"A rare beauty, untouched by any Alpha, fit to be a Luna. Shall we begin the bidding?"

My breath caught as my fiancé, Alpha Kade Rowan, gave me away like a prize for the highest bidder—not to an enemy or rogue pack, but to a room full of wealthy Alphas.

"One hundred thousand."

"Two hundred thousand," came the response.

I turned to Kade, hoping he'd stop this, but he only leaned back, swirling his drink, amused.

I had devoted years to him, yet now, I was nothing but entertainment.

"Half a million," someone called.

The room went still.

Then, Alpha Lucian Blackwood appeared. His name alone sent a ripple through the crowd—he wasn’t just any Alpha. His presence was so overwhelming that even the strongest men hesitated before him.

"I’m not going anywhere with you." My voice was steady, though my heart raced.

"I always get what I want," Lucian said, his gaze intense, locking onto me from the shadows.

"One way or another."

....

My fiancé had given me away like a sheep to slaughter.

Not to an enemy. Not to a rogue pack. But to a room full of the wealthiest Alphas, where they would bid on me like I was nothing more than a possession to be bought and claimed.

He had put me on auction.

And he was enjoying it.

The realization crushed me, made it impossible to breathe as I stood frozen under the glare of the crystal chandeliers. Around me, powerful men lounged in velvet chairs, sipping expensive whiskey, their eyes hungry and assessing. The air was thick with the scent of dominance, wealth, and something darker—something that told me that no matter how much I wanted to run, I wouldn’t make it out of here untouched.

A voice echoed over the microphone, smooth and practiced.

"And now, the highlight of our evening—the most exquisite offering of the night."

The crowd shifted, eager. My stomach twisted into knots.

A few minutes earlier…

The evening had started like any other social event in the elite werewolf world—grand, suffocating, and designed to flaunt power. The auction itself was a tradition among the most powerful packs, where rare and expensive things were sold to the highest bidder. Exotic artifacts. Historic weapons. Even private islands.

But never people.

Or so I had thought.

I had been standing beside my fiancé, Alpha Kade Rowan, sipping from a crystal flute of champagne, pretending to enjoy myself. The weight of his arm around my waist was familiar but empty, like an accessory he wore rather than an embrace.

Kade was beautiful in a ruthless way—tall, broad-shouldered, with striking golden eyes that had once made me believe he saw me as more than a prize. But now, as I caught the smug tilt of his lips, that belief shattered.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the host’s voice boomed. "We have a surprise addition to our auction tonight—an exclusive, one-of-a-kind opportunity."

The moment the spotlight swung toward me, my blood turned to ice.

There was a split second where I thought it had been a mistake. That they meant someone else.

Then I felt Kade’s hand slide from my waist as he leaned close to my ear, his voice a whisper of amusement.

"Go on," he murmured.

I turned to him, my heart slamming against my ribs. "What the hell is this?"

He smirked. "Relax. It’s just for fun."

Fun.

He had put me up for sale.

My breath came in sharp bursts, but the host was already speaking. "A rare beauty, untouched by any other Alpha, fit to be a Luna of the highest caliber. Shall we begin the bidding?"

Laughter rippled through the crowd as the first offer came in.

"One hundred thousand."

A new wave of dread slammed into me.

"Two hundred thousand," someone else countered.

I turned to Kade, waiting for him to stop this, to realize how disgusting it was. But he didn’t. He merely leaned back in his chair, swirling his drink, watching.

Amused.

I had spent years at his side. I had devoted myself to him. And yet, in this moment, I meant nothing more than entertainment.

"Half a million," someone called.

I barely registered the gasps around me, the rising excitement. My ears were ringing, my vision blurring as I swallowed back the burn of betrayal.

I wasn’t even a person to them.

I was property.

A hollow ache spread in my chest as the bids climbed higher. The host’s voice rang with excitement.

"Six hundred thousand!"

"Seven!"

"Nine hundred thousand!"

The crowd fell silent, anticipation thickening the air. I held my breath, my fingers trembling. This was it. Someone was about to claim me.

And then—

"One million."

The room froze.

The voice that spoke wasn’t loud, but it didn’t need to be. It carried something far more dangerous than volume. It carried power.

The weight of his presence settled over me before I even saw him.

Slowly, the sea of elite Alphas parted, revealing him.

Alpha Lucian Blackwood.

His name alone sent a ripple of unease through the gathering. He wasn’t just another Alpha. He was a force—silent, unreadable, with an aura so overwhelming that even the strongest men hesitated in his presence.

He sat in the shadows, his gaze locked onto me with an intensity that made my breath hitch. He wasn’t grinning like the others. Wasn’t entertained.

No. He was claiming.

The host struggled to find his voice. "O-One million going once…"

Silence.

No one dared to counter.

"Going twice…"

I turned to Kade, desperate, my eyes begging him to do something.

He didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

Because to him, this was still a game.

"Sold!" The gavel struck down.

A finality I couldn’t escape.

The room erupted into murmurs, but all I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat, uneven and frantic.

Lucian rose from his seat, moving through the room with slow, deliberate steps. He was even taller up close, his shoulders broad beneath the tailored black suit that did nothing to soften the raw dominance radiating from him.

He stopped at the foot of the stage.

Close. Too close.

My breathing shallowed as I forced myself to lift my chin, to meet the storm brewing in his dark eyes.

