CLAIRE POV:

"The Shadow Market" was a cavernous, chaotic bazaar. Stalls were packed together, selling everything from antiques and weapons to rare herbs and forbidden magical items. The air was thick with the smells of blood, spices, and the cloying tang of werewolf pheromones.

This was a gray zone, outside the law. A place of opportunity.

My goal was simple. Use my knowledge as an ancient runemaster and appraiser to find one undervalued object. One score to fund my new life.

I moved through the crowded aisles, my eyes scanning. Stall owners gave me predatory looks, seeing a young, poorly dressed girl who looked like easy prey.

I ignored them. My mind was a whirlwind of analysis, calculating the age, material, and potential worth of everything I saw.

Then I stopped.

A stall was piled high with rusted metal and other junk. The owner, a scrawny man, barely glanced up from his phone.His name was written on the shop sign next door: Jed Hicks.

My eyes were drawn to a small wooden box in the corner. I opened it. Inside was a tangle of grimy, rusted coins.

I sifted through them, my fingers brushing against metal. Then I felt it. A cold, smooth coin with a distinct pattern.

My heart gave a single, hard thump.

This was it.

The coin was stamped with an ancient runic pattern of the Moon Goddess. It was a commemorative coin from the long-lost "Festival of the Moon's Tear." Only a handful were known to exist.

I closed my hand around it, hiding my excitement. I looked up at Jed. "How much for these coins?"

Jed snorted. "Why would you want that junk, little girl? Fifty bucks for the whole pile, take your pick."

I pulled out the single Moon's Tear coin. "I don't want the pile. Just this one. But I only have five hundred dollars left on me. Will you sell it to me?"

I deliberately offered a price far above his "junk" valuation, creating the illusion of a foolish girl with more money than sense.

Jed stared at me for a second, then shot a mocking look at the neighboring stall owner. They shared a smirk, as if they'd just spotted the biggest idiot in the world.

"Sold!" he said, his voice suddenly greasy with fake charm. "Of course! You have a great eye, little girl!" He snatched the five hundred dollars from my hand before I could change my mind.

I heard a few snickers from the crowd around us. A passing werewolf shook his head at me, muttering to his friend, "Another newbie getting scammed."

I slipped the coin into my pocket and turned to leave.

"Wait a moment, young lady."

The voice was old but carried an undeniable authority.

I turned back. An elderly man in a fine, old-fashioned suit, leaning on a silver-headed cane, was approaching. He was flanked by a butler and another man in sharp glasses who looked like a scholar.

I recognized him instantly. Arthur Sterling.The retired Alpha of the Sterling Dominion, a living legend and war hero.

Arthur's eyes, sharp as a hawk's, were fixed on the pocket where I'd put the coin. His breathing was shallow. "Young lady, the coin in your hand... may I see it?"

I met his gaze calmly and held it out.

The man with the glasses saw the coin and his face went slack with shock. "My God!" he gasped. "It's the 'Moon's Tear'!"

The snickers around us died instantly. Every head turned, every eye fixed on the small, grimy coin in my hand.

Jed the stall owner's face turned a pasty white.

Arthur Sterling took a deep, shuddering breath. His voice trembled when he spoke to me. "Young lady... this coin... I will give you five million dollars for it. Will you sell it to me?"