Unceasing rain fell, drenching me with a fragment of bone and leaving icy drops on my skin. But nothing could numb the words that pierced my soul.

“I, Xaden Stormborn, reject you, Nyx Lunaris, as my mate.”

The crowd hushed, their breaths caught in anticipation as his voice, like steel, sliced through the air. His gray eyes bore into mine with disgust and finality, as if casting aside something unworthy.

I stood frozen, the world around me crumbling as he stepped closer, his towering form blocking the little light left in the stormy sky.

“Do you hear me?” His voice dropped, quieter now, colder. “I, Xaden Stormborn, Alpha of the Crimson Howl Pack, reject you. You are nothing to me, Nyx Lunaris.”

I was struck by the words more forcefully than any blow did. I blinked in the hopes that this nightmare would end. But no. This was real.

I heard him, I'm alright. I was nothing to him. However, I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of watching me break down in front of the pack and him.

“I, Nyx Lunaris, accept your rejection, Alpha Xaden.”

He turned away, the rain bouncing off his broad shoulders, leaving me shattered and broken before the entire Crimson Howl Pack. Their eyes, their whispers, their laughter. It was the same all over again. My whole life… nothing but a cruel joke.

But this moment wasn’t the beginning of my suffering. No, it started long before this. It started the day I was born.

***

“Her name will be Nyx Lunaris, beautiful and smart,” the pack seer had announced the day I was born, hope and pride filling the air of the Ashfang Pack’s grand hall.

“And her wolf?” my father asked, impatiently lacing his voice.

Silence. A pause too long. The seer’s voice dropped to a whisper. “She doesn’t have one.”

My father’s face was drained of color. He slumped on his throne like a man watching his legacy crumble before his eyes. No wolf. His child, his favorite wife's only child, who had been the cause of her death, was born wolfless.

It took healers days to coax him back from the brink of despair. But the damage was done. From that moment on, I was marked; different, unwanted. An embarrassment to my family.

***

Years passed, and while my siblings celebrated their transformations, running through the woods as majestic wolves, I stayed human. The weak one.

“You can never amount to anything. So, stop acting like you belong to this royal family,” they would always say.

And sometimes, it makes me wonder if the Universe was punishing me because I'd lived an evil way in my previous life. Could this have been the Moon Goddess's way of punishing me?

“You’re such a disgrace,” Seraphine, my eldest sister, sneered, slapping the wet cloth from my hands as I scrubbed the floors of the pack’s great hall. “Look at you. Pathetic.”

My knees ached from the hard stone floor, and my fingers were red and raw. But I didn’t say anything. What could I say? She was right. I was pathetic. A royal child who couldn’t shift, who couldn’t fight. All I was good for was cleaning, serving, and trying to stay out of the way.

Aria and Cassandra snickered from the doorway, watching me as if I were some animal in a cage. “Father should’ve thrown her to the woods long ago,” Aria said. “Why keep her around? She’s a freak.”

I kept scrubbing, tears stinging my eyes, but never falling. Crying wouldn’t help. It never did.

“Enough,” Aldr, ic the first so, said, stepping forward, his expression softening for a moment. He was the only one who ever showed me any kindness. But he was irresponsible. “Let her finish her work.”

Seraphine rolled her eyes, turning to leave. “I can’t wait until Father finally gets rid of her when she turns twenty. It’s embarrassing to even call her our sister.”

“Leave, Seraphine,” he said through gritted teeth.

That evening, I stood at the back of the dining hall, serving as my family feasted. Their laughter filled the room, but I stayed silent, my mind wandering to the future. What would happen to me now that I'm past eighteen and almost twenty? Would I be cast out into the woods, as Father had always threatened?

“Father,” Seraphine spoke up, her voice full of curiosity, “what are we going to do about the Rogues? They’re becoming more of a problem.”

Aldric nodded in agreement, his expression clouded with worry. “Yes, father. I got the news this morning that they attacked the Reds, who stay a few miles away from us. How much longer before they get here?”

My father’s eyes darkened, setting his goblet down with a thud. “They won't. I’ve already found a solution.”

The table fell silent.

“I’ve made a deal with Alpha Xaden Stormborn.”

Gasps echoed around the table. Even I flinched at the name. The most ruthless Alpha known to our kind is feared across the lands. His name is known to send fear down the spine of even the best warriors.

One time, I had listened in on the elders' gathering at the palace over him. He had ripped apart three different Rogue wolves. What could father possibly offer a devilish man like that?

“What deal?” Aldric asked cautiously.

Father leaned back, a wicked smirk crossing his face. “In exchange for soldiers and weapons to protect our pack, I’ve agreed to give him something he wants.”

“What does he want?” Seraphine asked, excitement dancing in her eyes.

My father’s eyes flicked to me, and suddenly, my stomach dropped.

I heard it coming. Even before the words left his mouth, I knew.

“He wants a daughter.”

My heart stopped. No…

“And who better to offer than the one who adds no value to our pack?”

Every eye turned to me. As my hands trembled, the pitcher I had been holding slipped out of my hands and fell to the ground.

Father didn’t flinch. “Xaden Stormborn will be here tomorrow. Prepare yourself.”

My blood ran cold. Xaden Stormborn—tomorrow. The man whose name alone struck fear into the hearts of packs. The man is known for his brutality.

And I was being handed over to him. Like property. Like nothing.

Trying to find any sign of mercy, any clue that perhaps this was a cruel joke, I peered into my father's eyes. But all I saw was resolve. This was real.

Tomorrow, I will be sold. Tomorrow, my life will change forever.

Or maybe… it would end.

