MATED TO THE RUTHLESS LYCAN KING

~Gabriella’s POV~

My eyes widened at those words. My heartbeat quickened, breaths sharp and uneven, as I stared at the alpha and the circle of beta wolves around him. My fists clenched until my claws cut deep into my own skin. Warm blood slipped down my palm. I lifted my hand, staring at it, and the thought came like a whisper that burned in my chest. Why was I born this way? Why was I cursed with such an unfortunate life?

All I had ever wanted was peace—just a sliver of it—while I lived out my days in the chains of the Dark-Hound Pack’s alpha. Was that too much to ask? Why this?

“The Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack will send his warriors in a few days to collect you. In the meantime, we will celebrate the bond between our packs once the deal is sealed.” Her voice cut through the room like a blade. Luna. I lifted my head toward her.

The look on her face was unmistakable—pure disgust, sharp as a knife. I didn’t need words to feel it. I could hear it in her thoughts, taste the hatred rolling off her, drilling into my chest like steel.

“You may leave. I’ve said all that needs to be said.” The alpha’s words followed a kiss pressed against his wife’s cheek. Their love—if it could be called that—was a cruel contrast to the emptiness I carried.

I turned away in silence, questions clawing at me with every step. Why did they hate me so much? Why did they despise my very existence? Was this how parents were everywhere? Or had I been cursed, singled out, forsaken by the moon goddess herself?

“Gabriella,” she called.

I stopped, sighed, and turned slowly, my gaze fixed on the floor.

“Yes, Luna,” I answered softly.

“You’ll be the one to prepare the celebration hall. The warrior wolves will arrive in a few days, and that place must be spotless. Get to work.”

“Yes, Luna,” I murmured, my voice muffled behind the black strands of hair falling across my face.

I slipped out of the room, picked up my bucket from where I had left it by the door, and dragged myself toward the dining hall.

As I moved sluggishly through the passage, a teardrop slid down from the corner of my right eye. I halted, wiping it away quickly with the tip of my finger, forcing myself to pull together before continuing.

When I finally reached the dining hall, I stood there with the cleaning tools in my arms, staring up at the vast room. Its size pressed down on me, the task impossibly heavy. How was I supposed to finish before the day ended?

Still, I bent down, picked up the broom, and braced myself. That’s when I heard it—the sound of two distinct footsteps entering the hall. They stopped right beside me.

I raised my head and turned to my right. Two of my friends stood there in silence, smiles on their faces as they stared out across the large hall.

“Marian, Lily… What brings you here?” I asked, confusion flickering across my face.

They both turned to me, their smiles radiating a kind of positive energy that seemed to brighten every corner of the room.

“We’re here to help, madam. You’ve already been through enough—we just want to loosen things up for you a little,” Marian said gently.

I stared at them for a moment, then turned back to the hall. “No, I can handle this myself. You girls probably have your own work to do. If you’re caught helping me, you could get into serious trouble.”

“But we don’t care, my lady,” Lily said firmly, her expression etched with concern. “It’s our duty to serve the alpha and his family… including you.”

I sighed. “Listen, I know you want to help. But if I accept, I’d be putting both our lives in danger. Please—let me be.”

Silence. Their smiles faded, disappointment dimming their faces. I braced myself, waiting for them to turn and leave. Instead, guilt pricked at me. They only wanted to help.

Then, just as suddenly, their lips curled into even wider smiles.

“See? We don’t need your permission to clean here,” Marian said with a mischievous grin. “Pick a side of the hall, and we’ll take the other. If not, we’ll get angry and report you to the warrior wolves.”

I froze. They had planned this out, fully expecting me to refuse. This was their backup plan all along.

“Fine. You win,” I muttered, groaning. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

They squealed in excitement.

Marian and Lily were the only two people in the entire pack who truly cared about me. The only two I ever dreamed of sparing—when the day came that I burned this pack to the ground, when my demons finally cut loose.

They were the only two reasons I kept my feet on the ground and kept pushing forward, even when everything around me tried to drag me under. The thought of leaving them alone in this place was terrifying. Still, I told myself they’d probably be fine—because they weren’t me.

As we cleaned the place up, my mind wandered to the life waiting for me in the new world I was being sold off to. Would it be better? Worse? Or would nothing change at all? The thought of being married off into some strange land, never knowing the joy of finding my true mate, made my stomach twist. And yet, somehow, leaving this wretched place sparked a faint, guilty happiness in me.

That night, after hours of backbreaking work, I collapsed onto my bed. The aches caught up to me all at once, clawing at my muscles and joints. I groaned through clenched teeth, curling up tight, my fists pressed to my chest. The only mercy of being a werewolf was that by morning, my body would heal itself, even if my spirit never did.

When evening came, the alpha and his family gathered at the dinner table for their last meal of the day. Though I was his daughter, I was never welcome at that table. My place was with the maids, serving food and eating whatever scraps remained. Tonight, I carried in a large tray stacked with raw ox meat—their favorite.

Hunting had always been my father’s pride. Whenever he set out, he wouldn’t return without dragging home a massive ox to show for it. I lowered the tray carefully to the center of the table, willing my hands not to tremble, not to spill.

But before the tray could even touch the surface, he attacked.

My little brother. The brat who had been pampered all his life, their only son—their future alpha. He was weak, far weaker than the warrior wolves, but he was still stronger than me. And that was all that mattered.

To be honest, my life was blissful until he was born. He took everything from me.

His elbow drove hard into my stomach, knocking the breath out of me. I staggered, the tray slipping from my hands, its contents crashing onto the table before tumbling to the floor. A large piece of meat landed with a wet thud on the wooden surface.

The room went still. Luna turned toward me, her eyes sharp and poisonous, her lips curling into the kind of scorn that could cut deeper than any blade.

“Can’t you do something right for once in your life?” she spat. “Clumsy little brat. Useless, good-for-nothing piece of trash.”

Each word stripped away what little self-worth I clung to, leaving me bare, trembling. Her voice rose, venom dripping with every syllable.

“YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A PIECE OF RAG WE PICKED UP FROM—”

Her tirade was cut short. The Alpha’s hand slammed against the table, the sound reverberating through the hall like a crack of thunder. Silence followed.

“Gabriella,” he said, his tone calm but firm. “Clean this up and return to your quarters.”

“Yes, my lord.” My voice was barely more than a whisper. I hurriedly gathered the ruined meal, my fingers shaking as I scooped the scraps.

When I finally left the hall, the echo of Luna’s words clung to me like a shadow. A piece of rag we picked up from…

The sentence unfinished, but the wound already carved.

Part of me longed to know the truth she had been so eager to hurl at me. But another part knew that chasing answers in this family meant courting death.