1. Maya

1

Maya

The dress was so tight that I could barely breathe. The red fabric hugged my cleavage and tightened around my ribcage before hugging my hips. The long slit up the thigh was the only reason I could walk, but I was never going to be able to sit down without hiking the dress up.

It was exactly how my father wanted it. The only time he wanted me to sit was if I was straddling someone's thighs.

The thighs of Alpha Larson Peterman of the Chalmer Basin Pack, to be specific.

This was the night I was finally going to get out from under my father's thumb and belong to someone else. I knew nothing about him, but I could only hope that he was kinder than my father. As far as I was concerned, everyone had to be kinder than Bruce Callahan.

"Smile," Bruce growled under his breath as his hand tightened on my arm, "or Peterman won't think you're friendly."

Immediately, I plastered a smile on my face. There was no denying my father. He'd draw blood in front of everyone, even in front of my intended, without blinking an eye—and everyone would praise him for it.

The large ballroom was a sea of glitz and glamor. I'd never seen anything like it in my life, but I didn't have a chance to enjoy it. All eyes were on me as the crowd parted. Women smirked at me, no doubt because my slinky dress was out of place in the crowd of greens and blues and purples. Most of the women were adorned in feathers and tulle, and nothing was as revealing as my red lace. My father hadn't even let me wear nude underwear under the dress.

One wrong move, and the carefully placed lace would slip, and this ball would have a triple-X rating.

We stopped short, and my father leaned close to my ear. "Fuck this up, Maya, and you know what will be waiting for you when you get home."

Imprisonment, I was used to. Beatings, also used to. Still, I knew just how much worse it could be. I'd see my father and his men use hot pokers and silver needles. I'd seen him torture a wolf in human form to near death, let him shift to heal, and do it all over again.

When I looked at my father, I saw a monster. When everyone else looked at him, they saw a god.

He cleared his throat and tapped a man on the shoulder. When he turned around, I slowly released my breath. Larson was a handsome man, and young, maybe only a few years older than me. That was a small relief. Or maybe I should have preferred it if he was much closer to death: less sentence time.

"Alpha Callahan," Larson greeted him before his eyes landed on me. First there was surprise, and then obvious hunger. "This is your daughter?"

"Indeed. Maya Callahan, my glittering gem."

I almost vomited at the sound of fake pride in his voice. Instead, I bowed my head and curtsied as much as I could without ripping the fabric of my dress.

"I'm sure you'll find she'll make an excellent mate for you."

That was why we were all there: for Larson to choose his wife, and from what my father told me, there weren't many women for him to choose from. At least, none with my pedigree, as he liked to say.

He didn't mean the pedigree from my mother. She, according to him, was nothing more than a tramp hitchhiking on the side of the road. But he'd come from a long line of alphas, practically royalty.

"You have your mother's face and body. Larson won't be able to say no."

From the way Larson was looking at me, my father was right.

My father's phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket. "I'm afraid that I need to leave. You'll take care of her for the evening and get her back home to me in the morning, won't you Larson?" He winked and finally released me as he turned away.

As always, I felt the tension ease out of my body when my father left. One monster was gone. Now it was time to see what kind of wolf I'd be marrying.

"A dance?" Larson asked as he held out his hand.

"Of course." Heart fluttering in my chest, I accepted his offer, and he pulled me into an open space and flattened me against his body. Unaccustomed to the touch of a man, I stiffened.

His hand moved down my back and cupped my ass as he grumbled. Remembering my father's words, I forced a smile. There were things I was supposed to say to Larson, but my mind went blank.

Larson noticed. "You don't say much. I like that," he rumbled. "You're a mystery, Maya. Everyone knows that Bruce has a daughter. He talks about her all the time, but no one has ever seen you. Now I see why. He must keep you under lock and key, although I hear you slip out your window from time to time. I like a rebellious spirit."

Wait, what? How did he know about my window? My father certainly didn't know. If he ever found out, I'd be locked in the basement for sure.

"I am obedient," I whispered. "I'll be obedient to you."

