Chapter 5: Sold Like Property

Maya

My eyes opened to silk sheets and golden walls.

This wasn't my tiny bedroom with its broken window and peeling paint. This was luxury. Wealth. Power.

I sat up fast, my head spinning. The bed was massive, covered in deep blue covers that probably cost more than our house. Sunlight poured through tall windows, showing me a room that belonged in a palace.

The alpha castle. They'd brought me to their home.

"You're awake."

I spun around to find all four brothers sitting in chairs arranged like a semicircle. Waiting for me. Watching me.

Stephen held a piece of paper in his hands. Official-looking, with a red seal at the bottom.

"Where am I?" My voice came out hoarse and weak.

"Our home," Elijah said with that same smirk. "Welcome to Blackwood Castle, sweetheart."

I tried to get out of bed, but my legs were shaky. The partial shift had left me drained. "I want to go home."

"About that," Stephen said, holding up the document. "We need to talk."

Something cold settled in my stomach. "What is that?"

"A contract," Karl said, but he wouldn't look at me. His eyes stayed fixed on the floor.

"What kind of contract?"

Nathan leaned back in his chair, that lazy grin on his face. His shoulder was bandaged where I'd shot him, but he didn't seem bothered by it. "The kind that makes everything nice and legal."

"I don't understand." But I was starting to. The fancy room. The way they sat there, so calm and confident. The paper in Stephen's hands.

"Your father came to see us while you were unconscious," Stephen said. His voice was gentle, but his eyes were hard. "He had a proposition."

"What kind of proposition?" The words felt like glass in my throat.

Stephen stood and walked over to me, holding out the document. "See for yourself."

My hands shook as I took it. The words swam in front of my eyes at first, but then they came into focus.

Sale of Property. Maya Rodriguez. Purchased by the Blackwood Pack for the sum of fifty thousand dollars. All debts forgiven. Transfer of ownership complete.

"No." The paper slipped from my fingers. "No, this isn't real."

"It's very real," Elijah said. "Signed and sealed under pack law."

"He sold me?" My voice broke on the words. "My father sold me to you?"

"He did," Stephen said quietly. "While you were in the coma from fighting your shift. Signed you over to us completely."

The room spun around me. I pressed my hands to my face, trying to block out their stares, their scents, the reality of what they were telling me.

"Fifty thousand dollars," I whispered. "That's what I'm worth to him."

"It covered all his debts," Karl said, still not looking at me. "Gambling, drinking, the money he owed Marcus. Clean slate."

I laughed, but it sounded more like a sob. "Clean slate. Right. And all he had to do was sell his daughter like cattle."

"Maya.." Stephen started.

"Don't." I looked up at them, tears burning my eyes. "Don't you dare try to comfort me. You bought me. You actually bought me like I was a piece of property."

"Under pack law, you are," Nathan said, and there was no shame in his voice. "Our property now."

"The mate bond makes it legal," Elijah added, licking his lips as his eyes traveled over me. "Four alphas, one mate. The pack council approved it without question."

I wanted to scream. To throw something. To run until my legs gave out. But there was nowhere to go. No one to run to.

"This is insane," I said. "You can't just buy people. We're not in the dark ages."

"Pack law is older than human law," Stephen said. "And you're not just people, Maya. You're our mate. That changes everything."

"I rejected you. I shot one of you." I looked at Nathan, who just shrugged like it was no big deal. "Doesn't that mean anything?"

"It means you've got spirit," Nathan said. "I like that in a woman."

"You're sick. All of you."

Karl finally looked at me, and I saw something that might have been guilt in his eyes. But it was gone so fast I might have imagined it.

"This is how it's going to work," Stephen said, moving closer to the bed. "You live here now. In our home. By our rules."

"What rules?" The words came out as a whisper.

"You don't leave without permission," Elijah said. "You don't contact anyone from your old life. You don't try to run."

"And if I do?"

Stephen leaned down until his face was inches from mine. His scent wrapped around me like chains, making my wolf purr even as my human side recoiled.

"Then we'll bring you back," he said softly. "Again and again, until you learn that fighting us is pointless."

"You can't keep me prisoner forever."

"We're not keeping you prisoner," Nathan said. "We're keeping you safe. There's a difference."

"Safe from what?"

"From yourself," Karl said. "From making decisions that will hurt all of us."

I stared at them, these four perfect alpha males who'd just told me I was their property. Who'd bought me from my own father like I was livestock.

"I hate you," I said. "I hate all of you."

"You'll get over it," Elijah said. "The mate bond will make sure of that."

Stephen straightened up, smoothing down his shirt. "We'll give you time to adjust. But Maya? Don't mistake our patience for weakness."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "It means that tonight, you sleep in my bed. Whether you like it or not."

The other three brothers stood up, and I realized they were all leaving. Abandoning me with Stephen.

"Wait," I called out. "Where are you going?"

"To give Stephen his time with his mate," Nathan said with that infuriating wink. "Don't worry, sweetheart. You'll get your turn with each of us."

The door closed behind them with a soft click, leaving me alone with Stephen.

My owner. My mate. My nightmare.

"Come on," he said, holding out his hand. "Let me show you where you'll be sleeping."

I looked at his outstretched hand, then at his face. There was no cruelty there. No anger. Just calm certainty that I would obey.

And for the first time since this whole nightmare began, I realized I might not have a choice..