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.

Hayley POV:

The "Future Luna Welcome Party" was in full swing. I was a ghost in a grey uniform, serving champagne.

Dean took the stage, radiating power. Karina stood beside him, draped in diamonds.

"Next month, under the Blood Moon, I will officially mark Karina as my Luna," Dean announced.

Applause thundered. Karina scanned the room, her predator eyes landing on me.

"Hayley!" she called out. The room went silent. "Come here!"

I walked forward.

"Since you're practically family," she said, voice dripping with syrup, "didn't you get me a gift?"

Public humiliation. The crowd murmured.

"Actually," I said, my voice steady. "I did."

I reached into my apron pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box. Karina snatched it, eyes lighting up with greed. She opened the lid.

A scream pierced the air. She threw the box. Out tumbled a large, hairy garden spider.

"She tried to kill me!" she shrieked.

"You asked for a gift," I said, my voice ringing out. "I thought a creature that spins webs of lies and sucks the life out of others would be the perfect companion for you."

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

Dean's face went purple. He stepped off the stage. "You dare insult my mate?"

"She is not your mate," I said, deadpan. "She is a parasite. And you are a blind fool."

The slap echoed like a gunshot. I fell to the ground, tasting copper.

"Get her out of my sight," Dean roared. "Take her to the pool deck. If she wants to play with water, let's see how well she swims."

The night air by the pool was heavy with chlorine.

"You really ruined the mood," Karina said, stepping up beside me. The guests watched through the glass walls.

She uncorked a vial and poured a thick, purple liquid into the pool. Wolfsbane.

"Oops," she giggled. Then, she shoved me.

I hit the water. The concentrated wolfsbane extract mixed with the chlorine, soaking into my pores like liquid fire. It was a paralytic. My limbs turned to stone. I sank.

"Help!" Karina screamed, throwing herself onto the wet tiles and rolling into the water. "She pulled me in!"

Dean burst through the doors. He dove in.

My heart gave a painful thud. He came.

He cut through the water toward me. I reached out a hand, fingers numb.

He didn't take it. He placed a hand on my chest and shoved me down, hard, using my body as leverage to propel himself toward Karina.

I watched his legs kick upward, bubbles rising, as I was pushed deeper into the toxic silence.

He saved the mistress. He drowned the mate.

Black spots danced in my vision. Suddenly, rough hands grabbed my dress. A guard hauled me up, dropping me on the concrete like a sack of wet laundry.

Dean was wrapping a towel around a shivering, smirking Karina.

"She tried to drown me!" Karina wailed.

Dean looked at me, retching on the concrete. His eyes were voids, completely black.

"Get her out of here," Dean said, his voice dead.

"Where, Alpha?"

"The Blood Pit."

The guard stiffened. "The rogue fighting ring? She won't last five minutes."

"Then let's hope she learns fast."