Claimed and Marked by my Enemy: The hell of love
In a society where illegitimate children were treated as outcasts, Lily found herself among those shunned and scorned.
She was ridiculed, trampled upon, and mistreated by her own family, yet she lacked the strength to stand up for herself. When a man proposed to her, she hesitated, wary of his intentions. But the desire to escape her wretched home outweighed her doubts, and she accepted, only for her fate to take a cruel turn.
A day to her freedom, she was drugged by her step-sister and woke naked in the arms of the most feared Alpha, Alpha Lucian, who, to her horror, was her step-sister’s betrothed. She was accused of seducing him and was quickly sentenced to death. Her father, who had long wished to be rid of her, wasted no time in judging her.
“Stanley Lily, you will no longer be associated with this family and pack, and shall be sentenced to death for tarnishing our honor!” He declared, striking his gavel upon the soundboard.
Kneeling upon the cold stone floor, Lily trembled, her frail form barely able to endure the weight of the accusations. She curled in on herself as the crowd whispered vile things, their gazes filled with disgust. But she was too weak to defend herself, too powerless to refute their lies, not that anyone would believe her over her flawless step-sister.
“You dare seduce my fiancé after all this family has done for you? How can you be so despicable?!” Selena cried, shedding crocodile tears as Williams, the man who had once professed his love for Lily, held her protectively.
Lily watched, her heart sinking, as the man who had once been hers now comforted another woman before her very eyes. If only she was not an illegitimate daughter… If only she was as beautiful as Selena… If only her wolf side had manifested… Perhaps then, they would have accepted her.
As her father, Alpha Brian declared her to be beheaded, a voice rang out from the crowd, silencing the murmurs and sending a ripple of shock through the onlookers.
“I will claim her.”
Lily was too weak to lift her head, but the voice stirred something within her. It was strong, commanding…familiar. Who would bother to save a worthless, forsaken she-wolf like her?
—
Just when she believed her life had reached its end, the very man who had taken her innocence stepped forward to claim her. Yet, rather than offering salvation, Alpha Lucian made his intentions cruelly clear.
“Do not delude yourself into thinking I married you out of kindness,” he spat. “I did this to make you suffer for ruining my plans. You will never know happiness unless you find a way to fix your mistakes. Do you understand?”
His voice thundered through the chamber, sending chills down Lily’s spine.
Shrinking against the wall, she stammered, “Y-yes, Alpha Lucian…”
“There will be no wedding ceremony,” he continued coldly. “And if you know what’s good for you, stay out of my sight. You will work as a maid in the omega quarters.” With that, he stormed out, the loud slam of the door leaving behind a suffocating silence.
Lily clung to the hope that if she remained unnoticed, she might endure life within Alpha Lucian’s pack. But, as always, hatred always found her. She became a target of cruelty, not just from her mother-in-law, but even from the other omega maids, who tormented her without cause.
How long could she endure? Would she resign herself to her fate, or somehow find her way into the Alpha’s heart?
