Fated To Ruin My Mate

The final claim

He left me.

Just like that.

Ryder’s massive red wolf disappeared into the trees, leaving only ash, firelight, and the lingering echo of his touch.

I stood frozen in the cold dirt, barefoot, breathless, and completely wrecked. My lips still tingled from the raw pressure of his kiss. My thighs ached where his heavy hands had gripped me, where he had almost taken what we both knew he wanted more than his own pride.

"No," I whispered into the empty clearing, my voice shaking. "please Ryder Don’t leave me like this…"

The heat in my body didn't fade. If anything, it grew worse by the second. The Siren Mark pulsed violently beneath my skin, flaring like a second heart, spreading liquid fire through every vein in my body. My knees buckled beneath the weight of the magic. I sank to the ground, gasping as the heavy ache between my legs became unbearable. A few hours ago he was my enemy, someone I despised so much, but at the same time he was someone I wanted to f**k so bad, someone I could not resist. I hated rejection, and the sting of him running away felt like a fresh wound.

I clawed at my dress, pulling at the tight fabric because it felt like it was suffocating me. My skin was slick with sweat, my long silver hair clinging to my damp back. My body trembled with a hunger that felt cruel, endless, and completely out of my control.

The curse was in full bloom now.

And it wanted Ryder.

It needed Ryder.

But he was gone.

"Please," I groaned, pressing my flat palm directly against the burning mark on my chest. "Don’t do this to me. Don’t leave me like this…"

A soft rustle of leaves came from the west side of the clearing.

I turned my head sharply, hoping and praying it would be Ryder returning for me.

But it was not Ryder.

It was Kael.

The priest stepped into the clearing, his dark robes fluttering around his bare chest. His skin was heavily inked with symbols older than the mountains of Ashmere. His black eyes drank me in, lingering on my flushed skin, my torn dress, and the desperation pouring off my body in waves.

"You know you should have just listened to me not fight it," he said calmly, his voice low and hypnotic. "This is your nature, Aylin. The bond demands to be fulfilled. Denying it will only break you, the more you deny it the more you can't resist the more the urge increases."

"I don’t want you," I spat, even as my body trembled from the sheer pressure of his proximity.

"But you want to be claimed," Kael replied, taking a slow step toward me. "That much is clear."

I turned away from his dark gaze, pressing my forehead against the rough stone wall, biting back a sob that threatened to tear from my throat. "He left me… He felt it… and he still left me."

Kael moved behind me, standing so close that the heat of his chest radiated against my cold shoulders, though he didn't touch me. His breath ghosted across the back of my neck. "I know who you want,He’s weak. Too afraid of what you are. But others aren’t."

A new scent cut through the smell of ash and pine. It was cold, clean, and dangerous.

It was Lucien.

He was standing near the edge of the shadows, silently watching us.

I whirled on both of them, my fingers clawing into the dirt. "This isn’t fair!" I cried. "I didn’t ask for this! I didn’t ask to burn alive!, so why are y'all punishing me huh, I need to know my fate, everyone ran away when they saw what happened, this is worst I should have stayed in the human world"

Kael’s gaze flickered down to the glowing gold and black mark on my chest. "Then offer yourself."

"What?" I asked, my breath catching in my throat.

"To the Moon. To the Pack. At the Claiming Ceremony."

"No one will touch me!" I hissed, my voice cracking. "They still think I’m cursed, everyone hates me now"

"They know you’re cursed," Lucien finally spoke, his voice smooth and cold as ice. "But they’ll still try to claim you. They’re wolves, not saints, look at you, even if you are a monster men will kneel down to worship you."

Kael leaned in, his voice like silk sliding over skin. "Let them fight for you, Aylin. Let them bleed for the right to tame the fire inside you."

I trembled, the cold stone of the wall pressing against my back. The thought of exposing myself to the entire pack horrified me. And yet, my body throbbed with a relentless need. My mind screamed for Ryder, but the curse didn’t care who fed it, only that the fire was put out.

I looked down at my hands, whispering the truth of my desperation. Although I wanted Ryder, my body was giving up. "If he won’t take me… someone has to."

Lucien tilted his head, a dark satisfaction settling in his eyes. "Then go to the altar. Let them see what they’ll never control."

Let them beg.

Or beg yourself.

I lifted my chin, my breathing shallow, my spine straightening as the lingering shame died in the heat of my mark.

"I want to be claimed," I said aloud, my voice steadying. "I want to be taken."

Kael smiled, his eyes dark and empty. "Then dress for war, little siren. Because when the moon rises again… the claiming begins."

Later That Night | The Claiming Ceremony

The ceremonial clearing glowed with a pale, silver light.

Torches burned along the perimeter, casting long, dancing shadows across the dirt. Drums pounded in a slow, rhythmic beat that vibrated right through the soles of my feet, sounding like heavy heartbeats. The entire Midnight Claw pack gathered in a tight ring around the stone dais, their bodies tense, their eyes wide with anticipation.

And then I stepped into the circle.

Barefoot. Bare-skinned. Bare-souled.

I wore only a piece of black silk, sheer as smoke, clinging to my curves like a lover’s hands with every step I took. My long silver hair flowed down my back like starlight, and across my chest, burning like a crown, the Siren Mark pulsed with a fierce, golden light.

They stared at me.

Every single man in the pack, the Alphas, the Betas, and even the unmated wolves. Their eyes were hungry, possessive, and rabid, tracking the sway of my hips as I walked toward the center of the dais.

The elders stood at the edge of the ring, their collective voice rising like thunder over the sound of the drums.

"Who dares approach the marked one? Who dares to claim her?"

A heavy silence fell over the clearing. Nobody moved forward. The wolves looked at one another, the fear of the curse warring with the absolute lust pouring from my skin.

Then came Ryder.

He stepped from the crowd like a god of war, his broad chest bare, save for the blood-red sash tied across his hips. His chest rose and fell with ragged, heavy breaths. His eyes were no longer human. They were glowing gold, burning with a feral light.

He said nothing to the elders. He said nothing to the pack.

He just walked directly toward me.

My body was already shaking, my breath trapped in my throat as the sheer force of his presence hit me. As he stopped right in front of the stone dais, my legs gave out, and I fell to my knees before him.

My voice was a desperate whisper of want, lost to the heat consuming me.

"Please… I can’t take it anymore. Claim me. Make it stop Ryder . I need you."

Ryder knelt down on the cold stone, his large, rough fingers wrapping around my jaw, forcing me to look up into his burning eyes.

"I warned you, to stay away from me" he growled, his voice vibrating against my skin. "Once I start with you, you will beg me to stop and… I won’t stop."

"Then don’t stop" I breathed, my hands reaching up to grip his wrists, completely surrendering to the fire. "Ruin me, do whatever you want with me, punish me Alpha ryder."

He growled, a low, feral sound that came from deep within his chest.

And the world shattered.