Chapter 1
The Price of a Mate
Ava
Mum calls my name from the porch, her voice sharp enough to slice through the quiet evening.
I pretend not to hear.
Right now, Lucas is standing in front of me — warm eyes, soft smile — and I’m not ready to let go of the one person who makes me feel safe.
“I think your mum’s looking for you,” he murmurs.
“Yeah,” I whisper, forcing a smile. “I’ll go… after you leave.”
We linger a heartbeat longer, neither of us moving. When I finally pull myself away and walk toward the house, I feel his gaze on me until the door closes.
Mum is there, waiting — arms folded, eyes like flint.
“Where were you?”
“Seeing Lucas off,” I say quietly.
Her nostrils flare. “Ava… Alpha Orion and his pack are arriving tomorrow. For your mating.”
The air leaves my lungs.
I stand frozen, the walls suddenly too tight, the room suddenly too small.
I hate Alpha Orion. He’s twice my age — older than Dad even — and the thought of being tied to him makes my skin crawl. I still don’t understand how my parents could offer me up like this.
“Mum, I can’t be his mate,” I whisper. “I don’t love him. I don’t even like him.”
“Keep your voice down,” she snaps, glancing toward the windows. “Orion is powerful. You don’t speak against an Alpha like that. He’s your best option.”
“My best option?” I choke out. “Mum, he already has three mates!”
“And he can take as many as he wishes. This time he wants you as Luna. Do you know what an honor—”
“This doesn’t feel like honor,” I cut in. “It feels like a sale.”
Her expression flickers, and she sinks onto the couch with a sigh so heavy it seems to drain the room of light.
“You know your father’s business is failing,” she says softly. “We’re drowning in debt. Alpha Orion offered to help — but only if you become his mate. Just for a year.”
Just a year.
Like my life is something that can be borrowed and returned.
“Mum… I’ll never be the same again. I love Lucas. He loves me.”
At his name, she stiffens like she’s been struck.
“Lucas?” Her voice cuts like glass. “Ava, I told you to stay away from him.”
“Why?” I demand. “What has he ever done to you?”
“He’s from an inferior pack,” she says coldly. “No strength, no status, nothing to offer. You are not to see him again — do you hear me? Don’t even let your father hear his name.”
My heart clenches.
Love pulls me in one direction.
Duty claws at me from the other.
Before I can speak, Dad strides in, proudly holding a polished walking stick carved with Orion’s crest.
“More gifts from Alpha Orion!” he beams. “Soon the whole pack will envy us.”
He turns to me, glowing. “My beautiful girl. Tomorrow is your big day.”
I turn away.
His smile falters. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to be mated to him,” I whisper.
Dad’s face tightens. “Your mother told you why this must happen.”
“I can do anything for you. Both of you. But this… this feels like breaking myself in half.”
He sits beside me, placing a heavy hand on my shoulder.
“It’s only a year, Ava,” he says gently. “One year of luxury, protection, and status. You’ll want for nothing. And afterward, you’ll return home… untouched by hardship.”
Untouched.
If only he knew how wrong he was.
His words echo like a curse.
Just one year.
---
Mum
She watches Ava disappear into her room, and her chest tightens until breathing becomes an effort.
Ava — her miracle child.
Her answer to a decade of shame and mockery.
Ten years they had endured being the laughingstock of the pack.
Ten years of Alpha James calling her husband “female” and calling her “male.”
Ten years of whispered insults, of humiliation so deep they nearly left to live among humans.
Then Ava arrived.
Their pride, their redemption, their beautiful daughter.
Males had fought for her attention, but she chose none of them.
None… except Lucas.
A boy whose pack could give her nothing.
When her husband presented Alpha Orion’s proposal, she had refused at first. But the promise of wealth, protection — and only one year of sacrifice — had worn her down.
Luna.
A title fit for queens.
A title she convinced herself would make up for everything.
But as she stands alone in the quiet living room now, she feels like a traitor to her own daughter.
