Wounded Alpha, Healing Mate

ll day. The marble floors were cold against her worn soles, her dress stained with a hint of frosting and dirt from cleaning after the party. The grandeur of

k echoed eerily as she climbed the servant

ned the final corner, a low voice c

ir

the shadows of the hallway, arms crossed, his face unreadable. His tailored black suit, s

" she asked,

with

g his broad, commanding frame down the hallway and back into the study. The same st

flickering in the hearth and the harsh golden glow of the chandelier overhead. Papers lay scatte

or her to sta

ed quietly, trying to mask th

leaned over, plucked a folded parchment

wax, stamped with t

he said finally. "A merger that will elevate the Alden na

hat does that ha

her as if s

is in need

them stretched, he

d. "I don't

u are to be married to Luc

f gasp, half protest. "Married?

ucky. You've always been the forgotten one, the burden.

finally rising. "I've always said I would wait for my true mate.

on Goddess had nothing to do with this. You are not Liana. You will never have suitors lined a

gaining chip,"

er. "Do not mistake this for choice, Mira. This is d

er skin felt too tight, her wolf

again, barely above a w

influence and strength. The Varkos heir is broken. Paralyzed. A rumor, a risk. If the

ed at him

k?" she asked, stunned by the audacity of

even blink

r years, every time her parents looked through her, every time Liana was praised while she w

ll leave for the Varkos

ot enough

e no wedding ceremony, no dowry beyond the cont

servant. The pressure in her chest swelled like a t

**

bitter with night. She shut the door behind her and leaned

She brushed them away angrily, ashamed of the weakn

that he'd been in a car accident, that he was crippled now, th

t wife

lanket. Her room was plain, with cracked walls and a crooked mirror -no different from th

stranger's home, an Alpha's est

e whispered, voice

ond the staff who didn't speak to her unless instructed.

ng her arms around herself as mo

rough her chest, a presence, strong and

a, he

ntly, her voice echoing in her mind, cal

. "You heard

d

us away like w

we make something of it. Let them think they've c

to be cursed. He may b

u are from a l

led, hear

urs. We escape through obedience, not rebellion. Not yet

id. She had her wolf. She had her mind. And she had power, even if they couldn