Sold To The Alphas

Kaia

It was too early for anyone to be awake, but my room felt like a coffin. I couldn't stay in there. I hadn't slept, and my body felt like lead, dragging across the floor. My brain was a thick fog, heavy and slow, moving like a corpse.

The hallway was a tomb. Silent. Empty. Perfectly still.

Then I felt it. A prickle on the back of my neck. Something was in the shadows, tracking me.

The hit came out of nowhere. A shadow slammed into me, shoving me into a dark corner until the walls felt like they were closing in to swallow me whole.

A white-hot flash of pain erupted across my face. The slap was a single, sharp crack that echoed off the stone.

"You little bitch!"

Devora's face was twisted, ugly with a manic kind of rage. Behind her, her two shadows hovered with grins that were too wide and far too sharp. Their teeth glinted like small, hungry predators.

She fist her hand into my hair, yanking my head back until my scalp burned. "You're a whore! I saw the way you threw yourself at Damon! You think you're good enough to even look at the son of the Second Empire?"

My cheek was a sheet of fire. I tried to pull away, my voice trembling. "I-I didn't! I never even looked at him!"

Her laugh was thin and jagged, like breaking glass. "Liar! You're nothing without your father. You're trash! He is mine!"

The air left me. They moved in like a pack. A fist sank into my stomach, stealing my breath. Another cracked against my ribs. A brutal rain of strikes followed-stomach, side, face. One set of nails clawed at my head while another blow landed in my side. Every nerve in my body screamed in a single, dying note of agony.

Then, something inside me snapped.

The pain didn't just fade; it vanished. The world stopped hurting. Everything went quiet. The high-pitched, terrified ringing in my ears died down, replaced by a low, hungry roar.

I didn't plan the next move. I didn't think at all. I just became a blur. My hands shot out, not to block, but to destroy.

I locked my fingers around Devora's throat.

Her eyes went wide. The hate drained out of her face, replaced by raw, naked terror.

"G-gah..." She tried to scream, but it only came out as a wet, choked rattle.

Power surged through my veins, hot and heavy like molten metal. I lifted her off her feet. She kicked and clawed, but it was like a doll fighting a mountain. I threw her against the cold wall with a force that made the stones vibrate. She felt light. She felt pathetic.

Her friends froze. Their cruel little smiles shattered. I could smell the sharp, stinking scent of their fear.

I felt nothing. No pain, no regret. Only the rage.

My vision bled into something else. The blue was gone, replaced by a cold, burning silver. A monstrous strength filled me, something that didn't feel human at all. Something that was starving for more.

"He... is... not... worth... this," I hissed. My voice was a dark, heavy rasp that sounded like dry bone grinding under a massive weight.

"L-let me g-go..." Devora sobbed. Tears streaked through the purple-red bruises forming on her face.

The silver light in my eyes flared. The hallway felt too small for the thing I was becoming. Devora felt like paper in my hands. I could crush the life out of her with a single thought. She had dared to touch me.

Her friends didn't wait around. They shrieked, stumbling over their own feet as they bolted down the hall. "Help! She's killing her! She's a monster!"

My rage beat like a war drum in my chest. Devora's face was turning a sickening shade of gray. It would be so easy to just finish it.

I was a second away from snapping her neck when the heavy, synchronized thud of boots broke the silence.

Two massive figures rounded the corner. Academy Guards. Their eyes locked onto the scene, turning hard and cold in an instant.

"Miss Kaia," Victor, the lead guard, barked. His voice was a wall of authority. "Drop her. Now."

The molten heat in my blood simmered down. It knew the rules. It recognized the power in his voice. I let go.

Devora crumpled to the floor, coughing and sobbing as she clutched her bruised throat. My hands were shaking, not from weakness, but from the sudden, violent loss of that power. The silver light snapped back to a dull blue, leaving a hollow, aching void behind.

Victor didn't even look at Devora. He watched me. A flash of something-knowing, maybe a warning-danced in his hard eyes for a split second.

"Miss Kaia," he said again, his voice dropping to a lower, softer tone. "Come with us."

