ALPHA LUCIAN'S MARKED SLAVE

CHAPTER 1: YOU'RE DEFECTIVE SELENE: I had just gotten into the bathroom and started to scrub off the effect of today's strenuous training when the high-pitched, operatic ringtone I’d set for my father started blaring, echoing off the bathroom tiles. My heart skipped a bit. Alpha Reagan Ravencrest, my father, the Alpha of Ravencrest Pack, and the man who terrified half the Alphas in the northern region—didn't like to be kept waiting. Even at fifty-something, he had the patience of a landmine. One second too long to answer, and there’d be hell to pay. I scrambled out of the shower, dripping wet and covered in a thick layer of soap lather. I didn't even grab a towel; I just lunged for the phone on the marble counter with slippery fingers. "Hello, Dad," I said, trying to keep my breathing steady so he wouldn't know I’d been caught off guard. "Selene. Please come to my study. Now." Please? Did he just say please? My father rarely used that word when he spoke to me. This was certainly new. "Alright, Dad," I responded sharply. “I’ll be there in a minute.” I ducked back into the shower, rinsed the soap off in a frantic blur of hot water, and dried up my body with a towel. I didn't have time to use my skin care products. I didn't even cream my face. Just threw on the first decent thing I found in my closet—black jeans and a silk camisole and headed out. The Ravencrest Pack house was less of a home and more of a fortress. It sat on ten acres of prime real estate, hidden behind iron gates and stone walls topped with glass shards and cameras. The mansion itself was a sprawling, three-story monster of Mediterranean stone and dark wood. It had twenty-four rooms, half of which I’d never even stepped foot in. My father’s study was located in the West Wing, the "business" side of the house. To get there, I had to walk past the grand staircase, through the long gallery lined with paintings of ancestors who probably all died with enemy claws tearing out their throats, and down a hallway that felt like it belonged in a museum. As I approached the heavy oak doors, I saw the two guards, Austin and Sal. They stood like statues, hands crossed over their waistbands where I knew they were hiding their weapons. I gave them a short, sharp nod. They didn't smile; they just stepped aside. I knocked once, pushed the door open, and stepped into the Lion’s Den. The study was massive, smelling of old paper and expensive scotch. My father didn't look up. He was buried in a pile of manila folders, a pen in his hand like a weapon. I stood there in the center of the rug, feet shoulder-width apart, and waited. One minute passed. Then two. It was a power move, even with his own flesh and blood. Finally, he looked up. His eyes were cold, distant and calculating. "Tomorrow is the full moon festival," he said, his voice flat. "And since you still haven't found your mate, I don't want you present during the ceremony. Your presence here as an unmated wolf at twenty-four is bringing shame and reproach to this family." Every word felt like a slap. I swallowed hard, trying to find my voice, but he wasn’t done. "So, I have decided to marry you off to Alpha Lucian Blackthorne, the Alpha of the Blackthorne Pack." I froze. My heart skipped a beat, then started hammering against my ribs like it wanted to jump out. Alpha Lucian Blackthorne? The name alone sent a chill straight down my spine. The rumors about him weren't just bad; they were horrific. He was famous for killing every single wolf mated to him within the first two weeks of the bond. Nobody knew why, and nobody dared to ask. But some simply said he was cursed. While others said he sacrificed them for power. Sending me to him wasn't just a punishment. This was certainly a death sentence. "Dad, please," I choked out, the raw panic leaking into my voice. "Just give me until tomorrow. Please. Maybe I'll find my mate during the full moon festival. There’s going to be so many wolves here. What if he’s one of them?" But my father, Alpha Reagan Ravencrest, wouldn't hear of it. He didn't even give me a listening ear. He just shook his head, his expression hardening into stone. "No," he said, cutting me off without a shred of hesitation. "Numerous Alphas and Nobles are gonna be here tomorrow, and I don't want them to see you here, still unmated. It would bring more shame and reproach to my family. I won't have them whispering behind my back about my broken daughter." Desperation clawed at my throat. Before I could even think about my pride, my legs gave out, and I went straight down onto my knees. I gripped the edge of his heavy oak desk, looking up at him with tears blurring my vision, begging for my life. "I’ll hide," I pleaded, the words tumbling out of me in a frantic rush. "I swear I will. I’ll make sure none of the Alphas or Nobles see me. I’ll stay in the basement, or I’ll go out into the deep woods. You won't even know I'm here. Just don't do this to me. Don't send me to Blackthorne." Reagan stopped what he was doing. He leaned back in his leather chair and looked down at me, his eyes narrowing in pure disgust. "How then are you going to find that mate of yours while you're in hiding?" he asked, his voice dripping with mockery. I opened my mouth to answer, to tell him I'd figure it out, but he slammed his hand down on the desk, making me flinch. "Look, Selene, you're cursed," he snapped, leaning forward so his face was just inches from mine. "Just like your mother. And that's why the Moon Goddess hasn't considered you worthy of being anyone's fated mate. You’re defective." Hearing him bring up my mother felt like a physical blow. I stared at him, my eyes filled with hatred. "Go and get ready, Selene," he said, turning his attention back to the paperwork on his desk as if he hadn't just shattered my entire world. "Because your marking ceremony is taking place today."