I set my phone down and looked around my shitty apartment. At the bare walls where pictures used to hang before I sold them. At the empty spaces where furniture used to be. At the single mattress on the floor and the red eviction notice on the counter.
This was my life now.
This was what I'd been reduced to.
I thought about my father....what he would say if he could see me now. Would he understand? Would he forgive me?
I thought about my mother, lying in that hospital bed, slowly dying because I couldn't afford to keep her alive.
I thought about Derek and his perfect mate, about every wolf who'd ever looked at me with pity or disgust, about every door that had closed in my face because I was wolfless.
Fuck them all.
I was doing this.
I stood up and walked to the bathroom.
If I was going to sell my body to three Cursed Alphas, I was going to do it right.
I turned on the shower, let the water heat up while I stripped off my damp clothes. The mirror showed me everything I was....too thin, too pale, marked by struggle and grief.
But my body still worked. Still functioned. And for one night, it would be enough.
I stepped into the shower and began preparing myself.
Washed my hair thoroughly, conditioned it, scrubbed every inch of my skin until it was clean and soft. The hot water felt like absolution, washing away the grime of the day, the weight of my decisions.
When I stepped out, I grabbed my razor.
They'd want me smooth. I was sure of that.
I shaved my legs carefully, my underarms, then....hands shaking slightly....between my thighs. Made sure everything was bare, soft, exactly what I imagined they'd expect.
Dried off and looked at myself in the fogged mirror.
Clean. Smooth. As ready as I could be.
I walked back to my main room and looked at the clock: 9:47 PM.
Two hours and thirteen minutes until midnight.
I went to my closet....if you could call it that, just a few clothes hanging on a rod...and pulled out my only decent dress. Simple black, nothing fancy. It would have to do.
Put on clean underwear....plain cotton, nothing sexy, because it wasn't like they'd care. It would all be coming off anyway.
The dress slipped on easily, hung loose on my too-thin frame. I looked in the small mirror by the door.
Not beautiful. Not special. Just... clean. Presentable.
Good enough.
I found my only pair of shoes that weren't falling apart...black flats, worn but serviceable.
Brushed my hair until it was smooth and shiny, the only part of me that still looked healthy.
No makeup. I didn't have any worth wearing, and besides, what was the point? They weren't choosing me for my beauty.
9:58 PM.
I sat on my mattress and stared at the red flyer one more time.
THE RITE. One night. Five gold bars.
One night of my body in exchange for my mother's life.
One night of being used by three Alphas in exchange for survival.
The choice wasn't really a choice at all.
I folded the flyer carefully and tucked it into my small purse along with my phone and ID.
Stood up.
Looked around my apartment one final time.
When I came back tomorrow morning....if I could even walk....I'd be different. This version of me, the girl who'd never done anything like this, who'd only been with one man, who still had some shred of innocence left.....she'd be gone.
Tomorrow, I'd be the girl who sold herself to three Cursed Alphas.
The girl who survived the Rite.
The girl who chose gold over dignity.
But I'd also be the girl who saved her mother.
And that had to count for something.
10:15 PM.
Time to go.
I grabbed my purse, took one last breath of the stale air in my apartment, and walked out the door.
Locked it behind me.
Descended the three flights of stairs.
Stepped out into the night.
The city was alive with lights and noise, wolves heading to bars and clubs, living their normal lives. I walked past them like a ghost, heading toward the bus stop.
The bus that would take me to Blackwood territory.
To Obsidian Hall.
To three Alphas who would claim every inch of me.
To the Rite.
My hands weren't shaking anymore.
My breath was steady.
I'd made my choice.
Now I just had to live with it.
The bus pulled up, doors hissing open and I stepped inside.
Paid my fare.
Found a seat near the back.
As the bus pulled away from my neighborhood, carrying me toward whatever waited in the dark forests of Blackwood territory, I felt strangely calm.
This was it.
No going back now.
Tonight, I would learn what it meant to be thoroughly used.
Tonight, I would earn my gold.
Tonight, I would become someone new.
And tomorrow....if I survived....I'd pick up the pieces and figure out how to live with what I'd done.
But first, I had to get through tonight.
Through the Rite.
Through three Cursed Alphas who would take everything I had to give.
The bus rumbled on through the darkening city, carrying me toward my fate.
I closed my eyes and tried not to think about what was coming.
Tried not to imagine their hands on me, their bodies pressing me down, their cocks filling me.
Failed.
My body was already responding to the thought....fear and anticipation mixing until I couldn't tell them apart.
Two hours until midnight.
Two hours until everything changed.
I opened my eyes and watched the city fade behind me, replaced by darkness and trees.
Almost there.
Almost time.
Ready or not.