The smell of blood and damp earth clung to the underground hall.
I stood barefoot on the cold stone floor, my wrists trembling, my head bowed so low that my hair hid my face. Heavy iron chains circled the room, not to bind us—but to remind us that escape was a fantasy.
One by one, girls were dragged forward.
Some cried.
Some begged.
Some had already gone silent, their spirits broken long before their bodies were sold.
I did none of that.
Not because I was brave.
But because I was empty.
"Next."
The voice echoed—deep, sharp, impatient.
Rough hands grabbed my arms and shoved me forward. My heart slammed against my ribs as I stumbled into the torchlight. The murmurs began immediately.
"A human?"
"She's too thin."
"Will she even survive the bonding?"
I clenched my fists.
Human.
That single word had been my curse since birth.
In a world ruled by wolves, humans were nothing but fragile creatures—useful only for labor, entertainment… or breeding.
"Lift her head."
The command sliced through the noise.
I froze.
Everyone froze.
Because that voice did not belong to just anyone.
Slowly, I raised my face.
And met the eyes of the man seated on the obsidian throne.
Alpha King Kael Raventhorn.
Even sitting still, he radiated danger. His broad shoulders were wrapped in dark armor etched with ancient runes. Long black hair fell loosely around his face, framing sharp features carved like a weapon.
But it was his eyes that crushed my breath.
Silver.
Cold.
Unfeeling.
Predatory.
They swept over me like I was nothing more than an object placed before him.
No—worse.
Like prey.
"How old?" he asked.
"N-nineteen," the auction master replied quickly.
Kael's gaze lingered on my neck. My collarbone. My wrists.
Too thin.
Too weak.
Unworthy.
"And she's unmarked?" he asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Untouched."
A pause.
The hall held its breath.
"I'll take her."
The words landed like a death sentence.
Gasps erupted around the room.
"But—Your Majesty," someone protested, "she's human. Surely one of the wolf-born would—"
Kael lifted a single finger.
Silence snapped into place instantly.
"I didn't ask for opinions," he said coldly. "Name the price."
My knees buckled.
I had been sold before—once to a cruel household, once to a mine owner—but never like this.
Never to him.
Gold clinked. Papers were signed.
Just like that, my life changed hands.
As the chains were removed from my wrists, a strange sensation washed over me—heat blooming under my skin, sharp and unfamiliar. I sucked in a breath, dizzy.
Kael noticed.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Interesting," he murmured.
I didn't know why.
I didn't know how.
But something in me had caught the Alpha King's attention.
And that terrified me more than anything else.
Two guards approached and grabbed my arms.
"Take her to the Black Wing," Kael ordered. "Prepare her."
Prepare.
The word echoed in my skull as they dragged me away.
The Black Wing was whispered about in hushed tones—a place where chosen women were kept for one purpose only.
To bear the Alpha King's heir.
As the heavy doors closed behind us, panic finally clawed its way into my chest.
I wasn't strong.
I wasn't special.
I was just a human girl trying to survive.
So why had the most ruthless Alpha in all the realms chosen me?
That night, alone in the dark chamber, I curled into myself as unfamiliar heat spread through my veins.
And somewhere deep inside my blood—
Something ancient stirred.