A Mark Stained By His Lies

A mate's mark is sacred.

It's a living tattoo, shared only between fated mates. Yet my Alpha, Jaxon, allowed Helena's name to wind like a vine around the mark that bound him to me. And when I confronted him, he told me not to be so possessive.

In my past life, this same betrayal had sent me storming into the council of elders, where I screamed as I publicly severed our mate bond.

My reward wasn't a plea to stay, but the searing brand of a traitor pressed into my skin by his own hand before he set the entire pack on me.

Helena, the woman whose name desecrated my mark, locked me in a silver-plated cell. For four months, she injected me daily with a toxin derived from Moonshadow Grass.

I watched my own skin rot and turn black. And Jaxon never once appeared.

It wasn't until my soul began to untether from my body that I learned the shocking truth—I was the Alpha King's long-lost daughter.

When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day my mate's mark was desecrated.

————————

1

"Ivana, it's just a tattoo. Don't be so dramatic. Helena meant no harm; she's still young—just a bit playful."

"Helena's father died protecting the former Alpha. His last wish was for me to take care of her. I admit she's a little spoiled, but you're my mate. Don't get worked up over something so small."

In the werewolf world, desecrating a mate's mark was the same as shattering a sacred bond. It was never a "small matter."

In my past life, Jaxon had said these exact words to me. Back then, I was already seething over the defiled mark, and his defense of Helena pushed me over the edge. I stormed into the council of elders, severed the mate bond in front of everyone, and turned to leave. I thought my dignity was more important than my life. All I earned was the soul-crushing agony of the severed bond as I stumbled for hours into the winter night, until my bloody feet soaked through my shoes.

Jaxon sent no one after me. Instead, he branded me a traitor, and the entire pack hunted me down. I was dragged back to the nightmare of that silver-plated cell.

What a bitter irony. A bitter smile touched my lips.

Jaxon's expression hardened. "What's with that look? I've told you a hundred times—after her father died, Helena became like a sister to me. Stop overthinking our relationship."

"It's just a design over the mark. It's not like the bond is gone. You're the Luna of this pack. Start acting like it."

I saw the coldness in his eyes. My heart clenched as if a poison-laced blade had pierced it. But this pain wasn't for Jaxon. It was for the foolish girl I had been in my past life, the one who had given him everything.

In that life, after I was locked away, Jaxon told me he had never loved me. He said our mating was a mistake. He wanted me to reject him so he could be with Helena. Then, Helena poisoned me. Over four long months, I died a slow, agonizing death. I watched my own body decay, and Jaxon never once came to see me.

The "Bloodline Shackle" curse flowing through my veins ensured no one could feel my death through the pack-link. My father—the Alpha King—never even knew his daughter had been murdered. I died alone, abandoned, and forgotten.

But now, I'm back.

And I won't waste this second chance on Jaxon.

"You're right," I said, my voice quiet. "Jaxon, I'm not overthinking your relationship."

"Don't worry. I know Helena is young. She was just joking. I'm not angry. I'm just… tired."

A flicker of surprise crossed Jaxon's face. Without giving him a second glance, I turned and headed for my art studio on the west side of the pack's territory.

After I died in my past life, my soul lingered, a ghost hovering over my own corpse. It was then that I learned the truth: I was the Alpha King's only daughter. A "Bloodline Shackle" curse had sealed my scent and abilities since childhood.

In this life, as soon as I opened my eyes, I could feel my inner wolf slowly awakening—and I could feel my father, still searching desperately for me.

I pulled out an untraceable burner phone and dialed the number of the Red Fang Pack's Beta.

"Hello. I need to speak with the Alpha King."

This time, I refused to be some neglected mate. I would be my father's daughter.