Prologue

Josephine

When Kurt and I started our lives in a small town in Washington I thought this would be our forever home, our happy place.

The town was small and quiet and Kurt managed to get a job working at a factory the next town over. After a few months passed our next journey had begun and we were expecting our first baby.

It was the happiest time of my life. What I didn't know was that the town was owned and run by creatures that shapeshift into wolves.

Who knew they even existed? Are all the dangerous predators real?

I thought this town would be our happy place forever. A place where Kurt and I would grow old together but I was wrong, oh so wrong.

A man dressed in a fancy suit showed up at our house one day. Kurt must have known the man because he bowed upon seeing him.

The tall man entered the house, his brown hair was combed back nicely and his thick body barely looked like it got in that skin tight suit.

“Riley,” Kurt greets.

The man nods once.

His eyes land on me and then travels down to my round belly. I shift uncomfortably and place my arms around my belly protectively.

“Have you told your wife?”

Kurt shifts on his feet and shakes his head.

The guy “Riley” as Kurt called him turns toward me.

“Why don’t you prepare tea at the table so we can have a little chat,”

Kurt glances at me and nods.

I walk into the kitchen to prepare the tea. I can hear Kurt and Riley bickering but I can’t make out what they’re saying.

I wonder what he meant by have you told your wife?

Who is this man and what does he want? The teapot whistle and I remove it from the stove. I pour the hot water into three of my rose painted cups. I grab the tea bags and slice up a lemon and set the table.

Kurt and Riley entered the kitchen and sat down at the table.

“Mrs. Monroe. Please sit so we can discuss an important matter,” Riley says to me.

I made sure to sit as far away from Riley as I could get. The guy made me very uncomfortable.

“Mrs. Monroe. There are things about this town you don’t know. Everyone that lives here are werewolf,”

I stare at Riley and burst into laughter.

“Werewolves, huh? And I’m the Virgin Mary,” I laughed sarcastically. I laughed so hard it was beginning to get painful.

Riley’s features remained serious as he raised his thick brown eyebrow.

I looked at Kurt and he had a terrified look and then I moved my eyes slowly toward Riley.

“Oh, you're serious?”

He nods once.

“Why are you telling me this?” I ask.

“You see Mrs. Monroe. All humans that want to reside here in my town must follow my rules,”

Frowning I say. “What rules?”

“All babies that are born boys will work for me.”

“What about girls?” I asked curiously since he only mentioned boys.

“Girls will be sold,”

I gaped.

He has got to be kidding. Like hell, any daughter of mine will be sold.

“I appreciate you for being honest with me, but Kurt and I will move before any boys of mine will be slaved by you or my daughters be sold off like prostitutes,”

“Josephine,” Kurt hisses.

“You don’t have a choice in the matter I’m afraid. Kurt has a contract which means you will abide by my rules or suffer in death,”

………….

“I can’t believe you signed a contract giving our kids this life without telling me,”

Riley left shortly after he said what he came to say. I was unaware creatures like this even existed. How in the hell did we end up in wolf country?

“Riley said if I didn’t sign it he would kill you and make me watch. I had no choice,”

I shake my head.

I knew Kurt wouldn’t have signed that without reasons.

“We can just pack up some clothes and leave right now,” I tell him.

“Where would we go? Their wolves Josephine. They’d find us and kill us both. I’ve seen what these things can do and trust me we would never be safe there are more of them than you know,”

“I don’t want our son to be a slave for these people,”

Kurt runs his fingers through his sandy blonde hair with frustration.

“I’d rather him be a slave than dead,”

Tears fell down my face.

I know Kurt’s right but what will Wade think when he’s born? He will grow up and hate us for it. The image of Kurt and I growing old and watching grandchildren play was no longer going to happen.

We might not even grow old.

“I’m not having any more kids,”

Kurt nods.

“I was thinking the same thing,”

…………

I gave birth to Wade a few weeks after Riley’s visit. Kurt and I had to be careful since the Doctor here refused to give me birth control and said it was against the rules. We managed not to get pregnant for three years but then it happened. I was lucky enough to have another son, Wyatt.

Kurt works for Riley everyday and he always asks when we are going to have another baby and Kurt tells him when it happens. I later found out the humans here have only ever had boys, no one has had a girl. For over twelve years.

Riley keeps forcing us women to have babies in hopes one will have a girl.

Kurt and I stopped having sex completely afraid of the outcome. We had three perfect boys. We got pregnant with Luke after Wyatt and that’s when we called it quits.

Kurt and I celebrated our fourteenth wedding anniversary and we both had too much to drink and sure enough pregnant with baby number four or should I say, babies.

This was the first time I had ever gotten pregnant with twins and when I told Kurt he told me that twins Ran in his family.

That stupid fuck forgot to tell me.

When Kurt and I met it was love at first sight. Once I looked into those brown eyes I fell head over hills. Kurt isn’t short but he ain’t tall either, he is strong. Not a werewolf strong but he has normal muscles. When I first introduced him to my parents they immediately dismissed him because he didn’t come from money. My father forbade me from seeing him and when I refused to give Kurt up he kicked me out and told me never to come back and I haven’t since.

I was upset that my mother didn’t speak up for me and told father I didn’t have to leave. I was sixteen for god sake. When she sat there as father banished me without a word I swore I’d never speak to them again.

That’s when Kurt and I set off into the world together we traveled to the next town where we got married and lived for a year. Work got rough so we moved and moved and moved again, until we found this town.

At least I wasn’t the only one pregnant this time. Five others are also pregnant, the worse part? All six of us were having girls.

I was told only this morning that there’s a meeting at Riley’s mansion and I needed to bring the girls. I knew this day would come but I thought they’d be….I don’t know older?

