Chapter 1 - Family Stain

𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞

"She's not breathing!" I screamed at the paramedics like they couldn't see it themselves. My mother's face was pale and bloodied, her skull caved in on one side. My clothes were soaked with her blood, the metallic stench mixing with hospital antiseptic.

The stretcher wheeled down the white hallway. I pushed alongside it, my heart hammering in my chest. "Please, keep your eyes open," I begged, touching her face with trembling fingers. Tears mixed with the blood on my swollen cheeks, but I couldn't register the pain.

The doors to urgent care flew open. Nurses ripped her away from me before I could protest. I caught a glimpse of her crushed leg and heard the screech of tires in my head—the car that couldn't stop in time.

I collapsed in the hallway, grabbing fistfuls of my hair as I screamed. I'd just stood there like an idiot, too stunned to move out of the car's path. Too stupid to run. Too consumed by the truth I'd learned minutes ago to save my own life.

But Mom had pushed me.

I could still feel her hand on my back, shoving me to safety. The sickening thud of impact. The crunch of breaking bones. My sobs came in violent waves as grief and guilt crushed me from the inside out.

I wrapped my arms around myself, holding my body together while my world fractured. It should have been me on that stretcher. Especially after what I'd discovered tonight, right after blowing out the candles on my eighteenth birthday cake—the first one they'd ever given me.

I should have known there'd be a catch.

The truth was more monstrous than anything I could have imagined. It explained why they despised me, why I was the stain that wouldn't fade, the shadow beside their golden children.

Pain exploded across my cheek. My head snapped to the side hard enough that something cracked. The overpowering scent of perfume hit me before I saw her face.

"You won!" Aunt Agatha screeched, her features twisted with loathing. "You finally achieved your evil mission, you parasite! You took her from us!"

I looked up at her, vision blurred with tears. Her glare could have burned holes through my soul.

"You failed the first time, but you had to try again." Spit flew from her mouth. "I was right about you from the beginning. You're a curse, the bane of this family, a disease."

My eyes were too swollen to argue. My tongue too heavy to defend myself. She rained insults like she always did, but this time with more venom.

The hallway had filled with family. Some crying, others pale with worry, a few pacing. But all of them wore the same expression when they looked at me.

Disgust.

Like I was the rot in the room, the virus that had infected this night. No one asked if I was okay. No one checked the swelling on my face or the bruises blooming on my arms. Their grief wasn't shared with me—it was weaponized against me.

"Yet you dare to wonder why we wish you would die!" Ivy's voice cracked like a whip. Her olive skin flushed with fury that I should have been used to by now.

I blinked at her, saying nothing. Mom was fighting for her life. I wasn't about to pretend their words weren't justified.

Ivy grabbed the collar of my dress and yanked my face to hers. "Can't you talk?" she growled, shaking me hard enough to rattle my bones. I stared back blankly into hard amber eyes.

Someone pulled her back—probably because the nurse was giving us looks. Our beautifully dysfunctional family tearing into the black sheep in a hospital hallway.

Ivy lunged for me again, but my older brother Ryder caught her. I knew better than to think I was saved, though.

Ryder's towering frame loomed over me as soon as Aunt Agatha had Ivy restrained. I could feel the anger pulsing off him. His eyes bore into me, hot enough to burn. He didn't need to say anything. I could read him perfectly—the flared nostrils, the veins pulsing in his neck, the way his brows drew so low they nearly kissed his lashes.

His body vibrated with barely controlled rage. He was seconds away from making me a punching bag.

Again.

And I knew no one would stop him. They never did. But this was a public place, so when the spit hit me in the eye, I still wasn't surprised.

I didn't flinch. Didn't wipe it off. Didn't speak.

How dare I? Mom was here because of me.

I just sat there, blinking through the sting as spit and tears mixed on my face. The silence inside me was louder than the chaos around me.

Then I laughed.

The sound bubbled up from my throat, foreign and wrong. I couldn't stop it—too wrung out, too shattered to respond rationally. It wasn't hysteria. It was something uglier, more twisted.

Everyone went still. Even a young nurse in the corner who'd been pretending not to listen.

I slapped my hand over my mouth, but the sound kept coming. Half sob, half laughter. My sanity splitting at the seams.

"You know," I said, tilting my head, "if you hated me this much, you could've just left me at the hospital the day I was born. Or better yet, tossed me in a dumpster. Would've saved you the trouble of pretending I was ever part of this family."

A few of them froze.

I chuckled, bitter and breathless. "But no. You kept me around like a pet then acted surprised every time I shit on the carpet."

Stunned silence filled the hallway before Ryder's snarl shattered it. "So this was revenge? Because we finally told you the truth?" He took a menacing step toward me. "You had to get back at the family who fed and clothed you?"

His fist went up. I smiled and closed my eyes, waiting for impact. Wondering which tooth I'd lose this time.

The blow never landed.

CRACK.

My eyes flew open. Ryder's arm was wrenched mid-air, his fist frozen inches from my face. A large, veined hand had caught his wrist in a vice grip.

Atlas.

He'd appeared out of nowhere. One second it was just venom and violence. The next, he was standing between me and the blow meant to knock me out.

"You lay one more hand on her," Atlas's voice was low and venomous, "and I'll break every bone in your arm. Then I'll start on the other."

