Chapter One

Chapter 1: Sold to the Alpha

Elara's POV

I slammed the heavy iron door behind me. The cold of the stone floor bit through the thin soles of my shoes. My fingers trembled as I wrapped the threadbare shawl tighter around my shoulders. Suffocating silence filled the manor, and I knew I was late. Darius would be furious.

I quickened my pace down the hall, my eyes cast to the floor, away from the stern portraits of ancestors that lined the walls. Once, this had been my house, but now it reminded me more and more of a jail. Every groaning of the floorboards under my feet sounded like a warning, telling me I wasn't wanted here anymore.

"You're late," a cold voice snapped, and I jumped. Darius stood in the doorway of the dining room, his eyes darker as his disdainful stare fell on me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, my head hanging lower.

"Sorry? Do you think 'sorry' makes up for everything I've done for you? For keeping you alive after Father and your mother—"

"Stepmother," I softly corrected. My real mother had died when I was still young.

Darius's lips curled into a sneer. "Right, stepmother. Dead and gone, just like the rest of this pathetic family." He took a step closer to me, and instinctively I recoiled a step backward. "But don't worry, little sister, I've finally found a way to pay off those debts. You ought to thank me."

My gut contorted into a knot. Something in his tone sent a chill down my spine. "What do you mean?"

His smile flashed all teeth. "You're getting married."

The air swooshed out of my lungs in a puff. "Married? To who? You can't-

"Oh, but I can. The papers are already signed." Darius' tone was mocking and his eyes glittered with malicious delight. "Lucian Blackwood, Alpha of the Silverfang pack. You'll be his lovely little bride by tomorrow night."

Lucian Blackwood. The name itself was enough to bring my heartbeat to a screeching halt. Of course, I knew, just like everybody else, that something or two was said about the Alpha of Silverfang: brutal, ruthless, and feared by everyone. Stories of ruling with an iron fist, taking what he wanted, destroying anything and everything in his path, still swirled in my head.

I shook my head, drawing back from Darius. "No. No, I won't do it. You can't force me into this."

Darius laughed-the sound cold, emotionless. "Oh, but I can. And I have. Consider this your payment for all the years you've freeloaded off me." A step closer and he was looming over me. "You will marry him, Elara. Or else."

My hands clenched into fists at my sides. "Or else what?"

Darius leaned down until his face was inches from mine, his breath hot and foul against my cheek. "Or else, I'll make sure you never see that inheritance you're so desperate for. I'll make sure you're nothing but a memory. Do you understand?"

I swallowed hard as the burn of tears threatened my eyes, fighting it. I wasn't going to let him see me cry. Not now. I was tougher than this. I had to be. "You'll regret this, Darius," I whispered low.

He straightened, laughing again. "I doubt that. But feel free to try, little sister. You've got till tomorrow to say your goodbyes. Not that anyone will miss you." With that, he turned and strode down the hall, leaving me standing alone in the dying light of the manor.

My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the floor. My hands were shaking as I wrapped my arms around myself, my heart racing in my chest. Sold. To the Alpha. The thought was like ice in my veins.

What choice did I have, though?

I could try to run. I could try and get out of this nightmare before it swallowed me whole. Yet where would I go? I had no money, no friends. I was alone. And Lucian Blackwood would find me. He always found what he wanted.

That night I had lain awake, staring at the cracked ceiling of my small room, and listening to the distant howl of the wind outside. My mind was racing as Darius' words replayed over and over in my head. I was being sold like a piece of property, my life bartered away for his debts. I should have seen this coming. I should have known he'd find some way to use me.

But Lucian Blackwood… the tales about him had been enough to make the bravest of hearts shudder. They said he ruled his pack with fear and blood, his enemies seldom living to greet the next morning. Now, I was supposed to marry him. The thought made my stomach churn.

As the hours dragged on, the more resolute I became. I wasn't going to make this easy. I wasn't going to be this poor little pawn in Darius's game. I needed a plan; to survive this, I needed to find a way out.

By morning, I had made my mind up. Before the ceremony took place, I would leave. I couldn't fight Lucian, but I could run. Inheritance could wait. Freedom was a great prize.

Packed the little that I had with me: a change of clothes, some coins I kept from Darius, and the locket my mother had left to me. The only thing that was valuable that I owned, yet I was not ready to part with it. It was all that was left of her.

I slid out of the house as though it had never sheltered anyone. Down the back steps in the dark of the shadows, my heart racing in my chest, each groan of the floorboards was like a shot ringing through the stillness. Yet nobody came.

I was almost to the back door when a low growl halted me in my stride.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"

I turned slowly, my breath catching in my throat. Standing in the doorway, his eyes gleaming in the dim light, was Lucian Blackwood. Tall, with shoulders big enough to block out the sun and a face of heart-shredding beauty to curdle blood, his presence charged the room like a storm.

I froze, my heart going into overdrive as his dark eyes locked on mine. "Going somewhere?" His voice was a low dangerous rumble, and the blood siphoned from my face.

"I…," I stammered, my mind racing to find an excuse, but there wasn't one.

Lucian's lips curved into a cold smile. "I'd rethink that if I were you."