Marked For His Salvation

Chapter One

LIRA

I gasped, the shock hitting me hard and dragging me out of whatever dark place I had just been in. My eyes blinked open, vision blurry, and I choked on my breath as cold water ran down my chin and soaked my clothes.

Yeah. Someone had definitely just poured water on my face. No warning. No “hey, wake up.” Just straight-up drowned me awake. Every muscle screamed in protest, my whole body aching as if I’d been hit by a truck or maybe worse and for a second, I couldn’t even move. A sharp throb pounded at the back of my head and my limbs felt like deadweight.

I was still trying to figure out where I was when I saw one of my father’s guards, just standing there like a statue with an empty bucket and a face that didn’t give a damn.

For a second, I was blank. How did I even get here? But then the memories came rushing in.

The fight. The yelling. My father’s face twisting in rage when I dared to argue with him. And then his voice, ordering his guards to lock me up like I was nothing. Like I was an animal.

I remembered my pathetic escape attempt. I had hoped that maybe, just maybe, this time I would actually get away but that didn’t happen. I was caught before I could even taste freedom.

“Get up,” the guard snapped.

"Hand me the bucket first," I said. "You look like you need it back on your head."

He grabbed my hand roughly instead like I was a criminal and not the alpha’s daughter.

“Let go of me!” I yelled, trying to pull away. But I was yanked up roughly before any part of my legs remembered to work. They felt like wet clothes, barely holding me up and when I stumbled he dragged me away, not caring if I fell.

The cell door pushed open and the smell of the hallway hit me, old damp and moldy.

I knew that place too well. The stench that clung to your skin like punishment. I used to cry when they first began locking me in there. The first few times, at least. Now I just didn’t care anymore.

I was the Alpha’s daughter but they treated me like the enemy.

Suddenly the guard’s grip on my arm tightened and I let out a painful yelp, struggling fiercely. “Let… me… go you d**k!”

Without warning, the guard shoved me into the dining room. I mumbled a curse at him as he slightly stepped backward. Then I saw him.

The man who was nothing but a pain in my ass.

There he was, my father, sitting at the head of the table sipping coffee like it was a perfectly normal morning and his daughter wasn’t battered in the floor in front of him. My stepmother Rosa sat next to him with that same empty look she always wore.

The guard forced me to my knees roughly, the impact jarring through my knees. I lowered my head, jaw tight as I swallowed hard. I wouldn’t cry. Not in front of them. Not ever again.

“I heard you tried to escape,” my father said, not looking up from his cup.

“And I heard breakfast was served warm in this house,” I retorted. “Clearly we are both disappointed.

His gaze lifted, cold and calculating. “You really thought you could run right under my nose?”

With a sinister smile on his lips, he paused and titled his head to the side.“I am the Alpha of this pack. Nothing happens here without me knowing.”

He set his cup down. “Why do you hate me so much?” It was supposed to be a plea, but it came out sounding defiant—too defiant.

His chair scraped the floor as he pushed to his feet. In quick strides he was in front of me, his shadow stretching over me.

Then his palm connected to my face so fast I didn’t see it coming. My head snapped to the side, and pain spread across my cheek.

Then before I could recover, another one came rushing in, hot and hard.

My body trembled and I fell backward, landing hard on my arm. I bit down on my tongue, refusing to let a single tear drop. I’d made that mistake once and I would not repeat it.

“Enough,” Rosa said, rising to her feet. She placed a hand on his arm. “We need her presentable. You know how particular our guest can be.”

Guest?

I slowly rose my head, one cheek burning and with blood in my mouth. “What guest?”

Rosa turned to gaze at me and smiled. That same cruel smile I had seen one too many times. “You are finally leaving. You have been nothing but a burden to this family. We are finally getting rid of you.”

My chest immediately constricted in pain like someone was sitting on it. “What are you talking about?” I asked even though deep down I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.

My father casually fixed his shirt like we were just talking about the weather. “You are leaving with Kael Draven today.”

My blood ran cold at his words.

Kael Draven. The rogue Alpha. A monster. A beast.

I had heard the stories. The kind that kept even warriors awake at night, sleeping with their weapons. Four days he nearly burned down part of our territory. I knew my father had made some kind of deal with him for peace but I never imagined I was part of the price.

No” I whispered, panic immediately coursing through me. “No, no please.”

I crawled forward and grabbed my father’s leg, clinging like my life depended on it because to be honest, it did. I was not above begging. Dignity was a luxury and I had run completely out of it.

“Please don’t do this. I will be good. I won’t talk back again. Just don’t send me with him. I will stay. I will behave. I will do whatever you want.”

He looked down at me like I was dirt stuck to his boot. No emotion. No second thoughts.

“It is done already,” he said, his voice cold. “The deal is signed. The money has already been invested in the pack. You belong to him now.”

And just like that something in me shattered. I let go of his leg and rose to my feet, my whole body trembling in anger.

“You sold me?” I began, unable to contain the rage. “You sold your own daughter?

“You better watch your——“

“Like I am a livestock? An object you could just trade off?” I continued. “I want you to hear yourself. I want you to stand in your royal regalia and actually hear the s**t you just said.”

Before I could tell what was happening, a loud piercing sound filled the room. Glass exploded against the wall just inches away from my head.

I didn’t flinch.

I don’t know why I didn’t. Every part of me should have but I stood there with my heart slamming against my rib cage, not moving.

He closed the distance between us slowly, his face twisted with fury. “Say one more word” he growled, voice low and dangerous. “One more, and I will send you to him in pieces.”

And right then I froze. I believed him. That was the thing, I always believed him.

I closed my mouth, my gaze unwavering despite my nerves going haywire.

The room went still, and no one moved. Even the air seemed to freeze. My heart thudded so loud it echoed in my ears. My cheek still throbbed and my mouth still tasted like blood.

Then just like that, he turned and walked away.

I stood there trembling. Not from fear, but from everything; anger, shame, exhaustion. I felt cracked open, like there was nothing left to hold together.

They had taken everything from me. My freedom. My pride. My right to live.

And now they were giving me away. Like a piece of worthless meat. To a man I didn’t know. A man I had only ever feared. A monster with a name that made people go quiet.

I didn’t know what the future held for me, but one thing was clear.

Whatever future was waiting at the end of this day, at least it was the end of this particular story. My father's pack. His rules. His hands.

Kael Draven might break me… but he can't take anything my father hasn't already taken.