Claimed and Sold at the Lycan King's Ball

CHAPTER 1

AVA'S POV

"You’re just a Beta’s daughter, Ava."

Jax’s voice still echoed in my head, like a headache that refused to go.

"I’m going to be Alpha. I need a mate who brings power. Not just... you."

The memory made the silence in my bedroom feel suffocating. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, barely recognizing the girl looking back. My eyes were puffy and bloodshot, the skin around them raw from hours of wiping away tears.

Two years. I had given that bastard two damn years of my life. I had tried to be exactly what he wanted, and he had still thrown me away in front of half the pack.

"I loved you," I whispered to the empty room.

My voice broke. I hated myself for it.

Jax had only laughed. “Love? Come on, Ava. You’re just ordinary. Face it—you’re not queen material. You’re nothing special.”

My stepsister Selene’s loud, mocking laughter from earlier still rang in my ears like shattered glass. Ever since Jax had rejected me, my wolf, Ash, had gone completely silent. She wouldn't shift. She wouldn't respond. She just curled into a shivering, miserable ball in the back of my mind.

Jax hadn't even waited for the Moon Goddess to reveal our true fated mates. He had just decided on his own that I wasn't enough.

Bang! Bang!

"Ava, open this door!"

The sharp click of my stepmother’s heels against the floorboards made my stomach twist. Before I could even move, Lydia pushed the door open. She stood there holding a dress that looked both expensive and suffocating.

"Look at you," she hissed. Her cold eyes swept over my tear-stained face with absolute disgust. "Crying over a boy who had the guts to throw you away. Get up. Wash your face. You’re going to the Lycan King's Ball."

"I'm not going," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "I can't stand there and watch everyone find their happiness while I..."

"You’re going because this family is bankrupt, Ava."

Lydia stepped closer, the heavy, suffocating scent of her perfume making my stomach turn.

"Your father’s debts are piling up. The Lycan King has been looking for a Queen. Even if you can't catch his eye, if you can get a wealthy Beta or a General to look at you, we might survive the winter."

"You want me to sell myself?" A sudden spark of anger flared in my chest.

Lydia pressed her lips into a thin, ruthless line. "I want you to be useful for once in your life. Now, put on the dress, or I’ll have the pack guards drag you there in your nightgown. Your choice."

She turned on her heel, pausing at the threshold. "And Ava? If you don’t find a match tonight, don't bother coming back. The locks will be changed."

*****

The carriage ride to the Royal Palace was a miserable blur of heavy rain and suffocating heartache. My corset was pulled so tight I could barely draw a full breath.

Around me, noble girls were eagerly discussing how they would seduce the King and make a perfect Queen. I tuned them out, my thoughts drifting back to Jax. Inside my mind, Ash let out a low, pathetic whimper. She was still mourning the future pack we were supposed to build together.

When the carriage doors finally opened, the sheer scale of the palace swallowed me whole.

It was a terrifying, beautiful fortress made of blackstone and gold, glowing under the moonlight. Inside, the grand ballroom was heavy with the scent of hundreds of wolves. It was overwhelming. The air throbbed with musk, dominant pheromones, and expensive floral perfumes.

I immediately slipped away, sticking close to the stone walls, trying to dissolve into the shadows.

Everywhere I looked, elite daughters were laughing and baring their necks to high-ranking males. My hand flew to the expensive necklace Lydia had forced me to wear. We couldn't afford it. She had bought it anyway, hoping it would help me seduce royalty.

The heavy roll of ceremonial drums echoed through the hall.

The Alphas who had been boasting seconds ago went dead silent. The entire room froze. It wasn't the kind of silence that came from respect; it was the paralyzed silence of pure, unadulterated fear.

At the top of the grand staircase stood a man clad in black.

He looked as if he had been carved from the very mountain the palace was built upon.

King Draken Voss.

His hair was raven black, and his eyes glowed with a dangerous, molten gold. He didn't smile. He didn't wave. He just scanned the crowd like a bored god looking down at insects.

I dropped my gaze to my shoes, praying to the Moon Goddess to make me invisible. Don't look at me. Please, don't look at me.

Suddenly, a strange, violent pull snapped in my chest. It felt as if an invisible silver thread had been tied to my heart, and someone had just yanked the other end.

No, I thought, gripping my chest as my heart hammered against my ribs. It’s just stress. It’s just the heartbreak.

Then, the scent hit me.

It washed over my senses like a brewing storm—wet earth, ozone, and something dangerously sweet, like dark honey.

"DANGER," Ash suddenly hissed in my mind.

Her ears snapped back. She stopped whimpering. For the first time in over twenty-four hours, my wolf stood up, baring her fangs. "SOMETHING IS COMING."

Against my own willpower, I raised my head.

My breath hitched.

The Lycan King's gaze had locked onto mine. His eyes didn't just see me—they pierced straight through my soul. The gold in his iris turned into a violent, burning fire.

"MATE!" Ash screamed in my head, the sound so deafeningly loud I nearly fell to my knees. "THE LYCAN KING IS OURS!"

The King froze in the dead center of the ballroom floor.

The elite crowd collectively gasped as he began to move. He didn't look at the Alphas. He didn't look at the beautiful daughters of the nobility. He was walking toward the corner of the room.

Directly toward the broken, ordinary girl hiding in the shadows.

My human instinct screamed at me to run. But Ash wagged her tail, pushing against my mind. "GO TO HIM!"

Before I could even take a step backward, he was there. Towering over me.

He leaned down, his nose brushing close against the bare skin of my neck, inhaling deeply. A shockwave of sparks exploded across my skin—but they didn't just tingle. They felt like fire, burning straight through me.

"I have waited a decade for this scent," he growled, his voice a low vibration that rattled my bones.

My legs turned to ice.

Draken looked up, and my breath caught. His eyes had gone completely pitch black. The Lycan had taken total control.

"MINE!" he barked.

The dominant command boomed across the silent hall, shattering the quiet.

"I... I don't want you," I whispered, my voice trembling as I tried to scramble backward.

My spine hit the cold stone wall. I was trapped.

The King moved with an unnatural speed. His massive hand gripped my waist, dragging my fragile frame flush against his rock-hard chest. His eyes narrowed, a dark, possessive smirk pulling at his lips.

"Little wolf," he muttered against my ear, his hot breath brushing my skin. "The Moon Goddess doesn't ask for permission. And neither do I."

Panic flared through my veins. No. I won't go willingly. I won't let another man decide my worth. If this bond was going to destroy me, I would take him down with me.

But before I could fight back, a sharp, distinct scent cut through the heavy air, slicing right through the King's dark honey aroma.

The scent of jasmine and old wine.