Prologue

CHARLIE - 4 YEARS AGO

“Christ, child, stop fidgeting.” Carol’s voice is just shy of a sneer as she once again tests the limits of my scalp while ripping the brush through my hair.

“Can you just leave it down? No one is going to look at me anyway,” I say, taking in my reflection in the mirror. The woman behind me grunts angrily as she drops my hair and throws the brush on the counter. “Thanks,” I mumble as I watch her stalk off to another unsuspecting victim.

I pick up the brown bristle brush and pull my dark black locks in front of my shoulder. I watch as each stroke releases the knots that the woman worked into my silky black hair. It’s eight in the morning, but I was taken from my family home at dawn and dragged to the Pack house to be primed and processed like a modern-day geisha. My eyes dart around the room as I drop the brush into my lap.

A scream begins to build in the base of my throat. I hate this part of our Pack.

The Auction.

Once a year, any woman can be placed up for auction even if she has already been sold. That’s the disgusting part. A man can buy and sell their woman like used cars, and no one bats an eye at the idea.

We’ re taught as young girls that our only value comes from our purity, so it’s expected that we remain untouched until our twenty-first birthday. At twenty-one years old, we are determined old enough to be mated, and that’s when we are sold for the first time.

My hands tremble slightly as a tear splatters across my white skin. My thumb works over the cuticle as I assault the soft skin. The sharp red nails make quick work of pulling the skin loose. A drop of blood slips from the cut. Like the sacrifice I am, I enjoy the slight burn it brings.

“Did you hear?” Two girls press to the vanity near where I’m hunched over. “Alpha Ax is buying his bride tonight.”

Without moving my head, I glance into the mirror. Of course, the two mean girls in the auction are actually excited about the prospect of the Alpha buying a bride. The scoff gets stuck in my throat as I swallow it down, not wanting any unwanted attention. This is unbelievably nauseating.

The blond one layers more lipstick while saying, “I hope he buys me. I’d make a great mate for him, don’t you think, Rose?”

My head jerks up at the mention of my name, Rose. I hate my name.

Ryan tried to explain what to expect, but this is different from what I imagined. A fresh wave of fear washes over me, and I blink back the tears. I watch two older women hobble off the large podium, where a gruff guard gestures for them to move aside. My pulse races as I consider that I’m next. The Virginal Auction is the last one since it’s done by age groups, and we are the youngest. My stomach twists painfully as I try to suck in air.

Maybe if I was more like the other girls, I’d feel less panicked about my situation; I was taught to be submissive, seen, not heard. But my brother, my beacon of light, always talked to me. He treated me like an equal, a rarity in this Pack. I scan the bustling crowd, desperately searching for his familiar face. The Virginal Auction, the pinnacle of our society’s twisted values, is always the most sought after, making it difficult to spot anyone amidst the swarm of men pushing towards the stage.

A deep bark echoes through the staging area: “You, Snow White, hurry up.” The harsh lights blind me as I’m thrust into the spotlight. A shiver of fear runs down my spine, the stark reality of this situation hitting me hard. I lower my head, my fingers trembling, as I meekly follow the orders of the imposing man. He grips my elbow, his touch rough, as he drags me to my designated spot.

I stand atop a duct tape ‘x.’ The symbol reminds me of a game Ryan would play with me when we were kids, pirates. He would draw the most complicated map leading us to the treasure at the ‘ x’ . The memory pulls a smile to my lips.

“Ryan, there is no treasure under this x.” I know because I just spent ten minutes digging. My wolf made quick work of digging a big hole. My paws and now fingers are covered in dark black soil. The smell of the earth is welcoming as I plop down in my hole.

“Charlie, that’s ’cause you are the treasure. You are worth more than any box could handle.” He says playfully, sliding down the side of my pit.

I grab a dirt clod and chuck it at him. “Ryan, you’re so dumb.” His laughter is full as he avoids the dirt and shifts into his large black wolf. I shift as well, and we lay together, curled in the safety of our pirate treasure pit.

My smile fades as the announcer declares my name, “Rose Charlie Griffith.”

My lips purse, and I can barely swallow past the lump lodged in my throat. My dark red dress is suffocating as the announcer continues listing off my weight, height, and family. Each aspect is supposed to make you worth more. Of course, I’m the largest of the girls. I have natural, full curves. It doesn’t help that I am only five foot two, which is on the shorter side of our Pack. My dark hair and white skin are pretty, but sometimes I can wake up and look like Cruella Devil.

