Chapter 4

• Alina's POV
• When I woke up, my whole body ached.
• I was alone, but his scent lingered in the air, the smell of pine after rain, bold and heavy, proof that everything had really happened.
• Looking down at my bare body, I saw bruises scattered across my skin, glaring and humiliating. A sharp pain in my neck told me without looking that his mark was there, one that could never be erased.
• Tears slipped down without warning. I had betrayed Killian. Forced to betray my beloved fiancé.
• “Eira?” I called to my wolf spirit.
• No answer. She had hidden away, drowning in shame and submission.
• I pulled the blanket around me, forcing my weak body to sit. I had to leave.
• But when I stumbled to the door and reached for the handle, a cold voice came from the other side.
• "Alpha King's orders. You cannot leave this room."
• My heart sank. I wasn’t his mate. I was his prisoner.
• Sliding down to the floor, I buried my face in my knees and cried until time lost meaning.
• At last, a knock broke the silence.
• “Hello, I’m Lily. The King sent me to serve you.” The timid voice belonged to a young maid.
• The door opened, and a girl in a gray dress stepped inside. She looked barely sixteen, freckles dotting her face, carrying a basin in her hands.
• When she saw me crumpled on the floor, she quickly set it aside and rushed to help.
• "Why are you sitting here? Get up, it’s too cold on the ground.”
• I didn’t resist, letting her guide me back to the bed.
• “Let me wash you and apply medicine,” Lily said softly.
• She led me into the bathroom where a tub of steaming water waited.
• When I caught sight of myself in the mirror, I froze. The woman staring back, marked, hollow-eyed, disheveled, didn’t look like me.
• Lily carefully cleaned my skin, her breath catching when her fingers brushed my neck.
• “Oh my god… The King marked you!” she gasped, her tone full of envy and awe. “You’re Dominic’s Luna now. Finally, the North has a mistress.”
• I closed my eyes, refusing to answer.
• Luna. What a cruel joke.
• Afterward, Lily dressed me in a fresh silk gown, then gently dabbed ointment on my neck.
• “The King is good to you,” she said brightly. “This is the finest medicine in the tribe. He’s never brought a woman to his room before. You’re the first.”
• I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms, but stayed silent.
• When she finished, she helped me back into the room, where a table was set with an elaborate meal.
• “You must be hungry. Please eat something.”
• My stomach twisted painfully with emptiness. To survive, to escape, I had to eat.
• I picked up a piece of bread and forced myself to chew; each bite was forceful.
• Just then, the door was rudely pushed open.
• “I want to see what kind of vixen could bewitch my brother like this!” A sharp, arrogant voice filled the air.
• I looked up.
• Two women stood at the doorway. The first, with golden hair gleaming above a purple gown, bore Dominic’s features, but her face was set in arrogance and disdain. She could only be his twin sister, Aurora.
• Beside her stood a woman in pure white, black hair flowing over her shoulders. Her face looked gentle, but her eyes were cold, full of judgment and hostility.
• “Hello, Miss Aurora, Miss Rebecca.” Lily bowed quickly, her voice trembling, almost kneeling in fear. She whispered to me, “No one dares to cross them.”
• Ignoring her, Aurora strode in, surveying the room as if inspecting her territory, before her gaze landed on me.
• “This chamber belongs to the Alpha Kings of the North for generations. And you? An Omega from the South? How dare you stay here?”
• Rebecca’s gaze followed, and when she saw the mark on my neck, her face twisted with fury.
• “He marked you!” she screamed.
• Aurora’s eyes darkened. She stormed forward, grabbing the collar of my nightgown.
• “How dare you let my brother mark you? How can the Alpha King’s bloodline be tainted by a lowly Omega like you? Don’t think his mark makes you Luna. I’ll rip that skin from your neck myself and throw you into the dirt where you belong. Only a noble Alpha daughter like Rebecca deserves to be Luna of the North. Get out of this room!”
• “Let go of me!” I struggled, trying to push her away.
• “Still resisting?” Rebecca sneered, stepping forward and suddenly kicking at my legs.
• I fell heavily to the ground, feeling a sharp pain in my hand as I braced myself with my palm.
• Rebecca strode over in her high heels and crushed my right hand beneath her foot.
• “Ah!” I cried out, the pain sharp enough to tear through me.
• Lily shrieked in fright and bolted from the room. The door slammed shut behind her, sealing off the only escape. Cold dread ran down my spine like ice water.
• They were going to kill me.
• The pain in my hand was so painful that black spots blurred my sight. I felt my healing power try to flow to the wound, but the cursed mark on my neck drained it away, leaving me weak as the damage spread.
• It was over. The hand I used to mix potions, the hand that held a scalpel to save lives, might never heal.
• The pain was unbearable, but worse than that was the despair of knowing my life as a healer, as a doctor, could be ruined forever.
• I hated them. And even more, I hated the man who had dragged me into this and made me suffer it all.
• “I waited seven years, and he never even touched my hand. Why you?” Rebecca spat angrily. “I was the one engaged to him! Why did he mark you?”
• The mark on my neck burned hot, and rage that wasn’t mine surged through me, drowning out reason.
• Then, I heard a roar, "Stop!"
• The command was absolute and heavy with Alpha power. Rebecca and Aurora froze, their faces draining of color.