MARKED AND CLAIMED BY THREE ALPHA’S

AKIRA’S POV "Say your vows to her," the Luna priest commanded. I stared at him, waiting patiently for him to respond. The priest had just asked him to say his vows, but he hadn't said a word. Instead, he stood there, staring at me as if he was at a loss for words. What exactly is going on? "Say your vows, child," the Luna priest urged again, but still, he couldn't seem to speak. Murmurs broke out through the crowd as I looked around, my heart beating in my chest. I turned back to the man I was supposed to marry, waiting for him to speak the vows that would unite us as man and wife under the full moon. "Akira..." Marcus finally said my name, and I smiled, hoping he would finally say his vows so we could complete the marriage ceremony. But then he let go of my hand, and my heart leaped as panic and confusion took over. "I can't marry you, Akira," he said. I opened my mouth in shock. What does he mean, he can't marry me? What is going on? Why would he say he can't marry me? Nothing made sense at that moment. "What do you mean?" I asked, my heart now pounding furiously in fear as I struggled to steady myself. I took a deep breath and forced a smile, hoping he was joking. Marcus had always been a master of games. "What do you mean you cannot marry her?" my father demanded, stepping forward with the impatience of a man who doesn't tolerate games, especially when it comes to his daughter. Just as I was about to ask what was happening, I heard screams from outside. Everyone turned toward the door of the marriage room we were in, panic and murmurs filled the air. "What is going on?" I muttered under my breath, slowly getting afraid. I could hear the sounds of wolves howling, horses neighing, and more screams from outside. I stepped back, terrified, as a guard burst through the door, shouting, "We are under atta—" He couldn't finish his sentence as an arrow went through his head. Chaos broke out immediately the guards was shot with an arrow. People began to panic, running and pushing past one another. Some strange warriors broke in and started killing people. Arrows flew through the hall, piercing random people and killing them where they stood. I quickly hid behind a pillar, fearing for my life. Peeking through my hiding spot, I saw large wolves storming inside, tearing people apart. My body shook with fear as I witnessed the destruction, wondering what could be going on. People were being mauled right in front of me, and I felt completely helpless. My father, the alpha of our pack, tried to fight, but he was too old and not as strong as he used to be. He couldn't take down many wolves before he was overpowered and pinned down. I came out of my hiding place and ran toward him, hoping to help him in some way. But just as I got close, someone grabbed my hand. I turned to see it was Marcus, the man I was supposed to marry. "I need to help my father! Let me go, Marcus," I pleaded, trying to free my hand from his grip. What happened next shocked me. Marcus smiled mischievously, a cruel look in his eyes. My body froze in both confusion and fear. "You are not going anywhere," he said, his voice cold. I looked back at my father, pinned down, and saw my mother being dragged across the floor. My elder brother was still fighting but was quickly overpowered. With tears in my eyes, I turned to Marcus and begged, "Marcus, please, they sre hurting them. Do something!" Tears rolled down my face. I knew who the intruders were—the Greyfang pack, a rival pack that had tried to enter our territory for years. Our defenses had always been strong, making it nearly impossible for our enemies to penetrate us. So how had they managed to breach our kingdom's defenses? The Greyfangs soon killed every soldier in sight, gathering the remaining survivors. One of them walked towards Marcus who was still holding me, and said, "Your Grace, we have killed everyone. This is our victory. Shall we sound the horns?” "Go ahead," Marcus replied. I stared at him in shock, tears streaming down my face, as I tried to comprehend what was happening. "Your Grace?" I called out, shocked, glancing at my father and the rest of my family, who were equally surprised. "What do they mean by 'Your Grace'? Marcus?" I demanded, looking at him, desperate for an explanation. He smiled at me mischievously and said, "Oh, poor Akira, always so innocent, always so naive." His voice didn't sound like the Marcus I knew. The kind and gentle aura he once had was gone, replaced by something cold and unrecognizable. He felt completely different, almost evil. What was going on? When I met Marcus, I thought he was a rogue who saved me from an attack by other rogues when I wandered too far from my pack. I fell in love with him, unaware of his true intentions or identity. After discovering he was my mate, my family, always open-hearted, accepted him into our pack. Recognizing his skills, my father promoted him to general of the army after two years of service as a common warrior. Today was supposed to be our wedding day, the day I would marry him, but instead, he betrayed me. "I