Tonight, everything was finally going to change, and I couldn't stop smiling. I woke before sunrise with my wolf bouncing around inside my head. I stood in front of the mirror, trying on different smiles and laughing at myself. Tonight was the Mating Ceremony. Every year, the young shifters of the Blackpine Pack gathered in the grand hall to find their mates. Under the full moon, the Moon Goddess chose the person meant for each of us. I had dreamed about this night for months. I wanted someone to love me for who I was. I was tired of feeling unwanted because of my size. By evening, the hall was packed with hundreds of shifters. The smell of roasted meat and pine smoke hung in the air as everyone waited for the ceremony to begin. I moved through the crowd, looking for Brandon. He was my boyfriend, though nobody knew. He held me when we were alone and kissed me when no one was watching. He always promised that one day he would tell everyone about us. *Soon,* he would say. *We just have to wait for the right moment.* I believed him every time. I was foolish enough to think that waiting proved he cared. Every stolen kiss in the dark made me hope a little more. Then a familiar scent reached me. Chocolate and cream. My body went still, and my wolf leaped to her feet. *Mate!* she cried. *Lyra, he's our mate!* I followed the scent until I saw a tall man standing in the middle of the hall. Dark hair, broad shoulders, a perfect suit. Brandon Hayes. The Alpha's heir. Joy flooded my chest. Brandon was my mate! Everything finally made sense. Maybe he had been waiting for this night to tell the pack about us. "Brandon!" I called, hurrying toward him. He turned, and my smile faded. His face was cold. His eyes were full of disgust. Before I could ask what was wrong, he raised his hand. The music stopped, and every head turned toward us. "I, Brandon Hayes, reject you, Lyra Vance, as my mate!" I stared at him, unable to move. The whole hall seemed to spin. I had waited my entire life for this night, and in one breath it had become my worst nightmare. Then the pain hit me. It felt as if a hot blade had been driven into my chest. My knees gave way, and I fell onto the marble floor. I clutched my chest and fought for air as the mate bond tore apart. Inside my head, my wolf cried out in pain. Then she went silent. I called for her, but she didn't answer. Then the laughter began. "Did Brandon really just reject her?" "Did she think the Alpha's heir would choose someone like her?" "Look at her size! She should have known better." "She's embarrassing herself!" Their words cut deeper than any blade. These were people I had grown up with, and not one of them looked sorry for me. I looked up and saw Chloe Bennett standing near the front. My best friend. She had spent the whole afternoon fixing my hair and telling me how beautiful I looked. Now she covered her mouth as if she were shocked, but I could see the happiness in her eyes. I thought of every secret I had shared with her. Every fear about my size, every dream about tonight. She had listened to all of it, and now she was enjoying my pain. "Brandon," I whispered. "Why?" He walked closer and looked down at me. "Why?" He laughed cruelly. "Did you honestly think I would accept a fat girl like you as my mate, Lyra?" The crowd burst into laughter. "Look at yourself," he went on. "You're an oversized whale. Did you really think someone like me would want you?" "You told me you loved me," I whispered. "Love you?" He smirked. "I was only having fun. Did you really think I would take you seriously?" My heart shattered. Every promise he had ever made was a lie. I wanted to scream at him, but my throat was too tight to make a sound. "I could never stand beside someone like you," he said. "You're an embarrassment. No one wants a woman like you, least of all the Alpha's heir." "She's crying!" someone shouted. "Somebody give her a mirror!" "She thought she could be our Luna!" I lowered my head and wished the floor would swallow me. Heat burned across my face. I had never felt so small. Then Chloe stepped forward. "Oh, Lyra," she said with a smile. "You should have known Brandon deserved better." I stared at her. "Chloe, you're my best friend. How can you say that?" She shrugged. "I'm only telling the truth." Suddenly, I heard a loud ripping sound. My dress split open down the back. I grabbed at the fabric, but it kept tearing, seam after seam, until the whole gown fell away from my body. In seconds, I was standing in front of the entire pack in nothing but my bra and underwear. I screamed and wrapped my arms around myself. Cold air touched my skin, and I had never felt so exposed. The hall exploded with laughter. "Look at her!" "How embarrassing!" "Someone take a picture!" Phones rose all around me. People were filming. I wanted to run, but shame held me in place. Then I looked at Chloe. She wasn't shocked, and