Hayley POV:

I didn't die. But Brennen's plan required one last performance. "You must go back," he'd said. "Play the victim so the death looks real."

Dragged back to the penthouse by guards who found me "unconscious," I stood in the foyer two days later, arm in a sling, smelling of burnt flesh and antiseptic.

"You're alive," Karina said from the velvet sofa, filing her nails. "How disappointing."

She walked over, heels clicking on marble. "Dean and I decided the guest room is too drafty. I'm moving into the Master Suite."

My heart stopped. The Master Suite was the only place that smelled entirely of Dean-my only sanctuary to soothe the rejected bond.

"No," I said. "That's where I sleep. I need the scent to heal."

"You're a glorified pet, Hayley. Get your things out. You're sleeping in the servant's quarters in the basement."

"I won't," I said, defiant.

Karina's eyes flashed. She threw herself backward into a side table. A vase shattered.

"Ah!" she screamed. "Hayley! Stop!"

The elevator pinged. Dean stormed out, aura flaring. "What is happening?"

"She pushed me!" Karina sobbed. "I asked her to help with my bags, and she attacked me!"

"I didn't!" I cried. "Dean, use your senses! You know I wouldn't hurt anyone!"

Dean looked at us. His pupils were dilated, his expression vaguely confused, as if fighting through a fog. He sniffed the air, but then shook his head, the hardness returning to his eyes. He chose her. Again.

"Kneel."

The Alpha Command slammed into me, a biological imperative crushing my will. My knees hit the marble with a crack.

"You attacked my future Luna," Dean loomed over me. "Take her to the Quiet Room."

"Dean, please," I begged through the mind-link. It has silver in the ventilation. It will kill me.

Then maybe you'll learn to behave, his voice echoed, cold and distant.

Guards dragged me to the windowless concrete cell. The door slammed. Then came the hiss.

Fine, glittering silver dust drifted from the vents. It touched my skin like microscopic embers. I curled into a ball, screaming silently as the dust settled into my unhealed wounds. It felt like an acid bath.

Hours later, the door opened.

"Get up," Dean ordered. He hauled me up, ignoring my flinch. "Clean yourself up. We have the Charity Auction tonight. You will smile, and you will show everyone how benevolent I am. Do not embarrass me."

Hayley POV:

The auction house was a sea of black ties. I stood behind Dean and Karina, my high-collared dress hiding the bandages, the fabric rubbing against raw skin.

"Lot 45. A rare, antique Moonstone pendant."

My head snapped up. My mother's necklace. Dean had donated it for a tax write-off.

"Opening bid at five thousand."

Dean, I reached out through the mind-link. Please. That's Mom's. You promised.

Dean stiffened but didn't turn. He swirled his champagne.

I'll do anything. I'll sleep in the kennel. Just please.

"Twenty thousand," Dean said smoothly.

Hope bloomed in my chest.

"Thirty thousand!" Karina chirped, raising her paddle. She looked back at me, a wicked glint in her eyes.

"One hundred thousand," Dean finished it.

"Sold! To Alpha Dean Lee!"

Dean collected the velvet box. I took a small step forward, hand trembling. "Thank you, Dean."

He opened the box. The moonstone glowed.

"Beautiful," Dean said. "Here, darling. For you."

He bypassed me and fastened the necklace around Karina's ankle.

"An anklet?" Karina laughed. "You spoil me."

She stood up, took a step, and brought her stiletto heel down hard.

Crunch.

"Oh no!" Karina gasped, looking at the shattered dust. "I'm so clumsy! Dean, look, I broke your gift."

"It's fine," Dean said, his eyes glassy. "It was just a cheap rock. I'll buy you diamonds."

I stared at the white powder. That was my mother. That was my sanity.

I woke up on the cold tiles of the servant's quarters.

"Here," Karina's voice came from the doorway. She held a bowl. "Dean said you need to eat."

She placed the bowl on the floor like I was a dog.

"Where is Patches?" I asked, my voice trembling. The stray cat I'd been hiding was my only friend.

Karina smiled, leaning against the doorframe. "That shedding beast? I had the groundskeeper take care of it. Put it in a sack and tossed it in the river. Or maybe the incinerator? I forget."

I froze.

"Dean gave permission," she continued. "He said, 'Get rid of the pest.' So we did."

My stomach convulsed. They had taken my mother's memory. They had taken my dignity. Now, they had killed the only living thing that loved me.

I closed my eyes. I didn't pray for Dean to love me anymore. I prayed for him to suffer.

Hayley POV:

A scream tore from my throat. I launched myself at Karina.

She stepped aside easily and shoved me. I flew into the wall, cracking my head.

"Dean!" she shrieked, faking terror. "Help! The mutt is crazy!"

Dean appeared, filling the doorway. He took in the scene: me, bloody, and Karina, acting terrified. Again, that sweet, sickly scent wafted from her, seeming to cloud the room. Dean didn't check for truth.

He grabbed me by the throat, lifting me off my feet. "I give you shelter, and you attack my mate?"

"She killed Patches," I choked out.

"It was a pest!" Dean roared, slamming me back. "Clean up this mess."

He pointed to the overturned water bowl. "Use your tongue."

I looked at him, horror freezing my blood.

"You act like an animal, you drink like an animal," he said.

I lowered my head. I grabbed a rag instead, scrubbing silently. Dean watched, satisfied, then wrapped his arm around Karina. "Come, baby. Let's get your nails fixed."

They left.

I sat in the mess. My burner phone buzzed.

New Message: Tomorrow night. The Gala. Get the Blue File from his study. Coordinates for the mines. That is your ticket out.

I waited until evening. I crept into Dean's study. The safe combination was his birthday. Narcissist.

Click.

I found the Blue File. Illegal silver mining operations. Treason.

"Alpha, heading back up," the intercom crackled.

Panic seized me. I couldn't take the physical file; he'd notice. I pulled out the burner phone and snapped rapid-fire photos of the coordinates and offshore accounts.

North 45, West 72. Account Cayman 8890...

The elevator chimed. I shoved the file back, spun the dial, and dove under the heavy oak desk.

Dean walked in with Karina.

"Does it feel better?" Dean asked, his voice tender.

"A little," Karina sighed. I saw her red heels stop right in front of the desk. "But Dean... that girl. She's bad luck."

"She's useful bait," Dean said, sitting in the chair above me. "Once the rogues are wiped out, we can send her to the mines."

My blood ran cold. The mines were a death sentence.

"Promise?" Karina asked, climbing onto his lap.

"I promise. You are my future. She is nothing."

I clamped my hand over my mouth to stifle a sob, listening to the man created for my soul promise to murder me.