The rain beat against the windows of the Vale estate, each drop a reminder of how quickly everything in Seraphina's life had unraveled. The once-grand halls of her family's home had grown cold and hollow, the echoes of laughter and warmth replaced by silence. Dust clung to the chandeliers, and the velvet curtains sagged under years of neglect. The grandeur had not faded by time alone—it had been swallowed by debt.
Seraphina sat at the edge of her father's study, hands knotted tightly in her lap. Edmund Vale, once a respected name in the region, now slumped behind his desk with his face buried in trembling hands. His hair, streaked with gray, seemed to have aged a decade in a matter of months.
"We can't keep hiding from them, Father," Seraphina said softly, her voice barely audible over the storm outside. "The creditors won't wait forever. Caleb and I—"
"Caleb is still just a boy," Edmund snapped, though his tone lacked real bite. He lifted his head, his bloodshot eyes glistening with shame. "I was supposed to protect you both. And instead, I have delivered you into ruin."
Seraphina's heart twisted. She had grown up believing her father was a pillar of strength, but now she saw him crumbling under the weight of unpaid loans and broken promises. The Vale fortune was gone, and with it, their place among the respected families of the land.
The creak of the door broke the heavy silence. Caleb stepped inside, his dark hair damp from the rain. At nineteen, he carried himself with more pride than most men twice his age, though his clenched jaw betrayed his worry.
"They're back," he said grimly. "Men from the Thorne estate."
The name dropped like a stone into the room.
Seraphina's chest tightened. Everyone in the region knew of Kael Thorne—the Alpha of the most powerful pack in the north. His reach stretched across towns and villages, his authority unquestioned. The Vales were humans, and yet somehow, through her father's reckless dealings, they had entangled themselves with a wolf who was as feared as he was respected.
Edmund rose shakily to his feet, his shoulders drooping with defeat. "Send them in."
The heavy boots of Kael's men echoed in the hall before two figures entered, both tall, broad, and radiating the sharp, commanding presence of wolves. Their dark cloaks were soaked from the storm, but their posture was rigid, disciplined. One of them stepped forward, his gaze sharp as a blade.
"Alpha Thorne expects repayment," the man said, his voice low but carrying. "No more delays. No more excuses."
Edmund swallowed hard. "I… I have nothing left. The land, the crops, even the servants—they're all gone. I cannot repay what I owe."
The silence that followed was suffocating. Seraphina's pulse hammered in her ears as the man's eyes flicked toward her, lingering in a way that made her feel exposed.
"There may be another way," the wolf said at last, his tone deliberate. "Our Alpha is not without… solutions."
Seraphina stiffened. "What do you mean?"
The wolf's gaze sharpened on her, and for the first time, Seraphina felt the weight of the trap closing around her.
"You will come with us," he said simply. "Alpha Thorne has taken an interest. In exchange for your family's debt, you will belong to him."
The words landed like a blow. Seraphina's breath caught, her entire body recoiling as if struck.
"No," Caleb snapped, stepping in front of her. "You can't just take her!"
The wolf's lip curled in a faint, amused smile. "We can. And we will."
Edmund's voice broke, heavy with despair. "Please… she's my daughter."
The man's expression hardened. "Then you should have thought of that before you gambled with what was not yours to lose."
Seraphina's throat closed, her world tilting on its axis. Her father's debts had always loomed like a shadow, but she had never imagined they would lead to this. To being handed over to the most dangerous man in the territory, a man whose reputation was whispered with equal parts awe and fear.
For a heartbeat, she thought her father might fight for her, might demand another solution. But when her gaze met his, she saw only resignation. He had already surrendered.
"Seraphina…" Edmund's voice cracked as he reached for her. "Forgive me."
The storm outside thundered louder, rattling the windows.
Seraphina rose slowly to her feet, her hands trembling but her spine stiff with resolve. She would not give them the satisfaction of seeing her collapse. If this was the price, then she would walk into it with her head held high.
The wolves exchanged a glance before one of them stepped closer, producing a parchment sealed with Kael Thorne's crest—a black wolf's head pressed into wax.
"This is the contract," the man said, extending it toward her. "By tomorrow night, you will belong to Alpha Thorne."
Seraphina stared at the seal, her pulse a frantic drumbeat. She knew nothing of the man she was being bound to, only the rumors that painted him as ruthless, merciless, and unyielding.
Her brother's hand tightened around her arm. "Don't do it," Caleb whispered fiercely. "We'll find another way."
But as Seraphina's gaze lingered on the parchment, she knew there was no other way. Their home, their legacy, their very lives had already been claimed. She could feel the weight of the choice pressing down on her, suffocating yet inescapable.
She lifted the contract with trembling fingers, her vision blurring with unshed tears.
The wax seal glared back at her like an omen, and in that moment, a single thought gr
ipped her: by tomorrow night, she would belong to Alpha Kael Thorne.