The auctioneer starts the bidding. Even for this auction, I know my number started really low. I haven’t had the balls to pull my eyes from my fingers, where I have slowly and meticulously picked the skin off around my sharp red nails.

Each time he says, “Going once,” I flinch. It’s a natural response when facing your destiny. I finally let my eyes drag up to the men deeming my worth. I see Ryan in the front row. His eyes are trained on me and full of rage. His hands are clenched tightly in his lap. My father sits next to him, laughing and drinking.

I want to run to Ryan right now. I want to sleep in our pirate cave. I want his big body to curl around me and tell me I am a treasure because right now?—

“SOLD!”

No. No. No.

My lips roll into my mouth as I stare at my brother. His eyes soften as we take each other in. That’s when the first tear tumbles down my cheek. I bite my lips hard, trying to process any kind of sensation other than sheer panic.

“This way.” That burly man from earlier is yanking me off the stage. I stumble over my heels; I’m not used to wearing them, my knees shaking. “Fucking, Christ. Walk woman.” He bellows at me. I swallow again, but that lump is still stuck in my throat, choking me.

The giant stops my elbow, still held firmly in his hand. “You, head into that room for your processing,” he yanks me roughly toward a back door. “Aren’t you special, being bought by the Alpha?” I don’t respond. I watch the two mean girls sneer at me as I’m dragged from the auction hall deeper into the Pack house.

“Ah, there is my darling bride,” Ax’s burnt cinnamon scent burns my nose. His rough hand sweeps over my cheek, but I don’t dare look at the Alpha. I know what he looks like: his greying hair pulled back in a low ponytail, his yellow teeth, and the crooked scar that mares his face. My stomach turns at the thought of him touching me.

“Take her to my chamber. Get her dressed and ready for me. I need to finish The Auction.” The guard grunts his response and pulls me along behind him.

The cuticle I’ve been picking at stings from the missing chunk of skin I just ripped off. The blood seeps down my finger, dripping on the cement floors as I’m taken upstairs.

The Pack House is different from what you would imagine. The entire building is old, and it smells like dead people. The stone walls weep with moisture in the rainy season. It’s musty and cold—exactly how I feel right now.

“In here.” I didn’t even realize we went anywhere as the angry guard shoves me into a room. Ax’s smell assaults me immediately, making my eyes water. “Put the dress on, kneel on that rug in the corner, and wait for the Alpha.”

I don’t move. And that must be sign enough for the burly soldier because he shuts and locks the door. Pulling my finger up to my mouth, I suck the blood off as I slowly turn to take in the room. A shiver rakes my body as the cold finally settles into my new reality in this bleak room. My eyes drag to a single rose attached to a handwritten note.

Rose,

You were only ever good for one thing. I’m glad to be rid of you; the Alpha has promised he will take care of you as long as you bear him an heir. So, as long as you do what he wants, you should live. Either way, you’re no longer my problem.

- Your Father.

The realization washes through me that this was planned. No wonder my father was so happy yesterday. He planned this, that sick fuck. He sold his only daughter to a man twice her age and has a reputation for killing his brides.

The cold wars with the heat and anger that’s rising inside my body. My wolf wants to rage against this, shred everything. I pluck the rose up, and it immediately draws more blood. I watch the single drop fall to the white box below, leaving a satisfying splatter atop the white cardboard.

Then, I wrap my fist around the petals and pull them apart, letting them scatter to the floor. I pinch the swelling sting where the thorn pierced my skin and let the small splatters land like drops in a bucket.

Maybe I have a chance to run before all of this, perhaps I can escape. The anger has me crumpling the note and throwing it to the floor—the rose that represents so much more—my name’s sake.

I’m tired of being the rose that blooms and is plucked for anyone. I want to show them all my thorns. Just as I turn towards the door, I hear a sound and freeze, the anger once again washed out by dread.

“Charlie?”

My head snaps to the door as I hear Ryan’s voice again. “Charlie?” The large brass handle begins to wiggle as the tiny metallic sound of lock picking echoes through the room.

“Ryan? You’re here?”

