MARKING HIS VIRGIN MATE

Merciless.

*Luna’s POV*

I peeked through my window and saw everyone get ready for the Deline dinner, humans being tied up and dragged behind chariots, a kind of magical display that the wolf found interesting but I didn't, maybe because I was almost like them.

Always heard about the dinner and dreamt of being a part of it, but my case was completely different, I always had to stay hidden so that the other packs wouldn't find out that I was not a full wolf born.

All my life I had heard whispers about the Deline dinner.

The most dangerous night of the year.

The night every pack in the Wolf Kingdom sent its finest to Deline Hall where power was displayed, alliances were cut and sewn, and things happened that were never spoken aloud.

When I was a child, servants returned from the party carrying rumors like smuggled treasures. They said the chandeliers glowed brighter than the moon, that the Alpha himself could kill with a glance, that the wolves drank from gold cups filled with blood. Even as a girl, hidden in the farthest wing of my stepfather’s house, I wanted to see it for myself.

But my stepfather never let me go. He said the party was “too grand” for someone like me. In truth, he just wanted me invisible. Every year he locked me in my room while his family attended, leaving me with nothing but scraps of gossip and my own jealousy.

Especially how he would encourage my stepsisters to dress elegantly in order to attract the Alpha Kai. I mean he had a lot to gain from being the in-law to the King of the wolf kingdom. Our tribe would be skyrocketed from the middle class to Prindamana; the highest class before the Alpha.

Now I was eighteen.

Now I was tired of being hidden.

It was time to disobey, it was time to jump out the window.

That night, as the carriages rolled away and the mansion fell quiet, I decided I would go. Just once. Just to see.

I searched my wardrobe for something black, anything at all, the dress code everyone talked about. The clothes I had were old and small, but I was able to stitch two old and black pieces together, hemming the sleeves with a needle that stung my thumb. I finished mending the gown and put it on. The mirror reflected perfection. A perfect gown even though it looked cheap.

I learnt how to sew by being bored all day long and alone in my room, it is one of the many skills I have.

My heart kept pounding with each step I took as I walked alone. The night was lonely and cold the streets felt empty, I mean everyone was at dinner except me. I slipped through the outside gate, I could hear the distant sound of music from the hall. I followed the sound until then trees gave way to steps and a huge hall standing bright in golden light.

I didn't use the front door, I mean that was a life sentence. Instead, I circled to the left, where stone corridors were cracked and overgrown the abandoned side of the estate the servants whispered about. Broken columns rose like ribs from the earth. Here, at least, no one would see me.

I crept closer.

Music thudded behind the walls, muffled laughter rolling like thunder.

Then I heard it…

A low snarl.

A wet sound.

A man’s strangled scream.

I paused my spine chill, I pressed myself against the stone, there was a gap in the broken archway and I fit into it perfectly.

I saw them:

Kai Deline.

The Alpha.

The man I’d only ever seen in portraits and heard of in gossip.

I had barely blinked my eyes a second time, as Kai’s hand shot out and ripped the man’s ear off. His screaming cut through me like a blade, blood splattering over the place, I was torn between hiding for my dear life or helping the man, but I knew better than to choose the latter.

Then his claws punched through the man’s chest, pulling out something slick and red. The heart. I saw him squeeze it until it burst.

He stood taller than I imagined, broad shoulders, a shadow wrapped in a fine black suit, and blood. His hands were claws from which the blood of a man dropped.

I blocked my mouth with my hand to hold back a gasp. My knees were already giving up on me.

He was just like the rumors had described him, a monstrous beauty, the embodiment of authority. And I had just seen him end a life like it was nothing.

I managed to straighten up, shaking, my palms already sweaty, pressing myself into the dark corner behind the stone. My dress got caught on the rough edge of a column, but I didn't dare to move.

Then his head turned.

His senses flared.

I just knew immediately that my scent had sold me out.

“Come out,” his voice rumbled, soft and terrifying. “Or I’ll drag you out.”

I forgot to breathe, and I held my mouth tighter. My heartbeat was so loud.

Footsteps. Slow. Steady. Closer. Coming for me.

More and more I pushed my body against the wall, but his shadow stretched over me, overshadowing the little light left. I could see his hand, still dripping blood, his claws reaching toward my hiding place.

He stepped into view.

And then he saw me.

Our eyes met at a glance. His eyes were intimidating and dark. They showed no atom of mercy, only curiosity and suspicion that was as sharp as the edge of a new knife

I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. The stories had always made him sound like a legend. In that moment he was worse than a legend he was real.

My body did not stop trembling, my mind screamed for flight, but my legs betrayed me, they stayed deeply rooted. The fresh blood scent filled my nose. His aura pressed against me like a wall of heat.

For a moment, the world stops.

And I thought:

This is the Alpha.

This is the monster my stepfather hid me from.

Meeting this man would degrade my family to the lowest clan level.

And he has found me.