His Reluctant Mate

The city of Wysia, Kwangya. The year 2127.
For generations, two noble families—House Tokuno and House Oh—had been locked in a bitter feud. Their hatred ran deep, stained by bloodshed and revenge. Every attempt at peace ended in failure, with each truce shattered by new betrayals and violence. No one could remember what started the conflict. By now, it was a legacy passed down like a curse.

At the heart of the city's rule stood Duke Ismarn, a man feared even by the most powerful Alphas. Whenever war broke out between the families, it was Ismarn who silenced it—ruthlessly and without warning. His judgment was swift, his punishments brutal, and no one dared defy him.

When yet another skirmish broke out—this time during a grand ball he hosted in hopes of reconciling the two families—Ismarn's patience had at last reached its limit.

Both heads of the families had been gravely injured in the chaos. Confined to their beds, they could no longer lead directly—leaving the burden to their heirs.

Blood had been spilled, insults shouted across the ballroom floor. The heirs of both houses were injured, and the fragile peace shattered once again.

Ismarn delivered his verdict the very next morning.
If the heads of Tokuno and Oh could not make peace, then their children would.

By decree of the Duke, the heirs of both houses were to be married. Their union would be binding. Their firstborn would inherit both bloodlines—and both houses would answer to him.
Resistance would be seen as rebellion. And rebellion, in Ismarn's rule, was punishable by death.

Yushi stared at the letter with trembling hands.
His mother's voice echoed in his ears, brittle and exhausted as she tried to explain what had just happened.

"You are to marry the heir of House Oh."

No.
The words didn't make sense. They couldn't be real.

But the seal of Duke Ismarn on the parchment left no room for hope.
This was not a request. It was an order.

The same Ismarn who crushed rebellions with a whisper.
The same Ismarn who had the power to erase entire families from the registry of nobility.
Even Father—the proud Alpha who had led House Tokuno with unwavering strength for decades—had once said, "To defy Ismarn is to throw your life away."

And now... Yushi was being thrown into the lion's den.
Into the hands of the Oh heir.

Rumors about him were terrifying.
That he was cold as ice, cruel, a trueborn Alpha raised to lead through fear.
They said he could command with a look, and that even other Alphas lowered their heads in his presence.

What could someone like that want with an Omega like Yushi?

"I won't do it," Yushi whispered, backing away from his mother's pleading eyes.
"I can't marry someone like him... I won't!"

But even as the words left his lips, he saw it—the flicker in her eyes, the way her shoulders trembled under the weight of a burden she had no choice but to carry.
She wasn't just his mother. Now, in Father's place, she was also the acting head of House Tokuno.

"I'll speak with him," she said softly. "Maybe... maybe if we beg—"

Yushi looked up sharply.
She was trying to sound strong, trying to protect him like she always had.
Her voice was firm, but her fingers trembled as they clutched the edge of the letter.

"It's all right," she said again, forcing a smile.
"I won't let them take you. I'll find a way. Leave it to me."

He knew she meant every word.
But he also knew the fear behind her resolve.