They flanked me, their sheer size forming a walking cage. They didn't touch me, but I felt the weight of the invisible chains as I walked between them. I left Devora gasping on the floor.

Students peered out from their doorways, their faces pale with fear. The whispers died the moment they saw my eyes.

They marched me away from the fake marble and the polished uniforms of the Academy. My father had built this place on our land-a gold-plated cage for the children of the elite. A place that demanded I stay silent and small.

I was the daughter of the most powerful man in the world, and all they had for me was hate.

"Your father will be notified," one of the guards muttered, avoiding my gaze as if I were radioactive.

Of course he would.

I was marched straight to my room like a common criminal. The door shut with a heavy, final click.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my hands still trembling. My mind kept looping the image of Devora dangling in the air. The ease of it. The strength. The fire in my eyes.

What was I turning into?

My heart wouldn't settle. Something inside my ribs paced back and forth, restless and wild. It felt like a fever that wouldn't break.

A knock cut through the quiet.

Astra walked in. She was cold as always, her lab coat crisp and her hair pulled back so tight it looked painful.

"Good morning, Kaia."

She set the tray of syringes on the table. The metal clinking made my stomach knot. I hated this routine. I hated how normal the sight of needles had become.

"I heard you attacked a student today," Astra said. She didn't bother looking up from her work. "Is it true?"

"Yes."

The word felt like lead in my mouth.

Her eyes flicked to the silver bracelets locked around my wrists. They were heavy and cold: cuffs disguised as jewelry.

"I see. How are the bracelets feeling today?"

"They're fine." My voice was sharper than I intended. I hated those things. I hated the weight of them.

Astra didn't flinch. She never did. She pressed a needle against my skin and I held my breath. The sting was sharp, but I let it happen. Pain was the only thing that felt honest anymore.

"Do you want the good news?" she asked, pressing a cotton ball to the red bead on my arm.

I stared at the floor. I didn't give her the satisfaction of an answer. She waited, then smiled like she was holding a winning card.

"Today is the last day for these."

My head snapped up. "What are you talking about?"

"Your father will explain at dinner. Just keep it between us for now."

Before I could press her, a guard stepped into the room.

"Miss Kaia. Your trainer is waiting."

I stood up fast, my mind spinning. No more needles. No more bracelets. Was I being cured? Or was this just another one of my father's traps?

When I got to the gym, Cain was already there. His arms were crossed over his chest, muscles straining against his black shirt. His jaw was a hard line. His eyes looked like they wanted to burn a hole through me.

"You're late, Princess," he muttered.

I reached for the weights, avoiding his stare. "Sorry."

I didn't even get to lift. Another guard burst in, chest heaving.

"Stop. Change of plans. The Boss is here early. Shower and meet him in the dining room. You have ten minutes."

My heart dropped into my stomach. My father never broke the schedule. Ever.

He'd heard about the fight.

I threw on the dress he'd left for me and ran downstairs. The ends of my hair were still damp, sticking to the back of my neck. The dining room was too bright and far too cold. The massive table was set for a crowd, but only three people sat there. My father was at the head. Astra was at his right. On his left sat a girl I'd never seen before. She looked stiff, her fingers twisting together as if she were trying to disappear into the chair.

My father's eyes locked onto mine the second I stepped inside. His gaze felt like a hand tightening around my throat.

"Kaia Wren Lykandros," he said. His voice was a blade. "You. Are. Late."

I sat down, my palms damp against the silk of the dress. "I'm sorry. I didn't think the schedule would-"

"Seconds matter in this life, Kaia." He cut me off without a second thought. "I heard you did something very unusual this morning."

I nodded, panic fluttering in my chest. "I'm sorry, Fa-"

"It's fine." His jaw tightened. "Starting tomorrow, everything changes. Your training will double. Your studies will shift. There are duties you should have learned years ago. I am correcting that failure now."

I dug my nails into my thighs under the table. I stayed silent.

He gestured to the stranger. "This is Selene. She is your mentor. When you begin bleeding, we will hold your ceremony."

