Elena. I never wanted my life to be like this. What does it mean to be forced to get married? On my own birthday, when I turn eighteen? I should be able to choose the person I want to spend my life with. Why is this happening to me? Why am I standing here, looking at myself in the mirror, wearing a white dress covered in pearls? I'm wearing things I didn't even choose. I didn't even pick these earrings-they put them on me. Sure, the earrings are expensive. So is the necklace around my neck. Maybe it's worth more than a million dollars. But to me, it feels like I'm wearing chains-chains that will tie me to a prison. They're marrying me to someone against my will. All because of the Alpha King-the king of the werewolves. He's the grandfather, the leader of our pack. He decided to pick a suitable girl to be his grandson's wife. The problem is, I've never even seen the Alpha. But I've always heard about him. They say he's a killer. Not a cruel person, but a strong, wild killer and a fighter. People say he's like a beast. Everyone talks about how, when he turns into a wolf, he's huge and black, with red eyes like a vampire. He destroys his enemies easily and with so much power. They say he has no mercy and never forgives. And somehow, the Alpha-the one I'm supposed to marry today-I don't even know how old he is or what he looks like, because I've never met him or even seen him from far away. This Alpha doesn't talk much. People say he only speaks at certain times. Some say he "talks with his hands"-he fights, he kills, he chokes, he points. But what I know is I'm being forced into this marriage because they chose me. I don't even know how the Alpha King picked me. Why did the king of the werewolves choose me? They say it's because no one has ever touched me. They say I never had any relationships with boys. They say I've never left my village. They say my family kept me inside most of the time. They say I don't have any friends. They say I studied at home, not at school. They say I was always respectful and still pure. They say I helped my parents with housework and farming. That's true, but not because my family was strict. It's because my family was just average. Then my dad got sick, and I don't have any brothers or sisters. So I decided to help him. I didn't want to be a burden. I helped my family with love in everything. But now, they think that by marrying me to the Alpha of our pack, they're helping me. They think I'll be happy forever-living in a palace, being the queen, having no one control me. They think I'll be able to travel, go out, wear whatever I want, have jewels, diamonds, gold, and servants. That's why I agreed with them. But right now, as I look at myself, I see a totally different girl. All my life, I dreamed of waiting for my soulmate. I know that now it's almost impossible, and many people never find their true mate. But I still believe that maybe fate will send me my true mate one day. Suddenly, I hear them knocking on the door. They're calling my name. "Elena! Elena! Open the door! Hurry up!" My breath gets faster. _I'm so scared. My body's shaking. I'm so scared. My body's shaking._ I kept repeating it in my head over and over. Finally, I felt calm. I walked to the edge of the balcony, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. I didn't look down. I didn't hear anyone trying to stop me. And then-I jumped. The fear disappeared. The pain disappeared, too. Suddenly, I woke up. I opened my eyes. I didn't know if I was dreaming or what, but I felt pain. I remembered everything. I remembered I tried to kill myself. I remembered the jump. I screamed out from the pain. Suddenly, I looked around and saw a lot of servants around me. I was in a bed that wasn't mine, wearing pajamas. _Where am I?_ I thought. All at once, they started saying, "Thank God you're okay! Thank God you're safe! Are you alright?" I got out of bed slowly, and they helped me. I looked in the mirror and saw I was wearing white pajamas-the wedding pajamas, almost see-through. On my hand was a wedding ring. I asked them, "What happened? Did the Alpha leave me? Did you save me? What's going on?" Suddenly, I heard a voice from far away-the Alpha King himself, the grandfather, the king of the werewolves. He said, "You are now married to my grandson." I found myself unable to speak. I couldn't even look at him. Then my mom and dad came in behind him, saying the same thing in quiet voices, "Thank God you're alright. But the King decided you would marry his grandson, even while you were in a coma. You've been in a coma for a week." I fainted again from the shock. I never thought they would actually marry me off while I was unconscious. How did they do it? Did they put me in a chair while I was in a coma-injured-and marry me off? Did he touch me? Could he really be that awful, to have sex with me while I was unconscious? No, that can't be. He probably doesn't know either.

