MARKED FOR PRETEND - Chapter 35: Chapter 35

Chelsea's pov
The chamber smelled of crushed petals and heated stone.
Chelsea sat still, spine straight, as three maids braided her hair with silver threads, whispering to one another in a language she didn’t recognize. They treated her delicately, reverently. Like a queen not yet crowned, but inevitable.
Her room had been scrubbed clean,and yet Chelsea couldn’t stop shaking.
Not from fear.
From knowing she couldn’t undo this. Not once the ceremony began.
“This isn’t like before,” one of the maids said softly as she clipped a star-shaped pin into Chelsea’s braid. “You’re not just being named. You’re being claimed.”
Chelsea blinked. “I thought that already happened.”
The maid smiled faintly. “Not in the eyes of the pack. Not until the Alpha puts his mark on you before his people.”
She felt heat crawl up her neck. “That already happened too.”
Another maid giggled. “Then tonight is only proof.”
The room fell silent as the door opened.
She didn’t need to look to know it was Kaden.
He always filled a room like a storm quiet at first, but undeniable.
The maids dropped into bows and slipped out without a word.
Kaden’s gaze ran over her.
Black. Not white. Hair in silver. No veil. No crown.
“Perfect,” he murmured.
She stood slowly, letting him see the tremor in her hands.
“Is this really happening?”
“Yes.”
“And if the council—”
He stepped closer. “They can’t stop me.”
“But they might try,” she said.
He paused.
Then he touched her jaw, thumb grazing the edge of her lips.
“They told me for years I needed to find a Luna,” he whispered. “They just never thought I had find one they could not control.”
She looked up at him. “And what about you?”
He smirked. “I don’t need to control you, Chelsea. I just need to keep you.”
The bond between them flared hot, electric. Her skin tingled where his fingers brushed.
The dress wasn’t white.
It was black.
Woven from starlight and midnight silk, tight at the waist, loose at the wrists, and trailing like smoke. A Luna didn’t need to look pure. She needed to look powerful.
And tonight, Chelsea didn’t feel like the girl they once whispered about. Tonight, she felt seen. Feared.
Her mark had stopped glowing hours ago.
Now, it burned.
Kaden hadn’t left her side all day—not after the Council meeting, not after the secret that one of them had betrayed Lysaria, not after the look in his eyes when he told her, “You won’t do this alone.”
But it wasn’t just about love anymore.
It was about legacy. About what was coming.
About being ready for the storm already brewing past the borders.
The Pack Hall was full. Every pack member had gathered out of duty, curiosity, and maybe fear. But none dared look away.
When the doors opened, and she stepped through head high, aura thrumming like a living thing it wasn’t just wolves that looked.
It was fate.
⸻
POV: Kaden
The war room had never felt colder.
It was empty now—except for Dax and Callen, his Delta and Beta, who stood just beside the stone armor stand as Kaden fastened the last clasp on his ceremonial coat.
He didn’t need a crown. Just presence.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Callen asked, voice low, but firm.
Kaden didn’t look at him. “Do I seem unsure?”
“It’s not her,” Dax said. “It’s them. The elders are nervous. She’s not just a mate anymore. She’s power.”
Kaden turned slowly. “Good. Let them sweat.”
Callen exhaled. “One of them tried to pull rank earlier. Said a Luna without bloodlines—”
“—has no legacy,” Kaden finished bitterly. “And yet, the same ones spent months pressing me to take a Luna. They wanted tradition. They wanted obedience. They just never expected… her.”
“She’s not just ‘her,’” Dax said. “She’s everything.”
Kaden’s fists clenched. “Then they’ll see tonight. Let them watch. Let them understand.”
He walked to the window, glancing across the hall toward the room where Chelsea would be.
He could feel her.
Not through the bond—through something deeper. Like gravity.
Kael stirred in his chest, growling.
“Don’t hesitate tonight,” his wolf said. “Not like before. If you claim her—do it with fire.”
Kaden turned away from the window and reached for the ceremonial pin that had belonged to his father. He stared at it for a moment—then crushed it in his palm.
“Tonight,” he said, voice like steel, “she becomes mine. Not because of prophecy. Not because of duty. Because no one else has ever burned like she does. And I will not let her walk into that hall alone.”
Dax nodded. Callen placed a hand to his chest in silent respect.
The drums began to echo outside.
It was time.
She was a vision of dusk and defiance.
The moment her scent hit him richer now, fuller—Kael clawed at his chest,mate,luna,ours.
