Marked by the Alpha Mafia

Pain.

That was all Raine knew.

Her body ached with exhaustion, her skin burned from the deep gashes along her arms, and her vision blurred as she stumbled through the rain-soaked streets. The freezing wind bit into her flesh, but it was nothing compared to the cold inside her.

She had nothing. No one.

Blood dripped from her lip where she'd been struck-another reminder that she was hunted like an animal.

The hunger clawed at her ribs.

Her hands trembled from weakness.

Her breath came in ragged gasps.

And yet, she couldn't stop running.

She had spent her entire life trying to survive, but now? She wasn't sure if she even wanted to anymore.

Maybe if they caught her, it would all finally be over.

Maybe-

A brutal yank on her hair sent her crashing onto the cold, wet pavement.

Raine let out a sharp gasp, her cheek slamming into the ground. A heavy boot pressed down on her back, forcing the air from her lungs.

"Got you, freak."

Her stomach twisted. No. Not again.

The hunters surrounded her, their faces hidden by the rain and shadows, but she didn't need to see them to know what they were. Monsters in human skin.

She had escaped them once. But they had found her again.

"Still running, huh?" One of them laughed, nudging her side with his boot. "You made this way harder than it needed to be."

"Should we kill her now?" Another voice, colder, more detached.

Raine's body trembled, her fingers curling against the wet pavement. She didn't want to die.

But what choice did she have?

She was too weak to fight.

Too broken to run.

Too lost to hope.

A hand grabbed her by the throat, yanking her up. Raine gasped as her feet left the ground, her vision going black at the edges.

"Let's see those pretty little eyes before we finish this."

The man's grip tightened, cutting off her air. Raine's pulse pounded, her lungs screamed-

And then-

A gunshot.

The hunter's grip went slack. His eyes widened in shock before blood spilled from his lips.

His body dropped.

The others spun around, guns raised-

But it was already too late.

A dark figure moved through the alley like a phantom. Fast. Deadly. Unstoppable.

One second, there were three hunters.

The next? There were none.

The scent of blood filled the air.

Raine barely registered what happened before she collapsed onto her hands and knees, gasping for breath.

A heavy silence settled over the alley.

And then-boots stopped in front of her.

A deep, slow breath.

Then-a voice like smoke and steel.

"Pathetic."

Raine's body tensed. That voice. Low. Rough. Unforgiving.

A boot nudged her chin up, forcing her to look.

And when she did-her blood ran cold.

Lucian Volkov.

She had never met him before, but she knew who he was.

Mafia King. Alpha. Killer.

His emerald-green eyes burned into her, sharp and calculating, like he could see straight through her soul.

Raine should have been terrified.

Instead, something inside her stirred.

Lucian crouched before her, gripping her chin with his gloved hand. His touch was firm, his gaze merciless.

"You're a mess," he muttered. "And yet... still alive."

His grip tightened.

"Tell me, little wolf-what are you?"

Raine's lips parted, but she had no answer. She didn't know.

Lucian exhaled sharply, his gaze darkening as his thumb traced along the cut on her lip.

"Whoever they were," he murmured, glancing at the dead hunters, "they wanted you bad." His eyes flicked back to hers. "That makes you valuable."

A slow, dangerous smirk.

"And I don't let valuable things go."

Raine shook her head weakly. "No... I don't belong to anyone."

Lucian's smile widened-dangerous, possessive.

"You do now."

And just like that-her world ended.

Or maybe-it had just begun.

The scent of blood clung to the air, thick and suffocating. The alleyway was silent now-except for the rain softly pattering against the ground and the slow, deliberate steps of the man who had just slaughtered her pursuers.

Raine's breath came in sharp, uneven gasps. Her body screamed at her to run.

But she couldn't move.

Her ice-blue eyes darted to the bodies scattered on the cold pavement-limbs twisted at unnatural angles, faces frozen in expressions of sheer terror.

Lucian Volkov had killed them all.

And he had done it without hesitation.

Her gaze lifted to him-the golden-eyed predator standing among the dead.

Lucian didn't look remotely fazed. His black coat was dusted with crimson, his knuckles still stained from the fight, yet his expression remained calm, unreadable. He wiped his blade clean with a handkerchief, then tucked it away with an air of casual indifference.

Then, he turned those piercing golden eyes on her.

Raine's heart pounded.

There was something otherworldly about him. Something dangerous.

And yet, she felt it again-that same pull.

That same feeling she'd been trying to ignore all her life.

Her instincts screamed that she was not human.

But if she wasn't human, then what the hell was she?

Lucian took a step closer, his boots barely making a sound against the wet pavement. She flinched.

A smirk tugged at his lips.

"Scared, little wolf?" His voice was deep, laced with dark amusement.

Raine's stomach twisted. Little wolf.

That word sent a cold shiver through her spine.

She forced herself to hold his gaze, even as her body screamed at her to run.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, her voice hoarse.

Lucian studied her for a moment, his golden eyes gleaming under the dim streetlight.

Then, he reached out-fast.

Raine barely had time to react before his fingers wrapped around her wrist.

The moment his skin touched hers-

A sharp, searing pain shot through her entire body.

Raine gasped, stumbling back. Her vision blurred for a split second, and then-

A glow.

A faint, silvery light bloomed from beneath her sleeve.

Lucian's eyes darkened. He yanked her closer, pulling her arm up so the sleeve slid back-

Revealing the crescent moon symbol burned into her skin.

Raine's breath hitched.

She had seen that mark before. It had appeared when she was a child, only to vanish just as quickly. But now, under his touch, it was glowing again.

Lucian's grip tightened slightly. His expression shifted.

Amusement was gone.

Now, he looked at her like she was something precious. Something he had just found after years of searching.

"You're not just any wolf," he murmured.

His voice was different this time. Lower. Hungrier.

Raine trembled.

Lucian's gaze lifted to meet hers, and when he spoke again-

It wasn't a question. It was a declaration.

"You're mine."

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