Claimed by the Alpha After One Night: Read Chapters 1-5

Sylvie's POV

The sharp, heady mix of leather and fresh rose flooded my senses, underscored by a clean, sharp hint of mint that clung to the man’s skin.

He must have showered not long before finding me.

Heat coiled tight in every inch of my body, my head spinning so violently I could barely focus on anything but the overwhelming sensation of him.

Today had twisted into the worst day of my life, a nightmare I could not wake up from.

The man moved against me with a rough, unyielding force, and a soft, helpless moan slipped past my lips before I could bite it back.

His voice rumbled deep in his chest, low and smoky with raw desire. “You’re not focused.”

I should have refused that random glass at the graduation banquet.

By the time I realized the liquid had been laced with a drug designed to throw a werewolf into an uncontrollable heat, it was far too late to reverse the damage.

His touch set every nerve in my body ablaze. The scorching sensation spread from my core all the way to my fingertips, making my skin thrumming with a feverish life of its own.

Everything after that blurred into a fog of pleasure and confusion. I only drifted back to consciousness slowly, as the worst of the drug’s hold finally loosened its grip.

I could barely process the cold, hard truth. I, a married werewolf, had just slept with a complete stranger.

The room was shrouded in dim darkness, and I had no strength left to fight his advances.

Every deep, deliberate thrust of his hips stole the breath from my lungs.

My fingers twisted into the sheets, knuckles white as I clung to the last shreds of my fraying composure.

His addictive scent and the searing warmth of his skin made my body crave more, even as my guilty conscience screamed that this was unforgivable.

He had a sharp, possessive bite.

I could feel the dark marks he’d left along my collarbone, rough nips that were quickly soothed by the warm glide of his tongue.

The contradictory sensation sent shivers racing down my spine, pleasure warring violently with shame.

His pace was wild and unrelenting, and all I could do was gasp and whimper, unable to hold back the desperate sounds he pulled from me.

Each thrust pushed my rationality further away, until my mind went completely blank with overwhelming climax.

When the first faint light of morning seeped through the curtains, the stranger finally pulled away, ending our reckless, forbidden night.

As the drug’s effects faded completely, crystal-clear clarity crashed over me like ice water.

I stared at the disheveled room, at the tangled sheets and torn fabric scattered across the floor, and felt my chest tighten with blinding panic.

I had been married for three years.

Three long, empty years since my father forced me into a union with Lorenzo Marchesi, the Alpha of the Eternal Night Pack.

Rumors followed him like a shadow no one could escape.

Some claimed he’d killed his own mate with his bare hands. Others insisted his face was twisted and hideous, covered in marks that made every she-wolf avoid him at all costs.

Many whispered the Moon Goddess had cursed him for his unforgivable sins, dooming him to never find a second chance mate.

I hadn’t seen him once since our wedding day.

The entire pack feared him, and I could hardly blame them for their terror.

The thought of him finding out what I’d done made my blood run cold.

I scrambled out of bed without a second to waste, my movements frantic and unsteady.

My clothes had been torn to shreds in the chaos of the night, so I grabbed the stranger’s oversized shirt to cover the dark, blooming marks across my skin.

My jeans were still intact, thankfully, and the loose men’s shirt made for a passable, if deeply suspicious, outfit.

Every muscle in my body ached, a dull, throbbing pain that served as a constant, unignorable reminder of the night before.

I swore to myself then and there that I would track down the coward who had drugged me and make them pay for ruining everything.

I slipped back into the Eternal Night Pack compound as the first light of dawn painted the sky soft pink.

Servants bustled about, preparing breakfast and tidying the grand grounds, and I kept my head down, hoping to slip unnoticed to my room before anyone saw me.

My terrible luck ran out before I could take three more steps.

Lorenzo’s mother, Maria, stepped directly in front of me, her face twisted with a rage so fierce it made my skin crawl.

“Who were you with last night?!” she shrieked, her voice sharp enough to make my ears ring with pain.

“I stayed at a friend’s house.” I lied quickly, trying to step around her, but a loyal servant stepped into my path, blocking my way entirely.

