Chapter 2

SERENA.

The rain did not stop. Serena kept walking, her torn dress clinging to her skin as water ran down her face. She no longer knew where she was going, and at that point, she didn't care. She only knew she couldn't go back.

No matter how far she walked, Damon’s face kept coming back to her… the coldness in his eyes, his cruel words, and the way he had looked at her when he rejected her. She had spent years imagining their wedding day, imagining Damon standing beside her and holding her hand while the pack welcomed her as their Luna. She had even believed that the boy who once protected her from cruel children would be the same man who would protect her for the rest of her life.

Instead, he had been the one to break her.

Serena pressed a hand against her chest as another wave of pain went through her. The mate bond was gone, and so was the future she had spent years believing was waiting for her. No Damon. No Luna position. No home. No pack. For the first time in years, Serena had no idea what she was supposed to do next.

She kept walking, barely aware of the road beneath her feet. She had spent years helping other people find a way out of their problems, but tonight, she couldn't even find one for herself.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the movement in the darkness beside the road until someone suddenly rushed toward her. Before Serena could turn, a hand covered her mouth.

She gasped and struggled, trying to pull away, but her body was already weak from the rejection and the long walk in the rain.

“Let me go!”

Her voice came out muffled beneath the man's hand. She kicked backward, but another man grabbed her before she could break free. Serena fought as hard as she could, but her strength was fading, and panic rushed through her when she realized no one was coming.

She thought of Damon.

For one stupid second, she wished he were there.

Then the thought hurt even more.

Her vision began to blur as the rain slowly faded into the background. The last thing she felt was the strength leaving her body before everything went black.

***

When Serena opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the smell of damp stone. The air was cold, and as her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, she became aware of something else around her… a quiet fear that seemed to fill the whole place.

She blinked a few times, trying to remember where she was. Then the memories came rushing back… the banquet, Damon, the rejection, the rain, and the men who had attacked her.

She tried to move, but her muscles were weak, so she pushed herself up slowly and looked around. She wasn't in a normal room. Rough stone walls surrounded her, and the only light came from a few dim lamps along them.

Then she saw the women.

They were sitting and lying around the room, most of them keeping to themselves. Serena noticed the bruises on their arms and the cuts on their faces and legs, while some simply stared ahead with such empty looks that she wondered how long they had been here.

Serena looked down at herself and then back at them. Most of the women were smaller than her, their delicate frames making them look even more helpless in a place like this. For the first time in her life, Serena's size made her stand out for a reason she had never expected.

A woman sitting beside her noticed that she was awake and spoke quietly. “You shouldn't move too much.”

Serena turned toward her. The woman looked exhausted, and her voice was barely above a whisper.

“Where are we?”

The woman hesitated and glanced around before answering. “You don't know?”

Serena shook her head.

“This is an auction house.”

Serena frowned. “An auction?”

The woman nodded slowly. “A black-market breeding auction.”

“What?”

The woman looked away before explaining, “They take women who don't have anyone protecting them. Women who are abandoned, exiled, or alone.” Her voice dropped even lower. “They sell us to Alphas.”

Serena stared at her. “For what?”

The woman looked at her for a moment before answering, “For heirs.”

Serena's stomach turned. “They sell women... just to have children?”

The woman nodded. “Strong bloodlines. Strong heirs. That's what they care about.”

Serena looked around the room again, taking in the bruises, the fear on the women's faces, and the way some of them barely seemed to have the strength to move.

Serena could barely look at them. She had thought losing her place as Luna was the worst thing that could happen to her, but she had been wrong.

A loud sound echoed through the underground room, and the women immediately fell silent. Fear spread across their faces as the door opened and several men entered. One of them looked around the room before his eyes settled on Serena, and a slow smile appeared on his face.

“Bring her.”

Serena stepped back. “What?”

The man grabbed her arm, and she immediately pulled away. “Let go of me.”

But he was stronger. Serena struggled against him, but the other women only looked away, their faces filled with helplessness.

Serena was dragged through the corridor as the sound of voices grew louder. By the time they reached the end, she found herself standing at the entrance of a large hall.

Men sat around the room, their cold, calculating eyes moving over her as they judged what they saw. One of the men pushed her onto a raised platform, and Serena looked around in disbelief. She had stood in front of hundreds of pack members before, but never like this. Never with people looking at her as though she were something they could choose and take home.

A man stepped forward, and from the practiced smile on his face, Serena could tell he had done this many times before.

“Tonight, we have something special.”

The crowd leaned forward, their attention fixed on her.

The host looked at Serena. “A rare specimen.”

Serena's fingers curled at her sides. The word made her feel sick. They hadn't called her a woman or even a person. To them, she was nothing more than something they could examine and buy.

“Full-figured. Strong build. Wide hips. Excellent health.”

Each word made Serena's skin crawl.

“Perfect for producing strong heirs.”

The crowd murmured among themselves.

Then the bidding began.

One man called out a number, and another quickly raised it. The price climbed higher with every bid, and Serena could hardly believe how quickly the men around the room were competing for her.

They didn't want her. They wanted sons, heirs, a powerful bloodline, and everything they believed her body could give them.

Her throat tightened as she wondered if this was all she was to them, a body they could buy, a womb meant to give them what they wanted. She wanted to scream that she was more than that, that she had a name, a life, and a place she had fought to earn.

The bidding continued, rising higher and higher until a deep, commanding voice rang out from the highest level of the room.

Everyone turned toward the balcony.

Serena slowly looked up. She couldn't see the man's face clearly from where she stood, but something inside her reacted before she could understand why. Her wolf stirred for the first time since Damon broke their bond, and a strange sense of familiarity moved through her.

Then the man's voice came through the silence…

“Mate.”