2

The next morning felt like walking through a dream made of glass, where every step threatened to shatter something beneath me.

I stood in Scarlet's oversized bedroom while she circled me like a vulture examining a fresh carcass. Her closet doors were thrown wide open and dresses in every color hung in neat rows, none of which had ever been offered to me in twelve years of living under the same roof.

"Hold still." Scarlet grabbed a fistful of my dull brown hair and yanked my head sideways. "God, when was the last time you washed this?"

"This morning."

"It looks like you dragged it through a ditch." She wrinkled her nose and tossed my hair back like it had offended her personally. "We need to dye it. Curl it. Do something to make you look halfway presentable so the King does not send you back and demand me instead."

Lily appeared in the doorway holding a garment bag, her lips pressed into that tight line she always wore when she was pretending to be helpful. "I found this in storage. Off white. Simple enough for someone like her."

Someone like her. I swallowed the bitterness and said nothing.

For the next two hours, I sat on a stool in front of Scarlet's mirror while they pulled and tugged and painted me like a canvas. Scarlet dyed my hair a warm chestnut brown and wrapped sections of it around a curling iron until soft waves framed my round face. Lily applied foundation over the scar that ran along my left cheekbone, the one I had gotten when I was eight and fell down the basement stairs carrying a laundry basket that was too heavy for a child.

When they finally stepped back to admire their work, Scarlet tilted her head and let out a dramatic sigh.

"Well. It is the best we can do with what we have." Her eyes traveled up and down my body in the off white gown, lingering on my wide hips and thick waist with obvious judgment. "At least the dress hides most of it."

"You know, I heard the Lycan King is actually very handsome." Lily crossed her arms and studied my reflection with an almost jealous flicker in her eyes. "Tall, dark, golden eyes. If I had known that, I might have reconsidered sending Scarlet."

"Mother!" Scarlet's head snapped toward Lily, panic flashing across her face.

"I said might, darling. Relax." Lily smoothed Scarlet's hair with one hand and they both laughed, a musical, careless sound that made my stomach turn. They were laughing about the man I was being sent to as a slave. Like it was entertainment. Like my terror was a sitcom playing in the background of their comfortable lives.

I looked at myself in the mirror and did not recognize the girl staring back. She had nice hair and smooth skin and a pretty dress, but her eyes were hollow. She looked like a lamb that had been decorated for the slaughter.

A quiet knock came from behind me, and when I turned, Tessa was standing in the doorway. Her eyes were red and her jaw was clenched tight. She looked at Scarlet and Lily, and something dangerous flickered behind her expression.

"Can I have five minutes alone with her?" Tessa kept her voice steady, but I could hear the tremor underneath it.

"Fine. Five minutes." Scarlet grabbed her phone and walked out with Lily trailing behind her. "Do not mess up her hair."

The second they were gone, Tessa rushed to my side and grabbed both my hands. Her fingers were freezing cold.

"Listen to me carefully, Bella." Her voice dropped low, barely above a breath. "The King is only coming tonight to inspect you and sign the contract. He is not taking you with him tonight. That means we have time."

"Time for what?" My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my teeth.

"Time to get you out." Tessa's grip tightened on my fingers. "After the meeting, after everyone goes to sleep, I am coming to your room. I have packed a bag for both of us. New clothes, cash, fake IDs my cousin made."

"Tessa, we talked about this. If I run, the King will destroy the pack."

"Then let him." Her eyes burned with something fierce and reckless. "This pack has never treated you like one of their own. They fed you scraps and worked you to the bone and now they are selling you to a monster. Why should you sacrifice yourself for people who would not sacrifice a single meal for you?"

"Because there are children here, Tessa. Pups who have done nothing wrong." My voice broke on the last word and I squeezed her hands back. "I could not live with myself knowing their blood was on my hands."

Tessa stared at me for a long moment, her eyes shining with unshed tears. Then she pulled me into a hug, pressing her face against my shoulder. I could feel her body shaking.

"You are too good for this world, Mia Ashford." Her voice was muffled against my skin. "You are too good and they do not deserve you."

"Promise me something." I pulled back and held her face between my palms, looking into her eyes. "Promise me you will not do anything reckless tonight. No matter what happens in that meeting, you keep your head down and your mouth shut."

"I am not going to stand there and watch them sell my best friend."

"Yes, you are. Because if you cause a scene, they will punish you too, and I need to know that at least one person in this world is safe and free." My throat was aching from holding back the sobs. "Promise me, Tessa."

She closed her eyes. A single tear rolled down her cheek. "I promise. But I am not giving up. You hear me? This is not the end. We will find a way. I do not care if I have to walk into that palace myself and drag you out by your ankles."

A tiny, broken laugh escaped my lips. "You are five foot two."

"And full of rage." She cracked the smallest smile, even though her chin was trembling. "Do not underestimate short women, Bella. We bite."

I pulled her close one more time and breathed in the familiar scent of her coconut shampoo. Outside the window, the sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of blood orange and deep purple. Somewhere out there, a king was coming to collect his debt, and I was the currency.

The girl in the mirror was still watching me with those hollow, frightened eyes. The dress was beautiful. My hair was perfect. The scar on my cheek had vanished under layers of expensive concealer.

But underneath all of it, I was still just a chubby, wolfless girl with no power and no choices, standing at the edge of a cliff and waiting for someone to push.

And tonight, the push was coming.