I dropped to my knees so hard the floor bit into my skin.

“Please,” I begged, voice cracking. “Please don’t do this. I’ll work. I’ll take more shifts. I’ll clean, I’ll serve, I’ll do anything. Just don’t sell me to that old man. I’ll bring money home every single day if that’s what you want”

The slap came fast and sharp.

My head snapped to the side. Heat bloomed across my cheek. The taste of blood filled my mouth where my teeth cut the inside of it.

Margaret the woman I had called Mom for years stared down at me with cold eyes.

“I’m not your mother, you stupid girl,” she spat. “Your real mother died in that plane crash years ago. Keep talking and I can make things faster for you. You can go meet her wherever she is.” She crouched so we were eye level, voice dropping into something poisonous. “There is no need for you to work. Mr. Black is going to pay half a billion dollars the moment you are married off to him. That money will be enough to buy Mia a ticket into the Gray family banquet. How could you even think of making that much with your little bar job?”

Behind her, Mia laughed.

My stepsister leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, looking delighted.

“Alpha Garcia Gray is choosing his bride at the banquet,” Mia said, voice sweet and vicious. “Rumor is he’s heirless. Can’t bear any children. If he picks me, I’ll become Mrs. Garcia. And if I find any means to carry his baby… our family will continue to shine.” She tilted her head, smiling like a knife. “You just go marry the old man already, Charlotte. He’s basically your soulmate.” She laughed again, the sound sharp and dangerous. “An old, wrinkled, rich soulmate.”

Margaret straightened and smoothed her blouse.

“Dress up,” she ordered. “You are going to be Mr. Black’s wife soon. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

They left me on the floor.

The door clicked shut.

Silence rushed in.

I stayed on my knees for a long time, cheek throbbing, eyes burning. Half a billion dollars. That was the price of my body. My future. My life. Mr. Black was the oldest man in the city greedy eyes, cold hands, a reputation that made even the servers at the bar whisper. Marrying him would be a death sentence with better lighting.

I pressed my forehead to the floor and forced myself to breathe.

Running away was the only option left.

I had been saving every tip, every extra shift, stuffing crumpled bills into a hidden box under the loose floorboard in my room. One more good night at the bar. Just one more. Then I would have enough for a bus ticket out of the city and a few weeks of survival while I disappeared.

I stood on shaking legs, wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, and changed into my black work shirt and skirt. My reflection in the cracked mirror looked pale and determined. I grabbed my bag and left before Margaret could change her mind and lock me in.

The bar was already loud when I arrived music thumping, bodies packed near the counter, laughter sharp under the low lights. I tied my apron with steady hands and got to work. Serving drinks. Clearing tables. Smiling when men stared too long. The familiar chaos helped quiet the panic in my chest.

Near the back, a group of well-dressed girls leaned together, voices carrying just enough for me to catch pieces while I wiped a table.

“The Gray banquet is going to be insane.”

“I’d throw myself at Alpha Garcia in a heartbeat.”

“Who cares if the rumors are true? Heirless or not, he’s still the most powerful man in the region. Imagine being the one he chooses…”

“I heard he really can’t have children. What’s the point of marrying an Alpha who can’t give you an heir?”

I kept my head down and moved past them.

What’s the point of marrying any powerful man right now? Running away and having enough money mattered more. Power wouldn’t save me from Mr. Black’s bed. Money and distance might.

Later, when the crowd thinned a little, my boss sent me to clean the private lounge rooms upstairs. I carried the heavy bucket of water and cleaning supplies down the narrow hallway, the liquid sloshing with every step. Most of the rooms were empty. I knocked on the last door on the left.

No answer.

I knocked again, harder.

Still nothing.

I adjusted my grip on the bucket, turned the handle, and started to push the door open.

A hand shot out, grabbed my wrist, and yanked me inside so fast the bucket crashed to the floor behind me. Water spilled everywhere. The door slammed shut. Before I could scream, a hard body pinned me against the wall and a mouth crashed onto mine.

The kiss was rough. Demanding. Nothing like the clumsy attempts I had known before. One hand gripped my jaw, tilting my head exactly where he wanted it, while the other braced beside my head, caging me in. He kissed like he owned the air in my lungs deep, hungry, and completely without permission.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

I didn’t even see his face.

The door slammed shut behind me. The bucket lay forgotten in the hallway, water still spreading across the floor. Strong hands pinned me against the wall, and the man who had pulled me inside finally broke the kiss long enough to speak.

His voice was rough, almost strained.

“Help me out,” he pleaded. “The wolf inside me needs someone. He’s gone wild.”

I shoved at his chest, heart slamming against my ribs.

“I’m not a slut. Please leave me alone. I will pay” My voice cracked. I meant it. I would have given him every tip I had saved if it meant he would let me go.

He went still for a second. Then he reached into his pocket and pressed something cold and heavy into my palm.

A black card.

Unlimited.

My fingers closed around it before I could stop them. In that single second, everything shifted. With this card I wouldn’t have to worry about making money through my part-time job. I could save for tuition. I could get away from Mia and her mother for good. Freedom suddenly felt close enough to touch.

He must have seen the change in my eyes.

His mouth found my neck, kissing slowly, deliberately. Heat spread under my skin. Without thinking, I tilted my head to give him better access. A low moan rumbled from his chest, vibrating against my throat.

“Humm…”

The sound slipped out of me before I could stop it. My fingers tightened around the black card as his lips dragged higher, right beneath my ear. My heart was racing so hard it hurt.

