Marriage?

Clara's POV

I had just returned home from my graduation assessment when I found the living room thick with tension. My stepmother Evelyn's expression was glacial. My sister Seraphina stood beside her, eyes red and swollen from crying. Father was by the window, smoking in silence.

"Clara, you're back." Evelyn's voice could have frozen blood. "Go pack your things. In three days, you'll represent Mooncrest Pack in marriage to Kyle, the heir of Silvermoon Pack."

I froze, staring at them in disbelief. "Marriage? To Kyle? Isn't he Seraphina's fiancé?"

At my voice, Seraphina's head snapped up. She shrieked, "I'm not marrying that monster! Clara, Kyle is ruined! He got silver poisoning fighting traitors—his legs are paralyzed, his face is destroyed, and he can't even shift anymore! He's nothing but a broken Alpha now, with a temper like a rabid animal! If I marry a cripple who can't even stand, my life is over!"

Watching Seraphina's entitled tantrum, rage flooded through me. I turned to Father. "You're agreeing to this? You were the ones desperate to ally with Silvermoon, who promised Seraphina to Kyle. Now that he's injured, you're breaking the contract and making me take her place?"

Father wouldn't meet my eyes. He wiped his palms nervously on his pants and sighed. "Clara, Silvermoon is the strongest pack in the region. We can't afford to cross them. Since Seraphina won't go, you need to step up for the family. You're just a low-rank Omega—marrying Silvermoon's heir is already more than someone like you deserves."

"More than I deserve?" I laughed bitterly. I stared at this man who'd made himself the family's lapdog to secure his pack position, now throwing me to the wolves without hesitation.

"If it's such a prize, why is Seraphina crying and refusing? You know Kyle's suffering from silver poisoning and has become violently unstable. Sending me there is sending me to die!"

Evelyn looked down at me with contempt. "Don't be ungrateful, Clara. Your dead mother left you nothing. You've lived off this family for years—time to repay that debt. Kyle may be crippled, but he's still Silvermoon's heir. Marry him and you'll secure protection for Mooncrest Pack."

I clenched my fists. I'd worked myself to exhaustion at Moon Academy, earned top marks, all to gain independence and escape this frozen household. And now, today of all days, they were selling my future like livestock.

"I won't do it!" I met their eyes steadily. "This is Seraphina's engagement, not mine. If you're scared of Silvermoon's retaliation, let Seraphina face the consequences herself."

Evelyn's laugh was ice-cold. She gestured to the guard behind her, who immediately grabbed my backpack—containing my Moon Academy diploma and the herbs I'd spent months collecting.

"You don't get a choice, Clara." Evelyn's gaze was imperious. "Since you're being difficult, I'll hold onto these. Also, no dinner tonight. Go trim those thorned Moonshade roses in the back garden. If I see one unruly branch tomorrow morning, you can forget about getting your things back."

Night fell as I worked alone in the garden, clearing thorned branches. Sharp spines pierced my palms easily, blood welling up. I brought my injured fingers to my mouth, and within seconds the wounds disappeared.

This was my hidden secret—the Moon's Healing ability I'd inherited from my mother.

I looked up at the bright moon overhead. Soft moonlight washed over my face, making the power inside me pulse faintly.

Kyle. I turned the name over in my mind.

At Moon Academy, I'd heard endless stories about him. He was Silvermoon Pack's pride, a warrior blessed by the Moon Goddess—young, powerful, feared. But six months ago, everything changed. A traitor with a silver-coated weapon had wounded him severely, destroying not just his ability to shift but causing irreversible nerve damage to his legs. An Alpha who couldn't shift, whose legs were paralyzed—in a werewolf world that worshipped strength, his fate was painfully obvious. Outsiders mocked him as a "broken Alpha," and even within his own pack, doubts were growing.

And now I was supposed to marry this man—someone whose body was shattered, whose pride had been ground into dust.

I knew escape was impossible. The estate was surrounded by Mooncrest guards, my every move watched. With my low-rank Omega strength, there was no way I could flee in three days. If I tried, I'd endanger the friends who'd helped me at the academy and face pursuit from the entire pack.

Staying here meant Evelyn would eventually drain every last drop of usefulness from me. Marrying Kyle, though the future was uncertain, though he might have become a violent monster—at least it would get me out of this suffocating place.

"Well, well, look at our star graduate. How'd you end up pulling weeds?"

Seraphina. She approached in an elaborate gown, wine glass in hand. Her eyes were full of disgust as she deliberately poured the wine onto my feet.

"Clara, stop fighting it. A low-rank Omega like you marrying Kyle is already reaching way above your station. Though thinking about it, you two are perfect for each other—one worthless mongrel and one broken Alpha with half his face ruined. I heard he can't shift anymore and his temper is vicious as hell. He lashes out at everyone. Once you marry him, just wait to be torn apart by that monster."

"Still better than being a coward who runs from her own engagement, dear sister." I brushed dirt from my hands and stared coldly into her eyes. "No matter how far Kyle's fallen, he's still Silvermoon's heir. Marrying him at least gets me out of this prison for good. But you? Think escaping once makes you safe? Someone as selfish and spineless as you—Father will sell you off to the next buyer soon enough for family advantage. We'll see whose fate ends up worse."

"You—!" Seraphina's face went livid. She pointed at me, shaking with rage, unable to form words. Finally she smashed her glass on the ground and stormed off.