He didn’t speak immediately. He just looked at me, as if seeing something no one else had. As if I wasn’t just an auction item, but something… more.

I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms. "I’m not going anywhere with you."

The crowd held its breath.

Lucian tilted his head slightly, considering my defiance.

And then, in a voice so calm it sent shivers down my spine, he said—

"Come with me."

The room was silent.

Hundreds of eyes were on me, waiting for my reaction, for my obedience. The air was thick with dominance and power, the weight of it suffocating. But I refused to be swallowed by it.

I lifted my chin, my voice steady despite the storm inside me.

"I’m not going anywhere with you."

A flicker of surprise crossed Alpha Lucian Blackwood’s face, there and gone in an instant. He was a man who commanded absolute control, a force no one dared defy.

Yet, I had just done exactly that.

The murmurs in the crowd grew louder. No one refused Lucian Blackwood.

He stood there, watching me with an unreadable expression. Then, to my shock, he smirked. Not with amusement, but something else—something almost… intrigued.

"I always get what I want," he murmured, his deep voice sending a shiver down my spine. "One way or another."

And then, just like that, he turned and walked away.

I didn’t realize I had been holding my breath until I let it out in a shaky exhale. My knees felt weak, my pulse erratic, but I forced myself to stay upright. The moment Lucian disappeared from sight, the tension in the room snapped, and the murmurs turned into full conversations.

I wasn’t sure if the crowd was more shocked by my defiance or the fact that Lucian had actually let me go.

I didn’t care.

I needed to get out of here.

---

Back at the Packhouse

The drive back to Kade’s pack was a blur, my mind replaying the night’s events over and over. The auction. The bidding war. Lucian’s dark promise.

And Kade’s betrayal.

He had watched me stand on that stage, terrified and humiliated. And he had done nothing.

I expected him to be furious when we arrived back at the packhouse. Maybe he would yell. Maybe he would grab me, shake me, demand to know why I had embarrassed him in front of the other Alphas.

Instead—he laughed.

I stood frozen in the grand foyer, my heart hammering as his deep chuckle filled the room. Several of his pack members were around, lounging on the expensive furniture, their interest piqued by his amusement.

He turned to me, still grinning, as if this was all one big joke. "You should’ve seen your face up there, baby. Priceless."

I felt my stomach drop.

"You… think this is funny?" I asked, my voice hollow.

Kade shook his head, still smirking. "Come on, you’re being dramatic. It was just for fun. You take things too seriously."

For fun.

For fun.

I stared at him, the man I had once believed loved me, and for the first time, I saw him for what he truly was.

A selfish, power-hungry bastard.

"You humiliated me," I whispered, my throat tight.

His smirk didn’t falter. "I gave them a show. Besides, I knew you’d never leave. That’s why I wasn’t worried."

I took a step back, my pulse pounding in my ears. "You knew I wouldn’t leave? What the hell does that mean?"

Kade’s golden eyes darkened slightly, his amusement fading just enough to reveal something colder underneath. "It means you belong to me, sweetheart. No matter what happens, you’ll always come back."

The words sent ice through my veins.

I belonged to him?

I clenched my fists at my sides. "You don’t own me."

His smirk returned, but this time, there was a sharpness to it. "Keep telling yourself that, baby. Now, stop acting crazy and come to bed."

He turned, expecting me to follow.

And I realized—he didn’t even think I had a choice.

He truly believed I would stay, no matter how badly he treated me.

No matter how much he hurt me.

Because he thought I had nowhere else to go.

I couldn’t sleep.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the way Kade had smirked at me. The way he had laughed off everything.

And Lucian Blackwood’s voice whispered in the back of my mind.

"I always get what I want."

I shoved the thought away and stared at the ceiling. The packhouse was eerily quiet at this hour, the only sounds coming from the occasional footsteps of patrolling guards outside.

Restless, I sat up. I needed water. Maybe a walk.

Padding down the dark hallway, I turned toward the kitchen when I heard voices—low and hushed.

I stopped.

Kade’s voice.

I frowned and stepped closer, pressing myself against the wall near the slightly ajar office door.

"I can’t believe she actually thought I was serious," Kade scoffed.

A chuckle from another pack member. "She really got all worked up over it, huh?"

Kade laughed again. "You should’ve seen her face. I thought she was going to cry."

"You sure it was a good idea, though? What if she actually left with Blackwood?"

"As if," Kade scoffed. "She’s too damn loyal. I could throw her into a pit of rogues, and she’d still crawl back to me."

My breath hitched.

He kept talking, oblivious to my presence.

"Besides, the whole thing was hilarious. The way she stood up there, all scared and confused… fuck, it was the best entertainment I’ve had in weeks."

My heart shattered.

It hadn’t just been a mistake. It hadn’t been a lapse in judgment.

He had planned it.

Planned my humiliation. Planned my betrayal.

For his own entertainment.

The air in my lungs turned razor-sharp, cutting through me as I fought the urge to burst into the room and scream.

----

I barely slept.

Even after the sun rose, my body felt heavy, my mind a tangled mess of thoughts I couldn’t escape. Kade’s voice still echoed in my head.

"She’s too damn loyal. I could throw her into a pit of rogues, and she’d still crawl back to me."

The worst part?

He wasn’t wrong.

I had stayed. I had endured. And even now, after everything, a part of me still hesitated.

Because leaving meant walking away from everything I had ever known.

My pack. My home. My life.

And what if… what if there was nowhere else for me?