“You betrayed Lorenzo! You don’t deserve to be the Luna of this pack!” she snarled, pure venom dripping from every single word.

She had always hated me, looked down on my bloodline with open disgust.

She’d never forgiven my father for tricking her into accepting me as Lorenzo’s bride.

I was the illegitimate daughter of Andrew, Alpha of the Winter’s Frost Pack. I’d grown up as a maid in my own father’s pack, bullied relentlessly by my half-sister Elara every single day.

I could never speak my true identity, trapped in silence by my father’s cruelty. My father had always called my mother a whore, claiming she’d drugged him to trap him into a night together.

The entire pack labeled me a bastard child, unwanted and worthless from the day I was born.

When I turned eighteen, the Winter Frost Pack began to crumble. Our territory was seized by stronger, more vicious packs, and my father chose to sell his daughter to save his own power.

No one else in their right mind would marry the terrifying Lorenzo Marchesi.

Elara was supposed to be the bride, but my stepmother refused to send her own precious daughter. I was the replacement, the disposable one no one would miss.

Maria had been furious when she learned the truth, but she could not break the binding marriage agreement.

So I’d spent three years in a loveless, empty marriage, treated like a stranger in my own supposed home.

“I haven’t done anything wrong!” I snapped, pushing the servant’s rough hands away from my arms.

All I wanted was a hot bath and a single moment to breathe.

My body still throbbed, and I was exhausted to my very bones.

“I didn’t say you could leave!” Maria roared, marching forward and yanking me harshly by my collar.

Her cold eyes locked onto the gold-embroidered letter L stitched into the fabric, and her face turned an ugly, furious shade of red.

Before I could react, her hand cracked hard across my cheek, the stinging pain burning my skin bright and hot.

“You listen to me! A worthless mongrel like you doesn’t belong in the Eternal Night Pack! You slut!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “I’m expelling you from this pack right now!”

She had been waiting for an excuse to get rid of me, to turn me into a rogue with no pack to call her own, no protection from the dangers of the woods.

“Grab your pathetic things and get out! I’ll send word for Lorenzo to come back and sever your pack bond personally! You were meant to give the Alpha an heir, but you’re nothing but a useless failure!”

I stared at her, white-hot anger boiling in my chest.

She blamed me for a marriage that had been empty from the very start, for a husband who hadn’t bothered to show his face in three long years.

For the first time, I didn’t feel guilty about the stranger.

That reckless night had felt like sweet, quiet revenge against a man who’d never even looked at me, never treated me like anything but a burden.

My wolf, Leah, let out a low, angry growl deep in my chest.

She hated the idea of being cast out, of losing the status that was rightfully mine as the pack’s Luna.

But I was done.

Three years of humiliation and loneliness were more than enough for a lifetime.

“I’m tired of living like a forgotten widow anyway!” I shouted back, no longer holding back my rage.

I lifted my chin high, my voice steady and unshakable as I began the ancient, irreversible mate rejection ritual.

“I, Sylvie of the Eternal Night Pack, reject Lorenzo Marchesi, Alpha of the Eternal Night Pack, as my mate.”

Sylvie's POV

I stood outside the iron gates of the Eternal Night Pack, my suitcase scraping roughly against the cracked pavement as the heavy manor doors slammed shut behind me with a final, echoing clang.

Panic coiled tight in my chest, cold and unyielding.

I was completely lost, with no home to return to and no wolf pack to call my own.

Once Lorenzo stepped foot back on pack lands, he would waste no time severing my pack bond and officially marking me as a rogue.

I pictured myself crammed into a tattered tent in the rundown rogue camps on the west side of town, fighting feral wolves over scraps of bread just to survive.

I imagined my mind fading slowly, my body wasting away, my once-clean scent turning foul and unrecognizable to every wolf I met.

I could feel Leah’s bitter disappointment thrumming beneath my skin.

My wolf had always craved order and spotlessness, once even forcing me to bathe in freezing winter water after morning runs just to keep my coat fresh.

She despised this bleak, hopeless future, and she burned with anger at my weakness for letting us end up here.