guess I haven't had the chance to properly introduce myself, my love," he said, smiling sheepishly and glancing around before continuing, "I am Alpha Thane Blackwood, first son of the famous Alpha Aldric Blackwood, and the ultimate ruler of the Greyfang pack. I would have told you sooner, but I had missions to fulfill, so deceiving you was my best option." Tears welled up in my eyes as I struggled to grasp the reality of the situation. My heart pounded in my chest, and I fought to stay standing, my legs growing weak underneath me due to the shock. "This can't be real," I whispered to myself, tears streaming down my face, my hands trembling. "This can't be real..." "It is as real as it gets, my love," Marcus—no, Alpha Thane—said, gently wiping away the tears from my cheeks. I stood there, trying to deny the reality happening before my eyes. "You betrayed me?" I blurted out, looking around in disbelief. "For more than two years, you have been lying? You weren't a rogue, but an Alpha? And you pretended to love me just to gain my pack's secrets and build trust?" It was hard to accept; it felt too unreal, too cruel to be true. "One of the reasons I grew to love you so much was because of how wise you are, my love. But it seems you weren't wise enough to see who I really was, or maybe you were just blinded by the love I showed you," he said, shattering my heart into pieces. He slowly let go of my hand, smiling as he looked around. "Do you know what feels better than love and women?" He paused, smiling at me before saying, "Victory. For years, I have dreamed of conquering this pathetic little pack of yours, stealing all your wealth and gold. And today, I have achieved just that, thanks to an alpha so stupid and spineless that he made the enemy a general." He said looking at my father. "I will kill you, Thane, I swear!" my elder brother spat out angrily, struggling to break free from the warriors who held him down. Thane smiled to himself, enjoying my family's suffering, and then coldly said, "Kill that one." It all happened so fast. One of his soldiers drew a silver dagger and stabbed my brother repeatedly in the chest. "No!" my mother screamed in horror, while my father looked on in shock. I was paralyzed with shock, unable to react as I watched my brother being murdered right in front of me. My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground, tears rolling down my face without control. I begged, desperately hoping this was a nightmare, praying it wasn't real. It couldn't be real. “I am sorry for that, my love, but he was saying things I didn't want to hear," Thane said, his tone disturbingly casual and sadistic. I sat there on the floor, watching in horror as the warrior released my brother's lifeless body, which collapsed to the ground, blood pooling around it. This couldn't be real—it just couldn't be. Thane turned to me, clearing his throat as he said, "Well, it's too bad I can't marry you anymore, but I have to admit, you did serve your purpose. Because of your love, everyone in your pack is destroyed." I sat there, paralyzed, not knowing what to do or how to react, my eyes focused on my siblings body. My mother had already passed out from the shock, while my father stood there, staring blankly, likely in shock himself. My eyes caught sight of a dagger lying nearby, stained with someone's blood. I glanced at Thane, who seemed a little distracted, then back at the dagger. Boiling with anger, I grabbed the dagger, stood up, and charged at him, I badly wanted to kill him at that moment . But he reacted so fast, catching my hand mid-air before I could drive the dagger into his chest, and slapped me hard across the face, sending me falling to the ground. "I was going to be nice to you, but then you decided to try to murder me," Thane said, grabbing me roughly by the hair. I struggled to break free, crying profusely . "Tie them up, all of them," he barked. The guards quickly rounded up my parents, who didn't even trying to fight back. I couldn't blame them because they have lost everything in the blink of an eye. Thane dragged me by the hair out of the area while his guards tied everyone up. We stood outside my pack's marriage room, where the wedding was supposed to take place, as his warriors came out of the place too after they have tied down everyone inside. "Burn the entire place down," he commanded. His warriors immediately lit their fire torches. "No, please, no!" I begged, but my pleas fell on deaf ears as they began setting the room my parents and a few other people was in on fire. The fire spread quickly. "Please, don't do this!" I cried, my voice filled with horror and desperation. "I will do anything, please don't do this," I sobbed, not wanting my parents and the remaining members of my pack to be burned alive inside. "You have already served your purpose, Akira," he whispered in my ear, while I couldn't hold back the tears. The entire place was soon covered in fire, and I heard the horrifying screams of people being burned alive. I let out a scream of horror, falling to my knees, unable to bear the pain and devastation.