Chapter 1: Sold
The dress was too white.
Alynna stared at her reflection in the cracked mirror hanging on her bedroom wall and wondered if anyone else could see the lie.
Brides were supposed to be happy.
They were supposed to smile.
Supposed to cry tears of joy.
Supposed to be marrying someone they loved.
Not someone who had purchased them.
The lace sleeves clung to her arms while the fitted bodice squeezed so tightly she could barely breathe. Her mother stood behind her adjusting the veil with trembling hands.
"You look beautiful."
Alynna laughed bitterly.
The sound startled both of them.
"Beautiful enough to sell?"
Her mother's hands froze.
"Alynna—"
"No."
She spun around.
"No. Don't."
For one brief moment anger burned hotter than fear.
"You don't get to stand there and pretend this is normal."
Her mother's eyes immediately filled with tears.
That used to work on her.
When she was younger.
When she still believed tears meant regret.
Now she wasn't so sure.
The older woman looked away.
"The debt had to be paid."
Alynna's stomach twisted.
There it was.
The excuse.
The same excuse she'd heard for months.
The debt.
The pack.
The agreement.
The survival of the family.
As if those things somehow mattered more than her life.
More than her future.
More than her freedom.
"So you sold me."
Her mother's face crumpled.
"We didn't have a choice."
"Everyone has a choice."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Because they both knew she was right.
Her father could have refused.
Her mother could have fought.
They could have run.
They could have chosen her.
Instead they'd chosen comfort.
Security.
Money.
And now she was the payment.
A knock sounded downstairs.
Alynna's heart immediately dropped.
The guests were arriving.
The wolves.
The people who would celebrate while she was handed over like livestock.
The realization made her skin crawl.
"They're here," her mother whispered.
Alynna looked back at the mirror.
Twenty-three years old.
Brown hair.
Gray eyes.
A tiny scar above her eyebrow from climbing trees as a child.
She looked exactly the same.
Yet somehow she felt like she was already disappearing.
As though the girl she'd been was dying before the ceremony had even begun.
The future stretched before her like a prison sentence.
Marry Alpha Rowan.
Move into his territory.
Bear his heirs.
Obey.
Smile.
Submit.
Repeat.
Until she died.
A sudden wave of nausea hit her.
Her hands began to shake.
No.
No.
No.
No.
Something inside her snapped.
A small quiet thing.
A thread she'd been holding onto for months.
It finally broke.
And with it came a realization so clear it felt like lightning.
I don't have to do this.
The thought stole her breath.
Her eyes widened.
For months she'd accepted the inevitable.
Accepted defeat.
Accepted that her future belonged to everyone except herself.
But standing there now—
With wolves arriving.
With the wedding only hours away.
With the cage door about to slam shut—
Something awakened inside her.
Defiance.
Hope.
Freedom.
She looked toward the bedroom window.
Then back toward the door.
Then the window again.
Her pulse thundered.
The forest began only half a mile behind the property.
If she left now—
If she ran—
She might actually make it.
Her mother noticed the look in her eyes.
Panic immediately flashed across her face.
"Alynna."
"What?"
"Don't."
The whisper was barely audible.
"Please don't."
For the first time all morning, Alynna smiled.
A real smile.
Small.
Dangerous.
Determined.
"I'm sorry."
Her mother started crying.
Because she understood exactly what that smile meant.
Alynna crossed the room.
Fast.
Before she could lose her nerve.
Before fear convinced her to stay.
Before anyone could stop her.
The window slid open with a sharp creak.
Cold autumn air rushed inside.
Freedom.
Her heart pounded so hard it hurt.
"Alynna!"
She climbed onto the sill.
Below was a twelve-foot drop into wet grass.
Not ideal.
But better than the alternative.
Better than becoming Alpha Rowan's wife.
Better than belonging to anyone.
"Alynna, please!"
For one brief second she hesitated.
Not because she wanted to stay.
Because she knew what came next.
The wolves would hunt her.
They would track her scent.
Track her footsteps.
Track her heartbeat if they had to.
The Alpha she was promised to would never allow this humiliation.
He would come after her.
Every pack in the region would help.
Humans didn't escape wolves.
Everyone knew that.
But everyone also knew wolves couldn't catch what they couldn't find.
And she intended to disappear.
Forever.
Alynna took one last look at the room she'd grown up in.
Then she jumped.
The landing hurt.
Pain shot through her ankle.
But adrenaline kept her moving.
She scrambled to her feet.
The veil tore free.
The expensive shoes sank into mud.
Good.
She kicked them off.
Bare feet hit wet grass.
Then she ran.
Branches whipped against her arms.
The wedding dress snagged on thorns.
She ripped away layers of lace as she moved deeper into the forest.
Behind her, shouting erupted.
Someone had discovered she was gone.
The hunt had begun.
Alynna didn't look back.
She ran until her lungs burned.
Ran until her legs screamed.
Ran until the sounds of civilization vanished entirely.
Only then did she finally stop.
The forest surrounded her.
Dark.
Silent.
Ancient.
Rain began to fall.
A single drop.
Then another.
Then hundreds.
Within minutes she was soaked.
Thunder rolled across the sky.
A storm was coming.
The kind that made even wolves seek shelter.
Alynna wrapped her arms around herself.
For the first time since jumping from the window, reality crashed into her.
She was alone.
No money.
No supplies.
No plan.
Nowhere to go.
A laugh escaped her.
Half hysterical.
Half relieved.
Because somehow she still felt freer than she'd ever felt in her entire life.
Even if she died out here.
Even if the wolves found her tomorrow.
At least she had chosen this.
At least the choice had been hers.
Lightning flashed.
Thunder cracked overhead.
Alynna shivered.
She needed shelter.
Fast.
The storm intensified as darkness swallowed the forest.
The wind howled through the trees.
Rain lashed her skin.
She stumbled through the woods for what felt like hours.
Every shadow looked like a wolf.
Every snapped branch made her heart stop.
By the time she saw the cabin, she thought she might be hallucinating.
A warm glow shone through a distant window.
Her breath caught.
Hope.
Actual hope.
The small structure sat alone among towering pines.
Smoke rose from the chimney.
Someone lived there.
Someone was home.
Alynna hesitated.
What if it belonged to a wolf?
What if it belonged to Rowan?
What if—
Another crash of thunder split the sky.
The decision was made for her.
She hurried forward.
Rainwater streamed down her face as she climbed the porch steps.
Her hand trembled.
Then she knocked.
Nothing.
She knocked again.
Harder.
Footsteps sounded inside.
Heavy.
Male.
The door opened.
And the world stopped.
Alynna forgot about the storm.
Forgot about the wolves.
Forgot about breathing.
The man standing in the doorway was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Dark hair.
Piercing silver eyes.
Power radiated from him like heat from a fire.
Something about him felt dangerous.
Wild.
Ancient.
His gaze swept over her.
Torn wedding dress.
Mud-covered feet.
Rain-soaked hair.
Terror-filled eyes.
For one long moment neither of them spoke.
Then his expression softened.
Just slightly.
"You're freezing."
His deep voice sent an unexpected shiver through her.
Not fear.
Something else.
Something she didn't understand.
The stranger stepped aside.
"Come inside."
Alynna stared at him.
Every instinct told her not to trust anyone.
Especially a man.
Especially tonight.
Yet somehow—
For reasons she couldn't explain—
She felt safe.
And that terrified her most of all.
Because she had no idea that the man standing before her wasn't merely a stranger.
He was Liam Blackwood.
Future Wolf King.
And the moment he looked into her eyes—
Destiny had already begun.
