Ellie POV

Four years.

It had been four years since I was nothing more than a shivering, broken girl cowering in an alleyway.

I stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror in my art studio in Florence. The woman staring back at me was a stranger. My silver-white hair cascaded down my back in lustrous waves. My body, once frail and starved, was now curved and strong, honed by relentless training with the Blood Rose warriors.

But the most profound shift was in my eyes. They were no longer the fearful eyes of an Omega. They were the steel-grey eyes of a White Wolf.

"Are you ready, my love?"

David approached from behind me, wrapping his strong arms around my waist. He rested his chin on my shoulder, his blue eyes meeting mine in the reflection.

"I am," I said, my voice steady.

The invitation lay on the table like a challenge. The Silver Moon Pack was hosting a gathering of Alphas. As the Luna of the Blood Rose Pack—though not yet officially marked, by my own choice to heal first—I was expected to attend.

"You don't have to go," David said softly, kissing the sensitive spot behind my ear. "I can burn the invitation."

"No." I turned in his arms, inhaling his calming scent of rich Earth and Pine. "I need to do this. I need to close the door properly."

I wasn't going back for Marcus. I was going back to pay a debt.

*

The Silver Moon Pack house hadn't changed, but it felt smaller now. Less imposing.

David held my hand as we walked through the grand double doors. The hall was filled with wolves in formal wear, the air thick with the scent of champagne and expensive perfume.

When we entered, the room went deathly silent.

The Blood Rose Pack was legendary for its strength, and David was feared. But the eyes weren't just on him. They were on me.

I wore a dress of deep crimson silk that hugged every curve, a stark contrast to the rags I had left in. My scent—no longer weak, but a powerful mix of Winter Frost and Lilac—rolled off me in intoxicating waves.

"Ellie?"

The voice came from the center of the room.

Marcus stood there. He looked older, tired. He was holding a glass of wine, and next to him clung a woman with blonde hair and a fake smile. Chloe.

Marcus stared at me as if he were seeing a ghost. His glass slipped from his fingers and shattered on the floor.

"You..." he breathed, taking a step forward.

Then, his nostrils flared. He smelled David on me. He smelled the lingering scent of another Alpha wrapping around me like a protective cloak.

A low growl rumbled in Marcus's chest. His eyes flashed black. "You smell like him."

"Hello, Marcus," I said coolly.

"Who gave you permission to return?" Chloe sneered, stepping in front of Marcus. "And dressed like a whore, no less. Did you come to beg for scraps again?"

I didn't even spare her a glance. My gaze remained locked on Marcus.

"Explain yourself, Ellie!" Marcus roared. He didn't just shout; he used the Alpha Command. The pressure in the room dropped instantly. Beta and Omega wolves nearby flinched and lowered their heads, forced into submission by the sheer weight of his voice.

*Kneel!* his voice echoed in the Mind-Link, a command meant to force me to the floor.

I stood perfectly still.

I felt the pressure of his command wash over me, like a gentle breeze against a stone cliff. It didn't even make me blink. My White Wolf bloodline, fully awakened now, made me immune to the commands of a standard Alpha.

Marcus’s eyes widened in shock. "How...?"

I reached into my clutch bag.

"I didn't come to explain," I said, my voice calm but carrying to every corner of the silent room. "I came to settle my debts."

I pulled out a silver box—the locket he had kept, which David had helped me retrieve through intermediaries months ago—and a check.

I walked up to him. Chloe tried to block me, raising a hand to slap me.

"Don't," I said. I didn't shout. I just let a fraction of my Luna aura slip out. It hit Chloe like a physical wall. She gasped, stumbling back, terror in her eyes.

I stopped in front of Marcus. I pressed the check against his chest.

"This covers the cost of the food I ate, the clothes I wore, and the roof over my head for eight years," I said. "Including interest."

Marcus looked down at the check. The amount was staggering.

"Ellie, I..." He looked at me, confusion and something akin to pain warring in his eyes. "You're... beautiful."

"I know," I said. "And I'm not yours."

I turned to leave.

"Wait!" Marcus grabbed my arm.

David was there in a flash, his hand clamping over Marcus’s wrist. The sound of bones grinding filled the air.

"Let. Her. Go." David’s voice was a low growl, vibrating with lethal promise.

Marcus glared at David, then back at me. He looked at the check, then at the confident woman standing before him. He slowly released my arm.

"You are making a mistake, Ellie," Marcus whispered, his voice trembling slightly. "You belong here. You are *my* mate."

I laughed. It was a dry, humorless sound.

"You rejected me, Marcus. Remember?" I leaned in close, so only he could hear. "I accepted it. The bond is dead. You killed it."

I took David’s hand. "Let's go home."

As we walked away, I didn't look back. But I heard the gasps of the pack members as they looked at their Alpha, standing amidst shattered glass, holding a check from the girl he threw away.

