My Wolf Forbade the Alpha's Mark

I was the dirty secret of the Silver Creek Pack—an illegitimate daughter Alpha Harold kept in the shadows. My only value to them was to act as a substitute, forced to marry Alpha Victor of the Iron Crest Pack, a man rumored to be cruel, ruthless, and crippled from the waist down. But at the mate ceremony, in front of hundreds of high-profile guests, I screamed at the top of my lungs. "I reject you as my mate!" The crowd gasped. Harold was shaking with rage, pointing a finger at my face and calling me insane. But they didn't know. A voice had echoed in my mind. *Don’t let him mark you. Once marked, you will lose me forever. The power running through your veins is far greater than this.* That was the very first time I heard my wolf's voice. "Clara! Don't you dare say that again!" Alpha Harold’s roar almost shook the ceiling of the grand hall. Next to me, Wendy, wearing her maid-of-honor dress, lowered her voice and hissed, "Are you crazy? If you ruin this wedding, Harold and Helen will beat you to death!" I looked at her calmly, then at the stunned guests, and finally, my eyes landed on Alpha Victor sitting in his wheelchair. The supreme ruler of the Iron Crest Pack. A battle six months ago had left him paralyzed, making him even more cold and tyrannical than before. Everyone said the Silver Creek Pack was throwing me, the useless bastard, into a pit of fire. But they didn't know that crawling into bed with the Iron Crest Pack was a golden ticket Harold and Helen had begged on their knees for. Alpha Victor had no expression on his face. His dark, deep eyes locked onto me from a few yards away, as if he were watching a joke that had nothing to do with him. Behind him, his Beta’s face turned grim, stepping forward to handle the situation. "I said, I don't want this," I repeated. My voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the silent hall clearly. *Slap!* A hard strike stung my cheek. It was my stepmother, Luna Helen. She rushed onto the stage, trembling with fury. "You ungrateful brat! Have you lost your mind? You’ve humiliated the Silver Creek Pack! Apologize to Alpha Victor right now!" I licked the taste of blood from the corner of my mouth and smiled. "Apologize? For what? It's my life. If I don't want to get married, who has the right to force me?" Harold’s lips trembled with rage. "You... you curse! You are marrying him today, whether you like it or not!" He stepped forward, reaching out to grab me. "Enough." Victor navigated his electric wheelchair forward slowly. He stared at me with cold, calculating eyes. "Give me a reason." I looked at him. This supposedly monstrous Alpha had no anger in his eyes right now—only curiosity. I took a deep breath and gave him the excuse I had prepared. "I don't like you. And I sure as hell don't want to spend my life with a... cripple." The words were toxic and sharp. Even I flinched at how cruel they sounded. As expected, a collective gasp echoed through the room. Harold’s face went entirely pale. He looked like he was about to pass out. Wendy was looking at me as if I were already a corpse. Victor’s eyes finally darkened. His Beta, Ryan, stepped forward and said coldly, "Miss Miller, watch your tongue. The Iron Crest Pack is not something you can insult." The temperature in the room dropped to freezing. But in my mind, I whispered. *Shadow, I did it.* Shadow let out a low rumble in my chest, a vibration that shook my soul. *Good job. Now, leave this place.* The voice echoed, bringing a wave of power I had never felt before. I didn't know what was hidden inside me, but I knew this voice wouldn't hurt me. I threw my shoulders back and met Victor's icy gaze. "I’m just speaking the truth. You can't force a mate bond, Victor. This wedding is over." With that, I grabbed the skirt of my wedding dress, turned around, and walked away under everyone's disbelief. I didn't make it out of the hall. Two guards in black suits blocked my path. Harold shook as he spoke to Victor, "Alpha Victor, please don't be angry! This girl is out of her mind. I’ll lock her up and bring her to you myself..." "Harold!" Wendy quickly pulled him back, her eyes darting toward Victor. "Alpha Victor, Clara is just immature. Please don't hold it against our pack." Victor ignored their pathetic acting. He just kept his eyes on me. "Miss Miller, you agreed to this wedding. Now you call it off in front of everyone? Are you playing games with me?" I clenched my fists. "I'm not playing games. I just realized that I don't want to depend on anyone else for the rest of my