“Hey, Leah,” I murmured under my breath, trying to steady my shaking hands. “It’s better than enduring constant cruelty in that pack. Things aren’t as hopeless as they seem. Maybe another pack will take us in.”

Leah let out two short, grumpy huffs in response, half agreeing but far from convinced of my empty optimism.

Leah’s arrival into my life had been nothing short of a miracle born from agony.

When I turned eighteen, my wolf never emerged.

The pack labeled me a weak omega, worthless and broken in every way.

It wasn’t until half a month later, when my sister Elara shoved me off a cliff and I smashed my head against a jagged rock, clinging to life by a thread, that Leah finally woke up inside me.

She was not strong, not by any pure-blood wolf’s standard.

Without proper training, we were nothing more than half-wolves in the eyes of every member of my old pack.

Still, I thanked the Moon Goddess every single day for her.

Life with Leah, unstable and difficult as it was, was infinitely better than the lonely, powerless existence I’d lived before she came.

“Where do we go now?” Leah’s quiet voice echoed in my mind, laced with raw uncertainty.

I opened my mouth to answer, but the shrill ring of my phone cut through the heavy silence.

I glanced down at the screen and felt my blood run cold.

It was Andrew, my father.

He had already heard the news of my expulsion, of course. News traveled viciously fast in wolf pack circles.

I pressed the phone to my ear, and his enraged roar exploded from the speaker immediately.

“Who gave you the right to leave the Eternal Night Pack?! I heard you laid with another man and got yourself thrown out! You have humiliated me for the last time!”

“You have one hour to return to this pack, or you will regret every choice you’ve ever made!”

My voice was cold and sharp, no trace of fear left in me after three years of suffering. “Fine. I’ll come back. But I want answers about why Grandmother’s belongings were never returned to me after three years of marriage.”

The line went silent for a long, tense moment before my father spoke again, his tone low and dangerous.

“If you still care about that woman, you will come back right now!”

That woman. He meant my mother.

My jaw clenched so tight my teeth ached.

I had no choice. I had to go back.

---

Lorenzo's POV

When I woke, the woman who had been pressed against me was gone.

But the disheveled sheets, the faint, sweet scent still clinging to the pillows, and the faint marks on my skin were more than enough proof that last night had been no fever dream.

I had truly been with a woman who had awoken a hunger in me I’d thought was lost forever.

Five years had passed since I’d collapsed mysteriously in the southern forest, and a cruel curse had settled over me ever since.

The scent or touch of any she-wolf made my skin burn and break out in agonizing rashes.

Even their mere presence left me nauseous and on edge.

The pack elders claimed only my true mate could break the unholy curse.

Over time, accidents and twisted lies had spread like wildfire, spawning the horrific rumors that followed me everywhere I went.

Worse still, every full moon forced me into an unbearable, unnatural heat.

It was nothing like the gentle heat of a healthy she-wolf.

This was a pain that stabbed deep into my bones, a relentless torment like thousands of insects gnawing at my marrow, with no relief in sight.

But last night?

All of that pain, all of that curse, had vanished completely.

There was just one gut-wrenching problem.

Arlo, my own wolf, had felt no mate bond to her.

If she wasn’t my true mate, then who was she?

And where had my mysterious, runaway cure disappeared to?

I grabbed my phone and dialed my Beta, Wenger. “Bring me a fresh suit. And find out every single detail about the woman who was in my room last night.”

Wenger arrived minutes later, and when he stepped into the messy bedroom, his eyes widened in pure, unfiltered shock.

“Oh… Alpha… last night… you’re free from the curse?”

“I haven’t confirmed it yet,” I said, my voice sharp and impatient. “Did you identify the woman?”

“Yes! I’ve looked into everything. Her name is Sylvie Miller. She attended the graduation banquet yesterday. Someone drugged her, and she stumbled into your room by complete accident.”

So it had been no trap.

Just a lost, innocent lamb who had wandered straight into a lion’s den.

Wenger handed me a photograph, and my breath caught in my throat.

