Chapter 1: The Hundred Million Dollar Rejection

The air in the Silver Moon Great Hall was thick with the scent of stale ale and the copper tang of fear. I stood on the auction block, my wrists bound by silk cords, the fabric of my thin slip dress clinging to my skin in the drafty room.

I wasn’t an Omega anymore. I was a debt to be paid.

“Do I hear fifty million?” the Auctioneer roared, his hammer poised like a guillotine.

I looked down at the front row. Silas—my former Alpha and the man I thought was my fated mate—sat there with his arm draped around a high-ranking she-wolf.

Two days ago, he had looked me in the eye and said the words that shattered my soul:

“I, Silas of Silver Moon, reject you, Seraphina, as my mate. You are too weak to carry the future of this pack.”

Now, he was watching me being sold to cover his pack’s gambling debts like I was nothing more than a used car.

“Sixty million!” a voice called from the back.

“Seventy!”

The Alphas in the room were salivating. They saw a rejected mate—a woman with no pack protection—as the ultimate toy.

I closed my eyes, praying for the floor to swallow me.

Then the heavy iron doors of the hall were blasted off their hinges.

The sound was like a bomb going off. A freezing wind swept through the room, carrying the scent of ancient forests, dark musk, and pure, unfiltered power.

The rowdy Alphas went dead silent. Some even fell to their knees.

A man walked through the smoke.

He was a giant, his frame wrapped in a heavy charcoal-colored trench coat that swept against his polished boots. His hair was black as a raven’s wing, and his jawline looked like it had been carved from granite.

But it was his eyes that stopped the world—glowing, molten gold.

Lycan.

Dominic Volkov. The King of the North. The man they called the “God of Ruin.”

“This auction is over,” Dominic said.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a low-frequency growl that made the glass windows vibrate.

“K-King Dominic,” the Auctioneer stammered, his face turning ghostly white. “We didn’t expect… the girl hasn’t reached her reserve price.”

Dominic reached the stage in three slow, predatory strides. He didn’t look at Silas or the other Alphas.

He looked at me.

As his gaze swept over my shivering frame, I felt a spark ignite in my blood—a bond so much stronger than the one I had with Silas that it made me gasp.

“One hundred million,” Dominic stated, his eyes locking onto mine. “In cash. Right now.”

Silas stood up, his face red with bruised ego. “You can’t just take her, Volkov! This is Silver Moon territory!”

Dominic turned his head slightly, a cold, lethal smile playing on his lips.

“If you want to keep this territory, Alpha Silas, you will sit down and remain silent while I purchase the woman you were too stupid to keep.”

Dominic stepped onto the platform. His presence was overwhelming—a wall of heat and dominance.

He reached out, his large gloved hand grabbing the silk cords at my wrists. With a single effortless jerk, he snapped them.

He didn’t let go.

He pulled me toward him until my chest slammed into his hard, muscular torso. The scent of him—leather, rain, and spice—flooded my senses, making my head spin.

“You’re shaking, little wolf,” he whispered, his voice meant only for me.

He leaned down, his lips grazing the sensitive shell of my ear.

“Is it because you’re cold… or because you can feel exactly what I’m going to do to you the moment we’re alone?”

My breath hitched. My body, which had felt like ice for two days, was suddenly screaming with a heat I couldn’t control.

“I… I am rejected,” I managed to whisper.

“Good,” he growled.

His hand slid down my back to grip my waist, pulling me flush against him. I could feel the heavy thrum of his Lycan heart.

“It means I don’t have to share. You aren’t a debt anymore, Seraphina. You are mine. And I have a very specific way of marking my property.”

He swept me up into his arms, ignoring the gasps of the crowd.

He carried me out of the hall and tossed me into the back of his darkened limousine. The door clicked shut, locking us in a world of black leather and shadows.

Dominic shed his heavy coat, revealing a black dress shirt stretched tightly across his massive shoulders.

He crawled over the seat toward me, his movements fluid and dangerous. He pinned my hands above my head against the leather, his body weight pressing me down.

“Now,” he hissed, his golden eyes burning into mine as his hand moved to the hem of my thin dress, “let’s see if you’re as loud in private as you are quiet in public.”

He gently opened my dress and looked at me with a ferocious hunger.

I lay there, completely oblivious to what was about to happen.

He bent down as if to pick something, but his gaze was fixed hungrily between my legs. He removed my pants and threw them aside.

He stood up, then kissed me.

Goosebumps spread across my body, and I felt weak. His lips trailed from my mouth down to my breasts. My nipples hardened under his touch, and he smiled.

I didn’t know how to react.

Then he thrust his middle finger into me.

I moaned quietly. “Argh…”

He smiled fiercely. “Wow… you are dripping wet.”

I still didn’t know how to react.

He thrust his hand in and out, and I didn’t even realize when I opened my legs for ease. A soft, wet sound filled the space.

He held my neck and thrust two fingers faster.

I moaned louder. “Arghhhhh…”

As he continued, I forgot my fears.

Then he stopped.

He pulled his hand out and watched as the fluid dripped from my body and fell.

I was breathing hard, almost panting.

He brought his fingers to his mouth, licked them, and smiled.

Then he threw me onto the seat, removing my clothes so quickly I was sure some parts tore.

He grabbed one of my breasts, softly rubbing my nipple. It felt warm, and I was already dripping, while he sucked on the other.

I moaned. “Ushhhhh… ouch…”

He increased the intensity, sucking harder while rubbing the other more firmly.

Then he pulled away and fingered me again—this time with three fingers.

I was so wet that he licked and fingered me at the same time.

I moaned louder. “Ouchhhhhhhhh…”

The heavy steel door of the private garage slammed open, the sound echoing like a gunshot.

Dominic froze.

His entire body tensed as the heat of the moment was cut through by a cold, sharp voice.

“Sire, forgive the intrusion, but it cannot wait.”

Viktor, the Beta, marched up to the car and pulled the door open without hesitation.

Freezing air rushed in, chilling the sweat on my skin as I tried to pull my torn dress together.

Dominic didn’t move at first. He remained over me like a protective wall of muscle, his golden eyes flashing with a murderous glare.

“Viktor,” Dominic hissed, his voice low and dangerous, “you have exactly three seconds to justify why you aren’t dead.”

Viktor didn’t flinch.

“The Silver Moon Alpha has contacted the Council, Sire. He’s claiming you kidnapped a female under false pretenses. The Enforcers are at the perimeter. If they find her like this… it’s an all-out war.”

The lust in Dominic’s eyes vanished instantly, replaced by cold, calculating cruelty.

He pulled away from me so fast it felt like a physical blow, sitting up and buttoning his shirt with steady, emotionless hands.

“Get her out,” Dominic commanded, not even looking at me. “Throw her in the North Cell and lock it. If the Council asks, I bought a slave to clean the floors. Nothing more.”

Before I could even find my voice, Dominic stepped out of the car and walked away into the shadows—

leaving me to be dragged toward the dungeon by his guards.