Maxwell's POV
Midnight. Invitation in hand, I cross the border of the Shadow Pack and step into the gilded, opulent Dusk Auction Hall, a place teeming with the elite.
Plenty of ranked wolves have an appetite for sex slaves, but they don't dare show their faces at an infamous gala like this. They send proxies to avoid tarnishing their pristine reputations. Tonight is no exception. Despite the hype, few attend in person.
I am the exception. I don't care.
My reputation hit rock bottom three years ago, after a loss of control someone framed me for, and the bloody pack wars that followed.
When they'll condemn you for anything, it means you can do everything.
I stride toward my designated seat. The wolves in my path fall silent, parting fearfully to create a clear way for me.
I move to sit, but stop short. I turn. My gaze finds them instantly—a tense-looking couple that I never anticipated. Without a second thought, I walk right at them.
"Hello, David." I arch my lips.
David is an ambitious heir, a soon-to-be Alpha who, like me, covets the Alpha King's throne. I know him, so I easily see through his physical disguise.
But his ambition means nothing to me. He's not why I'm walking toward them. No, my focus is on who he is to her. He is Zara's ex. Which means the woman plastered to his side must be her replacement—his fiancée and Zara's own stepsister, Sophia.
Their presence here, cloaked and masked, confirms my suspicion. The so-called "pleasure slave of noble blood" they're auctioning off tonight has to be Zara. They've come to gloat over her downfall.
"You're an engaged man," I say, letting my confusion show. "Why would you bring your fiancée, Miss Jones, to a place like this?"
"Actually, Sophia insisted I bring her," David says, his answer seamless. A sheen of sweat glistens on his forehead, but the smile never leaves his face. "She's not even twenty—bold, full of life, and curious about everything. Besides, it's actually because our relationship is so strong that we can explore a place like this together."
"We don't see how this could possibly affect our bond, do we?" he adds, pressing a light kiss to Sophia's cheek.
A nervous smile touches Sophia's lips. "Yes, Alpha Maxwell," she says, her voice a little shaky. "David was reluctant to come, actually. I'm the one who insisted he accompany me. I was just too curious."
A cold smirk plays on my lips. "What an enviable couple you make. In that case, I won't keep you. Enjoy your time here. Oh, and about your wedding... be sure to save me an invitation."
David smiles. "Definitely."
The moment I turn my back, I hear the soft, unmistakable sound of David letting out a breath he was holding.
"You feel that, don't you?" Logan's voice echoes in my head. "David's nerves are pulled too tight."
"The second his eyes land on me," I whisper, my voice cold, "his pupils blow wide with disbelief and panic. He smothers the look in an instant, but not before I see it."
Logan says, "We were ambushed last night on the Shadow Pack border. The thing is, we've had no real quarrel with them. So for a third party to set a trap for us right there..."
I grit out the words, "Then this third party has to be someone with deep ties to the Shadow Pack. Someone like the Crescent Pack... the ones forging a marriage alliance with them."
As I take my seat, I reach out to Henry through our mind-link.
"Pivot the investigation. It might be possible that the one who drugged me three years ago wasn't from any of the packs that swarmed us, but from the one that played neutral—the Crescent Pack. David is making a play for the Alpha King's throne. He has the motive. Sometimes, the ones who appear spotless are the ones hiding the most filth."
"Yes, Alpha." Henry replies quickly.
Severing the mind-link, I let my body sink into the soft cushions of the seat.
The auction kicks off, and a parade of scantily-clad Omega slaves are dragged onto the block, forced into provocative poses. The display sparks a flurry of bids from the proxies in the crowd.
But the spectacle leaves me cold. As the night wears on, my eyelids grow heavy. That is, until the auctioneer's voice booms with excitement, announcing the "special feature".
This is the second time I've seen her.
She's on her knees, a collar around her neck and ropes binding her body. Patches of flesh-toned fabric barely cover her private parts.
As the platform rotates, her body is put on full display. Everyone in the room can see it all: the blush staining her cheeks, the way her body trembles, and the glistening beads of sweat on her flawless skin.
A perfect sex slave waiting to be bought.
I barely register the crowd's cheers or the auctioneer's excited cries. My mind is completely eclipsed by a rage so blinding it dulls my senses.
"They will pay for doing this to her!" Logan roars inside my head. "Maxwell, you will win this bid. We are getting our savior back."
"I know," I grit out. "Whatever the cost."
At some point, on the auctioneer's signal, a hush falls over the hall. The silence is so absolute that the only sound is the ticking of a clock, counting down the final seconds to midnight.
For a moment, I'm confused about what they're doing. And then the realization hits me. It's almost her twentieth birthday. She is about to realize who her fated mate is.
If her fated mate happens to be one of the wealthy wolves in the room, it introduces a wild card. The potential for drama—for a true spectacle—increases tenfold, and her final auction price is bound to skyrocket.
For the first time tonight, a cold knot of dread forms in my stomach. If her mate is here... will she truly be content in my pack? Or will the pull of the Moon Goddess lead her away from me, straight to him?
As the thought crosses my mind, the clock strikes midnight.
And then I see it. My jaw goes slack.
...............
Zara's POV
My body is shaved clean. I'm stripped and squeezed into a pathetic scrap of nude fabric that covers almost nothing. They fasten a collar around my throat and bind my hands behind me. I am being presented as a plaything, an exposed and helpless bitch on display.
They wipe away any sign that I ever belonged to the Jones family, ensuring I appear as a broken wolf with no one to back her up—making me a thing that anyone can take.
Finally, just before I'm hauled onto the auction block, they force a bit of aphrodisiac down my throat. It's a small dose—not enough to make me lose my mind, but just enough to paint a permanent blush across my cheeks and send a faint tremor through my body as the platform spins.
Just as if I were being fucked.
I have lost all agency, even the ability to take my own life. I'm forced to watch myself being showcased like a piece of meat, and the scorching weight of their stares is about to unravel me completely.
In moments, my title will change from maid to sex slave. I'm about to step from one circle of hell into another, and I have a sick feeling that David is the devil waiting for me there.
"I did everything I could," I murmur to Blair, my voice thick with defeat. "But destiny still caught me."
"But you did try, Zara. That's what matters," she soothes. "Escape is impossible right now, but it won't always be. After this, we can definitely find an opportunity to suicide."
"You're right," I breathe deeply. "I just have to be the perfect toy. If I do that, they'll get careless, and I will earn my opportunity to finally end this life that's worse than death."
"Midnight is upon us, gentlemen, and the identity of this poor noble lady's fated mate is about to be revealed. Just imagine... what if her mate is one of you, sitting in this very room? And if he is... just how much will that lucky gentleman be willing to pay for his fated slave?"
"The final countdown begins now! Three... two... one..."
The moment the clock strikes, my mind explodes into chaos. My wolf's instincts take over completely. Everything blurs except for a single, shimmering white line of energy that snakes from my wrist and shoots straight for David.
No... not him. It's aiming for the wolf beside him—the one whose presence is overwhelmingly powerful. As I force my eyes to focus on his unmasked face, I freeze. Then, a tidal wave of pure elation crashes over me.
It's him. The wolf from last night. The one from the Snowfield pack who promised to protect me!
But then my gaze drops to the nameplate on the table before him, and my joy turns to ice. A bone-deep chill seizes my body.
Alpha Maxwell.
The notorious Alpha Maxwell. The ruthless killer who orchestrated a massacre three years ago, plunging the packs into war.
A cold sweat breaks out across my skin. I try desperately to retract the energy line, to sever the connection, to pretend I feel nothing. But it's too late.
His icy gaze has already locked onto mine.