The girl had soft, golden-brown hair that fell in loose waves nearly to her waist, fluffy and warm like freshly baked bread. Her face was delicate, free of heavy makeup, with long lashes that framed warm, amber-brown eyes that sparkled like rare jewels.

She had a slender, straight nose and wore a simple white dress, a tiny daisy hair clip tucked gently behind her ear.

She looked like a sunlit elf, soft and pure and completely out of place in my dark, cursed world.

I swallowed hard, the vivid memories of our wild night crashing back into me.

I set the photo down, my brow furrowing slightly.

Her name. Why did Sylvie Miller sound so eerily familiar?

Wenger shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, clearly holding back something critical.

I tapped my finger against the wooden table, my tone dropping to a dangerous, low growl. “Out with it. Now.”

He flinched before speaking quickly, his words tumbling out in a rush. “Your mother called early this morning. She says the Luna, Sylvie, betrayed you and kicked her out of the pack. She’s demanding you return immediately to finalize the rejection ceremony.”

Sylvie.

Luna Sylvie.

A coincidence? Impossible.

“You mean to tell me she is my betrothed Luna?” I asked, my voice low and stunned.

“Yes, Alpha. Sylvie left the pack grounds not long ago.”

I had never cared who my chosen bride was.

Her greedy father had traded her for pack land and three million dollars, a petty deal arranged entirely by my mother, Maria.

I’d been told the girl was not the true Alpha’s daughter, but a lowly maid from a failing pack.

At the time, I’d felt nothing but indifference toward a stranger wife I’d never planned to meet.

But now?

She was the only thing on my mind.

The woman who had broken my curse.

My runaway, forbidden Luna.

“Prepare the car,” I ordered, my gaze hardening with a single, unshakable purpose.

Wenger blinked in confusion, clearly caught off guard by my demand. “Alpha, do you need to return to the company?”

A faint, dangerous smirk tugged at my lips as I thought of Sylvie alone, lost and cast out into the cold.

“No,” I said, my voice dark with unspoken intent that sent a shiver through the room.

“We’re going to go get my Luna.”

Sylvie's POV

I stood at the heavy iron gates of Winter Frost Pack territory, my fingers curling into tight fists at my sides as I took in the sight before me.

The territory had expanded far beyond what I remembered, new cabins and training grounds stretching out in every direction.

Every brick, every inch of new land had been built on the back of my broken marriage.

It felt as though the entire pack had fed on my suffering like leeches draining the life from my veins.

After I’d married Lorenzo, Andrew had forbidden me from ever setting foot on Winter Frost land again.

He had also blocked all my attempts to visit my mother, who had lain unconscious in the intensive care unit for years.

I had only agreed to the forced marriage to Lorenzo because they’d used my mother’s failing health to break me.

I had no money to cover her endless hospital bills, and no way to break her free from Winter’s Frost’s control.

They had made endless promises after the wedding, swearing I would receive my grandmother’s precious belongings and that my mother’s medical care would be fully funded.

For three long years, I had lived like a caged bird, trapped with no way to fly or escape the invisible chains that bound me to a loveless, empty life.

A low-ranking omega stepped toward me, her eyes dripping with open contempt as she blocked my path. “The Alpha has been waiting for you.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, letting a faint flicker of my Luna authority seep into my gaze.

She flinched instantly, dropping her head in submission. “I will lead you to him at once.”

Leah might not have the raw power of an alpha or beta wolf, but she was far stronger than any common omega.

I still had not been formally cast out of the Eternal Night Pack, which meant I still held the rank of Luna, and that rank gave me natural dominance over every wolf in this weakening pack.

As I followed the omega through the compound, wolves I had not seen in three years stared at me with a mix of curiosity and open mockery.

There was not a single spark of kindness or warmth in any of their gazes.

I knew this was Elara’s doing.

She had always been desperate to tear me down and make sure I never had a moment of peace.

The large villa’s living room was stifling with tension when I stepped inside.

Andrew sat slumped in his leather armchair, puffing slowly on a wooden pipe, his face heavy with arrogance.

His mate, my stepmother Gretchen, sat primly beside him, and right next to her stood Elara, wearing a sickeningly smug grin that made my skin crawl.

