THE BONFIRE

They chained me to the post like a dog on display.

The silver cuffs bit into my wrists hard enough to draw fresh blood under the decorative bracelets. I stood at the edge of the clearing with the bonfire heat licking my bare arms and every unmated male wolf in the eastern range staring at me like meat.

My white gown clung to my skin from the sweat already rolling down my back. Brian had ordered it thin on purpose. He wanted them to see exactly what Ben was about to claim.

Brian lounged on the raised dais with Ben at his right hand. Visiting alphas laughed around them, slapping shoulders and trading packs like poker chips. Every few minutes another wolf would stroll past my post. Their eyes crawled over my breasts, my hips, the chain at my throat.

One of them, a thick-necked beta from the northern pack, stopped close enough for me to smell his sour breath. “Brian, name your price for an hour with her after your boy marks her. I’ll make her scream pretty for you.”

Brian didn’t even glance at me. “She’s Ben’s tonight. But if he gets bored before dawn, I might auction the leftovers.”

The beta laughed and reached out to brush my cheek. I jerked my head away. The chain rattled.

“Feisty,” he said. “I like when they fight a little.”

Ben’s voice cut across the clearing, lazy and loud. “Touch her again and I’ll take your hand, Marcus. She’s not for sampling.”

The beta backed off with a smirk. “Pity. Alpha blood always tastes sweetest when it’s still got some fight left.”

I stared straight ahead and let the rage coil tighter in my gut. If I die here tonight, I'll make sure to come back and haunt each and everyone that participated in humiliating me for the rest of their life.

Another wolf stepped up, he was younger and his eyes were hungry. “Is she really the Hale girl? The one your pack dragged back from Ashen Ridge?”

Ben answered for me. “Yes. Now my perfect little toy. Watch close when I mark her. You’ll see what real power looks like.”

The young wolf leaned in. “You ever beg yet, sweetheart? I could teach you before the night’s over.”

I met his eyes for one heartbeat. “Touch me and I’ll remember your face when I burn your pack to the ground.”

He laughed like I’d told a joke. “Hear that, Ben? She’s got spirit.”

Ben stood up from the dais and walked over slowly, golden hair catching the firelight like a crown he hadn’t earned. He stopped inches from me and hooked a finger under the chain at my throat, yanking it tight.

“Spirit?” he said softly, only for me. “You don’t have spirit anymore, Catherine. You have whatever I let you keep. And tonight I’m taking the rest.”

His breath brushed my ear. “Smile for the crowd. They need to see how grateful the last Hale bitch is to be claimed by a real alpha.”

I forced my lips into the shape they wanted. “Thank you, Ben.”

He laughed low. “Louder. Let them hear it.”

“Thank you, Ben,” I said, voice carrying. The words tasted like poison.

He patted my cheek hard enough to sting. “Good girl. Now stand there and look pretty while I finish my drink. Then I’m going to claim you right here where everyone can watch your knees buckle.”

He walked back to the dais. I felt the stares like knives and I hated every single one of them.

Then I felt it.

A stare sharper than any hand that had ever touched me.

Across the bonfire, on the far side of the circle, a man stood watching me. He was tall with broad shoulders. His dark hair fell over a ruggedly handsome face. Dressed Black clothes, his eyes locked on mine like I was the only living thing left in the world.

He tilted his head just slightly and my skin prickled. My breath hitched hard in my throat and heat slammed low in my belly. The chain at my neck suddenly felt too tight.

He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it with a flick, and took a slow drag. Smoke curled from his lips but his eyes never left mine.

For the first time in six months I felt seen.

The heat in my belly twisted tighter. I wanted to cross the fire and let him burn me alive if it meant feeling something real for once.

He blew out another stream of smoke, then dropped the cigarette and crushed it under his boot. The corner of his mouth curved in the smallest, most dangerous smile I had ever seen.

I took one step forward before the chain stopped me. My heart hammered against my ribs. Who are you? I wanted to scream across the flames.

He turned and walked into the shadows without another glance.

I gripped the post with both hands, breathing hard.

Ben’s voice rang out over the drums. “It’s time.”

He stepped down from the dais and crossed the clearing toward me. The crowd quieted. Every eye turned our way. Brian stood up, grinning wide.

“Come on, son,” Brian called. “Show them what we do with the last of Ashen Ridge.”

Ben stopped in front of me. His hand cupped my jaw, thumb pressing hard into my cheek. “Ready to be mine, wolfless?”

I stared into his dead eyes. “Even with your mark, I will never be yours to take.”

He smiled like I had given him exactly what he wanted. “Wrong answer.”