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?