David POV:

I watched her walk away from him, her head held high, her spine forged of unyielding steel.

My Ellie. My White Wolf.

We stepped out into the cool night air, leaving the suffocating atmosphere of the Silver Moon Pack house behind. The heavy oak doors thudded shut, severing the noise of the party, and only then did I saw her shoulders slump just a fraction.

"Are you okay?" I asked, tucking her into my side.

She looked up at me, her grey eyes shimmering with unshed tears. They were not tears of sadness, but of relief.

"I'm free," she whispered, the words catching in her throat. "I really am free."

We walked to the edge of the territory, where a sheer cliff overlooked the vast, undulating forest. The moon was full, hanging low and heavy, bathing the world in silver light. It was pristine.

I stopped and turned her to face me. "Ellie, you know I’ve waited. I would wait a hundred years for you."

"I know," she smiled, placing her hands on my chest, her palms warm against my racing heart.

"But seeing him touch you..." A growl rumbled in my chest, involuntary and possessive, vibrating against her fingertips. "It nearly drove my wolf insane. I need the world to know. I need *him* to know."

Ellie’s expression softened. She reached up and unbuttoned the collar of her shirt, exposing the smooth, pale skin of her neck—the junction where shoulder met throat. The marking spot.

"Make me yours, David," she said, her voice steady and sure. "Fully. Irrevocably."

My heart pounded against my ribs like a war drum. "Are you sure?"

"I choose you," she said. "Not because of fate. Not because of a bond. But because you saved me. Because you love me."

I didn't need to hear another word.

I leaned down, my lips grazing the sensitive skin over her scent gland. She smelled like Winter Frost and Lilac—the scent of home, crisp and intoxicating.

"I love you, Ellie," I murmured against her skin.

My canines elongated, sharp and aching with need. I felt the primal urge take over. With a swift, claiming motion, I sank my teeth into her neck.

Ellie gasped, her nails digging into my shoulders to anchor herself.

It was a primitive, searing connection. My venom flowed into her, mixing with her blood, binding our souls together in a way that could never be undone.

*Mine,* my wolf roared in triumph.

*Yours,* her wolf answered.

*

Marcus POV:

I stood in the middle of the ballroom, staring at the check in my hand—the settlement she had left behind. The music had started again, but it sounded distorted, distant, like I was underwater.

*She's gone. She's really gone.*

Chloe was clinging to my arm, chattering about how rude Ellie was, but her voice was like a mosquito buzzing in my ear—irrelevant, annoying noise.

Suddenly, a pain unlike anything I had ever felt exploded in my chest.

"ARGH!"

I dropped to my knees, clutching my heart. It felt like a branding iron was being pressed directly onto my soul, searing the tissue of my very existence.

"Marcus! What is it?" Chloe shrieked.

I couldn't breathe. The connection—the frayed, broken remnants of the bond I had with Ellie—was being incinerated. I felt it. I felt *him*.

Another Alpha. Biting her. Claiming her.

"NO!" I roared, my vision turning blood-red.

The Marking. She was being Marked.

My wolf went berserk. He clawed at the inside of my mind, howling in agony and rage. *OUR MATE! HE IS TAKING OUR MATE!*

I shoved Chloe aside, sending her sprawling across the floor. I didn't care. I didn't care about the guests. I didn't care about the pack.

I shifted.

My clothes shredded as my massive brown wolf burst forth, bones cracking and reshaping in milliseconds. I crashed through the double doors, sprinting towards the forest, towards the scent of Winter Frost that was being tainted by Earth and Pine.

I found them on the cliff edge.

David was holding her. His face was buried in her neck. Fresh blood trickled down her pale skin, glistening in the moonlight.

The Mark was there. Angry. Red. Permanent.

I howled, a sound of pure, unadulterated misery and rage. I launched myself at David.

David looked up. His eyes were glowing neon blue. He didn't look afraid. He looked annoyed.

He gently pushed Ellie behind him and met my charge mid-air.

We collided with the force of two freight trains. Teeth snapped, claws tore. But I was fighting out of desperation; he was fighting out of calculated protective instinct.

He was stronger. Much stronger.

David grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and slammed me into the ground. The impact knocked the breath out of me, rattling my teeth. He pinned me down, his jaws inches from my throat, a growl rumbling deep in his chest like thunder.

*Stop,* Ellie’s voice cut through the air.

I froze. I looked up.

She stood over us. Her hand was touching the fresh bite mark on her neck. She looked at me not with hate, but with pity.

"It's done, Marcus," she said. "Go home."

David released me and stepped back, wrapping an arm around Ellie's waist, pulling her flush against him. The sight of his hand on her, claiming her, broke whatever was left of my spirit.