My body quivered as I fixed my gaze on my father. I muttered, barely heard over the cracking of the hearth, "You can't be serious."

His emotionless, frigid gaze flitted in my direction. “I’ve never been more serious, Zara.”

Panic surged through me. “Father, please. You can’t do this. I’m your daughter.”

With a voice as sharp as a dagger, he proclaimed, "I am the Alpha of this pack." "And I do whatever is required to guarantee its survival."

I took one step forward, heart pounding in my chest. “But to sell me off like… like I mean nothing?” My voice cracked. “To him?”

Father’s expression hardened, his nostrils flaring. “Do not question me, Zara. You’ve been a burden to this pack since the day you were born. You’ve brought nothing but shame to me and our name. So yes, you don’t mean anything to me.”

I recoiled as if he had slapped me. I honestly wish that had happened instead of this. His words cut deeper than any wound. “I’ve served this pack all my life, done everything you ever asked of me. How can you just…”

“Enough!” His voice boomed, silencing me. His eyes glinted dangerously. “You will do as you’re told willingly, or I will have you thrown into the dungeon, where you will stay there without food and water until Xaden arrives.”

I swallowed hard, tears burning behind my eyes. There was no reasoning with him. He was steadfast in his decision-making. There would be no amount of begging or pleading with him to change his mind. I was just curious about him since he had made a deal.

I pressed my lip, fighting back the tears that would have otherwise strangled me. This could not be avoided.

Tomorrow, I would be sold, and no one cared. No one ever had.

***

That night, I slept very little. I lay on the hard, chilly floor of my tiny chamber, dreading the coming of daylight, and the hours passed slowly. Every creak of the old wooden door made my heart race, every sound a reminder that soon I’d be taken away, handed over to a man who was feared across all packs.

Seraphine awakened me with a stern voice when the light came up. Her expression was one of contempt as she yelled, "Get up." "The time has come."

The outfit I wore was a basic, elegant dress that felt like shreds against my flesh, yet it was the most luxurious thing I had. It was my mother’s. My hands trembled when I braided my hair in an attempt to look respectable. Yet I understood it was irrelevant. There wasn't even a chance I could feel like something more than an object being sold.

Upon finishing, my legs had a jelly-like sensation. Seraphine took me through the hallway and into the outdoor space, where the others had assembled. My heart was thumping hard in the center of my body as I was pulled through the throng, with many of them staring at me with amusement and some sympathy.

When we reached the center, I saw him.

Xaden Stormborn.

He sat on the large stone throne, surrounded by his men, his presence overwhelming. His dark hair was slicked back, his posture rigid, radiating power. His icy, astute eyes glanced over the throng before settling on me. I kept my eyes fixed on the ground, breathing heavily, and my heart racing, afraid to look him in the eyes.

“This is what you’re offering me?” Xaden’s voice was deep and commanding, cutting through the tense air like a blade. The power in it made my knees wobble, the sheer authority sending a chill down my spine.

I dared to glance up for a moment, only to see the way he eyed me—like I was a piece of meat, something to be examined and weighed. His expression was unreadable, but I could feel the judgment in his stare.

For a brief, heart-stopping moment, I thought he might refuse. Maybe he would decide I wasn’t good enough for him. Maybe this nightmare would end before it even began.

“Is she the wolfless one?” he asked, his gaze never leaving me.

My father stepped forward, his voice smooth, as though he were negotiating for cattle. I have never heard his voice so calm before.. “She is. But she’s obedient and does whatever she’s told. You’ll find no trouble with her.”

My stomach twisted at the words. This wasn’t a life. This was a sentence.

Xaden stood, and I could hear the rustle of the crowd shifting uncomfortably. The sound of his boots crunching on the gravel accompanied his slow, deliberate steps towards me. My heart raced so fast with every stride that I felt like I would pass out.

Then he stopped, towering over me. I could feel the weight of his presence, the force of his power, as he reached out, his fingers catching my chin.

I had to look him in the eyes after he tipped my face upward.

They had a wavelength that rendered me little and unimportant, and they had the color of a storm—gray and ferocious. I worried if he might have heard the quiet scream in my chest or if he might have felt my terror as he examined me for what seemed like an eternity.

However, there was a little flicker in his eyes. Something… strange. For a split second, I thought I caught a glimpse of hesitancy, a break in his steely exterior.

Perhaps…just perhaps, he might have second thoughts.

But just as quickly, his face hardened again, and whatever moment we shared was gone. His grip tightened on my chin, and then, without warning, he spun me around, handling me like I was some object he was inspecting.

I gasped at the roughness of his touch, but I didn’t dare move or speak.

“She’ll do,” he said coldly, letting go of me with a shove. I stumbled forward but caught myself before falling.

My stomach dropped to the floor as my heart did. He would not back down. He was taking me.

I tried not to cry, my nails digging into the palms of my hands as I balled my fists. There was no escape from this. No mercy.

As Xaden turned to speak with my father, sealing the deal that would change my life forever, I could only stand there, my eyes fixed on the ground. The future I had feared was now my reality.

And deep down, I knew…

Life under Alpha Xaden Stormborn would be hell.

The air was thick with tension, but the deal was done. My fate was sealed. I felt like a prisoner awaiting her sentence, my heart heavy with dread.

As Xaden’s men gathered around him, preparing to take me away, I heard one of them murmur something under his breath.

“She doesn't know exactly what's about to happen.”

Even though the words made me shiver to the bone, I refused to exhibit the fear that was about to overwhelm me by lowering my eyes.

But as I shivered there, a chilly certainty descended upon me.

I was leaving one prison for another. And this one… might break me.