Twin Moon Luna

The auction block was made of black oak, stained dark with old blood and older tears.

Sena stood on it with her wrists bound behind her back. The blindfold had been removed an hour ago, and the morning sun was cruel, too bright, making her squint. She had not seen the sun in three months, not since the slavers had pulled her from the ruins of her pack's village.

She was twenty years old. She was wolf-less. She was alone.

The crowd before her was a sea of faces she did not know, wolves from a dozen packs who had come to browse the merchandise. Some looked at her with pity. Most looked at her with hunger.

The auctioneer, a fat man with yellow teeth, climbed onto the platform and grabbed her chin.

"Healer's daughter!" the auctioneer boomed across the square. "Trained in herbs and poultices! Wolf-less, yes, but pretty enough to warm any alpha's bed!"

The crowd laughed. Sena's face burned with shame.

"Who will start the bidding?" the auctioneer called out.

A hand shot up from the front row. "Fifty silver pieces!" shouted a wolf in a grey cloak.

"Fifty from the gentleman in the grey cloak!" The auctioneer pointed at the bidder. "Do I hear sixty?"

"Sixty!" yelled a stocky wolf with a red beard.

"Seventy!" called a woman in a blue dress.

"Eighty!" cried an old wolf leaning on a cane.

A deep rumble rolled from the back of the crowd. "One hundred silver pieces."

The voice was cold, commanding. Sena's head snapped up. The crowd parted like water before a stone, and a man stepped forward.

He was tall, broad shouldered, with dark hair falling to his shoulders. His eyes were pale blue, cold as winter ice. When he looked at Sena, she felt like prey.

The auctioneer's face went pale. "Alpha King Aldrian! One hundred silver pieces! Going once, going twice..."

The gavel slammed down. "Sold! To Alpha King Aldrian of the Southern Territories!" the auctioneer cried out.

Sena's blood turned to ice. Aldrian. She had heard that name whispered in frightened tones. Cruel. Ambitious. Insatiable.

Aldrian climbed the steps to the block and stopped inches from her.

"Untie her," the Alpha King commanded.

The slaver scrambled to cut her ropes. Sena rubbed her raw wrists and kept her eyes lowered.

"Look at me," Aldrian ordered.

She raised her eyes. Something flickered in his cold gaze, a spark of interest that made her stomach clench with fear. He reached out and touched her face.

"You are prettier than the auctioneer said," Aldrian murmured. "I expect to get my money's worth."

Sena said nothing. What was there to say?

He took her by the arm and led her to a carriage of black wood and iron. He handed her inside and climbed in after her. The carriage lurched into motion.

The journey to Aldrian's fortress took three days. He did not touch her during the journey. He only watched her with those pale blue eyes, heavy and possessive.

The fortress rose from the hill like a beast crouched to pounce. Aldrian led her through corridors lined with tapestries to a large bedchamber, opulent and cold.

"This is your room," Aldrian announced. "You will stay here until I send for you. You will not leave without my permission. You will not speak to anyone unless I am present. Do you understand?"

Sena nodded.

He stepped closer, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off his body. His hand cupped her chin.

"You belong to me now," Aldrian said, his voice soft and dangerous. "Every part of you. I paid for you, and I will use you as I see fit."

Then he was gone.

The first time Aldrian came to her, she was not ready. Not that readiness would have mattered. He appeared in her doorway three nights later, his eyes dark with hunger.

"You will not scream," Aldrian commanded.

His alpha power wrapped around her throat like invisible fingers. Her body obeyed even as her mind rebelled.

He was not gentle. He took what he wanted with a single minded intensity that left her breathless and bruised. When he was finished, he lay beside her in the darkness.

"You are different," Aldrian breathed, wonder coloring his harsh voice. "I have had many women. But none of them felt like you."

Sena stared at the ceiling.

He came every night after that. Sometimes rough. Sometimes almost tender. Always hungry.

"You are the only one who makes me feel this way," Aldrian whispered one night, his face buried in her hair.

Sena remained silent.

"The only one," he repeated.

Six months later, she noticed the change in her body. The sickness in the mornings. The swelling in her belly.

She was pregnant.