“You finally decided to crawl back here?!” Andrew roared, slamming his fist against the arm of his chair.

A cold, bitter laugh escaped my lips. “You threatened me into coming back. Did you think I would ignore your orders after three years of locking me out of my own home?”

Andrew’s face darkened with rage at my blatant disrespect.

He snatched a porcelain teacup from the table beside him and hurled it at me with full force.

“Who gave you such insolence to speak to your Alpha father this way?!”

The cup shattered into pieces at my feet, and a sharp ceramic shard sliced deep into my calf.

Bright red blood welled up instantly, trickling down my skin and staining the hem of my pants.

I bowed my head, gritting my teeth as I fought against the crushing weight of his Alpha aura pressing down on me. “You called me here. If you have nothing important to say, I will leave right now.”

Gretchen’s eyes glinted with cruel amusement as she leaned back into her seat, dragging out her words to savor my discomfort. “Don’t be in such a hurry to leave. We called you here to discuss your marriage to Lorenzo. Did the Eternal Night Pack truly cast you out?”

“I was kicked out,” I answered bluntly, a sharp surge of bitter satisfaction burning in my chest. “Is this a surprise? Did you only remember I existed once you realized you could no longer profit from my marriage?”

My open defiance sent Andrew into an even greater fury.

“You fool! Why did you not come to us first for help? You will return to the Eternal Night Pack immediately, and you will not leave until you fix this mess!”

His voice was laced with tyrannical command, as if I had committed an unforgivable crime against his precious pack.

“You never kept a single promise you made. Why would I ever trust you now? You were the ones who forced me to marry Lorenzo in the first place, because you were too cowardly to send Elara in my place!”

Elara flinched violently, scrambling to hide behind Andrew’s large frame.

“Dad, I will never marry that monster! ”

Gretchen lifted a handkerchief to her face, pretending to wipe away fake tears as she spoke in a sickly sweet tone.

“Sylvie, you should be more grateful. Your mother manipulated and seduced my husband, and I never turned her away. I even gave her the best hospital room money could buy.”

Her words ignited a dangerous fire in Andrew’s eyes.

He glared at me with cold, unbridled hatred. “It seems you will not listen to reason. I will call the hospital this instant and cut off all funding for that woman’s care!”

I stared back at him, my blood boiling with unbridled rage.

He always used my mother to break me, to force me into submission.

But I would not be controlled this time.

I let out a sharp, mocking snort. “It was Lorenzo’s mother, Maria, who cast me out. She made the decision herself. You all know how terrifying Lorenzo is, ruthless and untamable. Do you really think he is some weak wolf you can easily control? I have never even met him in three years, so my words mean nothing to a man too busy to acknowledge his own mate.”

I watched with quiet pleasure as Andrew and Gretchen’s faces twisted with frustrated rage.

Their perfect plan had crumbled apart, and I loved every second of their defeat.

Elara stepped forward suddenly, her voice shrill with accusation.

“You brought this all on yourself! You could not stay faithful, and you slept with another man! That is why you were cast aside!”

Andrew shouted in agreement, his face red with anger.

“You worthless slut! You will go to the Eternal Night Pack gates, kneel, and beg for forgiveness until they take you back!”

Their insults slid off me like water as I spoke calmly, delivering the final blow. “I have one more thing to tell you. Maria already knows I am a fake, a replacement bride. She even said that if Lorenzo marries a true Luna, it will be Elara. After all, I was only ever meant to be a stand-in.”

Panic exploded across Elara’s face instantly. “No! I will not marry him! I will never be his mate!”

Gretchen’s expression turned dark and malicious, her eyes locking onto me with a dangerous glint. “There is another solution. I know an Alpha from a neighboring pack who is nearly seventy years old. He is cruel and perverted, but he is wealthy, powerful, and has three strong sons. He has a terrible taste for women who have been broken and cast aside.”

“Sylvie, you will sacrifice yourself for the good of this pack!”

Her voice dripped with pure malice, and I clenched my fists so tight my nails dug into my palms.

My mind raced desperately, searching for any way to escape this horrific trap.