Elena. I opened my eyes again and found Mom sitting next to me, holding my hand while I was in bed. She said, “You’re married now. And you’re not just married to anyone. We gave you the best Alpha in existence. You’re married now.” The Alpha King was there, gently patting my hand. He said, “From today, you will be more than just my grandson’s wife. You will be everything. Everything will be in your hands. I will be very kind to you. All I ask is that you be the cure for my grandson, my only grandson. I want to see his children. I want to see his heirs. I want to see him be gentle. He was always gentle, but so much happened to him and it changed him. I hope you can be the reason he changes. I hope he lives his life and finds happiness. I hope he becomes better. One day you’ll understand why. But I never forced you into this marriage—I was only afraid you’d change your mind, and he would too. He was totally against the idea of marriage, but he didn’t reject you.” I could feel how sincere he was. He was kind to me, even though he was the Alpha King of all the werewolves. He spoke with such gentleness, and I could feel how much he cared for his grandson—and even for me, from my emotions. I decided, just between myself and my own conscience, that if I’d survived jumping and trying to end my life, and I stayed alive, then I’d go through with this marriage. And honestly, what could be better? I’d be living in a palace, with servants, with food and drink and everything I could ever want. I’d never even dreamed of having all these things. So I smiled, nodded in agreement, reassured my mom, reassured the king, and reassured my dad, who was sitting there, half sad and half worried about me. I told them, “Don’t worry. I’ll make this marriage work.” I was always optimistic. I was happy and content with the smallest things, which is why I’d lived my life happily so far. Still, I had a few small dreams—like finding my Prince Charming, a prince on a white horse who’d come and sweep me away. But in reality, I found someone better than a prince. I found the Alpha, and one day he’ll be the Alpha King of all the werewolves. They all left the room, saying, “We’ll leave you alone now.” I was left by myself, looking around at the bed I was in. It was huge—a double king size. When I paid attention, I realized everything was gold, with such expensive décor, paintings by great artists, all famous. Everything was so luxurious, but I’d always loved a simple life. I thought, I’ll wait until my husband comes, and then I’ll tell him I want to make some changes to the room. I got up and decided to get dressed, but all the clothes there were expensive dresses. When I looked around, I saw there was a huge dressing room—half for me, half for him. Dresses, high heels, purses—I stood there stunned, my eyes dazzled by everything. But these things weren’t me. Maybe I’d wear them to formal parties, but I didn’t think I could live in them every day. Especially since I’d decided I wanted to work, even if it was just a regular job. I needed to work—I couldn’t just sit around eating, drinking, and spending money. But I was still scared, because I hadn’t met the Alpha yet. I hadn’t seen my husband, didn’t know what he looked like or how he acted. I was terrified he might be old. Would I be able to give myself to him? Would I be able to love him? I had hope, though, that maybe he’d turn out to be handsome. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. My heart raced. I was afraid it was him—I wasn’t ready to meet him yet. So I called out softly, “Who is it? Who’s at the door?” A maid replied, “I’m the maid. I’m the maid.” I said, “Okay, come in.” One came in, then another behind her, and another, and another. Suddenly, there were five of them standing in front of me. I stared at them in surprise and asked, “What are you all doing here?” One of them bowed her head and said, “I’ll help you take a shower now.” Another said, “I’ll dress you after your shower.” The third said, “I’ll brush your hair.” The fourth, “I’ll pick out your dress and shoes.” And the fifth, “I’ll do your makeup.” I was suddenly overwhelmed and told them, “Stop! I don’t need all this.” One asked, “Then what do you need, ma’am?” I said, “I need food. Right now. Bring me everything you have.” They looked at me and smiled, but not in a mocking way. I told them, “I have the right to eat. Isn’t it true that a person sentenced to death gets to make a request?” They laughed and said, “But you’ve been sentenced to life, not death. How did you end up marrying the Alpha?” I replied, “Just let me eat before I meet him.” They agreed. One of them suggested, “You should at least put something on before coming to eat at the table.” I said, “No, I’ll go as I am.” So I went out just like that. I didn’t care—they were all women, there were no men, so what did it matter? I put on a pajama set with Mickey Mouse on it—pure childhood. I was still a kid, eighteen years old. Not a child, but I still wanted to experience my childhood. I sat at the table and suddenly they started bringing out dish after dish—so much food, fruits, meats I’d never seen before in my life. It felt like something out of a movie. I started eating from every plate, like I’d never eaten before, or like I’d die the next day and never eat again. I must have been eating for an hour or an hour and a half—I lost track of time, but I was really enjoying myself. I ate so slowly, making noises and not caring if it was messy. I was genuinely happy—maybe I was trying to forget that I might not be happy in this marriage, that maybe he wouldn’t love me, and maybe I wouldn’t love him. I didn’t know. As soon as I finished, stretching and patting my stomach, I said, “My belly is so full. I’m done.” Suddenly I heard footsteps coming, a lot of shoes approaching. I saw a lot of suits entering. The maids quickly jumped in front of me to hide me. I asked, “What’s going on?” They said, “The Alpha’s men are coming in now. Then the Alpha himself will come in.” I was wearing something childish, not really appropriate. If this was the first time he saw me, what would he think? But I decided to just face him as I was. Suddenly, they all walked in, and I noticed they all looked down, probably trying not to laugh. Then I saw him—the most handsome man I’d ever seen. Tall and broad, with smooth black hair and blue eyes, his muscles showed even under his suit and shirt with two buttons undone. Any woman would have jumped on him right then, but I needed to make sure this was really