The Sickened Luna's Last Chance

I used to be the perfect daughter for my father, marrying Alpha Alexander for the benefit of my home pack, even though Alexander refused to mark me and insisted our marriage was merely a contract. I then became the perfect Luna for my Alpha husband, still hoping I could win his affection one day and we would be real husband and wife. But everything changed the day I was told that my wolf had gone dormant. The doctor warned me that if I didn’t mark or reject Alexander within a year, I would die. However, neither my husband nor my father cared enough to help me. In my despair, I made the decision to stop being the docile girl they wanted me to be. Soon, everyone called me crazy, but that was exactly what I wanted—rejection and divorce. What I didn’t expect was that my once arrogant husband would one day beg me not to leave…

Ella POV

“Luna, you...only have one year to live.” The doctor slowly took her glasses off and stared at the floor. “Your wolf has entered a dormant state.”

I couldn’t believe Dr. Evelyn’s words.

“My wolf… is dormant?” I breathed. “Surely there must be a mistake—”

“I’m sorry, Luna, but we double-checked the test results. This disease can be caused by long-term stress and…” She paused, giving me an uncertain look. “...Lack of intimacy with one’s found but unmarked fated mate.”

I swallowed hard. Stress and a lack of intimacy with my mate…

That did sound like my life.

“Based on the few rare cases I could find, I am supposed to suggest you to mark your fated mate or reject each other completely. But you are my Luna, and your fated mate is our Alpha…” Dr. Evelyn sounded uncertain.

“I’m not even marked yet,” I whispered, trying not to confuse this kind young woman anymore than I already had.

Dr. Evelyn looked up at me in surprise. “You and Alpha Alexander aren’t marked? But you’re married.”

I bit my lip, my face flushing hot with embarrassment. It was true; I was married to my fated mate, Alpha Alexander Solace of Ashclaw pack. We had been man and wife for five years, and should have been marked by now.

But we weren’t.

From the moment I recognized him as my fated mate on the annual Alpha ball, I was captivated by him—his handsome yet stubborn jaw, the shock of red hair atop his head, his sage green eyes. He was a remarkable leader, too, intelligent and headstrong and everything an Alpha should be.

However, on our mating day, Alexander had handed me a contract and told me to sign it.

“Our relationship will be purely contractual,” he had said. “For my Alpha reputation, I can’t reject my fated mate. But I won’t mark you, and there will be no intimacy. End of story.”

I did think about taking all the blame and rejecting Alexander after finding out that he was just a jerk, but