FORCED TO MARRY THE CURSED ALPHA

ISABELLA'S POV The stories never agreed on what color his eyes were. Some claimed they glowed red whenever he used dark magic. Others swore they were completely black, as though the Moon Goddess herself had abandoned them. The old wolves in my pack whispered that if the Sorcerer Alpha looked directly into your eyes, he could see every sin you had ever committed. Some of those stories sounded a little exaggerated while others were little too easy for me to believe. As a child, I used to laugh at those stories while some of them gave me nightmares. Now, sitting in my father’s council chamber, I wished I had listened. The meeting had already dragged on for over an hour, the council was discussing rogue attacks near the northern border, and I was only half paying attention. My father, Alpha Rowan, stood at the head of the long oak table. Beside him sat my mother, Amelia. The elders argued back and forth while warriors offered solutions nobody seemed satisfied with. I stared out the window, anything was more interesting than another council meeting. Then the heavy doors burst open and the room fell silent. Not gradually. Instantly. As though every voice had been ripped away. A strange chill swept through the chamber. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. My wolf whimpered, I frowned and turned toward the door. Everyone was staring at the figure that had just made the grand entrance. Saying they were staring is an understatement, they were frozen and terrified. Even my father, the wolf that I trusted the most…the wolf that to me was the most powerful went pale as if he had just seen a creature that was only spoken of in fairytales. One of the elders looked as though he might faint and standing in the doorway was a man. For a moment I couldn’t breathe. He was taller than any wolf I had ever seen. Broad-shouldered and dressed entirely in black and a part of me felt like that his dress code was a reflection of what was in his heart. Dark silver embroidery crawled across the long coat draped over his powerful frame. His black hair fell carelessly across his forehead, a faint scar cut through one eyebrow. He looked young. Far too young to be the monster from the stories but the darkness surrounding him felt ancient. Dangerous. Wrong. Like something that didn’t belong in our world. The Sorcerer Alpha Lucien, the leader of the most powerful pack in the kingdom. He had been elected king and was now overseeing all the other packs…but somehow he had remained only faithful to his own pack. The most feared man in the kingdom. The man mothers used to frighten children into obedience, the man who supposedly commanded dark magic powerful enough to wipe entire packs from existence. For more than a minute nobody moved and nobody spoke. Lucien’s gaze swept across the room. Slowly. Methodically. The air grew heavier with every second. Then his eyes landed on me, my heart stopped. The stories had been wrong his eyes weren’t red. They weren’t black either, they were silver. Cold silver. Like moonlight trapped beneath ice, I couldn’t look away. Something about his stare made my skin prickle. My wolf retreated deep inside me. Terrified. For one horrible second, I thought I saw recognition flash across his face. Then it vanished his expression became unreadable once more. The silence stretched. One second. Two. Three. Finally my father found his voice. “Alpha Lucien.” The title sounded strange. Small. Like a rabbit greeting a predator. Lucien stepped forward. His boots echoed against the stone floor. Every sound seemed louder than it should have. “I was not aware I needed permission to enter.” His voice was deep. Smooth. Deadly calm. The kind of voice that made you listen carefully because you knew shouting would come later. My father swallowed and that was not only a sign that he knew that this was coming but it was also a sign that he knew exactly what this man was talking about. “No. Of course not.” Lucien’s gaze shifted away from me, I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. For some reason, that felt worse. As if I had ceased to exist the moment he decided I wasn’t worth looking at. The Sorcerer Alpha approached the council table. Nobody stopped him. Nobody dared. Even the strongest warriors in the room looked ready to bolt. “What brings you here?” my father asked. Lucien studied him for a long moment, then he smiled. A small smile. The kind that carried absolutely no warmth. And suddenly I understood why people feared him. “I have come to collect.” The room stiffened, my father’s face drained of color. My mother’s fingers tightened around her chair. Collect? Collect what? I glanced between them. Confused. Something passed between the three of them. A look. A secret. A memory. And for the first time, genuine fear clawed at my stomach because whatever was happening… My parents already knew about it. Lucien folded his hands behind his back. “The debt is due.” Nobody spoke. The silence became unbearable. “What debt?” I asked. Every head turned toward me, my mother’s expression shifted. Panic. Pure panic. My stomach dropped, Lucien’s eyes returned to mine. This time they lingered. Cold. Calculating. Almost curious. Then he spoke and with a single sentence, my entire world shattered. “The one your parents promised to pay with their daughter.” The room spun, I stared at him. Then at my parents waiting for someone to laugh, to deny it. To tell me this was some horrible misunderstanding. Nobody did, my mother’s eyes filled with tears. My father looked away and suddenly I realized the monster standing before me wasn’t the thing I should fear most. Because the people who were supposed to protect me had already sold me to him.