My breath hitched. Bleeding. Ceremony. The air in the room felt thin.

He dismissed me with a sharp wave of his hand. "You may go."

I didn't wait. A guard escorted me out before I could even blink.

By the time I reached my room, I was shaking. I stripped out of the frilly dress, throwing it on the floor, and pulled on a T-shirt and leggings. I opened my laptop to a story about a spy: someone with actual freedom. I envied her. She had danger, but she also had a choice. I just had walls and guards.

I'd only read a few lines when a knock came. Astra walked in, Selene trailing behind her. I slammed my laptop shut. The room felt tiny. The bars on the balcony suddenly looked much more like a prison than architecture.

"Kaia," Astra said, her voice steady and frozen. "We need to talk."

My heart gave a violent kick. "About what?"

Selene shifted, her eyes darting toward the corners of the ceiling.

Astra stepped closer. Her face was a blank mask. "You are a werewolf."

I stared at her. I waited for the punchline. I waited for her to laugh or point out a hidden camera.

A laugh bubbled up in my throat and burst out. "What? Is this a joke? Am I supposed to be scared? Where's the camera?"

Astra's expression didn't change.

"You are a werewolf, Kaia," she repeated. The words were slow and heavy: like a cage door locking shut.

My laugh died. The air pressure in the room seemed to drop, making my ears pop. "You're actually serious."

Selene nodded. Her gaze was steady, almost too calm. "It's different from the movies. Not less real. Just different."

"This is insane," I whispered. My mind was screaming, clawing at the walls of my skull in total denial. "What about my sickness? The shots. The pills. The diet. The... the diabetes."

Astra let out a tired, slow breath. It was the sound of someone finally putting down a heavy bag. "You never had diabetes, Kaia. The injections were a potent blocker. They were designed to slow your transformation. Your father's company developed the drug specifically for this."

A cold rush of fire burned through my head. "You lied to me. For years."

"For your protection," Astra said. The lie was practiced and smooth, rolling off her tongue like she'd said it a thousand times. "Your father wanted to delay everything until you were older. He wanted you ready. But no one expected your wolf to be this aggressive. No one expected what happened this morning."

My chest tightened until I could barely drag air into my lungs. "Protection? You kept me locked up. You controlled every meal and every movement. You drugged me for years without telling me. That isn't protection. That's a prison."

"It was the only choice," she insisted.

"No!" I snapped. The word felt like a physical strike. "It was his choice. It was never mine."

Selene stepped forward. Her voice was gentle enough to crack something deep inside me. "I know this feels impossible. I know the lie is what hurts. But I can help you. If you let me."

I flinched away, my head shaking violently. "I don't trust either of you. Not a single word that comes out of your mouths."

Astra didn't even flinch. "Trust isn't the point. Your transformation is coming whether you accept it or not."

My knees went weak. I sank onto the edge of the bed, my head spinning in sick circles. I lifted my wrists. The cold, heavy silver bracelets were digging into my skin, leaving angry red marks beneath the metal.

"And these?" My voice was a thin, shaking thread.

"Silver nitrate and a concentrated wolfsbane extract," Astra explained. Her tone was clinical. "They suppress the wolf inside you. They keep it dormant."

My stomach dropped into a hollow pit. "So you were drugging me. Every second of every day."

"Suppressing," she corrected. She spoke as if changing the word made it better. "To manage the timing. To keep you from shifting violently."

"I'm not a monster," I whispered.

Selene reached out. Her fingers hovered near my arm, careful not to actually make contact. "You're not a monster, Kaia. You were born with something wild and powerful. That doesn't make you evil."

I snatched my arm away. "I don't want this power. I didn't ask for any of this."

"None of us do," Selene said softly. She pulled her hand back. "But it's still who you are."

I pushed to my feet and started pacing. The room felt like it was shrinking. My breath came in fast, shallow gasps that didn't reach my lungs. "I don't want any of this. I don't want to be this."

