Too Late, Alpha: I'm Dead

I volunteer to be the mate of Carl Wood, the Alpha of the Nightfall pack, as a direct measure to resolve the conflict between our two packs.

He marks me on a full moon night. His gaze is so fervent in that moment that I interpret his look as a genuine sign of his attraction.

Carl personally leads the elite fighters across the border two years later. He grabs my head, making me witness the gruesome dismantling of my mother, father, and brother by the pack; his gaze is alight with vengeful satisfaction.

"Did your father show mercy during our youth when he destroyed my pack, Aria? Do you truly believe that having you here is enough to make up for this vengeance?"

Carl assumes the position as the most powerful Alpha of the northern region, with Selena Hall established at his side as his Luna.

I am kept barely alive, imprisoned in the depths of the dungeon in the pack. If I attempt to end my life, Carl retrieves the bones of a relative from the cemetery and incinerates them right in front of me, bellowing with bloodshot eyes, "You're not allowed to die unless I allow you to, Aria!"

I immediately cease all resistance after that.

Carl's heart was pierced by a silver-tipped arrow during his escape years ago. I had to implore the dark witch to use dark magic and substitute my sound heart for his.

There are only three days left before the poison completely takes hold of me.

Aria's POV:

It was on Selena Hall's birthday that Carl Wood, in an unprecedented act, granted my release from confinement in the dungeon.

I raised my head and noticed the crown resting on Selena's head atop the platform, leaving my heart with a stinging pain.

"How dare you not bow before Alpha Carl and Luna Selena!"

It was then that the Beta fighter beside me brutally shoved me, sending me stumbling to the ground before I performed the required bow mechanically.

Carl, without allowing me to rise, asked flatly, "Why did you take two hours when it only takes half an hour to walk from the dungeon? Did you have no desire to attend the birthday celebration for my Luna?"

I didn't try to defend myself. It was extremely cold and damp in the dungeon during winter, so my legs had long been frostbitten and infected, leaving me barely able to walk. I merely bowed my head and apologized obediently.

Carl seemed slightly taken aback before letting out a mocking laugh. "You have become considerably more docile now, Aria."

I had indeed become more docile, as my previous defiance had resulted in him throwing me into a silver cage for an entire night of torment, and on the following day, I was covered in festering wounds, but he had various remedies procured, deliberately sustaining my life while refusing to let me succumb to death.

"You should get up, Aria. You were once the dignified heiress of the