Chapter 24 · Bride Bids Back

"Lot forty-seven." Vera's voice cuts through the crystal chandeliers like she owns every breath in the room. "One preserved wolf heart. Harvested under eclipse. Starting bid: thirty thousand."

I'm halfway down the marble stairs when Kael's hand locks around my wrist.

"Don't," he says.

"Let go."

"Lena." His fingers tighten. "You walk onto that floor, she wins."

I twist free. "She's already winning. Look."

Vera stands at the front podium in a dress that costs more than my mom's entire shop used to make in a year. Behind her, the auction hall glitters with wolves in custom suits and humans who paid six figures just to stand in the back. Every single one of them is watching her like she's handing out pieces of the moon.

And maybe she is. Because the item on the velvet platform isn't just a heart. It's evidence. It's the kind of thing that gets used in pack trials when someone needs to prove an