An ordinary girl named Willow appeared to be the obedient "pet" at Alpha Rowan's side. For seven years she was marked, neglected, and treated as nothing more than a tool to suppress his feral nature. For the sake of his new lover Lyra, he made her swallow every humiliation — and even when Lyra was tearing into her with bites, he personally held Willow down and told her to die.
But her true protector had already appeared long before — Damian, the Lycan King. Three years ago, during a subway collapse, he saved her and has been silently guarding her ever since. When she cut off the mark and collapsed in a pool of blood, it was he who caught her, gave her time to heal, and never rushed to claim her with a mark. Faced with Rowan's persistent threats and harassment, Damian always stood in front of her, shielding her without fail.
She finally understood that true protection is: "I will never let anyone hurt you again." She chose to let him mark her, and he continued to protect her in silence all the while.
