to my mother's memory. Words I will never send. Just thoughts about how much I miss her and how scared I am. I fold it and tuck it away.

My hand keeps going back to the mark on my neck. I touch it again and again, seeking comfort in the only thing that still feels real. It burns hotter than usual tonight. My wolf paces restlessly inside me. "Something is coming," she whispers. "Something important."

I tell myself it is just anxiety about tomorrow. But the feeling will not settle. I stand in front of the mirror and look at myself. The girl staring back looks broken. Tired eyes. Pale skin. I search for the fighter Iris said was inside me, but I cannot find her yet. All I see is someone trying to survive one more day.

Dawn breaks too soon. The meeting is in three hours. Helena bursts into my room without knocking. "Time to get ready. No mistakes today."

She helps me into the dress and does my makeup again to hide the exhaustion. My hair is pulled back severely and controlled. When I look in the mirror, I see a stranger. A porcelain doll version of myself with no fire left.

Marcus appears at the door. "The Alpha has already arrived. He is early. We leave in ten minutes."

My heart hammers against my ribs. I take one last look at my room. My childhood bed. The window where Mara used to sneak in. Everything I am losing. My legs feel heavy as I walk downstairs. Each step feels like I am walking toward my execution.

I followed my father out to the car, and with every step, the mark on my neck burned hotter. My wolf was howling, frantic, desperate. I thought it was fear. I was wrong.