Before I could move or speak, a panicked omega burst into the living room, her face pale with terror.

Everyone in the room froze.

“Alpha Lorenzo of the Eternal Night Pack,” she gasped, her voice shaking so hard she could barely form the words.

“He is at the gates of our pack right now!”

Sylvie's POV

“Lorenzo?!” Andrew’s voice shot up in disbelief, his face going pale as he repeated the name. “The Alpha of the Eternal Night Pack? Is that really him?”

The omega nodded quickly, her body still trembling with fear. “Yes, Alpha. He’s here."

Lorenzo?

My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought it would burst through my chest.

Had this unpredictable, ruthless Alpha learned about my night with the stranger? Was he here to drag me back and punish me for my betrayal? Why would he show up now after three years of complete silence?

Andrew and Gretchen were far more thrilled than I was.

Their faces lit up with greedy hope, and they scrambled to their feet in an instant. “Quick! Go and invite him inside at once!”

I gritted my teeth, my mind raced through every possible escape route.

I could slip out the window behind me.

I could create a distraction by shoving Elara to the ground and make a run for the woods.

I was already weighing my chances when a deep, velvety male voice cut through the tense air from the doorway.

“There is no need. I am already here.”

That voice.

It wrapped around me like a touch, sending a jolt straight through my entire body.

It overlapped perfectly with the memories from the night before, the low, smoky tone that had burned itself into my mind.

"Why are you so quiet? "

"I like your voice."

"Does it feel good?"

It was exactly the same voice as the stranger I had spent the night with.

The man I’d slept with was my husband.

I lifted my head in pure shock, my eyes locking onto the man stepping into the room.

He was impossibly tall, his broad shoulders filling the doorway, his dark curly hair styled neatly back from his face. His tailored suit clung to every inch of his muscular frame, radiating sharp elegance and unshakable dominance. His face looked like it had been carved by the gods themselves, with deep-set eyes, a strong, straight nose, and piercing ice blue eyes that demanded attention.

Every line of his features was sharp and perfect, so attractive that it made my breath catch.

He was a walking storm of temptation.

I quickly dropped my gaze, my cheeks burning with heat.

I could not bring myself to look at him, not when he knew every secret of that reckless night. I wanted to vanish into the wall, to hide from the intensity of his presence.

The scent of mint and cedar rolled off him in waves, cold and clean like a winter forest, and it was identical to the man who had held me the night before.

“Alpha Lorenzo!” Elara practically skipped forward, her face lit up with a foolish, infatuated smile as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I am Elara of the Winter’s Frost Pack, Sylvie’s true sister.”

She was practically screaming that I was the fake replacement bride.

If Lorenzo chose her over me, I might finally be free from this nightmare.

But Lorenzo did not even glance in her direction. Before I could feel even a flicker of satisfaction at her humiliation, he moved straight toward me.

His tall, imposing figure blocked me from everyone else’s view, leaving me trapped beneath his heavy gaze.

My nerves spiked, and I forced my voice to stay steady.

“What do you think you are doing?”

“I am your husband.”

His words were calm, but the implication was crystal clear. As his mate, he believed he had every right to take me wherever he pleased.

“I was expelled from the pack by your mother,” I shot back, trying to assert any control I could.

“I am the Alpha.” His tone was low and unyielding. “As long as I do not accept it, you remain the Luna of the Eternal Night Pack.”

“Alpha Lorenzo, why don’t you stay for dinner?” Andrew stepped forward, his smile sickeningly flattering as he bowed his head slightly.

“I am only here to retrieve my Luna.”

Lorenzo’s voice was cold and sharp with Alpha authority. Andrew immediately backed down, shooting me a desperate pleading look, silently begging me to convince Lorenzo to stay.

I pretended not to see him.

Before I could react, Lorenzo’s long, strong fingers wrapped gently but firmly around mine, his touch sending a strange tingle up my arm. “Let us go. The kitchen has prepared your favorite salmon and shrimp.”

The mention of food hit me hard.

I had not eaten since the night before, my body sore and drained from everything that had happened, and I suddenly realized how starving I truly was.

