LOGINHe bought her from a cage. She sold him her body to buy an army. On her wedding night, Elena Cross died. Her fiancé put a silver blade through her heart and took everything—her pack, her throne, her home—and left her bleeding in the dirt he once knelt on. She should have stayed dead. Instead, slavers dragged her half-alive body to the Pit, where the most feared monarch in the world put down ten thousand gold pieces for a broken cellar maid... and never once realized what he'd actually bought. King Ronan Blackthorn's touch kills. His fire has burned through every woman who ever dared get close. But when his slave lays her hand against his skin during a full-moon frenzy that should have turned her to ash, gold light explodes between them instead—and the coldest king alive whispers one word he was never supposed to be able to say. Mate. Now the Council wants her blood. Ronan wants her bound to him permanently. And Elena wants exactly one thing: an army with her name on it, and Marcus Vale's throat under her boot. She'll let the Lycan King claim her. She'll wear his ring, carry his heir, warm his bed. But every kiss is a down payment on a war—and when Elena finally walks into her stolen kingdom wearing a crown of gold fire, the man who murdered her is going to wish he'd finished the job. She came to him in chains. She's leaving as a Queen.
View MoreTen thousand gold pieces hit the auction table in a leather pouch, ringing like a death bell through the silence of the Pit.Lord Garrick sat down slowly, his face drained of all color, his ivory betting paddle slipping from his sweaty palm and dropping on the stone floor with a sharp, hollow clatter. The rest of the wealthy buyers kept their eyes glued strictly to the dirt, too terrified to even glance upat the sovereign ruler of the Blackthorn Kingdom standing at the edge of theshadows.“Unhand her," Silas Reed ordered, his harsh voice snapped the stunned auctioneer back to reality.The slave trader scrambled to the wooden stage with a heavy ring of ironkeys. His hands were trembling so violently that he dropped the keys twice against the floorboards before he finally managed to hit the keyhole.The iron chains binding Elena's ankles fell away. However, the thick cuffs around her wrists remained tightly shut, biting into her raw skin.Two royal guards flanked her on the stage, ke
The silence in the underground cavern was blood-chilling.Nobody moved. Nobody dared to take a full breath. The suffocating power filling the room pressed down on every person, forcing tough slave traders and wealthy buyers to bow their heads toward the cold stone floor.Every step of King Ronan Blackthorn's heavy leather boots echoed acrossthe silent arena like thunder.Beside him walked his right-hand commander, his beta, Silas Reed.Silas was a broad-shouldered wolf with a stern, scarred face, a deep line running across his left cheek, and a dark iron sword strapped to his back. His hand rested lightly on the handle of his weapon, his sharp eyes sweeping over the bowed crowd, ready to cut down anyone who made a wrong move against his king.“My... Your Majesty," the auctioneer squeaked, his knees shaking soviolently they knocked together beneath his silk robes. “We... we werenot expecting the honor of the Lycan King at the Pit today. If we had known, we would have prepared to wel
The smell of damp stone and sweat hit Elena the moment the wagon stopped.Rough hands unlocked the iron cage door, dragging her out into a dark, underground cavern. Heavy stone pillars held up the low ceiling, and torches flickered along the stone walls, casting long shadows across the crowd below.This was the Pit – the famous underground market where rogues,disgraced warriors, and captured shifters were sold like livestock to the highest bidder.Elena stumbled, the chains around her ankles clanking loudly against the cold floor. Her body still felt weak from the bleeding, but her mind was awake and sharp.“Move it, girl,” Cole barked, shoving her toward a row of iron cages set against the damp wall.Elena did not cry out. She did not beg. Instead, as Cole turned his head to speak with another guard, Elena reached down with a quick, quiet motion. She scooped up a handful of dirt from the ground andsmeared it across her face, hiding her highborn features beneath a layerof grime.Sh
The mud was freezing against Elena's face.Cold rain poured from the night sky, hitting her skin like tiny needles. Every drop washed away a bit of the blood soaking her white wedding dress, turning the clear puddles around her body into light red pools."Throw her down here," a guard's voice barked from above.Elena couldn’t move her arms. She couldn't even raise her chin out ofthe wet dirt. Her body felt heavy like lead.Rough hands grabbed the lace of her gown and shoved her over the edge ofthe steep hill. Elena rolled down the mud-slicked ravine, crashing intosharp rocks, wet pine needles, and broken tree branches until she slammed hard into the bottom of the ditch."Is she moving?” the second guard asked from the top.“No," the first one replied with a short laugh. “The silver daggerdid its job. Let's get out of this storm before the rain washes out theroad.”Their heavy footsteps faded into the roaring sound of the rain.Elena lay trapped in the dark. The pain in her chest






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