Chapter 004: You again

Knox Mercer…….

I didn’t want a Luna.

That was the truth no one seemed willing to accept.

The council chamber was quiet, and I sat in my chair while Conrad and Caleb watched me.

Generations of Alphas were carved into the walls, staring down at me like judges waiting for me to fail or slip up.

My father’s seat was empty now. His bloodline rested on my shoulders, and everyone could feel it.

Caleb my Beta leaned against the table, watching me with those green eyes.

Conrad stood by the window, silently watching.

“You know the law,” Caleb said finally.

“Without a Luna, your claim isn’t permanent.”

I clenched my jaw. “I don’t need one.”

Conrad turned to me.

“You do if Bastain decides to contest.”

That name hit like a blow to my chest.

Bastain Mercer. My father’s eldest son.

My half-brother who hates me and an opportunist. A man who had waited years for this exact opening so he could take the pack, and I wouldn't let him.

“He won’t,” I said coldly.

“He can,” Caleb replied. “And if he does, it won’t just be a claim. It’ll be a challenge.”

I knew Caleb was right, if he challenged my throne it could lead to a fight.

An Alpha challenge meant a fight till death, it meant weakness would be exposed and the pack would be divided.

I dragged a hand down my face, feeling irritated with the whole situation.

“So what? I grab the nearest she-wolf and call it destiny?”

Conrad stepped forward. “There’s a legal auction tonight.”

I laughed sharply. “Absolutely not.”

“It’s clean,” Caleb said quickly. “Approved by the council with voluntary she wolves.No scandals.”

“Buying a woman doesn’t make her my Luna.”

“No,” Conrad said calmly. “But mating her does. Producing an heir does.”

Caleb looked at me.

“After that, she can leave. You don’t have to care. You don’t even have to like her, like a contract marriage or something.“

That… that was the part that stuck to me.

I could do that.

No attachment.

No weakness.

I thought of Bastain’s smirk, already imagining himself in my chair.

“Fine,” I said finally. “ill think about it “

They exchanged looks.

“Don’t make this more complicated than it is,” Caleb added. “You’re an Alpha. This is strategy.”

I scoffed

Strategy.

That’s what I told myself as we entered the auction hall.

The room was filled with other different Alphas from different packs and territories.

I spoke to a few and took a seat at the back, where I could watch from the shadows.

I watched the women, they were wall confident and beautiful, eager to follow whoever bought them.

I didn't see anything wrong in it, they were unmated females tired of looking for a mate, and thought this was their only option.

None of them interested me, so I barely looked at them.

Until her.

She stepped onto the platform like she didn’t belong there.

And my world tilted.

Honey-blonde hair spilled down her bare back, catching the light in a way that made her hair shimmer.

That dress was too small, too revealing and it clung to her like it had been designed to make men like me fall to their knees

Her long legs were on display and the dress did justice to her beautiful curves.

She looked perfect.

My wolf slammed against my ribs hard.

What the hell—

I felt a strong pull.

It was violent and sudden.

Mine. My wolf said

Like he did, seven years ago

My breath hitched as I looked at the source.

Bright green eyes stared at me.

The memories I tried to bury clawed at my brain.

Green eyes.

A shy smile.

An eighteen-year-old omega trembling under my rejection.

Mila Carter.

My fingers curled slowly around the edge of the table.

Of all the godsdamned places.

Of all the women in the world.

It had to be her.

She lifted her eyes then—and froze.

I saw it. The moment she recognized me.

Pain flashed across her face.

I growled in anger.

What was she doing here?

The bids started.

$5,000. $7,000. $10,000.

I barely heard them.

All I could see was her. The way her shoulders were tense. The way she wasn’t smiling like the others. The way her sweet scent of roses cut through the room and slammed straight into me.

She didn't look like she was enjoying this, and that alone should have stopped me.

Instead, it made my jaw harden.

Selling yourself now?

After everything?

Disgust coiled tight in my gut.

She’d been a lowly omega then. Weak and unfit to stand beside me.

And now she was standing on a stage, half-naked, letting men bid on her like she was a property.

$15,000.

$20,000.

My wolf snarled.

Mine.

No.

I didn’t want her.

I didn’t need her.

But the thought of someone else touching her—claiming her—made something dark roar inside me.

$25,000.

Conrad glanced at me.

“Knox, she's the last girl.“

I didn’t respond.

Her eyes scanned the room desperately, and when they locked onto mine again, her face went pale.

$30,000 a man said.

The number hit, and something snapped.

I raised my hand.

“200,000.”

The room went silent.

Caleb swore under his breath. “That’s—”

too much.“

I wanted no competition.

I wanted it over.

I wanted her to be mine before I could think better of it.

Her knees nearly buckled.

Good.

Let her feel what I’d felt seven years ago.

The gavel came down.

“Sold.”

She was staring at me like I was a nightmare she couldn’t wake from.

I stood up slowly.

My gaze dragged over her body—every curve, every inch of exposed skin—and the desire that flared in me made me angry.

I hated that she still affected me.

Hated that my wolf was already claiming her.

Hated that fate had dragged her back into my life when I had buried her memory a long time ago.

This is just business, I told myself.

She was a means to an end.

A solution to my problems, a way to stake my claim.

And when I was done with her—when I had my heir—I’d send her away.

She’d never be my Luna.

She'll never matter to me.

But as her scent wrapped around me, familiar and intoxicating, my wolf growled low in warning.

Because deep down…

I knew I was lying.

****