Her husband enters with more of Orion’s gifts.
“They arrived for tomorrow’s ceremony,” he says. “Go prepare them.”
“I’m worried about Ava.”
“She’ll adjust,” he insists. “It’s only a year. And Orion promised her safety. Many Alphas would kill for the chance to have her. She’ll be protected.”
Protected.
The word tastes like ash.
“Have you arranged the cooking?” he continues.
“Yes. Martha and her group will handle it. And Seline will prepare Ava tomorrow.”
He nods in approval.
She forces a smile.
But inside, a quiet dread grows.
Tomorrow, she will give her daughter away — and she’s not sure she’ll ever forgive herself.
---
Lucas
I watch Ava walk toward her house, and something cold curls around my heart.
This might be the last time I see her — at least as mine.
The thought of that old monster putting his hands on her makes my vision blur.
Why does Alpha Orion want someone as young as Ava?
He already has three mates.
Three.
My wolf snarls at the thought.
I remember the first day I met her.
I’d been running an errand when I saw a group of boys circling a small girl in a torn dress — pushing her, taunting her, calling her “proud.” Something inside me snapped. I charged at them, fury taking over. They scattered, and the girl — trembling but brave — stared up at me with bright, teary eyes.
Ava.
Even then, she was unforgettable.
Her parents welcomed my help back then. They didn’t care about pack differences. Not at first.
Years later, I moved to the human town of Coventry to learn a trade. I left suddenly — too suddenly — and I never got to say goodbye.
But she stayed with me.
Her laughter haunted my sleep, her smile warmed my coldest days.
When I returned and saw her again at the Moon Ceremony — spinning, dancing, glowing — I knew.
I wasn’t just fond of her.
I loved her.
She told me she’d missed me too. Being with her healed the bitterness my master carved into me. She reminded me what life could feel like.
But now… they want to hand her over to Orion like she’s nothing more than property.
No.
Not while I’m alive.
Not while I can fight.
Mum
She barely slept.
She’d spent half the night sitting beside Ava’s bed, whispering comforts she didn’t believe, promising things she couldn’t guarantee. In the end, Ava had agreed — or at least stopped arguing — and Mum had taken that as acceptance.
But now, as dawn bleeds weakly into the sky, her heart thuds with a cold warning she can’t shake.
Outside, young wolves chatter and laugh as they hang fabrics and lanterns along the fence. Their songs float through the morning air — bright, joyful, oblivious.
Mum closes her eyes.
If only they knew what we’re sacrificing.
She rises from the couch and wipes her damp palms on her wrapper. No matter how she tries to calm herself, something feels wrong.
Deeply wrong.
---
Alpha Orion
He hums as he polishes the gold symbols embroidered on his ceremonial robe.
Power. Legacy. Dominance.
All stitched into the fabric he plans to wear while binding Ava to him.
He savors the anticipation.
Ava — all that youth, that beauty, that fire. The way she flinched when he looked at her, the way her eyes hardened even as she bowed out of duty. He wants that fire for himself. Wants to crush it. Wants to keep it.
From the moment he first saw her, he knew she would never choose him.
So he chose a different path.
Manipulation.
Humiliation.
Debt.
A simple formula, really.
He chuckles as he remembers the moment Alpha Justin came to him with an idea — to set up a trap wide enough to swallow Ava’s foolish father whole. Together they built MMF — Make Money Fast — a fake investment scheme for greedy wolves and desperate dreamers.
First, they handed out small profits to build trust.
Then larger ones, to spark greed.
Then… nothing.
Everything vanished.
The money. The website. The investors. The partners.
Orion smiles. Perfect execution.
When Ava’s father began to panic, Justin pushed him into “emergency loans” — loans offered by Orion’s own men. Threats followed, loud and public, humiliating for a man who once stood tall.
Only when the man was completely broken did Orion offer salvation.
"I will clear your debts," he’d said, draping a false kindness over his smile.
