Chapter 1:
Twenty-three years. That's how long I managed to be a ghost. In a world that views Omegas as breathing currency, I had mastered the art of being invisible. No scent. No trouble. No life.
Now, all that's left of my freedom is the bitter taste of suppressants and the cold iron of a cage.
The warehouse reeks of terror and stale piss. Beside me, a younger girl—barely eighteen—is sobbing into her knees. Her scent is starting to leak through the heavy-duty drugs the guards pumped into us; a cloying, sweet aroma of jasmine and fear that screams victim.
She won't survive the night.
"Lot Seventeen!"
The auctioneer's voice cracks like a whip. Two guards, their Alpha scents heavy and aggressive, unlock my cage.
"Move it, bitch," one grunts, reaching in to grab my bicep.
I try to pull away, but the heavy metal collar around my neck hums. I feel the sting of the needle as it injects another dose of "Quiet-Down" into my jugular. My vision whites out. My knees turn to water. They drag me onto the stage into the blinding spotlights. I can't see the faces in the gallery, but I hear them—the rhythmic, predatory thrum of their heartbeats.
"Rare brunette Omega. Twenty-three. Verified virgin," the auctioneer shouts, gripping my hair to tilt my throat back. "Starting bid: Fifty thousand."
"One hundred thousand."
The voice is cold. Entitled. Alpha Blackthorn. The man who breaks Omegas for sport. My heart hammers against my ribs. Please, someone. Anyone. Kill me before he buys me.
"Two hundred thousand," Blackthorn retorts to a challenger, his tone bored.
The auctioneer grins. "Sold to—"
BOOM.
The explosion doesn't just sound; it feels. The warehouse doors are ripped off their hinges. Shards of glass rain down like deadly diamonds. The Alphas in the crowd scream, cut short by the rhythmic thud-thud-thud of gunfire.
Through the haze of the explosion, a silhouette appears.
He is massive. A force of nature in tactical black and a billowing leather coat. He doesn't take cover. He walks through the red mist of falling guards with a high-powered rifle in one hand and a serrated knife in the other.
"It's him," someone shrieks. "The Shadowfang! Thorne is here!"
Kade Thorne doesn't spare them a glance. He walks past the other cages. He ignores the piles of cash. He walks straight toward the stage.
I try to crawl away, my fingers scratching at the wood. Thump. Thump. Thump. His boots hit the wooden steps. A heavy black boot plants itself in front of my face.
I look up. Kade Thorne is covered in soot and blood. A jagged scar runs from his temple to his jaw. But it's his eyes that stop my heart. They are glowing gold, the pupils blown into predatory slits.
The mate bond doesn't just hit me—it DETONATES.
My vision whites out. Every nerve ending in my body catches fire. It's not romantic. It's not gentle. It's a primal, agonizing recognition that splits my soul open and brands it with his name.
Mine, my wolf howls for the first time in my life. OURS.
No. No, no, no—
He drops to one knee. The scent of him hits me—rain, pine needles, and raw, masculine musk. "An Omega," he whispers, his voice a gravelly rumble.
He hooks his fingers under the metal collar at my neck. I find my voice, a broken rasp. "Don't... please."
With a grunt of brute strength, he twists the steel. The locks snap. The collar clatters to the floor. "You're coming with me," he decrees.
"No," I gasp. "I'm not property."
His eyes flash a burnt orange. He leans in, his face inches from mine. "You think I'm taking you as a slave, little one? I'm taking you because you're mine. Because the universe just handed me the only thing I've ever wanted."
I try to strike him. He catches my wrist mid-air. "I'll kill you," I spit.
A dark smirk plays on his lips. "I certainly hope so."
He hoists me over his massive shoulder. I scream, pounding my fists against his back. It's like hitting a stone wall. He turns and walks out of the burning warehouse, stepping over bodies.
"Secure the perimeter!" Thorne barks. "We're leaving. I have what I came for."
The cool night air hits me. The last thing I see are the fires of the auction house. I was a prisoner in a cage. Now I'm a prisoner of the Savage Alpha who looks at me like I'm the answer to a question he's been asking for centuries.
And God help me—my traitorous body is already saying yes.