He had noticed.

He had paid attention to things I did not even expect him to know existed.

A flicker of warm shame mixed with unexpected softness stirred in my chest, but it was quickly smothered by the sharp fear of losing my freedom all over again.

He dragged me away with him, Elara’s jealous, burning gaze boring into my back as we left.

He led me to a long black Lincoln, and the second the door closed, the world outside fell completely silent. I quickly realized we were heading back toward the Eternal Night Pack, the place I had escaped only hours earlier.

“Stop the car!” I demanded urgently, my panic flaring back to life.

I would not go back into that cage.

The driver did not so much as flinch, ignoring my order completely.

I reached for the door handle, ready to jump out while the car still moved, but Lorenzo caught my wrist in a firm, unbreakable grip.

“Where do you think you are going?” he asked calmly.

“Whatever somewhere!” I snapped, my voice thick with frustration.

“Even the home that was preparing to sell you to a seventy-year-old perverted Alpha?”

I stared at him, my eyebrows pulling together as anger and embarrassment burned inside me.

He had heard everything.

“Do you not care? I slept with a stranger last night.”

“That stranger was me.” He corrected me without the slightest change in expression.

My mind went blank for a second. “Fine! That is not the point. I already performed the rejection ritual.”

“I have not accepted your rejection.”

I was left completely speechless, my frustration boiling over. “What do you want from me?!” The freedom I had just fought for was slipping through my fingers all over again.

The man who had been completely expressionless suddenly smiled, a low, dark curve of his lips that made my heart skip.

He leaned in close to me, and when I tried to pull back, his arm wrapped firmly around my waist, holding me in place. “You are quite interesting, Sylvie. Especially last night.”

His warm breath brushed against my ear, and the sensation sent a flood of memories crashing back into my mind: the feel of his skin, his touch, the way my body had responded to him. I shoved him away as hard as I could, my face flaming.

“I say stop the car!”

The word escaped before I could stop it.

I froze instantly, horrified by what I had just said to the most feared Alpha in the entire northern territory.

But he only tilted his head slightly, completely unfazed. “Was I not satisfying enough for you last night? If that is the case, I will simply try harder next time. My apologies.”

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

“You cannot leave the pack now.” He added calmly as the car began to slow down. “The pack needs its Luna.”

We had returned to the massive estate I had run away from that very morning.

“I do not want to go back,” I whispered, my voice small and defeated.

My resistance meant nothing to him. Lorenzo lifted me effortlessly into his arms, ignoring my quiet struggles as he carried me toward the manor doors.

Dozens of pairs of eyes watched us from every direction.

The Luna who had been publicly kicked out that morning was now being carried back in the arms of her Alpha.

I could feel their stares like knives against my back.

Lorenzo held me tighter, his chin dipping down so his voice was only for me.

“You are home now, Luna. And I am never letting you run again.”

Sylvie's POV

Lorenzo placed me gently on the plush bedroom mattress and gestured for a servant to bring over the medical kit right away.

He took the cotton swab soaked in disinfectant from the tray himself.

His movements were careful and unhurried as he knelt before me.

The sharp sting of the medicine made me suck in a breath through clenched teeth, my body tensing instinctively.

“Easy, just hold on a little longer.” His voice was soft and soothing, the rough edge of his Alpha tone gone as he coaxed me like I was something fragile.

Warm lamplight spilled over his face, softening the sharp, sculpted angles that had made my breath catch earlier.

I stared up at his tall, imposing frame and thought of all the horrific rumors that followed him, and I could not reconcile the man before me with the monster the packs whispered about.

He lifted my injured foot gently, the warmth of his palm seeping through my skin as he finished applying the ointment.

He spoke in a casual, offhand tone as he worked.

“Your healing ability is unusually weak.”

“I don’t need you to remind me of that,” I muttered, the faint flutter of comfort in my chest vanishing instantly.

He chuckled quietly, no trace of irritation in his voice.

“Don't bristle too fast, you little hedgehog.”

Before I could snap back, he stood and retrieved a plate from the bedside table, the rich aroma of smoked salmon and grilled shrimp wrapping around me.