Kaia

The library air was suffocating. Silence pressed against my eardrums. I sat across from Selene, my eyes locked on her hands. They were steady as she smoothed a piece of yellowed parchment over the mahogany table.

This wasn't a fairy tale. It was a cage with better lighting.

Selene's glasses caught the dim overhead glow as she traced the heavy black lines on the map. She didn't look up.

"Five territories, Kaia," she said. Her voice was flat, like she was reciting a grocery list. "Five packs. Five alphas. All of them answer to one man."

Her finger landed on the center of the map. Kentrikos.

"Your father," she whispered. "Alpha Narcisse. He owns it. All of it."

I stared at the thick ink. My stomach did a slow, sick roll. "He owns it? Like a king?"

Selene's mouth twitched. It wasn't a smile; it was a ghost of a bitter thought. "We don't have kings here."

"Then why do people call me Princess?" I asked. I tried to make it sound like a joke, but my voice cracked in the middle.

She finally looked at me. The pity in her eyes made me want to scream. "I don't know. There is almost nothing about you in the records."

My heart skipped. I could feel the heat rising behind my eyes. "Almost nothing? So there's something."

She adjusted her glasses, her gaze flickering toward the dark, locked shelves at the back of the room. "Every pack has a ledger. A history. Yours is mostly blank. It says your mother and brother died when you were born. It says you were the only one who lived."

The word felt like a slap. Lived. I wasn't living. I was a science experiment. I thought about the needles they pushed into my skin and the way my bruises faded before I could even cry about them. I was a freak.

"How does he do it?" I asked, my voice coming out as a growl I didn't recognize. "How does he keep them all in line?"

"He controls the Alphas," she said. She leaned in closer, and I caught the scent of old paper and peppermint. "The strongest males. Then the Betas and the Gammas. Your father has warriors in every corner of this country. Watching. Waiting."

I looked toward the library door. A man stood there in a black suit. He looked like any other guard, but now I saw the way his shoulders stayed rigid. I saw the way his eyes never stopped moving.

"The guards," I whispered. "They're his army."

Selene nodded once. "They protect his interests. They protect the White Moon."

"The White Moon," I repeated. The name felt heavy on my tongue. "So he's the Alpha of the White Moon pack."

"Yes," she said. She tapped the map again, harder this time. "Alpha at the top. Beta and Gamma below him. And the Luna at his side."

I felt a spark of something. Not hope, just a desperate curiosity. "What does the Luna do?"

Selene paused. She looked at me for a long time, her expression turning hard. "She is the mother of the pack. She supports the Alpha. She ensures the bloodline continues."

The blood drained from my face. I felt a cold, sharp ache in my gut. A mother. A mate. A breeder.

"How does a man become Alpha?" I asked. I needed to distract myself from the heat crawling under my skin.

Selene didn't look at me. Her eyes drifted toward the heavy oak door. "Birthright. Or blood."

"Blood?"

"One pack kills the other," she said. Her voice was thin, like a wire about to snap. "They slaughter anyone who stands in the way. They wipe the line clean."

A chill raced down my spine. I thought of my father's house. The silent guards. The rows of warriors. The total absence of women. It wasn't a home; it was a graveyard where no one talked back.

"And the Luna?" I whispered.

"The mate bond," Selene said. She finally looked at me, her eyes glassy. "It is a tether. You feel their heart inside your own chest. If they bleed, you taste copper. If they die, a part of your soul just goes black."

The weight of it pressed on my lungs. It sounded like a death sentence.

"How are they picked?" My hands were shaking now.

"The Moon Goddess." Selene's voice turned thick with a kind of sick worship. "She carves your names together before you're even born."

I dropped my head into my palms. My brain felt like it was swelling against my skull. Then, a sharp, white-hot blade of pain sliced through my gut. I gasped, doubling over. It wasn't just a cramp. It felt like something was trying to claw its way out of my stomach.

"Selene," I choked out, clutching my middle. "I-I don't feel well. I need to go."

She reached out, her face blurring. "Kaia?"

