Janette POV:
The Ritz-Carlton ballroom dripped with gold.
I stood in the shadows in my fraying blue dress. Garrison and Keyla were center stage.
"Item 45. The 'Tears of the Moon' Sapphire Necklace," the auctioneer announced.
"Oh, Garrison! It matches my eyes!" Keyla squealed.
"Seventy thousand!" Sterling shouted. An obese Alpha from a rival pack, known for collecting young Omegas.
Garrison stiffened. "Eighty."
"One hundred," Sterling countered, grinning gold teeth. He waddled over.
"I'll drop the bid, Garrison," Sterling whispered, loud enough for my ears. "And I'll sign that timber deal. But I want her."
He pointed a sausage finger at me.
"Just for tonight. My heat cycle is starting."
My blood ran cold.
Garrison looked at me, then at Keyla, who was pouting over the necklace.
"I can't sell my wife, Sterling," Garrison muttered, though his voice lacked conviction. He looked glassy-eyed. Keyla had been feeding him drinks all night.
"It's just dinner, babe," Keyla whispered in Garrison's ear. "Sterling just wants company. Don't blow the deal."
Garrison blinked, swaying slightly. The drugs Keyla was using to keep him compliant were working.
"Just... just dinner," Garrison slurred. "Bring her back in the morning."
Sterling grinned. "Deal."
The gavel slammed.
I turned to run, but Garrison caught my arm.
"It's for the pack, Janette," he said, his eyes unfocused. "Do your duty."
A waiter appeared. Garrison grabbed a glass and forced it to my lips.
"Drink." The Command hit me.
I swallowed. Fire raced through my veins. Lust Dust.
My knees buckled. Sterling grabbed me.
"Don't worry," Garrison whispered as they dragged me to the elevator. "It'll be over soon."
As the doors closed, watching my husband turn back to his mistress, the last thread of love snapped.
I didn't just want to leave. I wanted him to bleed.
Flashbulbs popped. Blinding white light.
I woke up on a velvet chaise, naked.
"Chin up, sweetheart. Look devastated," Leo, the pack's fixer, said.
I scrambled for a pillow. "Where is Sterling?"
"Gone," Leo said, checking his camera. "He got his timber deal. He didn't touch you. Garrison just needed the leverage."
I froze.
"Leverage?"
"Proof of infidelity," Leo said. "Compromising photos. If you try to go to the Council about the poisoning, these leak. 'Disgraced Luna Seduces Rival Alpha for Cash.'"
Garrison hadn't sold my body. He'd sold my dignity for insurance.
"Get dressed," Leo tossed my dress on the floor.
I stumbled out into the humid night. Thunder rumbled.
Across the street, at the park, Keyla's birthday party was in full swing.
I watched from the shadows. Garrison was on stage, putting the sapphire necklace around Keyla's neck.
"To the woman who brings light to the Silver Moon Pack," he boomed.
They kissed. Passionate. Deep.
I vomited into the gutter.
My phone buzzed. Don't wait up, Garrison's voice echoed in the Mind-Link.
I imagined a pair of shears.
Block.
I slammed a mental wall down. The static silenced.
The rain started. Heavy and cleansing.
I started walking. I wasn't Janette the victim anymore. I was a ghost. And ghosts don't feel pain.