Kaden could barely breathe not from nerves, but awe. From knowing that the wolves who doubted her now bowed in silence as she passed.
He felt the tension in the room.
Felt the eyes of the traitor among the Elders.
But he only looked at her.
Chelsea walked straight to the dais, chin lifted, mark gleaming like fire and gold.
The High Elder rose, trembling with parchment.
“The Alpha of Duskveil has declared his Luna—”
“Not declared,” Kaden interrupted, voice iron. “Chosen.”
A ripple of whispers.
“She was chosen by something older than tradition. Older than bloodlines. She carries magic in her bones and war in her lineage. She is not a mistake. She is not a threat. She is mine.”
He turned to her.
“Chelsea…”
Her hand found his before he could continue. “I’m ready.”
And the bond—silent for too long—roared between them.
He didn’t need to speak the rest. The air itself sealed it.
The wolves bowed.
Most of them.
Not all.
⸻
POV: Unknown
In the shadows of the outer wall, a hooded figure placed a hand on the ground.
The pulse of Chelsea’s power throbbed through the soil.
“She’s stronger than predicted,” he murmured. “But not untouchable.”
A second figure stepped forward, cloaked in red. “When do we strike?”
“Before the bond fully seals. Before she knows what she is. Before the Alpha’s loyalty blinds him.”
They looked up toward the glowing windows of the Pack Hall.
“Tonight.”
⸻
POV: Chelsea
After the vows, after the stares, after the voices faded into music—Kaden took her hand again.
They left the hall, not in secrecy—but with intention.
And when the door to her chamber closed—
He didn’t speak.
He kissed her.
Not like before.
Not like a slip.
This kiss was soul-deep. Fated. A promise and a possession all at once.
Her fingers curled into his shirt, anchoring herself. Her body knew him now—knew the shape of his presence, the fire he stirred. And she wasn’t afraid of it anymore.
“You’re mine now,” he breathed against her throat.
“I always was,” she whispered.
His hand found her waist, slow and reverent. She gasped as he eased her back onto the bed, his weight settling over her, warm and certain.
“You’re shaking,” he murmured, his thumb brushing the side of her neck.
“I’m not afraid,” she said again, softer this time. “Not of you.”
His eyes searched hers—something wild, something breaking free behind them. Not Kael. Just Kaden. Fully him.
“Then hold on to me,” he said, voice low, rough, shaking slightly. “Because everything changes tonight.”
She did.
He kissed her again, deeper now, until the world fell away.
Each touch was slow, deliberate. He memorized her with his hands, mapping every curve with a quiet hunger that made her breath catch.
Her breath came in shallow waves as his lips traced the length of her throat. His touch left fire in its wake—tender, unhurried, devastating.
He moved with patience and restraint that trembled at the edges. Like he wanted to give her time—but was barely holding back his own undoing.
When she arched into him, a soft moan escaping her lips, he groaned into her skin, fingers tightening slightly on her hips.
A slight moan escaped her lips again when his finger slipped inside of her .
"You're so tight." He moans with his fingers thrusting inside of her.
He took his fingers out and stick it in his mouth licking her juice from it.
"You drive me mad,” he whispered.
He got ontop of her and she took a deep breath as she prepared herself for his large erected member that she had been craving for. The tip went in and she bit on her bottom lip trying to hide the pain she was in. He started thrusting slowly inside of her. Her hands wrapped above her head as he slowly thrust inside of her. He saw in what pain she was in
"You want me to stop ?" He ask her quietly.
"No. " She says and he kissed her lips.
He continued her movement. A slight moan of pleasure escapes her lips and he kissed her. His lips found her sensitive spot and started sucking on her skin. She rolls her eyes back and as a louder moan of pleasure escapes her lips. She enjoyed every inch of him. She got what she wanted .
Her legs started stiffening and her toes curled. The muscle tighten around his package. She felt a orgasm building up. " I'm about to release . " she exclaimed before her juices escapes her her vagina.
He started thrusting faster and harder. Now that she was all wet and there wad like lubrication it was easier for her vagina to swallow the whole package.
When he finally stilled above her, forehead pressed to hers, heart pounding—
“You’re not just mine,” he said. “You’re meant.”
And the bond burned like a vow between them.
⸻
Cliffhanger
Outside the pack walls, a flare of red magic ignited the trees.
The guards didn’t see it. The alarms didn’t sound.
But the traitor in the Council smiled.
“Let them celebrate. By dawn… she won’t be his Luna. She’ll be ours.”