she wasn't trying to help. She was smiling. That was when I understood. She had made the dress herself, and she had sewn it to fall apart. She had planned all of this. She had never been my friend. I looked at Brandon one last time, hoping to find even a little kindness in his eyes. There was none. Slowly, I stood and held the remains of my dress against my body. "I, Lyra Vance, accept your rejection, Brandon Hayes." My wolf stayed silent. I called to her again, but she still didn't answer. I had lost my mate, and now I couldn't even feel my wolf. The silence in my head felt like a hole where she used to be. I covered myself as best I could and ran from the hall. The crowd parted as I passed. Nobody helped me. They only laughed and kept their phones raised. I ran into the cold forest with tears streaming down my face. Branches scratched my arms, but I barely felt them. The ache in my chest hurt far more. I knew what they would call me tomorrow. The rejected girl. The fat stray. The shame of Blackpine Pack. But I still had my family. My father would protect me. My mother would hold me. My brother would stand beside me. They would never treat me the way Brandon had. At least, that was what I believed. Our house had always been the one place where I felt safe. I held onto that thought as I raced up the path. I ran home as fast as I could and pushed open the front door. "Dad!" I cried. My father stood in the entrance, staring at me without a trace of sympathy. Behind him stood two strangers in black armor. I had never seen him look at me like that. His eyes were cold, as if I were a stranger. "Dad, Brandon rejected me. Everyone laughed at me, and Chloe betrayed me." He didn't comfort me. He didn't even ask what had happened. Instead, he turned to the taller stranger. "She's yours. Take her. The debt is paid." I stared at him. "What are you talking about, Dad?" He wouldn't look at me. "Dad, please! I'm your daughter!" He turned away, and my heart began to pound. He was giving me to these men. "No!" I screamed, and I tried to run. One of the strangers caught me before I could escape. I fought him, but his armored hand held me tight. Cold iron closed around my throat. A strange power rushed through my body. My strength drained away, and I couldn't feel my wolf at all. I reached for her desperately. Nothing. "What are you doing to me?" I cried. Nobody answered. I looked at my father one last time, hoping he would change his mind. My own father had sold me. He turned his back on me.

The wagon smelled of wet straw and old blood. Every time the wheels hit a hole in the road, my back slammed against the wooden floor. I lay curled up in a corner, trying to keep warm. My torn clothes did little against the cold air that slipped through the gaps in the walls. The iron collar around my neck kept buzzing. Each time I reached for my wolf, it sent a freezing shock through my body. The pain forced me to stop. All I wanted was to feel her, even a little, but there was nothing there. After the third try, I gave up. The silence inside me was the worst part. Only a few hours ago, I had been standing in front of a mirror, smiling. Now I could still hear the laughter from the hall, and I could still see my father turning his back. Why had my father done this to me? I knew our family had money problems. I had heard my parents arguing about gambling debts and failed business deals. Sometimes I skipped meals so the food would last longer. But I never thought my father would sell me to pay for his mistakes. I had worked for my family for nineteen years. I washed the clothes, cooked the meals, and cleaned the house. I never complained, because I thought that was how I earned my place. Yet my father had watched strangers drag me away, and his face had shown nothing. He had never treated my brother, Jace, that way. Jace always got the best food, and my mother worried whenever he got hurt. When I was hungry, nobody cared. I had always believed that if I worked harder, my family would love me. I was wrong. To my father, I was only a way to pay his debt. Tears slid down my face, but I wiped them away. Nobody was coming to help me, and crying would not change that. The wagon suddenly stopped, and I held my breath. I had no idea where they had brought me. A loud horn sounded outside, followed by the clank of heavy chains. "Get out, wolf!" someone shouted. The door opened, and torchlight flooded the wagon. A guard grabbed my collar and pulled me out. I fell onto the stone road and scraped my hands. Above me, a huge black castle blocked out the stars. I pulled my torn clothes over my chest and tried to stand. The guard looked me up and down. "Look at this mess. The Kings won't want to see you looking like roadkill. Clean her up." Two guards dragged me into a small stone room with a drain in the floor. Before I could ask what they were doing, one of them poured