Sena woke to whispers.
Her lashes fluttered, chest rising too fast, as if she were trapped in the dream again. For a heartbeat, she thought she was. The scent of smoke, pine, leather—them—still clung to her memory.
Her lips tingled, as though one of them had whispered her name there.
But when her eyes adjusted, she wasn't in her room.
The wide beams overhead. The faint smell of cedar and medicine. She recognized them immediately.
The infirmary.
Home.
Relief and dread washed over her in equal measure. If she was here, then last night hadn't been a dream.
Her hands fisted the thin blanket at her sides. Can I even trust myself anymore?
The hunger had followed her into sleep, coiling low in her belly, a gnawing ache that made no sense. It was wrong. She was wrong. Rankless. Useless. A Beta's daughter without a wolf.
The pack had always despised her for it. And now, of all people, they—the strongest, most feared Alphas alive—had looked at her like she was theirs.
Her chest squeezed. She could still hear it, echoing through her:
Mate.
"You're awake."
Sena startled.
Her best friend, Lira, leaned against the frame of her bed, arms crossed tight as if to hold herself together. Her eyes flicked toward the open infirmary doors before darting back to Sena.
"They're here," she whispered.
The words sank like stones in Sena's stomach. "Who?"
"You know who." Lira's mouth was a grim line. "The Crescent Moon Alphas. All four. They showed up at dawn. No warning. Just... walked in like they owned the place."
Sena's breath caught. Her wolf stirred again, clawing beneath her skin.
"Why?" she forced out, though she already knew.
"They told the Alpha they aren't leaving without something that belongs to them."
Her throat went dry.
Lira's gaze softened. "Sena... I think they meant you."
The blanket slipped from her hands. "That's impossible."
"Is it?" Lira's voice was quiet, but her eyes searched Sena's face. "You've felt it, haven't you? That pull? Like something's waking up?"
Sena swallowed hard. She couldn't lie. Not to Lira. Not when the truth burned through her veins like fire.
Her wolf—silent for twenty-two years—was answering them.
A crash of voices erupted from the main hall. Shouts. Gasps. The low, commanding timbre of a male voice. One Sena didn't need to see to recognize.
Heart pounding, she slid off the bed.
The infirmary doors opened onto a balcony overlooking the hall below. She shouldn't look.
She had to.
She crept forward, clutching the railing.
The hall was full. Her pack clustered in nervous knots, whispers sharp and cutting. All eyes were fixed on the four men in the center.
Kael. Rian. Loran. Thorne.
Even standing still, their presence dominated the room. Power radiated off them like heat from a forge, bending the very air. No one dared come close.
Her wolf surged at the sight of them.
Her body leaned forward before her mind caught up, desperate to close the distance. She gripped the railing tighter, nails biting into wood.
And then Kael's silver gaze lifted—straight to her.
The noise died instantly. Every head turned, following his stare until the entire pack was looking at her.
Sena froze, breath caught like a snare in her throat.
Whispers hissed through the silence.
Her? No—
She hasn't even shifted.
She's nothing.
Why would they—
Her stepmother's voice sliced through, venomous and cold.
"This is ridiculous. Her? She's useless. An embarrassment. They must be mistaken."
Her stepsisters snickered loud enough for all to hear.
"Maybe they're desperate."
"Or cursed."
Laughter rippled.
Heat crawled up Sena's neck, shame pressing her down like a weight.
Her father stood at the front, facing the brothers. He didn't flinch at their claim. He didn't defend her. His eyes were sharp, calculating, already measuring profit and loss.
Sena's stomach churned. Why doesn't he deny them? Why doesn't he protect me?
Kael stepped forward. His voice rolled through the room, deep and certain, silencing every murmur.
"She's ours."
Gasps. Protests.
"No!" her stepmother shrieked, face twisting with rage. "She is nothing. She would ruin you."
Loran's growl ripped through the hall like thunder. Primal. Furious.
His amber eyes glowed, pinning her stepmother in place.
"Careful," he rumbled. "She is ours."
The sound reverberated through Sena's bones, her wolf surging in wild answer. Her knees shook.
Her father raised a hand, voice smooth and calculated.
"If this bond is real, perhaps an arrangement can be made. A deal."
A deal.
Her stomach dropped. He wasn't outraged. He wasn't horrified. He was already offering her up—not as a daughter, but as a bargaining chip.
The hall erupted again, voices clashing, fear and anger tangling into chaos.
But Sena didn't hear them.
Her vision blurred at the edges. Her chest tightened, breath coming too fast. She could feel her wolf pushing, frantic, restless, as if it already knew what was coming.
Her father would trade her.
Her stepmother would rejoice.
Her pack would cheer to be rid of her.
She wasn't safe here. She never had been.
Her hands clenched the railing until her knuckles ached. The pull toward the brothers burned hotter with every breath, her wolf straining against her ribs, but panic was stronger.
She couldn't stay. Not another second.
Her decision settled sharp and cold in her chest.
She had to run.
The moment the crowd erupted again, she slipped back from the balcony. Her footsteps were silent against the wooden floor.
The corridor stretched before her, shadowed and empty.
She pressed a hand to her pounding chest, forcing herself forward.
If she could reach the woods—maybe she could think. Maybe she could breathe. Maybe she could finally escape.