Chapter One: The Auction and the Rejection

The cold iron collar was digging into my skin, but I refused to look down. I wasn't going to let Beta Marcus see me break.

"Five hundred thousand gold coins!" Marcus yelled, his loud voice echoing across the fancy ballroom. He slammed his hand on the podium, flexing his wolf pressure to scare everyone into bidding higher. "She might be a useless Null who can’t even shift, but she knows how to act like royalty! She’ll make a great servant!"

Laughs broke out across the room. People from all the powerful packs were here, enjoying the show.

I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper. Let them laugh. They thought I was just some powerless orphan girl. They had no idea I was the one who spent every night secretly reading and fixing the old pack treaties Marcus used to make his money. I knew every secret in this room.

"Six hundred thousand!" Alpha Cassian called out, stepping up with a nasty grin on his face. He looked at me like I was something stuck to the bottom of his shoe. "She can clean my stables during the day and stay in my room at night."

Marcus grinned, his eyes lighting up with greed. "Sold to Alpha Cassian!"

Cassian walked up the steps toward me, pulling out a silver ring to lock the deal. He stopped right in front of my face. His breath smelled terrible.

"Look at me," Cassian growled, grabbing my chin hard.

I stared right back into his eyes and didn't blink.

"You really think you're getting a rank?" Cassian laughed. He let go of my chin and turned around to face the crowd. "I, Alpha Cassian, reject this pathetic creature! I'm not buying her to be my mate or my Luna. I'm buying her as a slave!"

A few people gasped, but most just laughed. Rejecting someone before the contract was even signed was the ultimate insult. Marcus didn't care at all; he was still getting his money.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and kept my voice calm. "A slave? Be careful, Alpha Cassian. Sometimes the things you throw away end up ripping your throat out."

Cassian’s face turned red. "What did you just say to me?" He raised his hand to hit me.

I didn't flinch.

BOOM.

The heavy wood doors at the front of the room exploded into pieces.

A sudden, terrifying weight crushed down on the room. It was so strong that half the Alphas dropped straight to their knees, gasping for air. Even Cassian froze, his hand shaking in mid-air.

A tall man walked through the smoke. He wore black armor, had dark hair, and his eyes were a bright, dangerous gold. Behind him were twenty heavy-armed guards.

King Valen. The Lycan King. The most feared man on the continent.

The whole room went dead silent. Nobody dared to move.

Valen didn't even look at Marcus or Cassian. His gold eyes went straight to me.

He walked across the room with slow, heavy steps. When he reached the platform, Cassian practically tripped over himself trying to back away.

Valen stopped right in front of me. The scary pressure that was suffocating everyone else suddenly faded around me, feeling more like a warm blanket.

He reached out and snapped the iron collar off my neck with two fingers. It hit the floor with a loud clang.

Marcus rushed over, sweating bullets. "Y-Your Majesty! I'm sorry for the mess, this girl is just a Null servant we were selling"

"Shut up," Valen said, his voice quiet but terrifying.

Valen looked down at my face, checking my bruised chin and my hands. He unclipped his thick black cloak and wrapped it over my shoulders.

Then he turned to the crowd and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear:

"She isn't a servant. And she isn't wolf-less." Valen drew his sword, pointing it right at Marcus. "She is the lost heir of the First Lycans. And as of tonight, she is my Queen."