the man I married. Of course, I immediately regretted not changing out of my childish Mickey Mouse pajamas. I felt embarrassed, but I looked at them as they whispered that he didn’t talk much, or only talked when he was angry. He usually spoke with his hands. I didn’t know the full story, but I was waiting to see for myself. He came closer, looked me up and down—not in a judgmental way, just surprised. I acted like a child, put my hands on my waist, spun around, and asked, “What do you think? Isn’t this pajama cute?” He just looked at me, didn’t smile, didn’t react, and didn’t say anything. He just gestured for his staff to leave. His men and my maids left. I didn’t understand—weren’t we supposed to talk now that we were married? I followed him, pestering him like a stubborn child, “Can you hear me? I want to know—did you want this marriage? Did you touch me? Did we sleep together yet or not?” He suddenly turned around, looked at me, and pulled out his phone. He typed a message and showed it to me: “It’s my first time seeing you.” Then he typed again, “I just came from work, from my company, and I have a headache. And you know you’re married now.” I didn’t know what my status was—I’m supposed to be your wife now, so what does that mean? He handed me a card and typed again: “Do whatever you want. This card has millions. Buy anything you want, go out, do anything.” Then he walked into his room. I expected we’d be in the same room, but apparently, he had his own. I followed him, stood at the door, and he closed it in my face. I stood there, thinking about what to do. Should I go in after him? What if he got angry? Why doesn’t he talk? Is it that he doesn’t want to talk to me, or that he doesn’t love me and doesn’t want me to hear his voice? I just stood there, waiting. After five minutes, I decided to knock and go in. I knocked, no answer, so I opened the door and entered—he was naked. I should have been embarrassed and left, but I couldn’t help but stare at his body. He looked at me, surprised, but still said nothing. Suddenly, he went back into the shower and closed the bathroom door in my face. That snapped me back to reality. I realized how rude I’d just been. Even if he was my husband, I shouldn’t have done that. He should be the bold one, not me. I wrapped my arms around myself, thinking, *Does he love someone else?* I didn’t know. I decided to go to my room and sleep. Then I changed my mind—I would sleep in his room, because I’d promised the king, my mom, and my dad that I’d make this marriage work. And honestly, he was so attractive. I never thought I’d ever marry someone like him—wealthy, powerful, and incredibly handsome.

Elena. I got into bed and told myself I'd wait for him. I kept thinking and overthinking. *What happens now? What am I supposed to do? And what if he comes to bed right now? We're supposed to be officially married, right?* He hadn't spoken to me at all. I just wanted to understand how our relationship was supposed to work. I felt like he was cold toward me, like maybe he'd been forced into this, too. I was sure I was way below the standards of everyone he knew, everyone around him. Honestly, I didn't even know how I fit into all of this. I was certain he'd been pressured just like I was. Suddenly, I heard a bell ringing from the bathroom. I figured he needed something, but since he didn't talk, I guessed he used the bell to call for help. I waited a bit, thinking maybe a servant would come, but nobody did. So I got out of bed and opened the bathroom door without knocking. He was naked, taking a shower, with water running down his body and over his muscles. I wanted so badly to glance down at his lower half, but of course, I was extremely embarrassed. Sure, he was my husband, but I couldn't just act like he really was. I'd never seen a man's body before in my life. I'd never even seen a naked man. I stood there, frozen and awkward. Then I looked up and met his eyes. I waited for him to say something, to tell me to leave, or just say anything at all. But he just stayed as he was-silent. *Maybe that's just how he is,* I thought. *Maybe he really is mute.* But all the rumors said he spoke, just at certain times. Maybe he hated me. Maybe he thought I wasn't even worthy of him talking to me. I didn't know. But I still tried to stay positive. I smiled at him and said, "Do you need anything? Is there something I can help you with?" He looked at me and sighed, like he was just tolerating me. I couldn't figure him out. I glanced around and realized there wasn't a towel for him to dry off with. I said, "Hold on a second," then rushed out to find a towel. I brought him a towel, and even grabbed him some underwear-there wasn't anything for him to wear, not even boxers. I also brought him a robe and handed them over. I saw a slight hint of a smile in his eyes, like he was grateful even if he didn't say it. That made me feel so much better. I gave him a little salute with my finger and said, "All set, sir. I'll wait for you outside." I caught a small, sideways smile from him, like he was trying not to smile. Honestly, even that tiny smile was really nice. It made me feel hopeful, especially since he wasn't old or ugly or anything like that. On the contrary, I thought he was maybe twenty-eight or thirty at the most. I'd married him and still didn't know anything about him. I was sure I'd find out more as I got closer to him. I went outside and sat on the balcony for a while, swinging my legs, waiting for him to come out-hoping he'd say something, or that maybe we could finally talk. I remembered that the first time he communicated with me, it was by writing something on his phone. When he came out, he did the same thing-he wrote something on his phone and showed it to me. I looked at the screen, then looked at him. He'd written, "Divorce." I looked up at him, shocked, and said, "Divorce? What do you mean, divorce? We only get married once!" He typed again: "I mean, you tried to kill yourself on our wedding night. That means you hate me and reject me. Maybe it's because I don't talk, or maybe you love someone else. So, I'll leave you and we'll separate, but I just need some time." As soon as I finished reading what he wrote, I stood up on my tiptoes so I could get closer to his face. I smiled and told him, "I don't want a divorce. I don't want to separate. I want to stay with you." Then I kissed his cheek and said, "Good night." I went into his bed, pulled the covers over myself, and waited for him to come sleep next to me.