Rose and Lily turned a year old only a few months ago Kurt and I thought we’d have more time with them than this.

As I drove up the driveway to the mansion I noticed more cars pulling up as well and the other five ladies were carrying their daughters inside.

How can they be so calm?

After staring at the door for an hour I hesitantly knocked on the door.

“Welcome Mrs. Monroe. They are waiting for you,” An elderly man says as he opens the door for me and the girls.

Both of the girls hold my hands gently once we step inside I tighten my grasp on them.

The mansion sure is beautiful with paintings that look very old and very expensive. Along with most of the decor, the floors were black marble with specks of gold. White walls and very tall ceilings.

“Follow, me,”

He leads us down a hall and I notice a few photos here and there along with antique vases and tables.

Now I know why they call it a mansion. These hallways go on and on for miles.

The short stubby man stops at a black door with a golden handle.

“Right in here,” He says, opening the door.

I walk into the room and see the others lined up with their daughters in front of them so I stand next to them and place Rose and Lily in front of me and place my hands on their shoulders.

“I’m glad you could all make it,” Riley says entering the room.

“I have a few Alphas here today and the alpha king. They are here to choose a child, once they have chosen and paid the fees they can pick the child up whenever they please,”

I gulp and my hands tremble as I hold on to my girls.

“Also we have a special guest here with us today. The Lycan Prince joined our meeting, now he is not here to buy anyone but please ladies be on your best behavior and try to control your children,”

The woman next to me Martha I believe is her name raises her hand.

“Yes,” Riley says to her.

“Do we get any of the money from the child?”

She did not just say that.

“Yes, parents do get a percentage of the selling price,”

She nods.

“Does anyone else have any questions?”

I raise my hand.

“What’s your question?”

“What if no one wants to buy your child? Do we get to keep them?”

“That’s a great question. If the children do not sell today we will continue to try. But if the child hits a certain age and she still hasn’t sold yes, you would get to keep them. But they will be working as maids in the mansion,”

I nod.

Riley asked if anyone had any more questions but no one did. Now my only hope is that no one buys my girls.

Riley opens the door.

“Come on in and take a look around,” Riley smiles and pats the intimidating men on their shoulders as they enter.

A tall man with dark hair and blue eyes stops in front of the twins and my heart starts beating fast.

“Josephine, this is Bruno. The Alpha King. King of werewolves,” Riley informs me.

The man named Bruno leans down on one knee and looks straight at Rose. Rose and Lily may be twins but they looked different. Rose has brown hair and blue eyes and Lily has black hair and green eyes.

“She will be perfect,” Bruno says smiling.

My heart is hammering in my chest.

“Please,” I cry.

“Don’t take my baby,”

The man stares at me with hard eyes as he stands.

“Try to calm down, I can’t hear myself think with how loud your heart is,”

I try to steady my breathing but it doesn’t help. Bruno sighs.

“Don’t worry I don’t need her until she’s sixteen, you can keep her up until that day,”

Bruno turns toward Riley and the two start chatting up numbers.

I don’t want my girls to go anywhere. At least I know I’ll have Rose until she’s sixteen.

Riley and Bruno bow their heads as a tall broad man enters the room and power radiates from him. Riley and Bruno try to strike up a conversation with him as he strolls straight to me.

This man did not look nice, he looked like he wanted to rip someone’s head off. His black hair was tousled and his eyes were wired. He has one blue eye and one green eye.

He looks straight at Lily.

Fuck.

He doesn’t say anything as he walks over to Riley.

“I want the girl with green eyes,”

“You said you weren't buying. What changed your mind?” Riley asks him.

The man shrugs his shoulders.

“She’ll make a nice pet. I’ll send you a check for a hundred thousand dollars.”

With that, the man walks out of the room leaving everyone speechless.

He didn’t take her and he never said when he would come for her.

Once the girls and I were back home I fed them and we played for hours after dinner and a bath the girls drifted right off to sleep.

Once Kurt got home he asked what happened and I told him everything.

“At least we know we have Rose until she turns sixteen,”

I sigh.

“But the other man just told Riley he’s sent a check for a hundred thousand dollars and left he didn’t say anything,”

Kurt kisses my forehead.

“Then we need to make every moment count,”

………………

The girls are now twelve years old and today I’m going to tell them their fate. It’s not going to be easy to tell the girls that they were sold to dangerous wolves.

Bruno brings his son Ethan to visit Rose once a week but the man who brought Lily hasn’t called or visited once. The only thing Lily gets from him is a charm to add on her bracelet every year.

I sat the girls down and we all sip our tea and make small talk when I broke the news to them. Rose took the news well, but Lily? She didn't, she stormed off to the tire swing in the backyard that’s her place and no one bothers her there, not even Rose.

…………………

“Lily sweetheart. Would you like more potatoes?”

“No, thank you,” She says, swirling her peas around the plate.

Lily is still upset over our conversation today and hasn’t said much to anyone since. Kurt’s even tried she’s a Daddy's girl but she wouldn’t talk to him either.

“May I be excused?” Lily asks.

“You may,” Kurt tells her.

“She hasn't eaten,” I tell him.

“Josephine, she's lost and hurting. She needs to heal and find her own peace with this and it’s our job to make sure she knows she’s loved,”

“You’re right,” I nod.

“I’m just scared for her. We know nothing about this man and he said she would make a great pet. Kurt, is he going to treat her like an animal?”

“Let’s hope not. Riley did tell me that man was the Lycan prince. Not many Lycans exist,”

My forehead creases.

“He’s not a werewolf?”

“He is just stronger and different. I don’t know much Riley just said he’s different and way stronger than a werewolf, he’s even stronger than the king of wolves,”

My stomach tightens. And my chest squeezes.