ARIA POV
"Wake up, Forgotten."
Someone kicked my cage. I jerked awake, my heart beating.
Blackclaw stood over me, grinning. "Time to move. Lord Draevon wants to meet you before we reach the capital."
My blood turned to ice. The Wolf Alpha. The one who killed Forgotten Ones.
Two wolves dragged me out and shoved me into a larger wagon with other people. This cage had wheels and bars on all sides. Through them, I could see we were moving on a road now, leaving the forest behind.
I fell hard on top of someone. "Sorry," I mumbled.
"It's alright, dear." An old woman with gray hair helped me sit up. Her hands were gentle despite the chains on her wrists. "I'm Elsa. What's your name?"
"Aria. " I looked around the cage. Twenty people, all chained, all looking defeated. In the corner, I spotted Garrett. He was awake but his eyes were empty. The claws were gone. He looked human again.
"Garrett!" I tried to crawl to him, but Elsa grabbed my arm.
"Don't draw attention," she whispered quickly. "The wolves are watching."
She was right. Guards walked alongside the wagon, their yellow eyes watching our every move.
"Where are they taking us?" I asked quietly.
"The Grand Auction House in Valtor. The capital city." Elsa's voice was tired, like she'd explained this a hundred times before. "They'll sell us to the best bidder. Rich beastmen buy humans for slaves, workers, or..." She trailed off, but I understood.
Or worse things.
"Have you been sold before?" I asked.
"Three times. Each master gets tired of old women finally. They trade us." She smiled sadly. "At least I'm still alive."
A young girl sitting near us spoke up. She looked about sixteen with tangled blonde hair and scared green eyes. "I've been sold twice. My first master was kind. My second..." She shuddered. "He hurt me. A lot. That's why I'm being resold again."
"I'm Mira," the girl added. "And if you want to survive the auction, listen to me."
I leaned closer. "I'm listening."
"Rule one: don't cry on the stage. Buyers like broken girls, but not sad ones. They want someone they can break themselves." Mira's voice was flat, like she was reading from a book. "Rule two: don't fight too much. A little spirit is interesting. Too much energy gets you beaten before the sale."
"Rule three," Elsa added, "don't make eye contact with the buyers. Eyes down, head down. Invisible is safe."
I looked at both of them. These were the rules they lived by. The rules that kept them living in this nightmare.
"Thank you," I said. "But I think I'll do the opposite of all that."
Mira's eyes went wide. "Are you crazy? They'll kill you!"
"Maybe." I thought about Grandmother burning in our house. About my village destroyed. About that power inside me that made my skin glow. "But I'm not going to make it easy for them."
"You're going to get hurt," Elsa said gently.
"I'm already hurt." I showed them my arm—it was healed, thanks to the fox woman's medicine, but they didn't need to know that. "What's a little more pain?"
The wagon suddenly stopped. Wolves yelled orders. The cage door opened, and Blackclaw pointed at me.
"You. Out. Now."
My stomach dropped. "Why?"
"Lord Draevon doesn't like to be kept waiting." He grabbed my chains and yanked me out of the wagon.
"No!" Garrett finally spoke, lunging forward. "Leave her alone!"
A wolf hit him across the face. Garrett went down, blood dripping from his mouth.
"Garrett!" I screamed, fighting against Blackclaw's grip.
"Your half-breed brother should learn to keep quiet," Blackclaw growled, dragging me away from the wagon. "Or next time, I'll rip his tongue out."
He pulled me toward a fancy wagon that sat separate from the rest of the convoy. Black horses stomped their hooves. The door had a silver wolf sign on it.
Blackclaw knocked three times.
"Enter," a voice said from inside. It was smooth and cold, like winter ice.
Blackclaw opened the door and shoved me inside. I fell onto soft seats, so different from the rough wagon.
A man sat across from me. No—not a man. A wolf beastman, but he looked almost human except for his silver fur and bright amber eyes. He wore expensive clothes and held a wine glass filled with something dark red.
"So," Lord Draevon said, studying me like I was an interesting bug. "You're the little Forgotten One who's been causing trouble."
I didn't answer. My heart was beating so fast I thought it might explode.
"Your brother is a half-breed," he added. "Which means one of your parents was beastmen. Which means you're a half-breed too." He leaned forward. "Do you know what happens to half-breeds in my territory, little girl?"
"You kill them," I whispered.
"Exactly." He smiled. "But I'm not going to kill you. Do you know why?"
I shook my head.
"Because you're valuable. Forgotten Ones are rare. Half-breed Forgotten Ones are even rarer. Your blood, your magic, your very life..." He took a sip from his glass. "You're worth more than my entire territory."
"So you're going to sell me."
"No." His smile grew wider. "I'm going to give you as a gift. To the Lion King himself."
My breath caught. The Lion King. The master of all beastmen.
"Why would you give away something so valuable?" I asked.
Draevon's eyes gleamed with cruel knowledge. "Because the Lion King is going. He needs Forgotten blood to live. And when I give you to him, he'll be so grateful..." He laughed. "Let's just say it will be very beneficial for me."
"You're using me to gain power."
"Smart girl." He set down his glass and leaned back. "Here's what's going to happen. You'll meet the king. You'll be offered as my thoughtful gift. And you will refuse to help him."
I blinked. "What?"
"You'll refuse to give him your blood. You'll spit in his face if you have to." Draevon's voice turned sharp. "The king is weak. Soft. He actually cares about people, can you believe that? But when you refuse to save him, when he dies because of human pride..." He grinned. "The other Alphas will finally see that humans can't be trusted. That we need to go back to the old ways. Harsher ways."
Horror washed over me. "You want me to let him die so you can make things worse for humans."
"Brilliant, isn't it?" Draevon stood up. "And if you don't participate, I'll kill your brother slowly. I'll make you watch. Then I'll kill every person from your village who survived the raid. Do we understand each other?"
I couldn't move. Couldn't think. This was a trap with no escape.
"Good." Draevon opened the coach door. "Take her back to the wagon. And Blackclaw? Make sure the half-breed brother knows that his sister's cooperation determines whether he lives or dies."
Blackclaw dragged me out. As I stumbled back toward the wagon, my mind was spinning.
I was being taken to meet the Lion King—the most powerful beastman living. And I had to refuse to help him, even if it meant watching him die.
Even if something deep inside me was yelling that refusing him would be the worst mistake of my life.
Back in the wagon, Mira grabbed my hand. "What happened? What did he want?"
I looked at her, then at Elsa, then at Garrett who was watching me with worried eyes.
"He wants me to kill a king," I whispered.
And somewhere far away, I could have sworn I felt golden eyes watching me through the darkness, desperate and scared.