"Yes, I've also heard you have a very obedient wolf. I like that, too." His hand squeezed my ass. "This is a very interesting dress that you're wearing. What do you say we go somewhere more private so I can see it better?"

This was it. This was the moment I'd been waiting for, to let Larson get a good look at the goods, as my father liked to call it.

Except, I couldn't do it. My chest was tight, and it was getting even harder to breathe. The room was starting to spin.

Instead of letting him walk me through the crowd, I tried to pull away, but his hand circled my wrist. "What do you think you're doing, little red?"

"I just…I need some air."

"What's wrong? Worried about your lover?"

"My…what?" Surely, I'd heard him wrong.

"Your horde of lovers?" His voice rose and his smile turned cold. "I know all about you, Maya Callahan. I know what you've been getting up to at night, and I know what your father wants."

At night? I just sat on the roof and tried to pretend I was free as I felt the moon bathe me in her light.

"My father…he wants us to marry…" I whispered as my mind whirled. The situation was not at all what I'd imagined or planned for. Part of me had hoped that Larson was my hero, maybe even a true mate, someone who would love me and see me as an equal. Another, more realistic part of me simply hoped that he would fuck me at night and ignore me during the day, and I'd finally be able to roam and have some freedom.

But this? I had absolutely no idea where this was going, but it didn't seem good. "I'm not sure…"

"You're disgusting," Larson snarled as he suddenly pushed me. I fell to the floor painfully, and my dress ripped. Cold air touched my chest, and I wrapped one arm around myself to hide while I frantically tried to pull the fabric over my chest. People around us laughed, and a familiar female walked over to Larson and threaded her arm through his. "He dresses you up because he knows you're a slut. True, most wolves think with their dick, but I'm looking for a queen. I can take a whore to bed anytime, but marry one? I don't think so. Nobody will ever want you, Maya. Certainly not someone like me."

I couldn't take my eyes off my cousin. We'd only met a handful of times, but she'd always acted like my friend. Now she was standing by his side and watching me with a cold expression.

"You can go crawl home and tell your father that I've chosen my wife. I, Larson Peterman, Alpha of the Chalmer Basin Pack, reject you, Maya Callahan," he said with a cold smile as he turned. "I choose a woman of real substance and a strong wolf: Selena Devereux."

There was applause and laughter as I struggled to get off the floor. Holding my dress together as tightly as possible, I ran from the ballroom.

Tears blinded me, and my heels broke before I made it out of the hotel. Everywhere I looked, people were whispering and pointing and laughing.

This was supposed to be my night when I finally found my freedom, and instead, I was a laughingstock, and my father?

My father would kill me.

Whimpering, I turned and raced into the gardens behind the hotel. There was a shout, and before I knew it, I tripped and fell and rolled. Above me, a group of men snarled and closed in on me.

"What do we have here? Entertainment? Already half-undressed for us," one grunted. Hands touched me, and I tried to pull away.

"About time these balls get more interesting. I can't wait to feel her mouth around my cock." I heard a zipper, and I lashed out with my foot. It connected with someone, but they only laughed. More hands grabbed me and pushed me to the ground.

This could not be happening. "Stop," I screamed. "No, stop!"

"That's enough," a voice commanded. Immediately, I was released, and the circle widened around me as the men stepped back. They all lowered their heads and their gazes. A few muttered apologies under their breath.

"Leave us," the man said calmly, and reached down. As he pulled me up, my dress started to fall, and I gasped and held it up.

The biggest man I'd ever seen in my life stared down at me. His eyes were so dark they were practically black, and there was a scar that ran down his right eyebrow. There was no warmth on his face.

Tears running down my face, I pulled my dress back up and looked around. There was a group of men standing stiffly behind me, but everyone else had gone. Was this man saving me? Or did he simply want me for himself? Shaking, I finally raised my gaze to his.

No pity. No kindness. He studied me as if he were wearing a mask.

"Elliot," he growled, his eyes never leaving mine. "Bring the car around."

Oh my God, what the hell was happening?

"You're coming with me."