I didn't wait. I pushed off the chair, my legs feeling like lead. I stumbled out of the library, hitting the walls of the hallway as I ran. By the time I hit my bedroom, I was sobbing.

I made it to the bathroom and ripped my clothes off. My breath hitched. Blood. It was everywhere. Dark, thick, and hot. I scrambled into the shower and turned the handle. I sat on the cold tile, watching the red swirls circle the drain. I stayed there until the water turned to ice and my skin went blue.

The curtain pulled back with a sharp snap. Astra stood there. She didn't look shocked. She looked like she'd been waiting for this.

She pressed a glass of water into my hand and four bitter white pills. "Painkillers. Swallow them."

I swallowed the pills. I was too tired, too hollowed out to fight her. Astra wrapped me in a thick towel and tucked me into the sheets like I was still a child. As the dark pulled at me, one thought looped in my brain: Was this the change? Was I finally becoming a monster, or was I just breaking into pieces?

The next morning, I was still just Kaia. No claws. No fur. Just a girl who couldn't punch her way out of a cardboard box.

My father didn't give a damn about my pain. He only cared about the clock. An hour later, I was flat on the gym mats with Cain grinding my face into the rubber.

"How is this helping?" I spat. My mouth tasted like sweat and floor cleaner. "You're just hurting me, asshole!"

"You're holding back, Princess," Cain growled. He shoved his knee harder into the small of my back. "Get up and fight like you actually want to live."

I snarled. The sound was deep, vibrating in a way that didn't feel like me. I threw my weight to the side, rolled, and managed to clip his calf with the heel of my boot. I scrambled up, my lungs burning for air.

"Better," he said. He moved toward me, his face a mask of cold boredom. "Again."

"Give me a sec-"

Cain froze. His whole body went rigid. A low, vibrating thrum started deep in his chest. His eyes bled from brown to a terrifying, electric yellow. The pupils swallowed the iris until he looked like a predator staring into the sun.

"Cain?" I stepped back, my skin prickling. "What's wrong?"

He didn't hear me. He was sniffing the air, his chest heaving with deep, jagged breaths. He spun toward the door.

Selene was standing there. She held a stack of books, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders in a soft mess. She looked vulnerable.

Cain moved faster than my eyes could follow. He was across the room in a heartbeat. He slammed his hands against the doorframe on either side of her head, pinning her there. He leaned in, burying his face in the curve of her neck. He inhaled so deeply his ribs shook.

Selene didn't scream. She didn't run. She let out a small, broken whimper and tilted her head back, exposing the pulse of her throat to his teeth.

"C-Cain, stop," she panted. Her fingers were already buried in his dark hair, pulling him closer even as she told him to quit.

I felt like dirt under their boots. My chest burned with a jealousy I couldn't put a name to. I was a ghost in the hallway, the girl no one bothered to see. I ducked my head and scrambled past them, my shoulder brushing Cain's leather jacket. He didn't even flinch. He was too busy tasting her skin.

I slammed the bathroom door and turned the lock. My breath came in ragged bursts. I leaned over the sink and splashed cold water on my face, staring at the girl in the glass. Then it hit me.

A white-hot blade sliced through my brain.

I screamed, but the sound died in my throat. My knees hit the tile so hard I heard them crack. The world tilted, the edges of my vision bleeding into black. It wasn't just a headache. It felt like my skeleton was a cage that had suddenly grown too small.

My humerus snapped first. The sound was like a dry branch breaking in the woods. I arched my back, my spine popping and stretching. I could feel my skin pulling so thin I thought it would burst. Every pore on my body screamed as thick, white fur pushed through the surface.

I was being eaten from the inside out by something stronger than me.

My jaw unhinged with a wet thud. My nose and mouth pushed out into a heavy snout. My teeth sharpened into daggers that sliced through my own gums, filling my mouth with the metallic tang of my own blood. I tried to grab the sink, but my fingers were gone. In their place were heavy paws and curved, black claws that tore deep grooves into the floor.

Then, the agony vanished.

