Marked or Die
Before I stepped into Dubois pack territory, my grandmother gave me her final warning.
“You have one year. You must marry your fated mate, Alpha Caleb, and let him mark you!”
But I waited from age eighteen to nineteen, and he still refused to mark me.
After my ninety-ninth plea, his patience finally snapped.
He unchained a death row prisoner and said,
“You want me to mark you? Fight him. If you win, I’ll mark you!”
I glanced at the prisoner, a rogue twice my size.
I didn’t hesitate. I charged.
Caleb’s expression darkened instantly.
In the end, he stared at my blood-soaked body, his voice a roar of pure fury.
“Mia, you’re pathetic! Would you truly die just to be Luna?”
I couldn’t tell him the truth.
He didn’t know that if he didn’t mark me before my nineteenth birthday, I would die!
And now…I only had three days left!
When the rogue snapped my arm, every wolf warrior watching held their breath.
“No one is allowed to help her!”
Caleb blocked a warrior who tried to rescue me.
“She asked for this!”
But when the rogue’s claws were about to tear open my throat, Caleb’s own hand shot out and tore the beast’s heart out in one brutal motion.
Then he took off his jacket and threw it at me.
“Put this on.”
Only then did I realize my clothes had been completely shredded by the prisoner.
My bleeding breasts stung in the cold wind.
Caleb frowned in disgust.
“Crazy! That prisoner killed three wolf warriors! Just to force me to mark you, you don’t even care about your own life?”
I laughed bitterly. I was only doing this to survive-I had no choice.
The wolves around me mocked me too.
“She’ll do anything to become Luna!”
“But with that flat body, even if she strips naked, Alpha Caleb wouldn’t be interested, right?”
Caleb’s face looked terrible.
His Beta stepped forward, eyeing me lewdly. “Mia, I don’t mind your flat body. Come with me instead. I may be just a Beta, but my bedroom skills are amazing. I’ll make you feel so good.”
I put on the jacket. These insults made my wounds hurt even more.
I said, trembling,
“No, only Alpha Caleb can mark me. Otherwise…”
But before I could finish, Caleb interrupted impatiently.
“You want to bring up that curse again? You think I’d believe such lies? An Omega like you who doesn’t even have a wolf has no right to be my Luna. I love Elizabeth! Once you’re healed, we’re doing the rejection ceremony!”
Everyone thought I was lusting after Caleb’s good looks and Alpha status, but I truly just wanted to survive.
Grandma said that if he didn’t mark me before my nineteenth birthday, I would die.
Now I only had three days left.
My survival instinct made me swallow my pride. I grabbed Caleb’s arm and continued begging.
“Alpha Caleb, you said if I beat the prisoner, you would mark me. You can’t go back on your word.”
Caleb shook off my arm and sneered.
“But you didn’t win! If I hadn’t pitied you and helped you, you’d be dead right now.”
I wanted to argue more, but Caleb ignored me completely and turned to his men.
“So annoying! Didn’t you guys want to go to the bar for drinks? There are lots of hot girls there lately. Are we going or not?”
Several wolf warriors answered eagerly. “Yes, let’s go!”
In moments, everyone was gone, leaving me sitting there in defeat.
Because I had no wolf, my healing ability was slower than even the lowest-ranking werewolf.
By the time darkness fell, I finally had enough strength to drag myself step by step toward Caleb’s estate.
After I confirmed Caleb was my mate, I’d been living there.
But he didn’t like me. If it weren’t for our mate bond, he would have kicked me out long ago.
He’d suggested rejection multiple times, but I refused every time.
I used to think that as long as I gave him my heart within that one year, I could eventually win his love.
Now it seemed there was no hope.
The twenty-minute walk took me a full hour today.
When I got back to my room, I finally collapsed and passed out.
When I woke up, it was already afternoon the next day.
I’d been unconscious for over ten hours, and Caleb never once came to check on me.