a bucket of cold water over my head. I gasped as it soaked my hair and clothes. They pulled away what was left of my dress and threw it aside. I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to cover myself. One of them laughed. I lowered my head and said nothing. My face burned. Once again, strangers were staring at my body and laughing, just like the pack had done. After everything that had happened tonight, I had no strength left to fight them. A bundle of gray cloth landed in my arms. "Put that on." The tunic was rough and too small. It stretched tight across my chest and hips, and the hem barely reached my thighs. I kept tugging it down, but it kept riding up. At least I was no longer half naked in front of them. The guards led me into a large hall with black marble floors. Other prisoners already stood in a line. Some were shifters in iron collars. Others were humans whose families had sold them to pay their debts. A young boy stood nearby, crying quietly. He looked no older than ten. Nobody tried to comfort him, and everyone kept their eyes on the floor. I wanted to tell him everything would be fine, but I couldn't promise something I didn't believe myself. I took the last place in the line. The stone floor was freezing under my bare feet, and the wet tunic clung to my skin. A guard walked in front of us, dragging his whip across the floor. "Listen carefully," he said. "Tonight is the Selection. The Six Vampire Kings will choose one slave to serve them in their inner sanctuary as their Main Personal Slave." He stopped and looked at us. "The rest of you will be sent to the mines. Nobody comes back from there." The woman beside me began whispering a prayer. My hands started to shake. I pressed them against my legs, but I couldn't make them stop. If I was chosen, I would serve six dangerous kings. If I was not, I would go to the mines and die. I didn't know which was worse. Suddenly, the doors at the end of the hall swung open. Six men walked in, and the whole room went silent. Nobody dared to breathe. They wore long black coats with silver designs along the collars. They moved as if the world belonged to them. Their pale faces and cold eyes told me exactly what they were. Vampires. The Six Vampire Kings. Everyone in my pack had heard stories about them. They were said to be immortal, older than anyone alive could remember. The kings began walking down the line. One checked a woman's teeth. Another lifted a man's chin and turned away, bored. They looked at us the way people look at tools. I lowered my eyes and prayed they would pass me by. After tonight, I didn't want anyone to look at me ever again. Their footsteps echoed on the marble, slow and steady. Each one sounded closer than the last. Then something strange happened in my chest. I felt a sudden pull, as if an invisible thread tied me to someone in the room. My breath caught. The collar buzzed louder, and sparks touched my skin. A strange warmth spread through my body. I tried to ignore it. It had to be the collar. Nothing else made sense. But the pull did not feel like pain. It felt like something calling my name. The footsteps stopped in front of me. Six pairs of boots stood on the marble floor. I slowly raised my head. The tallest king stood right before me. His dark hair fell across his forehead, and his face was cold and hard. The king beside him suddenly went stiff. His eyes flashed red, and he quickly looked away. Another king clenched his fist. The others stared at me as if they had seen something impossible. I didn't understand. A moment ago, they had looked at everyone else with boredom. Now they could not seem to look away from me. I was a rejected wolf with a broken family and a collar around my neck. Why were they looking at me like that? The tallest king studied me from head to toe. Then his lips twisted into a cruel smile. "That one," he said. The guard blinked. "My King?" The king pointed at me. "The heavy wolf stray. She will be our Main Personal Slave." Gasps filled the hall. Some prisoners looked at me with pity. Others looked relieved that it wasn't them. I stared at him, unable to believe it. My heart pounded so hard that I thought everyone could hear it. Out of everyone in that line, the six kings had chosen me. Why me? There were stronger shifters in that line, and humans far prettier than me. I was the girl nobody had ever wanted. Even my own father had thrown me away. I wanted to ask, but fear locked the words in my throat. I could only stand there, shaking, while six pairs of eyes stayed fixed on my face. The king stepped closer until his black coat brushed my arm. The pull in my chest grew stronger, and I fought to keep my breathing steady. He bent down to my ear. "Welcome to your living hell, little wolf," he whispered. His voice was cold and cruel. "Run if you want. We will enjoy the chase. In the end, you will still be ours.