"But give me your daughter. For one year."
He still remembers the man’s teary gratitude.
The memory makes Orion laugh.
By 9 a.m., he is fully dressed — tall, regal, magnificent. But he doesn’t rush. No, let them wait. Let them quake at his lateness. Power tastes sweeter when others feel powerless.
He plans to arrive at the temple a touch before ten.
---
Mum
The house is chaos — a whirl of chatter, footsteps, and frantic preparations. She oversees everything, moving quickly but distractedly.
Something is off.
Ava hasn’t stepped out of her room once.
Not to jog.
Not to stretch.
Not to breathe fresh air.
It’s unlike her.
“How’s Ava?” her husband asks, adjusting the collar of his ceremonial robe.
“I… I haven’t seen her today,” Mum replies, trying to sound casual. “Maybe she’s still resting.”
He nods, unbothered. “It’s her wedding day. Let her have a moment.”
Before she can muster the courage to check, Steve — the only servant they haven’t had to sell off — steps inside.
“Alpha Justin is here, sir.”
Her husband brightens. “Show him in! Good, very good.”
Justin enters, all smiles and firm handshakes. He’s been the voice whispering advice into her husband’s ear, the trusted friend who helped pave the way for the marriage. Her husband trusts him with blind devotion.
Mum forces a polite smile, though her stomach twists.
Outside, Martha and her team cook over large fires, the scent of pepper and roasting meat filling the air. Martha hums happily, unaware of the dread suffocating the household.
At exactly 8:45 a.m., Seline, the beautician, arrives with her boxes of powders and oils, ready to transform Ava into a Luna.
But Ava… has yet to be seen.
Mum moves quickly down the hall, knocking lightly on her daughter’s door.
“Ava?”
No response.
She knocks harder. “Ava, sweetheart, we’re running out of time.”
Silence.
Her pulse sputters. She pushes the door open.
And her breath catches.
The bed is messy.
The window is cracked open.
The wardrobe stands empty.
Her heart stops.
“No… no, no.”
She stumbles out of the room and runs to her husband.
“Ava’s gone!” she cries, voice trembling. “She’s not in her room — her things are missing!”
He frowns, annoyed rather than alarmed. “Maybe she went jogging.”
“She always returns by now,” Mum whispers. “This… this isn’t her morning routine. Something’s wrong.”
He lowers his voice. “Ask Steve if he saw anything. Quietly. We don’t want panic.”
---
Alpha Orion
He arrives at the temple at 9:45 a.m., expecting to find Ava’s family waiting with reverence.
But when he steps inside, the hall is bustling — yet strangely incomplete.
The crowd of guests is present.
The priestess is ready.
The ceremonial torches are lit.
But the bride’s family… is absent.
Orion’s jaw twitches.
As he makes his entrance, neighboring Alphas greet him with smiles too curious, too knowing.
“Congratulations,” one says. “Where’s your bride?”
“We thought she’d beat you here,” another adds.
Orion forces a thin smile.
He doesn’t answer.
He takes his seat, posture rigid, fury simmering beneath every breath. Ten o’clock arrives. The priestess steps forward.
But Ava’s family does not.
The whispers begin.
“Is she cold-footed?”
“Did they oversleep?”
“Does she not want him?”
Orion ignores them. He refuses to appear desperate.
But when the priestess quietly retreats into the inner chamber, embarrassment creeps over him like a stain.
At 10:30, the shame turns molten.
He gestures sharply to his servant. “Find out now.”
Minutes creep by.
The temple grows restless.
Then the servant returns, pale and trembling. He leans close and whispers into Orion’s ear.
Orion goes still.
Then his eyes widen.
Then he rises — no, erupts — to his feet, the force of his movement rattling the items on the ceremonial table.
His roar shakes the temple walls.
“Ava has run away…
WITH HER LOVER —
the boy from the lesser pack!”
The temple falls deathly silent.
And then the storm breaks.