I lay on the cold tile, panting. My heart beat like a war drum. I looked up at the mirror. A beast stared back. I was huge, covered in fur as white as a fresh kill in winter. But it was the eyes that got me. They were a piercing, glowing aquamarine.

'Selah.'

The name vibrated in my skull. It wasn't a thought; it was a roar. She was me, and I was her.

A frantic scratching sound came from the corner. A small goat stood there, tied to a pipe. Its pulse was a rhythmic throb I could see in its neck. The scent of its fear was the sweetest thing I had ever smelled.

Hunger didn't just hurt. It took over.

I didn't choose to move. I was a blur of white fur and teeth. I hit the animal hard, my weight crushing its ribs. My jaws snapped shut over its throat. The hot, copper spray of blood hit my tongue, and I felt a rush of pure, uncut power. I tore into the meat, my instincts screaming for more. This was what I was made for.

"She's further along than we expected, Sir."

The voice was muffled, coming from behind the two-way mirror. Astra.

"Her body burned through the medicine faster than we thought," she continued, her voice trembling with a sick kind of excitement. "Her wolf is awake."

"She must learn to control it," my father's voice replied. It was cold enough to freeze the blood on my muzzle. "Her transformation will be confirmed in two nights. The pack ceremony follows in two weeks. Call the other Alphas. I want them here for the first moon."

I froze. A piece of raw flesh hung from my teeth.

They weren't proud of me. They were just taking my measurements. I wasn't a daughter to him, and I never had been. I was a weapon forged for the White Moon. I was a pawn he intended to parade in front of the other Alphas to see who would bid the highest.

I turned back to the mirror, locking eyes with my own reflection. Crimson blood dripped from my white muzzle, staining the pristine fur. My father thought he could own this. He thought he could control the beast. But he didn't feel the liquid fire in my veins. He didn't know Selah.

The girl I used to be was dead. I was a predator now, and I wasn't going to let them put a leash on me.

Kaia

The metallic sting of blood was the first thing to hit me. It coated my tongue, thick and heavy like honey but with a sharp iron kick that made my stomach lurch.

'Kaia.'

The voice was a ghost of a memory. Soft. Safe. Like a mother's hug before the world went to hell.

"Mom?" I tried to ask. My jaw felt unhinged, too heavy to move. No words came.

"Kaia, I said wake up!"

The softness shattered. The voice was loud now, vibrating against the concrete walls. I blinked, the overhead lights searing into my retinas. I went to rub my eyes, but I didn't have hands.

I had paws. They were huge, heavy, and matted with white fur. Only the white was gone. It was replaced by a deep, crusty crimson that bled into black. I looked down. A goat lay in a heap of shredded meat and white bone. My stomach did a sick flip, even as my nose twitched, craving more of that earthy, raw scent.

I licked a patch of red off my fur. It tasted like life. It tasted like the best thing I'd ever had.

"Kaia," the voice barked again.

I stood, my claws clicking and sliding in the puddle of gore. I tried to run toward the sound, but a heavy jerk nearly snapped my neck. I looked back. A thick steel chain was bolted to my rear leg, anchoring me to the center of the bloodbath.

'You need to turn back,' Astra's voice crackled through the speaker in the ceiling.

"How?" I tried to scream. A sharp, pathetic bark was the only response.

'Focus. Picture your skin. Picture your bones moving back. Do it now.'

I closed my eyes and tried to remember being a girl instead of a monster. I thought of my blonde hair and my hands.

Then the world broke.

My ribs snapped inward, grinding against each other. My skin felt like it was being scorched off by a blowtorch. I screamed, but it was half-howl, half-sob. The sound of my own bones reshaping was like dry wood snapping in a fire.

Then, silence.

I lay on the cold floor, gasping. My skin felt raw and sensitive, every inch of it pressed against the freezing concrete. I was naked, shivering, and smelled like a butcher shop.

The door creaked open. Astra didn't look at the mess. She just draped a heavy wool blanket over my shaking shoulders. She didn't say a word as she hauled me up and led me to the elevator. The hum of the machine felt like a heartbeat against my bare feet.

