Chapter 5 No.5

Aria POV:

The bidding war was short and brutal. I drove the price into the stratosphere, my voice ringing out with a cold fury that silenced the whispers around me. In the end, Kaelen didn't counter my final, reckless bid. He simply sat back, a smug, satisfied look on his face. I had won the diamond, but I could feel his victory hanging in the air.

A flicker of triumph, however bitter, went through me as the auctioneer's hammer fell. "Sold! To the lady from Silver Moon!"

But when I went to the payment desk, my card was declined.

"I'm sorry, Miss," the attendant said, avoiding my eyes. "It seems all your accounts with the Silver Moon Corporation have been frozen."

My breath caught in my throat. Frozen? How? Only my father or... Kaelen could do that.

"Allow me," Silas said smoothly, stepping forward and handing the attendant his own platinum card. I felt a surge of gratitude, but it was short-lived.

"My apologies, Gamma Silas," the attendant stammered, looking even more flustered. "Your card has also been frozen."

A low murmur of laughter rippled through the onlookers. The Silver Moon Pack, the wealthiest pack on the continent, couldn't pay its bills. We were a laughingstock. My humiliation was now complete and absolute.

Then, Kaelen rose from his seat. He walked to the desk with an unhurried grace, pulling out a sleek, featureless black card-his personal account, the one granting him near-limitless access as the designated heir.

"I'll take care of it," he said, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

The payment went through instantly. The attendant, relieved, placed the diamond in its velvet box and handed it to him.

For a heart-stopping moment, I thought he might give it to me, a twisted kind of apology. I was wrong.

In front of the entire assembly, he walked over to Lyra, opened the box, and fastened the "Tear of the Moon Goddess" around her neck. It glittered against her pale skin, a testament to my public shaming.

I stood there, frozen, as the world swam around me. I could feel hundreds of pairs of eyes on me, some pitying, some mocking. I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.

"He used his future-Alpha clearance to hack the system," Silas whispered, his voice tight with rage. "He did this on purpose, Aria. To break you."

Kaelen shot Silas a look that was pure ice. "Without the strength to back it up, don't try to protect things that aren't yours, Gamma." The threat was unmistakable.

Then his cold eyes landed on me. "You should have come with me," he said, as if it were my fault.

A choked, hysterical laugh escaped my lips. I turned on my heel and walked out of that auction house, leaving my dignity scattered on the floor behind me. I didn't look back.

Back at the estate, I locked myself in my suite, ignoring the pounding on my door. I just wanted to be alone, to lick my wounds in private.

But even in my own room, there was no escape. I switched on the discreet listening devices I'd had installed weeks ago, a desperate attempt to understand the conspiracy brewing around me. The voices of the warriors floated up from the common room below.

"Kaelen is causing too much trouble," Ronan complained. "First the horse, now this auction fiasco. Alpha Alistair is going to have all our heads."

"I'm not cleaning up his mess," another voice grumbled. "And I'm certainly not going up there to soothe the wounded princess."

"Nor am I," Silas added, his voice dripping with frustration. "A woman scorned is not something I wish to face right now."

Then, Kaelen's voice cut through the others, low and absolute. "My woman, my responsibility. I will handle her."

A heavy silence fell over the room. I saw him on the security feed, picking up a small, elegantly wrapped gift box from the table and heading for the stairs.

My woman. The possessive words, meant to assert his authority to the others, felt like another brand on my already wounded soul.

I shut off the monitor. I didn't see the flash of raw fury in the other warriors' eyes at Kaelen's claim. I didn't see the profound, soul-deep despair that settled over Silas's face. All I knew was that the monster who had orchestrated my humiliation was now coming to my door to "handle" me.