After I Shattered the Mark, the Alpha Knelt at My Feet

At my marking ceremony, Alpha Cassius publicly bit into my sister's nape.

"Thank you for these eight years, Selene." He turned, golden eyes cold as ice. "Your Moon-blessed White Wolfblood—the only cure to keep her alive."

Then after marking her, he forced his fangs into my nape. "She is my luna. You are my property."

When I refused to submit, he bled me near death.

When I petitioned for the Silver Moon Severance Ritual, he sneered: "I want to see you beg on your knees."

But when the mark shattered, silver light exploded from the altar—that enslaving brand awakened my dormant ancient bloodline.

Cassius knelt on the fractured altar, finally understanding: I never belonged to anyone.

……

Tonight is my marking ceremony with Alpha Cassius. After eight years of love, tonight I will become his rightful Luna.

I stand at the center of the altar, my heartbeat resonating with the solemn drums. Yet the figure that should be walking toward me veers from his path in the moonlight.

Cassius, my Alpha, walks straight to the viewing seats—toward my sister, Helia.

Time seems to freeze. His perfect profile under the moonlight resembles a cold deity, those golden eyes I once lost myself in show no hesitation, not even sparing me a passing glance.

"Cassius, what are you doing?" My heart skips a beat as an icy chill shoots up my spine.

Under everyone's stunned gazes, he extends his hand, caressing the back of Helia's neck, gently pulling her toward him. Then he lowers his head, his sharp fangs precisely piercing the delicate skin at the nape of her neck.

Helia releases a moan mixing pain with ultimate pleasure, her hands wrapping around his strong arms.

That moan pierces my eardrums like an ice pick, driving straight into my heart.

The marking is complete. The mark that should have been mine now brands my sister's skin, gleaming with blinding light.

Cassius turns to face me, his golden eyes holding no guilt, only the unquestionable arrogance and coldness of an Alpha.

"Selene, your Moon-blessed White Wolfblood is Helia's only hope for survival. These eight years, thank you for your hard work."

My lips part but no sound emerges. Eight years of memories flash frantically through my mind—his tenderness when bandaging my wounds, his solemn promises under the moonlight, the heat in his voice when he whispered "you are my only Luna"...

All lies.

Like a sudden avalanche, completely burying and crushing eight years of my devotion, trust, and sacrifice.

After the icy despair comes rage erupting like lava from the cracks in my heart. I forcefully straighten my nearly trembling spine.

"Cassius Urbino." My voice trembles with fury yet carries absolute resolve. "If that's the case, I demand the immediate dissolution of this absurd mate bond."

He scoffs, his Alpha dominance crashing down: "Dissolution? You think you have the power to choose?"

His figure blurs, suddenly looming before me, his scorching body pressed against mine, one hand gripping my waist cruelly, allowing no escape.

"Did I give you permission to leave?" His burning breath fans against my ear with cruel amusement. "Since the ceremony has begun, something should be left behind."

An ominous premonition seizes me! I try to struggle, but his strength absolutely crushes mine.

The next moment, agony erupts from my nape!

Fangs not belonging to my Alpha pierce my skin without mercy, forcibly branding his mark, power, and scent into my bloodline!

Along with the tearing pain and crushing humiliation comes the irresistible physiological pleasure of the marking itself.

It burns through my body like wildfire, assaulting my sanity. My wolf soul trembles and wails in anguish within my consciousness, yet is forcibly soothed and bound by this power.

After marking Helia, he forcibly marked me as well. This isn't love, isn't acknowledgment—it's naked humiliation, a claim of ownership more degrading than abandonment.

"Helia will be my only Luna," he licks my blood from the corner of his mouth, his smile cruel and satisfied, "and you, Selene, are my personal property that belongs to me alone."

I can clearly feel my heartbeat shamefully synchronizing with his. The shackles of fate, barbed and cruel, bind me tightly to this man who just utterly betrayed me.

"Don't you dare," I say through reddened eyes, each word squeezed from between my teeth like bloody foam, "think you can bind me with this filthy bond."

Cassius's face darkens, stronger dominance hammering my spirit like a sledgehammer, commanding my bones to bend. I bite my lip hard until I taste copper.

Just then, Helia steps forward. The still-bleeding mark on her nape burns my eyes like a red-hot brand.

"Sister," she extends her hand, wearing the pitying expression of a victor, "shouldn't the Nocte family's moonlight bracelet be returned to its rightful owner?"

It's my mother's heirloom, the sacred guardian relic passed down through generations of the moonlight wolf clan. It has nothing to do with the Nocte family, and even less to do with her—the daughter of a mistress!

A cold fury replaces my previous rage. I smile, swiftly removing the bracelet.

A flicker of surprise and suspicion crosses Cassius's eyes.

But before he can stop me, I grab Helia's wrist and forcefully clasp the bracelet on!

"You want it? I'll give it to you!"

"Ahhhh—!"

White light explodes! Helia's agonized scream pierces the night sky! The bracelet clamps onto her wrist like red-hot iron, the acrid smell of burning flesh instantly spreading!

The moonlight wolf ancestors' guardian magic violently rejects her impure bloodline!

She collapses, convulsing in agony.

"Selene! What did you do to her!" Cassius frantically holds Helia, desperately trying to remove the immovable bracelet.

I watch coldly: "Alpha, I merely followed your request to 'return it to its rightful owner.' It seems the bracelet sees more clearly than you who is unworthy."

Cassius looks up, the Alpha's command hammering down like a mental sledgehammer again: "Kneel!"

My knees weaken, muscles trembling, but I hold firm.

"Either you kneel yourself," he advances step by step, "or I make you."

I meet his burning pupils, using my last shred of pride to clearly enunciate that word:

"No."

Dead silence falls.

Cassius stares at me fixedly, his gaze as if he would flay me alive.

"Throw her in the dungeon!" he roars. "No one releases her without my command!"

The guards roughly seize me, the humiliating wound on my nape bleeding more from the friction, sending waves of stinging pain.

The dungeon's iron door slams shut, swallowing the last ray of light.

I slide down against the cold wall, betrayal and rage coursing through my veins like venom, roaring.

But within this extreme fury, my mind becomes extraordinarily clear.

I fumble for the communication stone against my body, pressing the contact code unused for eight years, sending the message: Come get me.

Almost instantly, the screen lights up with a reply: Three hours, north gate.