The two guards marched me down a long stone corridor, gripping my arms so tightly that it hurt. I had expected them to take me to the mines with the other slaves. Instead, they stopped in front of a heavy wooden door reinforced with iron. One guard unlocked it and shoved me inside. The room was bigger than I expected. It had a soft bed, a small table, a chair, and candles burning along the stone walls. A narrow window looked out over the dark mountains around the castle. For a moment, I wondered if they had brought me to the wrong place. "This is your room," the guard said. "You will stay here until the kings summon you." I turned to him. "Why am I not going to the mines?" He laughed. "The mines are for the slaves who weren't chosen. You should be grateful the kings picked you." Grateful? My own father had sold me. An iron collar kept me from my wolf, and I had no idea what these vampires wanted from me. I had nothing to be grateful for. "Remember your place, slave," the guard warned. He stepped out and slammed the door. A moment later, I heard the lock turn. I rushed to the door and pulled the handle. It wouldn't move. I pounded on the wood and called out, but nobody answered. I was trapped. Slowly, I backed away and looked around. The room was far better than a dungeon, but it was still a cage. I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled my knees to my chest. How had my life fallen apart so fast? Only hours ago, I had hoped to find my mate and finally be loved. Instead, Brandon had rejected me in front of the whole pack, Chloe had humiliated me, and my father had sold me to strangers. Now I belonged to six ruthless vampire kings. The silence in the room pressed against my ears. My eyes burned, but I pressed my lips together and refused to cry. Those people had already taken enough of my tears. --- In the royal council room, the six Vampire Kings sat around a long black table. Cassian was the first to explode. "Have you lost your mind, Valerius?" Valerius sat at the head of the table, calm and silent. He did not even look up. The shouting seemed to mean nothing to him. "There were trained servants in that hall," Cassian went on. "Strong shifters. And you chose *her*?" Dorian folded his arms. His voice was cool and flat. "I agree. Some of the others had served royal families. Some had useful skills. This girl has none that we can see." He shook his head. "She is a poor choice for the position." Malachi paced beside the table, his jaw tight. "The court will laugh when they hear who we picked. We are the six Vampire Kings. We should never have to explain a decision this embarrassing." The other two kings said nothing. They only watched Valerius. Cassian slammed his palm on the table. "Are you even listening?" "I heard every word," Valerius said. "Then explain yourself." Valerius slowly raised his eyes. They were dark and cold. "I have made my decision. She stays." Dorian sighed. "And we are supposed to accept that without question?" "Yes." The room went still. Even Cassian, the loudest of them, did not dare to speak. Valerius rose from his chair. His face warned them not to push any further. "You don't have to like her. You don't have to speak to her unless it is necessary. But she has been chosen, and she will stay in the royal wing." He looked at each of them in turn. "She belongs to us now. This discussion is over." Nobody looked satisfied, but none of them challenged him again. In that castle, Valerius's word was law. --- I was still sitting on the bed when the lock clicked. My head snapped toward the door. Cassian walked in. He wore a dark coat with silver buttons, and when he saw me, his face twisted with disgust. I jumped to my feet. He shut the door behind him and looked me over slowly. "Look at you," he sneered. "You're shaking." I kept my mouth shut. He moved deeper into the room, his eyes locked on me. "You should be grateful. Every slave sent to the mines would give anything to be standing where you are." "I didn't ask to be here," I said quietly. His eyes hardened. "Did I ask for your opinion?" I dropped my gaze, trying to hide how afraid I was. Cassian let out a cruel laugh. For a moment, I saw his sharp white fangs. "Listen carefully, little wolf. You are not a guest in this castle. You are a slave. This room, this bed, everything you see belongs to the royal family." He stepped closer. I could feel the cold coming off his body. "You will obey every order. You will not wander the castle. And you will never speak to the kings with disrespect." My hands trembled, but I forced myself to stand still. "If you disobey, you will regret it," he said. He turned to the door. "Being chosen doesn't make you special. You are here to serve us. Nothing more." He left, and the lock clicked behind him. I stood there, listening to his footsteps fade. Only then did I realize I had been holding my breath. His words sounded just like Brandon's. Just like my father's silence. Once again, someone was telling me I was worthless. But this time, I refused to believe it. They could call me useless. They could treat me like property. They could lock me inside their castle. They could not decide what I was worth. I wiped my eyes and straightened my back. I had lost my mate, my wolf, and my family in one night. I would not lose myself too. I would survive this place, no matter how hard it became. I had just sat down again when the lock turned a second time. The door swung wide open. All six Vampire Kings stood in the corridor. Valerius stepped forward, his dark eyes fixed on me. "Get up, Lyra." I rose slowly. My legs felt weak, and my heart was racing, but I kept my head high. I would not let them see how scared I was. He studied me for a moment. "From tonight, you will serve all six of us personally." My heart began to pound. "Every meal, every task, every order," he said. "When we call, you will come." He turned to the guards waiting behind him. "Take her to the inner sanctum." I stared at him in disbelief. Six kings, and every one of them could give me orders. I had thought this room was my prison. Now I was about to enter a place where all six kings could summon me whenever they wished. And I had no idea what was waiting for me on the other side of that door.