𑣲Sold.

Aradia's POV

The rope burned against my wrists.

I stood in line with the other humans, waiting for my turn on the platform. The blood moon hung in the sky like a wound, painting everything red. Around us, torches flickered in the darkness. The smell of smoke and unwashed bodies filled the air.

Once a year, the werewolves held this market. Most of the humans here were prisoners, taken during raids when the packs attacked villages under the blood moon's power. They stood with empty eyes, already broken.

But I was different.

I chose this.

My stomach twisted as I remembered Emma's face. My little sister, blind since the fever took her sight three years ago. The healer said he could fix her eyes, but his price was steep. More gold than I could earn in a lifetime of washing clothes and tending fields.

So I found a slave trader in the next town. Signed the papers with a shaking hand. The gold was already with the healer. By the time the moon waned, Emma would see again.

That was all that mattered.

"Next!"

The guard shoved me forward. I stumbled onto the wooden platform, my bare feet rough against the splinters. Below me, hundreds of werewolves crowded the square. Their eyes glowed in the darkness like demons. My heart beat so hard I thought it might burst.

The slave trader grabbed my chin, forcing my head up. "Young female. Strong. Good teeth." He pried my mouth open to show them. "Untouched. Knows how to cook and clean. Bidding starts at three gold pieces."

Shame burned through me, but I kept my face blank. I wouldn't cry. Not here.

A few hands went up. Bored faces, calculating eyes. They were looking at me like I was a cow at market.

Then someone climbed onto the platform.

He was huge, this werewolf. Scars covered his face and arms, twisting his features into something ugly. His breath smelled like rotten meat when he leaned close.

"Turn," he growled.

I turned, my face hot.

His palm cracked against my backside hard enough to make me gasp. Laughter erupted from the crowd.

"Five gold pieces," Scarface announced, grinning at me with yellow teeth.

The trader's eyes lit up. "Five gold from Alpha Garrett. Do I hear—"

"Ten."

The voice came from the back. Deep. Cold. It cut through the noise like a blade through flesh.

Everyone went silent.

I turned and saw him pushing through the crowd. He wore a dark cloak with the hood pulled low, hiding his face completely. But the way people moved aside for him, the way even the other alphas stepped back, told me everything I needed to know.

This was someone powerful.

"Ten gold from the hooded bidder," the trader said, his voice suddenly nervous.

Garrett's scarred face went dark. "Twelve."

"Twenty." The hooded man didn't hesitate.

Gasps ran through the crowd. Twenty gold pieces could buy a house. A farm. A whole herd of cattle.

Garrett looked like he wanted to rip someone's throat out. His hand went to the knife at his belt. "Twenty-five."

"Fifty."

The square erupted. People were shouting now, pushing to see who would pay such a price for a human slave. My legs shook so badly I could barely stand.

The trader's mouth hung open. He looked at Garrett, but the scarred alpha had gone pale. Slowly, he shook his head and backed away.

"Sold!" The trader's voice cracked. "Sold to the hooded bidder for fifty gold pieces!"

Guards rushed forward and cut the ropes from my wrists. My hands were numb. Everything felt like a dream, hazy and unreal.

They led me down from the platform. My feet moved but I couldn't feel them touching the ground.

The hooded man waited at the bottom. Up close, he was even taller than I'd thought. Broad shoulders. Strong hands. But his face stayed hidden in shadow.

"Come." His voice was rough, like stones grinding together.

He turned and walked away. I had no choice but to follow.

The crowd parted around us like he carried plague. People whispered as we passed, but I couldn't make out the words. Someone said a name, but the blood rushing in my ears drowned it out.

We left the square and entered the dark streets beyond. No one followed us. No guards, no servants. Just him and me in the moonlight.

He walked fast. I had to run to keep up, my bare feet slapping against the cold stone. We passed houses and shops, all closed up tight. Smart people stayed inside during the blood moon.

Finally, we reached the edge of town where a black horse waited. Not just any horse. This one was massive, with eyes that glowed red in the darkness. A werewolf's mount.

The hooded man swung up into the saddle, then reached down for me.

I hesitated. Once I took his hand, there was no going back. I would belong to him. My life, my body, everything would be his to command.

Emma's face flashed through my mind. Emma smiling when she could finally see the sunrise again.

I took his hand.

He pulled me up like I weighed nothing, settling me in front of him on the saddle. His arm wrapped around my waist, holding me steady. Even through the cloak, I could feel the heat of him. The raw strength.

The horse took off at a gallop.

We rode through the night, leaving the town behind. The blood moon followed us, huge and red and watching. Wind whipped my hair back. The man's chest was solid against my back, his heartbeat slow and steady while mine raced like a rabbit's.

I had no idea where we were going. No idea what he looked like under that hood. No idea what he wanted from me or why he'd paid so much.

All I knew was that my life had just changed forever.

And I couldn't tell if I'd been saved or damned.