SOLD TO THE LYCAN KING AFTER MY MATE REJECTED ME

REJECTED BEFORE THE BALLI gently turned the bracelet sitting pretty on my wrist, once, twice, and was captivated at how the silver moon charm attached to it caught the candlelight in my bedroom mirror.In a few hours I would be standing beside Rowan at the Lycan Ball, and maybe, if fate was finally on my side, he would say the words I had been hoping to hear for the past two years."You look happy," my maid, Della, said as she pinned the last curl in my hair into place. "The nervous kind of happy.”I smiled. "Is that even a thing?”"For you, it is." She smiled back at me through the mirror. "Everyone in the pack house is talking about tonight. They say Rowan asked his father for something. Maybe a ring.”My heart skipped a beat. I placed a hand over my chest, trying to calm myself. "Don't say that. You'll ruin my luck.""I'm only telling you what I heard.”I wanted to believe her. I wanted it so badly that I let myself imagine it anyway. I pictured Rowan taking my hand after the ann

THE KING'S MATEThe ballroom was mixed with the heavy scent of perfume and ambition. It was the same every year, and I had grown tired of it.I stood on the raised platform at the far end of the hall, one hand resting on the hilt of the ceremonial sword at my hip and watched wolves dressed in expensive silk and shiny jewels parade past me, each one hoping to catch my attention. I didn't notice a single soul. I never did."You could at least pretend you're enjoying yourself," Roderic muttered beside me, folding his arms as he scanned the crowd out of habit rather than interest. He, my advisor, had been by my side through eleven Lycan Balls, and every year he gave me the same advice and every year, I also gave him the same answer."I'm not here to enjoy myself. I'm here because tradition demands it""It also demands that you find your mate, Your Majesty. At least look like you're trying.”I didn't answer. There was nothing left to say on the matter. For eleven years, I had been in this

THE GIRL THEY SOLDThe ballroom had gone so mute that I could hear my own heartbeat in my ears.Hundreds of wolves watched as my stepmother shamelessly bargained over my future, and no one, not one single person in that crowd, said a word to prevent her."Land along the eastern border," Selene was saying. "The Ashthorne holdings have suffered for years. We want lots of gold to clear our debts and sufficient supplies to last three winters.""Stop," I interrupted her. "Please, someone stop this."No one attempted to. My eyes searched the crowd until they found my father standing near the platform. My chest ached badly, I could barely breathe."Papa." I pleaded in the voice of a little girl instead of the grown woman I was. "Please… tell her to stop. Tell them I'm not for sale."He looked at me and I held onto hope that this time he'd rescue me, that he might finally be the father who protected me instead of the one who let Selene run our house into ruin. But then, he averted his gaze f

A BEAUTIFUL CAGEI had grown up hearing stories about Silverfang. People said its towers reached the clouds and its halls were so wide that it could hold a village. I had always thought those stories were exaggerated. They weren't. The carriage rolled into a huge archway carved with wolves caught in mid-howl. Their stone eyes seemed to watch us as we went by, making me feel smaller than I ever had in my life.Kael helped me out of the carriage himself. His hand gently held mine, careful not to squeeze too hard. I avoided looking at him and rather stared at the pale stone steps that led to tall doors that could have been three men standing on each other's shoulders."This way," he pointed.I followed because I didn't know what else to do. My legs moved on their own while my mind was idly trapped in the memory of what had happened in the ballroom. I could still hear Selene naming a price for me as if I were a piece of silk.Inside the palace smelled of beeswax candles and fresh roses. Ma

REFUSING TO SHRINKI woke the next morning to sunlight shining in bright lines on the ceiling.For a while, I forgot where I was. It wasn't until I saw the carved wolves on the wardrobe doors, that the memory of the previous day came trooping in. Della wasn't there to help me dress. Instead, a palace maid entered my chamber. She peeked at me with the same curiosity I had seen in almost every servant since my arrival. She helped me change into a pale gray gown that fitted me perfectly. It was as if someone had taken my measurements after the ballroom. She pinned my hair in place without uttering a word. I didn't know her name, and she never offered it.By the time I reached the dining hall, my stomach was tight. I tried to convince myself that it was hunger, but I knew better. The dining hall was huge and bright. The morning sunlight poured in from the tall windows and fell on a long table covered with more silver and crystal than I had ever seen in one place. Nobles sat along the tab