I remember my bed. I remember the smell of clean sheets and Astra pulling pajamas over my limp limbs.

"Just sleep, Kaia," she whispered.

I went under before my head even hit the pillow.

A fist pounded on my door, echoing like a gunshot.

"Kaia? Your father is waiting."

I bolted upright. My head throbbed with a rhythmic, dull heat. My pajamas were soaked in sweat, clinging to my skin. I looked at my hands. They were clean. No blood. No fur.

Was it a dream?

I swung my legs out of bed. The carpet felt strangely sharp against my toes. The air felt heavier. I could hear the hum of the ceiling fan like it was a jet engine, and the scent of the guard outside: stale coffee and cheap spice. It hit me like a physical wall.

"Miss Kaia? Now."

"Coming," I croaked.

I threw on a sweater and jeans, my skin itching with a restless energy I couldn't explain. I walked down the hall, and for the first time, I felt the house watching me. I could smell every guard in every corner: their sweat, their leather holsters, the oil on their guns.

My father's office was a tomb. Dark wood, cold air, and the massive Lykaois crest carved into the wall. No photos of me. No photos of Mom. Just the symbol of the wolf.

"Sit," he said. He didn't look up from his desk. He never did. "You're late."

I sat on the edge of the hard chair, my heart drumming against my ribs. I tried to give him the fake, polite smile I'd spent years perfecting, but my muscles felt tight. Aggressive.

"Now that you've shifted, Kaia," he said, finally looking up. His eyes were like two pieces of flint. "You must choose a mate."

Mate.

The word didn't just hit my ears. It hit my blood. Deep inside, something that wasn't quite me growled in recognition, pacing behind my ribs, waiting to be let out again.

"Mate? What do you mean?" I tried to keep my voice steady. "Like a friend?"

I knew I was playing dumb. I just wanted to see him blink. He didn't.

"No," he said. His voice was like a blade. "A soulmate."

I stared at him. The silence in the room felt heavy, pressing into my lungs. The man who had kept me locked in this house for years, treating me like a prisoner, suddenly wanted me to find love?

"You want me to date?" My words were sharp, dripping with sarcasm. "How am I supposed to do that? Is there an app I don't know about?"

I thought of Cain and Selene. The way they had pressed their faces into each other's necks last week. The raw, animal hunger in their eyes. Was that how we did it? Just sniffing each other like dogs?

My father's eyes darkened. His fingers began to drum on the desk. Tap. Tap. Tap. "Don't be ridiculous, Kaia. Your wolf is white. You need a black wolf mate."

I felt a chill. Great. My dating pool just shrank to nothing.

'Mate.'

The word echoed in my skull. It wasn't my father's voice. It was deep, vibrating in my marrow. I looked down at his hands. His nails were jagged, his skin spotted with age. That voice didn't belong to him. It felt like a dream I'd forgotten.

'Selah?'

'Yes.'

Her voice was a low vibration in my skull, restless and sharp. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I dug my nails into the leather armrest, the material popping and tearing under my grip.

'You're really in here?' I whispered into the dark corners of my mind.

"And as your father," he cut in, his voice snapping the thread of my thoughts, "I won't let your mate be anything less than an Alpha."

My stomach turned. This wasn't about love. It was a transaction. I felt a sick flicker of pride that he thought I was worth an Alpha, but it was drowned out by a wave of dread.

"Father, I don't-"

"I've already made the arrangements," he said, his voice rising to drown me out. "The future Alphas of the four packs will each have their chance to claim you."

The room tilted. I gripped the chair to keep from sliding off. I was a prize. A piece of meat dangled in front of four predators.

"Four?" I breathed. "I didn't even know I was a wolf until a week ago."

"You will meet every candidate," he said, his face a mask of stone. "And then you will choose."

I raised an eyebrow. There was always a catch with him. I could feel Selah pacing inside me, her claws scratching at the walls of my consciousness.

"For a normal wolf, the bond is simple," he said. A spark of something like life finally touched his eyes. "But you are like your mother. You aren't ordinary. You have to engage with all of them before the choice is made."