It was the meal he had mentioned earlier, prepared exactly as he had said.

He held a piece of flaky salmon to my lips, his gaze steady and unwavering.

My stomach rumbled loudly, reminding me that I had not eaten anything proper in far too long. I hesitated for only a second before letting him feed me, the warmth of the food settling in my chest alongside a strange, unfamiliar tenderness.

For a fleeting moment, I wanted to open up and tell him everything: the three years of loneliness, the cruelty from his mother, the way I had been trapped and used by everyone around me.

I wanted to demand that he act like the husband he was supposed to be.

The words hovered on the tip of my tongue.

Before I could speak, his phone rang sharply.

I could not hear the details of the conversation, but I caught fragments about an urgent pack meeting that could not be delayed.

Lorenzo hung up the phone and straightened his slightly rumpled suit, his expression shifting back to that of a stern Alpha. He reached out and brushed a strand of hair from my face, his hand resting gently on top of my head for a brief moment.

“Be good and wait for me here.”

My heart sank as he turned toward the door.

Before he stepped out, he called over his shoulder to the guards waiting outside.

“Keep an eye on the Luna. Do not let her leave the manor.”

I froze in complete shock.

The warmth from his touch and the food evaporated in an instant.

I scrambled off the bed and ran barefoot to the bedroom balcony, just in time to see his tall figure stride toward his car without a single glance back.

“Lorenzo! You can’t do this!”

I shouted, my voice cracking with frustration.

He did not hear me.

The car pulled away, disappearing down the long drive.

I leaned against the balcony railing, a sharp, bitter disappointment coiling in my chest.

I had let myself believe for a moment that he was different, that his small acts of kindness meant something.

The trust I had almost given him crumbled completely, and the hurt was worse because I had let my guard down.

I had thought I was past the pain of being abandoned, but this new, gentle lie cut deeper than any cruelty. I clenched my fists and vowed all over again that I would find a way to escape the Eternal Night Pack for good.

I retreated to the quiet studio that the pack’s beta had prepared for me long ago. The room was filled with my oil paintings, my only escape during the long, empty years.

I had spent countless afternoons here, lost in color and brushstrokes to block out the loneliness of my life.

But even this peaceful space could not calm my racing thoughts for long.

A loud commotion from downstairs shattered the silence, and I heard the one voice I had been dreading.

I moved to the second-floor spiral staircase and looked down to see Maria standing in the foyer, her arm linked with a blonde woman in a delicate white dress.

It was Emma Bennett, the daughter of the Alpha from the Star Pack.

A girl who had always looked at Lorenzo with hungry, longing eyes.

Emma’s voice was sweet and syrupy as she leaned toward Maria.

“Auntie Maria, I was so worried when I heard what happened. Is it true that Lorenzo sent the Luna away?”

Maria’s tone softened, warm in a way she had never been with me.

“Of course it’s true. I saw her expulsion myself. That wretched girl was the reason Lorenzo suffered under his curse for so long, and now he’s free.”

Emma pressed a hand to her chest, her eyes shining with feigned shyness.

“That’s wonderful news. I’ve waited so long to meet my mate, and I’ve always known it was Lorenzo. We just met too late, that’s all.”

Maria’s face twisted with disdain as she spoke of me.

“A girl from her background never deserved to be Luna. She’s nothing but a mistake, a burden on this pack. "

"Tonight, I’ll have the servants prepare a feast, and you will stay to dine with Lorenzo. You are the one who belongs here.”

I stood at the top of the stairs, my nails digging into my palms as I listened.

Their words should not have hurt me, not after three years of similar insults, but the fresh disappointment from Lorenzo’s departure made every jab feel sharper. I was still the Luna of this pack, bound to Lorenzo whether I liked it or not.

I would not stand there and listen to them plan my replacement.

A quiet, determined fire ignited in my chest.

I lifted my chin, smoothed my expression into one of calm, icy elegance, and called down to them with a sweet, dangerous smile.

“Forgive me for interrupting. "

"Were you two lovely ladies talking about me?”