I lay in the dirt, panting, bleeding, and utterly alone. The Soul's Peace was gone forever.

Marcus POV

Another bottle of whiskey shattered against the wall, its amber contents exploding to join the pile of glass that already littered the Alpha’s office.

Three days.

It had been three days since the wedding—since the Marking.

I hadn't showered. I hadn't eaten. I sat entombed in the dark, drinking until I passed out, hoping to drown the screaming of my wolf. But the screaming had stopped, and the silence in my head was infinitely worse. The bond wasn't just broken; it had been ripped out, leaving a gaping, festering wound in my soul.

"Marcus?"

The door creaked open. It was Richard, the Pack Elder.

"Get out," I growled, my voice rasping like sandpaper.

"We have a problem, Alpha," Richard said, his voice stern. He didn't bow. He didn't offer the respect my title demanded, because I was no longer commanding it. "The patrols haven't been assigned for two days. Rogues have been spotted near the northern border. The pack is nervous."

"Let the Betas handle it," I muttered, waving my hand dismissively as I reached blindly for another bottle.

"The Betas are looking to *you*!" Richard snapped, stepping fully into the room. "Look at yourself! You are an Alpha! Act like one!"

"I lost her, Richard," I whispered, the fight draining out of me like blood from a severed vein. "I rejected her because I thought she was weak. Because I thought she was a nobody."

I laughed bitterly, the sound sharp and jagged in the quiet room. "She's a White Wolf. Do you know how rare that is? And she’s with *him* now."

"You made a choice," Richard said coldly. "Now you must live with it. Or die with it. But do not drag this pack down with you."

He threw a folder onto my desk. It slid across the mahogany surface, hitting my hand. "And you should look at this. It concerns your 'fiancée'."

I frowned, my fingers trembling as I picked up the folder. Inside were photos. Bank statements.

Chloe.

There were pictures of her meeting with Rogues. Transfers of pack funds into a private account. And a diary entry... a copy of a page.

*The idiot actually believes I love him. As soon as I'm Luna, I'll drain the accounts and leave. He's so obsessed with status he can't see what's right in front of him.*

I stared at the paper. The words swam before my eyes, then sharpened into crystal clarity.

I had thrown away my Fated Mate, a White Wolf, for this? For a leech?

A cold fury began to rise in my gut. It wasn't the hot, blinding rage of the Marking. This was icy. Calculated. Deadly.

I stood up. The room spun, but I steadied myself against the desk.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"In her room," Richard said. "Trying on wedding dresses."

I walked out of the office. The pack members I passed shrank away from me, pressing themselves against the corridor walls. I smelled like stale alcohol and violence.

I kicked open the door to Chloe's room. The wood splintered. She spun around, a silk dress held up to her body, her face flushed with excitement.

"Marcus! Darling, look! Do you think this—"

"Get out," I said quietly.

She blinked, her smile faltering. "What?"

"Get out of my pack. Now."

"You... you can't be serious," she laughed nervously, taking a tentative step forward. "We're getting married next week!"

I threw the folder at her feet. Photos scattered across the floor like autumn leaves. Her face went pale as she recognized the images.

"I gave up everything for you," I said, my voice shaking with restrained violence. "I broke her heart for *you*."

I grabbed a silver letter opener from her vanity desk. The metal burned my skin, searing the flesh, but I squeezed it tight, letting the physical pain distract me from the agony in my soul.

"If you are not off my territory in ten minutes," I said, blood dripping from my hand to stain the carpet, "I will kill you myself."

Chloe didn't argue. She saw the look in my eyes—the void where my humanity used to be. She grabbed her purse and ran.

I stood alone in the room. It was quiet.

I looked at my bleeding hand. The silver burn was turning black.

I deserved this pain. I deserved worse.

I walked to the window and looked out towards the south. Towards the Blood Rose Pack.

I knew I had lost her. I knew she belonged to another. But the pull... it wasn't gone. It was just twisted into something agonizing.

I couldn't stay here. I couldn't be the Alpha this pack needed. Not while my soul was bleeding out.

I turned to Richard, who was standing in the doorway, watching me with a mix of pity and resignation.

"Take over," I said.

"Marcus?"

"I'm leaving," I said, grabbing my coat. "I have to find... I have to try."

"She is Marked, Marcus. There is no going back."

"I know," I said, touching the empty spot on my chest where the bond used to be. "But I have to see her one last time. I have to beg for forgiveness. Even if she spits in my face."

I walked out of the Pack house, leaving my title, my home, and my dignity behind. I was just a man now. A man walking into his own funeral pyre.

As I crossed the border, the wind shifted. For a brief, cruel second, I caught the scent of Winter Frost. It was faint, mocking me. I followed it into the darkness, unaware that I wasn't just walking toward my past, but toward a secret Ellie had kept—a secret that would shatter whatever was left of my heart.