CHAINED TO SIX BLOODTHIRSTY KINGS

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.