life." "Is that so?" Victor let out a dark chuckle. "I admire your quest for independence, Miss Miller. However, everything comes with a price." The moment he finished, Beta Ryan stepped toward Harold. "Alpha Miller, according to our contract, since the alliance failed, the Silver Creek Pack will pay for all damages. Furthermore, the Iron Crest Pack is cutting off all financial and military support immediately.""We’re ruined!" Harold gasped, almost collapsing to the floor. Wendy’s face turned white too. The entire strength of the Silver Creek Pack was barely a fraction of the Iron Crest Pack. This would destroy them! Harold fell to his knees, crawling toward Victor. "Alpha Victor, please show mercy! It’s all this brat’s fault! Punish her, do whatever you want with her, but please don't ruin the Silver Creek Pack!" I watched his pathetic begging with utter disgust. This was my father. For his own gain, he would throw me to the wolves without a second thought. Helen cried out, "Alpha Victor, we will lock her in your room tonight! She is yours to do with as you please! Just please, spare us!" Looking at this so-called family made me want to throw up. I turned to Victor. "I made this decision. I will bear the consequences alone. Let my family go, and leave the Silver Creek Pack alone." Victor raised an eyebrow, amused. "You? With what?" "I will prove myself to you," I said firmly. Mocking laughter erupted in the hall. An abandoned, illegitimate daughter taking responsibility? It was a joke. Wendy sneered, "Clara, stop talking big! How are you going to pay him back? With your worthless life?" I ignored her and kept my eyes on Victor. "Give me time." Victor stared at me for a long time, then suddenly smiled. "Fine. I’ll give you time." He waved his hand, signaling the guards to step aside. "From this day on, Clara Miller, you owe me. Big time." He paused, his voice turning dangerous. "Don't try to run. You know what I can do." With that, he turned his wheelchair and left the hall without looking back. My father and stepmother glared at me from the floor, looking like they wanted to skin me alive. "You curse! You’ve ruined us!" I didn't look at them. I grabbed the expensive dress and walked out of that cage. The sunlight outside was blinding, but for the first time, I felt free. As I walked away, the voice in my head whispered again. *Leave this territory. They won't let you go easily.* I stood by the highway in a wedding gown, looking like a total joke. Strangers stared and pointed, but I didn't care. I sneaked into a thrift store, traded my dress for a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, and bought a bus ticket to a remote town. Three days later, I settled down in a human town called Millbrook. I got a job washing dishes at a local diner and rented a cheap apartment. One night, when I came back to my place, I found an envelope slipped under my door. Inside was five thousand dollars in cash and a note with no name, but I recognized the elegant handwriting: *Don't die out there.* It was from Victor’s Beta. I was surprised. Why would Victor help me? Was he watching me? Whatever. Having a place to stay was better than sleeping on the streets.I lay in the bathtub, closed my eyes, and tried to connect with the voice again. At first, there was only silence. But slowly, a warmth started to spread in my chest. My wolf was responding. *You need to get stronger,* my wolf, Shadow, spoke in my mind. *Or they will kill you.* Just then, my phone rang. I was confused. Who would call me at this hour? It was an unknown number, but I recognized the pattern. It was Wendy. I hesitated before picking up. "Clara, you really think you're something, don't you? You ruined the wedding, ran away, and now you're probably whoring yourself out to some other Alpha!" Wendy’s screeching voice echoed through the speaker. I leaned against the edge of the tub, sounding bored. "What do you want, Wendy?" My indifferent tone set her off. "What do I want? Harold and Helen are furious! The pack is falling apart, and you're out there living your best life!" "So? Did you call just to scream at me?" "Clara, don't forget you have Miller blood in your veins! You ruined our pack, so you have to fix this!" "Fix it? How? Go back and marry Victor for you?" I scoffed. "Wendy, you were the one crying and begging not to marry a cripple. Now you're blaming me?" When the marriage alliance was first made, it was meant for Wendy, the precious daughter of the pack. But she threw a tantrum because Victor was paralyzed. That was when Harold and Helen decided