My breath hitched. He never spoke about her. Never.

"Engage?" I asked. "What does that even mean?"

"I'm sending you away." He stood up, looming over me like a judge passing a sentence. "You'll spend one month with each pack. Voreios, Anatolikos, Notios, and Dytikos."

The thought of leaving this cage made my blood sing, but I knew him too well to trust the gift.

"And do what?"

His lips twitched. It wasn't a smile; it was a threat.

"Study them. Their history. Their strength. Figure out which Alpha is powerful enough to hold you. Then, you pick."

A punch to the gut would have been kinder. He was selling me for my utility, not my heart.

"Strength?" I asked. A spark of heat flared in my belly. "You mean I'll be training?"

He nodded, clasping his hands behind his back. "Selene and Cain were supposed to take you. But they're... occupied. You'll go alone for the first month."

"Occupied?"

"They're mating," he said. He sounded annoyed, as if they were late for a meeting instead of drowning in a primal bond.

My skin flushed hot. I thought of the "bleeding episode" from last week. The heat in my blood that wouldn't die down.

"I'm not going alone," I whispered. The thought of the open world without a single person at my back felt like a death sentence.

I didn't look away. I watched his spine stiffen as I spoke.

"I don't know what I'm doing," I said. My voice cracked, but I hardened it. "Cain is my trainer. I'm not going anywhere without people I trust."

My father's eyes were chips of ice. "In their current state, they are unstable. Distracted. They're useless to you."

"Those are my terms," I snapped.

I took a breath and immediately regretted it. His scent-bitter and overbearing-filled my lungs. I'd been a prisoner in this house for seventeen years, and the idea of the road felt like peeling back a fresh scab. I didn't know Selene well, but she was the only one who didn't treat me like a broken tool. And she wouldn't go anywhere without Cain. They were a single, pulse-pounding unit.

"Fine," my father said. His voice was flat. "You're dismissed."

He didn't order me out like a servant. He just let me go. I walked out with my heart thumping against my ribs, the taste of a small, terrifying victory like copper in my mouth.

That night, sleep was impossible. The shadows in my room felt heavy, pressing down on me. I pulled my laptop into bed, my fingers hovering over the keys. If I was going to be around real wolves, I needed to know what was coming.

I found a site crowded with stories. Millions of hits. My eyes skimmed the titles, and a flush started at my chest and crept up my neck.

Alpha Maximus. 23 million reads.

I clicked. My breath caught as I read the first page.

"Tell me, kitten, how badly do you want me?"

The words felt like a physical weight. The description of his scent, the way his muscles moved, the raw, predatory hunger. My skin prickled.

"My mind screamed to run, but my body betrayed me. I was slick with arousal."

"Arousal?" I whispered to the empty room.

I tried to look away, but I couldn't. I read about his hands knotting in her hair, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin of her throat. Then his hand moved down to his fly.

"Skip," I muttered, my face burning. I shut the tab so hard the laptop groaned.

I tried another one. Alpha Noah. The cover was a guy with no shirt, his veins bulging as he gripped a girl.

"No!" she screamed as his hand crushed her throat. "You. Are. Mine."

He ripped her clothes open. He talked about her body like it was a piece of meat he owned. He told her to get on her knees.

I felt sick. My stomach did a slow, greasy roll as I clicked through title after title. The Alpha's Pet. The Alpha's Toy. It was all the same. Brutal men. Forced touches. Women who screamed 'no' until their bodies betrayed them and forced a 'yes.' They were narcissistic, territorial, and cruel.

I shoved the laptop away, my breath coming in shallow hitches. I stared at the ceiling, my heart a frantic bird beating against a cage. Was this what Cain was behind closed doors? Was this the version of reality waiting for me out there in the dark?

"Is that what it's like?" I whispered to the empty room.

I pressed my palms to my burning cheeks, trying to rub away the heat. I didn't sleep. I just lay there in the silence, shivering, wondering if I was finally leaving my cage just to walk straight into a wolf's den.