Chapter 10: Collection

Maeve

“You’re confident you’ll make it.”

“I’m confident I have better odds than most.” Her gaze traveled toward the windows. “There are forty-two of us and only seventeen hunters. Once an Alpha captures a woman and declares her, he’s finished. He cannot release her and choose someone else.”

“Which leaves twenty-five women uncaptured.”

“Assuming every hunter succeeds.”

“And assuming they all follow the rules.”

Sable’s eyes moved toward the armed guards standing near the ballroom doors.

“They’ll follow them tonight.”

“You trust the Huntmaster that much?”

“No.” Her smile disappeared. “I trust the number of witnesses.”

Before I could answer, another woman joined us. She did not introduce herself immediately.

She simply stepped into our conversation as though there had always been a place reserved for her.

She was beautiful in the deliberate, polished way that required time and servants. Her pale gold gown clung to her waist before spilling toward the floor in layers of translucent fabric. Diamonds had been woven through her long auburn hair, and a gold chain rested against her forehead.

Her scent carried roses, expensive perfume, and confidence.

“You’re counting incorrectly,” she said.

Sable’s expression cooled. “Am I?”

“Not every hunter intends to capture someone.” The woman accepted a glass of red wine from a servant. “Several are here to observe possible alliances. Two are already promised to women outside the Hunt, and at least one is too old to catch anything faster than a servant carrying his supper.”

Sable glanced at me.

I swallowed a laugh.

The woman’s gaze settled on me. “Lyra Ashford.”

“Maeve Cross.”

Unlike Sable, Lyra did not hide her reaction. Her eyebrows rose. “So it is true.”

I crossed my arms. “What is?”

“Mara Cross’s younger sister entered the Hunt.”

“Considering I signed the book, I would say so.”

Lyra smiled over the rim of her glass. “I heard you came here for Ronan Caine.”

Sable’s attention sharpened.

I kept my face still. “People hear many things.”

“Most of them are dull.” Lyra lowered her wine. “That one interested me.”

“Why?”

“Because I came for him too.”

The irritation that moved through me was immediate and entirely unreasonable.

I did not want Ronan Caine. I wanted him dead. Lyra could have whatever remained after I finished with him.

Still, I did not like the way she said his name. Softly. Possessively. As though she had already imagined it whispered against her skin.

Sable glanced between us. “You entered because you want Caine to catch you?”

Lyra’s smile widened. “Of course.”

Sable stared at her. “You could have simply petitioned for a courtship.”

“And become one of hundreds?” Lyra looked almost offended by the suggestion. “No. An Alpha like Ronan Caine does not respond to polite letters and carefully arranged dinners.”

“He might respond by having the messenger killed,” I muttered.

Lyra’s eyes flicked toward me. “You speak as though you know him.”

“I know enough.”

“You know the stories.”

“I know what he did to my sister.”

“And yet you willingly entered a Hunt where he can claim you.” Her gaze moved over me slowly. “Either you are far braver than people say, or far more foolish.”

“Perhaps I simply have better reasons than wanting a crown.”

Lyra’s expression tightened before smoothing again. “There is nothing shameful about ambition.”

“I didn’t say there was.”

“You implied it.”

“Then perhaps you heard what you expected.”

Sable covered her mouth with one hand, disguising what looked suspiciously like a smile.

Lyra stepped closer. The scent of roses grew stronger.

“Every woman in this room is pretending she does not want him,” she said quietly. “I am simply honest enough to admit it.”

I looked around the ballroom. Several women glanced toward the western entrance every few seconds, clearly waiting for someone.

Maybe Lyra was right.

Ronan was powerful. Feared. Unmated.

For women who dreamed of becoming Luna to one of the strongest territories in the region, he was the greatest possible prize.

They did not know him. They did not know what he kept beneath his house.

“You’re welcome to him,” I said.

Lyra blinked. “You expect me to believe you entered for another hunter?”

“I didn’t enter for a mate.”

“Then why are you here?”

Sable watched me carefully.

I could not tell them the truth. Not all of it. “To collect something that belongs to me.”