to sacrifice me. They promised they would give my biological mother’s estate to me if I complied. I did it for my mother. But a week before the wedding, I found out my mother had been dead for years. And that was when Shadow finally woke up inside me. Nobody in the Silver Creek Pack cared about me. They only cared if I showed up at the altar on time. From that moment on, I was dead to them. "You... you’re lying!" Wendy stammered, flustered. "I didn't marry him because... because I already have a mate! Unlike you, you cheap, shameless slut!" She got louder and louder. "Clara, I'm warning you. You better crawl back to Alpha Victor and beg for his forgiveness, or I will make sure you have nowhere to hide in this world!" "Oh, really?" I smirked. "I’d love to see you try." I hung up and blocked her number. Talking to her was a waste of breath. By the next morning, my name was all over the werewolf forums on Instagram. *Silver Creek Bastard Rejects Iron Crest Alpha at the Altar.* *The Ungrateful Clara Miller.* *Silver Creek Pack on the Verge of Collapse.* I clicked on the posts. The comments were brutal. Everyone called me a gold-digger who ran away because Victor was disabled. Then, an "anonymous source" leaked photos of a girl who looked like me hook up with different wolves at a club. I knew instantly it was Wendy in those photos. She was desperate enough to leak her own scandalous photos just to ruin my reputation. The comment section was filled with hate. "She should be rogue-hunted!" "Poor Alpha Victor, getting played by a bitch like her." "Silver Creek is cursed to have a daughter like her." Looking at the comments, I didn't get angry. I actually found it funny. These wolves were so easy to manipulate. Thankfully, I was out of the pack territory. They couldn't find me here.Life in Millbrook was peaceful. I washed dishes during the day and trained in the woods outside the town at night. Shadow guided me to channel the energy in my body. At first, it just made my vision clearer in the dark. Then, I could hear the stream miles away. Finally, under the full moon, I shifted for the first time. It hurt like hell. My bones broke and reformed, but when my paws hit the dirt and I smelled the earth, I felt the raw power. Shadow taught me how to quick-shift. Normal wolves took seconds to transform, but with Shadow's help, I could do it in the blink of an eye. This went on for two weeks. I thought I was hidden well. But one night, as I walked back to my apartment from the woods, Shadow's voice suddenly cut in. *There's a wolf scent. A stranger.* I stopped instantly, my heart hammering. *Where?* *Right outside your door. Just one.* I held my breath, sneaking around the side of the building to get a look. A tall figure in dark clothes was picking my lock. He had a silver dagger tucked into his belt. Silver. The weapon wolves used to kill wolves. Harold sent him. My first instinct was to run. But Shadow stopped me. *You can run today, but you can't run forever. If he found you, it means your location is leaked. Kill him, or he will bring a whole squad next time.* My hands shook. *I... I'm not ready.* *You are ready,* Shadow said firmly. *Two weeks of training wasn't for nothing. Follow my lead. You can do this.* I took a deep breath and nodded. I slipped off my shoes, walking barefoot on the cold asphalt, making no sound. The assassin was still focused on the lock, completely unaware of me. Shadow’s voice echoed in my head. *Shift into your wolf. Jump him from behind. Aim for the throat. One clean bite. Don't let him shift.* I held my breath. Three steps away, I shifted. My bones clicked, muscles expanded, and claws tore out. The assassin heard the sound and whipped around, but he was too slow. My wolf slammed into him, my fangs sinking deep into his throat. He let out a muffled groan, the silver dagger clattering to the floor. After a few seconds of struggling, his body went limp. The smell of fresh blood filled the air. I let go of his throat, stepped back, and shifted back into my human form, my body shaking uncontrollably. I had just killed someone. Shadow’s voice was calm. *You did well. If you didn't kill him, you would be the one dead.* I crouched on the floor, panting for minutes before I could calm down. I had to get rid of the body. I dragged him deep into the woods, dug a deep hole, and buried him. By the time I got back to my apartment, the sun was almost up. I washed the blood off my body and sat on the edge of my bed, staring into space. Harold found me once. He would find me again. I couldn't stay here anymore.