Chapter 1

Lana’s POV

The moon was round tonight. Round and glaring. Its pale light slipped between branches like fingers trying to hold me back. The forest around the road seemed to whisper as we passed, dry leaves brushing against each other, tree trunks groaning softly as if remembering some old sorrow.

Somewhere far off, a wolf howled.

Another answered, then another, until the sound thinned out into silence.

The car’s headlights cut through the dark. My hands stayed steady on the wheel, but my mind wasn’t on the road.

Tonight wasn’t about being the simple woman on Liam’s arm. No. I had a reason, an itch under my skin that wouldn’t go away until I had what I came for.

Rumor said the party’s antique exhibition held a fragment of the Holy Grail. Not the whole thing, just a shard. But a shard was enough.

The idea of it sat in my chest like a locked box. And I was the only one with the key.

Or so I had thought.

I took a turn, and suddenly the sound from the back seat clawed at my ears.

A breathless moan. Loud enough to compete with the hum of the engine.

I glanced into the rearview mirror, only for a second.

There she was.

Tia.

The she-wolf with lips painted like she wanted to eat the whole world. My so-called fiancé, Liam had his head between her thighs, his hands gripping her hips as if he owned every inch of her while he ate her pussy.

She saw me looking and let her voice rise, shameless.

“Ah – fuck, yes, Liam… right there… mmm, don’t stop…” Her palm slapped against the door, her words tangled with gasps. “More… gods, more…right there…”

Her tiny frame was shaking, but her eyes, half-lidded, still sought mine in the mirror, like she needed me to see.

I looked away.

I didn’t care. Not anymore.

I’d long gotten used to Liam treating other women like a sport in front of me. This wasn’t love. This was a contract, a trade where my heart wasn’t part of the payment.

She arched into him again, her breathy laughter filling the car. “You’re too good, Alpha… no one does it like you.”

Liam sat back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, eyes gleaming like he’d just won something.

“You taste like trouble,” he said, before kissing her again.

“It’s your turn,” she purred, already tugging at his belt.

The sound of the buckle came before I could steel myself for it. She was quick, eager, sliding down between his legs like she’d rehearsed this scene in her dreams.

In no time, her hand was wrapped around his length that sprang out of his briefs and she dipped it into her mouth.

Liam groaned, his head tipping back, one hand in her hair while his other hand pressed her closer.

I caught his eyes in the mirror again. This time, they stayed on mine.

“You know,” he said, a smirk curling his mouth even as he breathed hard, “your pack’s been restless lately. Tell me, as their leader… are you slacking off while we handle the real work?”

The jeer in his tone was sharp enough to scrape bone.

I kept my face still, even as something in me wanted to break his smile in half.

“Enjoy your she-wolf,” I said flatly, “and don’t get distracted.”

His laugh was low. Mocking.

I turned another corner. The steering wheel felt solid in my grip, grounding me in a way his voice never could.

After my pack lost that war, I watched as most of my people were chained and handed over to his. Slaves in all but name. Liam had never let me forget it.

But I had a feeling his reign wouldn’t last forever.

Yes, it would be so if I could just get what I'm aiming for at the auction.

And I was determined to get it at any cost.

We reached the venue in silence.

The dinner party was everything you would expect from rich predators who dressed themselves as civilized men. Crystal chandeliers dripping light. Tables set like thrones. The smell of expensive perfume and meat cooked rare enough to bleed.

I stayed near Liam long enough not to make a scene. The moment the auction started, the air in the room changed.

The coordinator took the stage, his voice smooth and commanding. “Ladies and gentlemen, our master piece, a relic of great mystery and value… the Holy Grail fragment.”

My pulse jumped.

The glass case was brought forward. It was small. Unassuming. But the sight of it… I knew. I just knew.

Bidding began.

“One million,” a man in a red suit called.

“Two,” answered someone at the front.

The numbers climbed, voices eager. Five million. Seven. Ten.

And then I heard my own voice, louder than I expected.

“Fifty million.”

The room froze.

Heads turned.

Gasps swelled like a wave about to break.

I hadn’t planned it. My hand was still in the air, the paddle trembling between my fingers. My eyes were wide, my mouth dry.

What the hell had I just done?

Liam turned slowly toward me, disbelief flickering into anger.

“Are you insane?” he hissed. “You think I’m paying for that? Not a chance. You want it, you pay for it yourself.”

He leaned back in his chair, arm draping lazily around Tia, who smirked at me like she could already taste my humiliation.

“Oh, this is going to be fun,” she murmured, resting her head on his shoulder.

Liam’s eyes raked over me with that smug, slow disdain that made my stomach knot. He didn’t need words, his gaze alone tried to shrink me, to press me into the velvet chair until I disappeared.

I refused him that.

I stood. Slowly. My face was carved into cold stone, no flinch, no ripple. I cleared my throat just loud enough to be heard over the whispers still crawling through the room.

My heart was not stone. It thudded fast, reckless. Heaven knew I couldn’t pay fifty million. Even if I sold everything I owned, and maybe myself, it wouldn’t come close. But my desperation for that fragment was louder than reason.

The lights cut out.

The crowd sucked in a collective breath. Darkness swallowed the chandeliers, the gilded walls, the silver trays. Then I felt it, a presence, thick and sharp as winter air. Alpha. Powerful enough to make even the other alphas in the room still in their seats.

I turned my head.

In the center of the shadows, a figure stood. Straight-backed. Untouchable. His eyes burned, hot and dangerous, and every step he took pulled the air tighter. The light returned, dripping down the crystal like liquid fire, catching his face, too perfect, too unreal. On the side of his neck, a faint sun mark glowed.

It answered the moon-shaped mark hidden inside my arm. My fingertips tingled as if the mark knew him before I did.

I stared. Stunned.

Liam brushed past me suddenly, striding toward him. “It’s a pleasure to see you, Al…”

Two guards flanking Damon moved like doors slamming shut. They shoved Liam aside without a blink. Damon didn’t spare him a glance. He walked straight toward me.

I looked away, my throat tight.

Without pausing, he raised a placard. His voice was deep, smooth. “One hundred million.”

The room erupted. My jaw parted before I could stop it. Up close, I remembered him well, our past, stolen romantic moment in a bathroom, hands in places they shouldn’t have been, lips tasting like trouble and heat.

My breath hitched.

The coordinator’s voice sliced through the noise. “Any more bids?” Silence. “Sold! To Alpha Damon!”

Damon made the transfer, took the fragment, and turned to leave. I snapped out of my haze just when he stepped out of the hall.

I rushed after him and seeing him head to his car, I yelled. “Hey!”

He stopped. Looked down at me with heat in his gaze as I ran up to him, panting.

“Give it to me,” I said, holding out my hand.

He stepped closer, shadows clinging to his shoulders. “Can you buy it for double the price?”

I blinked, his coldness like a slap. Did he not remember me?

Then the smirk came. “Tell me, my lovely ex-girlfriend.”