Ryder growled, trying to yank himself free. Atlas didn't budge. If anything, he twisted harder. A sickening pop echoed through the hallway as Ryder's knees buckled with a cry.

"Let go of me!"

"You first."

Atlas flung Ryder's arm aside like trash. My brother stumbled back, clutching his shoulder, but Atlas didn't spare him another glance.

Those familiar, infuriating green eyes locked on me. "I'm so sorry I couldn't make it, Selene." His warm hand cradled my jaw gently. He pulled out a small box, his expression hopeful and regretful. "I got you your birthday present."

He stroked my cheek like I was the most fragile thing in the world.

"Atlas," I muttered, my voice cracking as the dam broke.

His expression softened, worry etched into his features. "What happened? You're hurt. What—"

"She murdered our mother!" Ivy screamed, her voice threatening to shatter glass.

"You need to leave. Now." The gruff voice belonged to hospital security.

"My mother—"

"Only one family member can stay," he cut her off.

"We're leaving," Atlas said, helping me up.

I shook my head. "Mom was in an accident. She's—"

Atlas stroked my back. "These people won't let you stay." His voice dripped with disdain. "I'll take care of you. Your mom would understand."

I searched his face for the fear that filled every corner of mine, but found none.

"I can't leave her," I rasped. "If she dies and I'm not here—"

"She won't." His hand tightened on mine. "Willow is too strong. And you're going to walk out of this hospital on your feet, not curled up like roadkill in front of these animals. We'll sleep in my car in the parking lot."

I swallowed hard, glancing back at the closed room where they were trying to save Mom. But I knew I had to leave. We'd already caused a scene.

Behind us, Ivy and the others hurled insults like knives, but the nurse finally stepped in to push them back.

We stepped into the frigid night air and headed toward the red car I knew was Atlas's. My limbs were heavy, my body shaking as he guided me. I leaned against the car, taking a breath. My head spun, the smell of blood clinging to me like chains.

I looked back at the hospital as my family filed out. They all glared at me. I looked away.

Then my eyes fell on Atlas.

My heart crashed against my ribs. He was kneeling, the hospital light reflecting off the gem in the ring box he held out to me.

"Selene Jameson," he said, his voice trembling, "will you—"

"Atlas..." I breathed his name. My mom was fighting for her life. I wasn't what I thought I was. And now my boyfriend of two years was—

"Be mine to protect." His voice quivered with emotion.

I blinked at him. This boy who'd made me laugh after every birthday that wasn't celebrated. Who'd stopped the beatings from my brother and the bullies when Ivy spread nasty rumors. The man I'd given my kidney to, though it didn't hold a candle to everything he'd done for me.

I loved him so much it hurt to breathe.

But all I could think was: Why here? Why now?

My vision blurred as the ring caught the light, a tiny flare in all the darkness. My mother's condition weighed on me like an anvil dragging me underwater. I couldn't think about—

"I know it's insane," he said gently, those jade eyes holding mine in the dim parking lot. "I know you're overwhelmed and scared. But this is a promise ring. I made it for today, partly because I know they'll kick you out as soon as they can." He didn't need to look behind me to clarify who he meant.

"You made this?" My voice cracked.

He smiled genuinely. "Yeah. Melted my grandma's old pendant. She gave me the gem for it."

My lips trembled. Words were too scarce as he continued.

"I want you to look at this ring on your finger and know you're never alone. Let me protect you."

I crumpled. Before I could hit the pavement, his arms wrapped around me. I leaned into him as he slipped the ring on my finger.

"Happy birthday, Selene," he whispered, kissing my forehead.

In an instant, I heard it—a split second before the object made impact with the back of my head. My hand snapped back and caught it just as it grazed my skull. My muscles flexed in a spasm around the object, crushing it to dust.

The dust rained down over my shoulders.

A brick. Someone had thrown a brick at me.

Atlas spun around with a growl, his arm snapping out as he searched the shadows. Rage coiled in every muscle. "WHO THE HELL—"

Ivy stood there, eyes wide as saucers. Her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline as she stared at me. "How..." she croaked.

"Real mature," Atlas said snidely, taking my hand to examine the damage.

I zoned out. The ringing in my ears intensified as his soothing words faded. I heard clicks, one after another. My eyes focused, meeting jade green filled with surprise.

His words tuned back in as the ringing subsided. "When did you get a tattoo?" he asked, holding my wrist.

I looked down at what he meant. My eyes widened. My heart rate kicked up for the hundredth time today.

He wasn't joking. On my wrist was a marking—a crescent moon.

---

READER NOTICE

This book is a revised and improved edition of Vladimir's Marked Luna.

If you have already read Vladimir's Marked Luna, please note that Sold to the Frost Alpha contains the same core story with the following updates:

✨ Updated character names (Lilith → Selene, Vladimir → Mikhail, Caesar → Atlas, etc.)

✨ Refined prose and pacing optimized for webnovel reading

✨ Tightened dialogue and scenes for faster, more engaging flow

✨ Enhanced worldbuilding consistency

The plot, major scenes, and story arc remain the same.

This edition was created specifically for the WSA 2026 "Sold" contest with improvements based on reader feedback and professional editing.

If you've already purchased or read Vladimir's Marked Luna, you do not need to purchase this edition unless you want to support the new release or enjoy the polished version.

Thank you for your continued support! Your readership means everything.

— Lilac Everglade