Chapter 1 Alpha Wedding

ZEPHYRA POV

I open my door and meet a set of honey eyes. He's here today also

“Alpha Van, please come inside.”

He obliges. Eyes on me like he did when he bought me.

Like I’m treasure. Like I’ll vanish if he blinks.

Twenty-five days ago, Alpha Evander Arnauld walked into the Astrid household and paid for my freedom. At least, that’s what he called it. To me, it felt like trading one master for another.

Until he proved me wrong.

Doctors cleaned my wounds. I was properly fed. Naville, his sister, made it her mission to give me clothes that actually fit, not rags. I’d never had any of that at the Astrid house. Only hunger and beatings from Zade, his kids, and wife.

For two full weeks, I was too shaken to believe it. Then I saw my scars healing. Bones gaining flesh. Color returning to my hollow eyes.

I realized: This is my new life.

“Do you know me from before?” The question has been burning in my throat for days. Especially since I found him sitting outside my door three nights ago.

He sucks in a sharp breath. His Adam’s apple bobs.

Then he nods.

“You look at me like a lost lover.”

“You are.”

My heart stutters.

"How?" I rushed the question.

"I've never been married. From age eight when Zade found me until you bought me—I’ve never had the privilege of being loved or wanted.”

His jaw tightens.

“You’re my mate, Zephyra. My only lover”

The words hit like lightning. My wolf, silent for so long...stirs.

“You love me?” The question comes out rushed, barely a whisper,then he nods

"Always have"

“I’m a slave.”

He closes his eyes, grinding his teeth so hard I hear it.

“You’re no longer a slave. You were never a slave.” His chest heaves with each word.

“I’ve known you since childhood, Zephyra... You were taken from us sixteen years ago.”

Naville told me. That I chose and married him when I was eight. The day I disappeared. I want to force myself to remember. But there’s nothing, only my frustration

“If you don’t want this,” he says, voice dropping,

“push me away.”

Before I can question what he means, he pulls me into his arms.

The veins on his hands darken, multiplying beneath his skin.

“I was raped.” The words fall from my lips before I can stop them.

The silence that follows is graveyard-deep.

Then his breathing shatters it—heavy, ragged, a storm barely contained.

The wall clock crashes to the floor. The temperature plummets. I cover my ears and scream as a whirlwind tears through the room. Objects fly. Glass shatters. His hand shifts—fingers elongating into claws before he clenches his fist and forces them back.

“I’m sorry, Zephyra.” His voice cracks on my name, and my chest tightens so hard I can barely breathe.

‘No one has ever felt our pain,’ my wolf whispers.

“I should have come sooner.” His fingers curl into fists against his thighs, trembling with barely leashed fury.

I didn’t know I was crying until he kisses the tears away. I expect to flinch at his touch but didn't. It doesn't feel like Zade's touch

“Give me his name,” he whispers.

“I was a slave.”I say. Like justification for what he did.

He grips his hair and growls, low and guttural. his palm shifts to paw

“It doesn’t fucking matter.”

Darkness bleeds into his gray eyes.

“Tell me who hurt you. Please, Zephyra.”

His ragged breathing promises death to whoever I name. But I need something more than his rage.

“You want a tainted, rogue slave as your mate?”

“Every part of you—every form, shape, state, being—is my mate.” He roars the words, and they shake something loose in my chest.

“You’re still my Luna. My chosen"

I don’t let him finish.

I lean forward and press my lips to his.

It’s clumsy. My tears make it taste like salt. But it’s mine. My decision. My terms. My kiss.

For three heartbeats, he’s frozen. Then his rough palm cups my face. His warm lips taking mine as he sits me on his laps. I allow myself to get lost in his possessive tongue.

When I pull back, I’m breathing hard.

Not from fear.

From power.

“I chose that,” I whisper.

“Me. I chose you.” His eyes glisten.

“You always have.

A knock on the door stops us.

Now, here I'm, Two days later, getting married to avoid being taken

"I can't believe you're this pretty"

Cat, my wolf purrs.

My gown looks like moonlight, firm on my chest before flowing down

My world narrows to one point: Evander.

'My buyer. My healer. My mate'

He stands at the altar, rubbing his thighs nervously, staring at me with such raw love it steals my breath.

The priest’s words blur as I focus on Van intertwining our fingers, on the tremor in his hands like I’ll disappear if he doesn’t hold tight enough.

Me? I can't believe I'm going from a Rogue to someone with lover. Family.

Now, it's his turn for vows.

“They stole sixteen years from us.” His voice cracks.

“Sixteen years you suffered while I searched. I can’t give you back that time.”

He pauses. Swallows hard.

“But I can give you this: You’ll never be property again. Never alone again. Not in nightmares. Not in battles. Not in fear.”

He slides the ring on. My tears fall onto the silver band.

The crowd gasps as golden light curls around our wrists—the mate bond made visible.

“I claim you—not as possession, but as equal. My mate. My Luna.” His grip tightens. “And if anyone tries to take you from me, they’ll have to kill me first. Even then, my wolf will hunt them from beyond the grave.”

His voice drops to a fierce rasp.

“You’re mine, Zephyra. And I’m irrevocably, eternally yours.”

He kisses me before the priest finishes.

I don’t flinch. I kiss him back.

His lips are warm and fierce. His fingers dig into my waist, pulling a sound from me I’ve never made before. Heat floods my body. I feel his need pressing against me, but there’s no fear. Only want.

“You are now pronounced husband and wife,” the priest announces.

Our lips part reluctantly. Van’s forehead rests against mine, his chest heaving.

“Congratulations on your second marriage,” I whisper.

“To the same girl.” His voice is rough. “No regrets.”

“House Homelin and House Arnauld are united!” an elder proclaims. “May your bond strengthen the packs!”

The crowd erupts in celebration.

I’m smiling so hard my face hurts.

Naville cries tears of joy.

Van’s father claps proudly.

Ronah grins wide.

Van sweeps me into his arms, and for one perfect moment, I forget what I was.

Until a voice shatters everything.

“This wedding cannot stand.”

An old woman steps forward, limping but steady. Her venomous eyes fixed on me

My blood turns to ice.

Not because of her.

Because of the man beside her.

Zade Astrid.

My captor. My nightmare.

Standing in my sanctuary to rip my new life apart.

Van’s arms tighten around me as his growl shakes the room.