I Rejected My Alpha for the Rogue King

"50 gold coins. Any other bids?"

The auctioneer bellowed, his voice filling the basement.

Shackled at the ankles, I stood in a rusty iron cage.

Outlaws packed the room below the stage. They stared at my body and debated how much to pay for me.

"50 gold coins is plenty for a useless girl who can't even shift."

"Pretty face, though. Worth it for a warm bed."

Laughter rippled through the crowd.

Bang!

Someone shoved open the iron doors. Snow and wind swept in, carrying the scent of cedar and fir.

The noisy basement fell silent.

The buyers bowed their heads. Even the auctioneer lowered his gavel and stepped aside with a nervous smile.

Heat rushed through me. My legs began to shake.

My fated mate is here.

Logan Blackwood.

Alpha of the Frostmoon pack. The strongest Alpha in the North.

Logan strode down the aisle and onto the stage. He stopped at my cage. "Open it."

The auctioneer produced a key and unlocked the iron door.

Logan held out his right hand. "Come out. Submit to me."

After a pause, he added one more thing.

"From now on, you belong to me."

In my first life, I'd taken that hand and followed him back to the pack house.

To become a worthy mate for an Alpha, I'd learned manners, how to dance, and when to bow my head before the elders.

I'd buried every survival trick the slums had taught me.

For three whole years, I'd done as I was told.

Then Clara had appeared, and those years had meant nothing.

A few tears and some flimsy evidence were all it took. Logan decided I was too cruel to deserve a place beside him.

He'd broken our mate bond himself and left me to die from the backlash.

I didn't move.

Logan waited, then lowered his hand. "Didn't you hear me?"

His Alpha power bore down on me. My knees went weak. Every instinct in my body demanded that I obey.

I bit my tongue hard enough to draw blood. The pain kept me standing as I took a step back.

Logan frowned.

"Playing hard to get will only annoy me."

He glanced at the crowd below.

"Who else would pay for a useless girl who can't shift?"

I laughed. I lifted my wrists, rubbed raw by the shackles, and pointed past his shoulder to the corner of the room.

"I choose him."

Murmurs spread as everyone turned to look.

In the corner sat a man in a leather jacket. Unhealed wounds covered his body, and an untouched glass of liquor stood before him.

Kane Ashcroft.

The rogue king.

He led the rogues outside the city. He claimed no territory, answered to no Council of Elders, and ignored the packs' rules.

Everyone in the city called him a madman.

But after Logan broke our mate bond in my first life, that madman was the only one who came to claim my body.

Logan's power slammed down harder. Several buyers closest to the stage collapsed.

He glared at me. "Do you want to die?"

I met his fury head-on. "Whatever you're offering, it makes me sick."

A chair scraped against the floor below.

Kane rose, crossed to the cage, and vaulted onto the stage, putting himself between Logan and me.

Clang!

A bag of gold landed at the auctioneer's feet. It fell open, spilling coins across the floor.

"She's mine," Kane said.

Logan clenched his fists. "Kane. You're taking what's mine?"

Kane turned to me. He made sure I hadn't backed away, then put an arm around my waist.

"She chose me."

He turned back to Logan, openly taunting him.

"Planning to snatch her in front of all these witnesses, Alpha?"

Logan said nothing. His arms tensed.

As the two Alphas faced off, the crowd began edging toward the exit.

The auctioneer cowered under his table, afraid even to pick up the coins rolling past his feet.

Clara's voice rang out from the doorway.

"Logan!"

She ran inside, clutching her skirts, her eyes red. She caught Logan's arm and rushed to plead for me.

"Don't be angry with her. I'm sure she didn't mean it."

Clara glanced my way, then quickly lowered her head.

"She grew up in the slums. She doesn't understand pack rules, or who you are. Please don't hold it against her."

She'd been just like this in my first life. The harder she cried, the guiltier I looked.

Logan patted her hand. Some of his anger faded.

When he spoke again, his usual arrogance had returned.

"If you'd rather go with a rogue, I won't stop you.

"But whatever happens, don't come begging me to save you."

I couldn't be bothered to explain. I tugged on Kane's jacket.

"Let's go."

Kane chuckled and jumped off the stage with his arm around me.

The crowd parted to let us through.

We were almost at the doors when Logan called after me.

"Lila Gray. You'll regret this."

Snow whipped against my face. I didn't look back.