My True Alpha Love

I was a Luna-to-be—until my own fiancé nailed through my tongue and tore off my claws.

On my eighteenth night, instead of marking me, he branded me a calamity and pinned me to the altar like a dying dog.

I was humiliated and trampled by the entire clan, had my tongue cut out, my claws torn away, and finally sent to the border as the lowest tier of trash.

But the moment I was delivered to another tribe, the so-called bloodthirsty Alpha treasured me—filthy as mud—like a precious jewel.

He said I was his destined Luna.

...

Tonight was my eighteenth birthday, and the day I'd waited an entire year for.

I'd changed early into that white cloak I'd sewn by hand, checking and rechecking myself in the bronze mirror, heart pounding so hard it felt like it would leap from my chest.

Today, Ryan would bite the back of my neck in front of the entire clan under the moonlight, leaving his mark on me.

That was the sign of adulthood, a declaration of love, a moment I'd traced in my dreams a thousand times over.

I could even imagine his breath as he leaned down, could feel the warmth of his lips against my neck.

I would tremble, would cry, would become his Luna, standing beside him while everyone looked up at us.

But now, I was chained to the altar, trembling all over—not from love, but from searing pain and betrayal.

"In the Moon Goddess's name, seal this ominous body!"

The High Elder's voice rang in my ears like a death knell.

Ryan stood before me, wearing the black cloak that symbolized Alpha authority, holding that silver-coated spike.

"Ryan..." My voice shook uncontrollably as I tried to find a trace of his old tenderness in his face. "You said you'd marry me. You said I was your only one..."

He didn't look at me. His gaze fell on the altar's stone carvings, as if I were just some irrelevant object.

"The Council's scrolls show that Eclipse bloodline brings catastrophe to the clan. Ella, you lied to me."

"I didn't!" I shook my head desperately. "I don't know anything about Eclipse! Ryan, believe me—we grew up together, you know me better than anyone!"

"The Ella I knew wouldn't lie to me." He finally looked up at me, the disappointment in his eyes plunging me into an icy abyss. "You hid your power. You're a curse."

"I didn't hide anything! I'm an Omega, just an ordinary Omega!"

"Shut up!" he roared. "The evidence is irrefutable and you still want to argue?"

He turned to face the entire clan and announced loudly:

"From today on, Ella is no longer my mate. She is banished from the tribe and sent to the border as the lowest tier Omega!"

Lowest tier.

Those four words buzzed in my head.

I'd once been the treasure he held in his palm. Now I was trash everyone despised.

"No... Ryan, don't do this..." I begged through tears. "What did I do wrong? Tell me, I'll change! I'll do anything you say!"

He walked back to me, crouched down, and used his thumb to wipe the blood from my face.

This gesture had once been so gentle. Now it made me feel bone-chilling cold.

"Too late," he said softly. "This is for the tribe."

Then he grabbed the silver hammer.

"First nail—seal the tongue, forbid false words!"

Agony exploded. Silver seared flesh. I bit down hard, refusing to make a sound.

Second nail, driven into my right knee.

I collapsed forward, like a dog with its spine broken.

Clan members pointed and laughed, their mockery sharp as knives.

"Serves her right for trying to seduce the Alpha."

"A lowly Omega thinking she could be Luna?"

I looked at his cold profile. My heart shattered completely.

...

The next three years were true hell.

They locked me in an iron cage, suspended beside the altar for public display.

They threw me in the dungeon, where I never saw daylight.

Anyone could kick me. Anyone could spit on me.

They forced silver water down my throat—it burned like molten lava flowing through, robbing me of my voice forever.

My claws were severed publicly. Ten fingers connected to the heart—I curled in the corner of the cage, blood soaking through the straw.

I reeked. No one cleaned me. No one cared.

They called me "stinking dog," threw rotten vegetables at me, watched me struggle for their amusement.

I huddled in the cage like a real wild dog trampled into mud.

But my eyes stayed open.

Watching Ryan walk past the cage every day, never stopping.

Watching the silver ornament he'd once placed on me now hanging from another Omega's neck.

Watching what I'd thought was eternal shatter into worthlessness.

The day the carriage came for me, they dragged me from the cage like a bag of garbage.

I leaned against the bars, touching the scars around my shoulder—permanent marks where his bite should have been.

The escort soldiers laughed, betting how many days I'd survive. I didn't say a word.

I was waiting.

Waiting for an opportunity.

An opportunity to make him kneel before me and repent for everything he'd done today.