“Shh. We’re going on our greatest adventure yet,” he whispers as he slides the door open. “Oh good, you’re still dressed. Come on.”

Ryan slams a knit cap over my hair and his oversized jacket around my shoulders. I haven’t moved. I am in second-degree shock. Is that a thing?

“Charlie, move, come on.” Ryan pulls my hand as I snap into reality and chase after him back down the stairs. He must have some plan because he easily navigates the stone halls that all look the same.

“Ryan, how did you—” He shushes me again as he pulls me close to his body.

“There’s a lot you don’t know, Charlie, but for starters, you and I are on our way to find our greatest adventure. You up for that, sis?” He squeezes my hand, and I nod.

“Good, come on.” He pushes open another door, and we are outside. The lights from the Pack house illuminate the stark grounds and dense forest surrounding it.

“Ryan, slow down. I can’t run in this dress or these shoes.”

“Lose the shoes, sis, and rip the dress; we need to hurry.” His voice is laced with anxiety. Just as we reach the forest, a roar reverberates through the stone walls.

“Fuck. He found out sooner than I had hoped. Charlie, you need to listen to me. About two hundred yards ahead, there is a black Tahoe. It has the GPS programmed for Solaris Village. If something…”

I’m shaking violently because I don’t want him to finish his next words.

“Charlie, listen. If something happens to me, you need to drive. Take that car and drive. The Alpha there knows you’re coming. He has offered us both sanctuary and a new start. I need you to be safe,” His eyes say more than his words.

My dress snags on a tree limb, and I slip from Ryan’s grip. “Ryan!” I hiss as I slip to the ground. My wolf pushes forward, wanting to shift, but now’s not the time. Plus, if the Alpha uses his bark on me in wolf form, I’ll have no choice but to do as I’m told. No, I definitely can’t shift right now.

“Fuck Charlie, you’re covered in mud.” My hands slip out of Ryan’s as he tries to pull me up. There is the sound of a gunshot as men flood from the pack house. “Jesus, Charlie, come on, we need to go.”

My feet slide in the thick muck. The forest here has more marsh than mountains. Clods of dirt fall from me as I shift my eyes to take in the dark better, avoiding trees and rocks.

A spark flies near my head as the whistle fills the forest. I don’t even flinch as I realize my options are death or being owned by Ax.

Ax’s Alpha roar fills the dark forest, “Don’t fucking, shoot the girl; she’s mine.”

My brother’s voice centers me again as I try to process everything. “Charlie, I need you to go. Do you see the truck up there?”

I nod. The black SUV is in sight. The hope that we are going to make it pushes me forward. I feel like I’m flying through the forest, flying towards my freedom, our freedom. Ryan’s heavy pants fill my ears as another whistling sound shoots near us.

Ryan grunts from beside me as we reach the car, and he wrenches the door open, pushing me into the driver’s seat. “Rose, I need you to go, this—” his words are sputtered, and my heart stops as I turn to see the blood seeping from his mouth in the dim light of the car.

“No, Ryan! Get in the car.”

He shakes his head and attempts to push the door shut.

I tremble as I hold the door open and beg for him, “Ryan, don’t do this. Get in the car, please. We can go. We can both leave.”

He coughs. Blood splatters across the interior. I feel tiny droplets land on my skin that isn’t covered in thick mud. “Rose, I need to shift and make sure they can’t get you. Please let me…let me save you.” His voice is hoarse, and the blood is soaking through his dress shirt,

My head shakes, the tears spilling freely down my cheeks as he slams the car door, and I watch his body fall to the ground. “but I can’t. I can’t do this without you.” I yell into the night.

“Go.” He roars as his big wolf takes over and limps to the back of the car.

‘ Maybe he can meet us there ,’ my wolf says. Then several more bullets pierce the darkness, and I see his wolf fall to the ground in the rearview mirror.

“No, no, no, Ryan!”

‘ We need to go ,’ my wolf adds. ‘ Go for him. Don’t let him die in vain.’

‘ Next great adventure, right? ’ I sniffle. Then, turn the key and gun the engine. Tears blur my vision as I drive away from everything I’ve ever known. The GPS is the only sound in the vehicle apart from my sobs. My heart is broken, and my wolf whines and whimpers as we drive further away from the one person who has always loved us—the only one who will ever see me for me.