Marked By My Ex-Husband's Rival

Abandoned

ARIA POV



There was a small, enchanted stone attached to the paper. My heart pounded as I hesitated before activating it. Caleb’s voice echoed in the small space.

"Take care of it. I want my mark on her gone and her settled into her parents' house by the time I return. I need to finalize our divorce registration with the pack's marriage and divorce council. Once it’s official, there won’t be anything left tying us together."

A sharp pain tore through my chest.

I had known. I had known he no longer loved me. I had known he had moved on. But hearing it like this—so cold, so detached—broke something deep inside me.

Tears streamed down my face, uncontrollable, unstoppable. I pressed my hand to my mouth, trying to stifle the sobs that wracked my body. My entire life had been dedicated to him, yet he had discarded me as if I had never meant anything.

As I moved slightly, the bag tipped over, spilling its contents onto the seat. My gaze fell on a small pouch, and I picked it up with shaking fingers. Inside, a handful of gold coins clinked together.

They had sent me away like a beggar.

A cruel laugh bubbled up in my throat. My love, my devotion—it had all been worthless.

But then, a strange feeling crept over me. Something wasn’t right.

I had cried loudly, yet the person driving the carriage hadn’t reacted. Even now, there was no response.

My body was weak, but I forced myself forward, crawling to the partition. With great effort, I pushed it open. "Excuse me," I called out, my voice hoarse.

The person didn’t react.

My stomach twisted.

"Where are we going?" I asked, louder this time.

No answer.

Fear tightened around my throat. I tried to reach out, but my body gave up, and darkness pulled me under once more.

The last thing I remembered was the sound of hooves against the dirt road, carrying me toward the unknown.

*****

A sudden splash of freezing water jolted me awake. I gasped, shivering as the cold seeped into my bones, my body instinctively curling in on itself. My mind struggled to catch up with my surroundings as I blinked rapidly, my vision clearing.

The scent of damp earth and burning wood filled my nose. The glow of a bonfire flickered in the darkness, casting eerie shadows on the three men standing around it. One of them still held a wooden bucket, water dripping from its rim.

I swallowed hard.

The man who had thrown the water set the bucket aside and reached for me, his rough hand gripping my arm tightly as he pulled me up. My legs trembled, barely able to hold my weight, but I managed to stand with difficulty. The pain in my body had dulled slightly, as if the time spent unconscious had allowed me to regain a sliver of energy.

The three men stared at me, their expressions unreadable.

"Finally awake, huh?" one of them muttered, his voice deep and scratchy.

I forced myself to breathe steadily, my mind racing. Who were they? Where was I? And more importantly—why was I here?

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms to ground myself. "Who are you?" My voice was hoarse, but I managed to keep it steady.

The man holding my arm smirked. "You're in no position to ask questions, lady."

I stiffened. Fear coiled in my stomach, but I pushed it down. I had to think, had to understand the situation. My last memory was of the carriage—the driver who hadn't reacted to my cries. Was I kidn*pped? Sold off?

The man on the left leaned forward, his sharp eyes gleaming in the firelight. "The chief sent you away, didn't he?"

My heart pounded.

They knew.

I didn't respond. Anything I said could be used against me.

"Quiet one, aren’t you?" The man gripping my arm let out a low chuckle. "Doesn't matter. You're here now. You’re ours."

A shiver ran down my spine.

Ours?

That single word sent chills down my spine. My body tensed instinctively, and I tried to pull my arm free from the man’s grip, but I was still too weak. The burns from the ritual throbbed, and every muscle in my body ached as if I had been trampled over and over again.

The man holding me tightened his grip, his fingers digging into my already bruised skin. “Tch, don’t try anything funny. You’re not in any shape to run.”

I clenched my jaw, refusing to show my fear. “What do you mean by ‘yours’?” My voice was barely above a whisper, but I forced as much strength into it as I could muster.

The man to the left chuckled, leaning back against a tree trunk. “You’re a discarded woman, aren’t you? Unmarked, unwanted. A wolf with no pack. Isn’t that right?”

I sucked in a sharp breath. They knew. They knew everything.

I forced myself to stay calm. “What do you want from me?”

The man still gripping me smirked. “It’s not about what we want. It’s about what you can offer.”

His words sent another wave of unease through me. My stomach churned.

“We found you abandoned in that carriage,” the third man finally spoke, his voice quieter but no less threatening. “No guards, no protection. Just a bag of coins like you were being sent off to be forgotten.”

I swallowed hard. That was the truth, wasn’t it? Caleb hadn’t even made sure I arrived safely. He had simply… discarded me.

The man in front of me stood up and stepped closer, his piercing gaze locking onto mine. “You should be grateful we found you before anyone else did. A lone female wolf wandering without a pack? You’re either prey or a commodity.”

My hands clenched into fists. My nails dug into my palms so hard that I nearly broke the skin.

I was not prey.

I was not a commodity.

Even if Caleb had abandoned me, even if my heart was shattered beyond repair, I refused to be treated like something to be used.

Taking a slow breath, I steadied my trembling body and lifted my chin, looking the man in the eye. “And what do you plan to do with me?”

A moment of silence. Then, the smirking man laughed. “You’ve got some fire in you still. That’s good.”

The other two exchanged glances, and the quieter man sighed. “That depends on you,” he finally said. “If you cooperate, maybe we’ll let you live.”

The man who had spoken last suddenly burst into laughter, a wild, manic sound that echoed through the quiet forest. His eyes gleamed with something sinister as he tilted his head, grinning at me like a predator that had cornered its prey.

“What else do you have?” he sneered, wiping fake tears from his eyes as he calmed himself. “We already took the gold and the dresses—gonna sell those for a good price, by the way—but surely, you have something else to offer.”

A sick feeling settled in my stomach.

I knew that look.

Before I could react, the man gripping my arm yanked me forward, his hold tightening like a vice around me. The sudden force sent a sharp pain through my shoulder, and I stumbled into his chest. His arms locked around me, pulling me against him in a way that made my skin crawl.

I struggled instinctively, but my body was still too weak from everything I had endured. My burned skin protested, every nerve screaming in agony as I thrashed against his iron grip. But no matter how much I fought, I couldn’t break free.