Almost whispering, I forced the words out against his skin.

“But… I’m a virgin.”

He froze.

For a long second the only sound was our breathing. Then he pulled back just enough to look at me in the dark, eyes sharper than before. Something dangerous and hungry flickered across his face, but when he spoke again his voice was lower, more controlled.

“A virgin,” he repeated, almost to himself. His thumb brushed my cheek. “Then I’ll be careful… even if it kills me.”

He kissed me again slower this time, deeper, but with a restraint that hadn’t been there before. His hands moved with deliberate gentleness as he lifted me and carried me to the large bed in the center of the private room. He laid me down like I might break, then kissed a path from my left breast downward, lingering, sucking the soft skin into his mouth hard enough to leave a mark. His tongue flicked over my nipple before he moved lower, trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses across my stomach. When he reached the sensitive spot just above the waistband of my skirt, he nipped sharp, deliberate.

“Uhhhn..!”

The sound tore out of me. My fingers tangled in his hair, gripping roughly as my back arched off the mattress.

He didn’t stop.

He tugged my clothes out of the way with careful but impatient hands, then his mouth was on me hot and relentless. He sucked my clit slowly at first, tongue circling, tasting, drawing soft, wet sounds from between my legs. Every pull of his lips sent sparks up my spine. When my hips started to move on their own, he held me down and sucked harder, alternating between long, deep pulls and quick flicks of his tongue until my thighs trembled around his head. The pleasure built so fast it almost hurt. I cried out again, fingers tightening in his hair, when he slid two fingers inside me while his mouth kept working, stretching me gently, curling against a spot that made stars burst behind my eyes.

Only when I was shaking and soaked did he rise over me.

He pushed inside slowly so slowly it made my breath catch. Thick. Stretching. The pressure burned as he eased the first inch into me, then another. My nails dug into his shoulders.

“It hurts” I whispered.

“I know.” His voice was tight, strained with the effort of holding back. “Breathe for me. I’ve got you.”

He controlled himself so tightly I could feel the tension trembling through his entire body. Every muscle in his arms was locked as he fought the urge to thrust deep and claim me the way his wolf clearly wanted. Inch by careful inch he sank into me, giving my body time to adjust, until he was finally buried all the way inside. The sharp pain throbbed, but underneath it something warmer had already started to build.

He stayed completely still, forehead pressed to mine, letting me get used to the fullness.

Then he began to move.

Deep. Steady. Gentle at first.

The bed creaked softly under us.

When the pain slowly melted into heat and I moaned his name without meaning to, something in him snapped but even then he didn’t lose full control. He thrust harder, deeper, hips rolling with raw strength that still held just enough restraint not to break me. Each stroke drove the air from my lungs. The sound of skin meeting skin filled the dark room. He gripped my thighs, spreading me wider, fucking into me with a desperate intensity that matched the wildness he had spoken about, yet every movement stayed just short of too much.

Pleasure and pressure built until I shattered around him, crying out as the orgasm ripped through me. He followed with a guttural groan, burying himself deep, body trembling above mine as he fought his wolf until the very end.

For a long time afterward, the only sound was our breathing.

I woke the next morning to soft gray light filtering through the curtains.

He was still asleep beside me, one arm thrown across the pillow, face finally relaxed. In the daylight I could see him clearly sharp features, dark hair, the quiet power that clung to him even in rest. Alpha Garcia Gray. The heirless Alpha everyone whispered about.

I moved carefully.

Every muscle ached in ways that reminded me exactly what we had done. I gathered my clothes in silence, dressed with shaking hands, and slipped the black card into my pocket like it was the most valuable thing I had ever held. Which, in a way, it was.

At the door I paused and looked back once.

Then I left.

Outside, the morning air felt colder than usual. My mind raced as I walked. Mia and Margaret would notice I hadn’t come home. They would think I had run away which was exactly what I was planning to do. Why would they even worry? Probably only because of the money they expected after selling me to Mr. Black.

I tightened my grip on the black card in my pocket.

I will never return to that house.

Not for them.

Not for anyone.

Gray’s POV

The bed was cold on her side.

I woke to the absence before my eyes even opened. My hand reached across the sheets, expecting warm skin, the soft weight of the girl who had taken everything I gave her last night and still trembled so sweetly around me. Instead my fingers met empty fabric.

She was gone.

I sat up slowly, jaw tight, scanning the room. Her clothes were missing. The black card I had pressed into her palm was gone with her. No note. No lingering perfume strong enough to track easily. Just the faint scent of her on the sheets and the memory of how her body had clenched when I drove into her.

My wolf stirred under my skin, restless and angry.

Last night had been dangerous. The beast had clawed at the inside of my chest the entire time, demanding I mark her, claim her, sink my teeth into the curve of her neck and end the years of emptiness. I had held it back by sheer force of will. Every deep thrust had tested that control. Every soft, broken sound she made had pushed me closer to the edge. Somehow I had kept the shift from taking me. Somehow I had fucked her like a man instead of a monster.

That alone made her different.

Most women who ended up in my bed never affected the wolf at all. They were temporary. Forgettable. This one this stubborn little bar worker who had looked me in the eye and asked for protection even while her body welcomed me had quieted something and awakened something else at the same time. She was special. I felt it in my bones.

I reached for my phone.

“Find her,” I said the moment my head bodyguard answered. “The girl from last night. Dark hair. Worked the floor downstairs. She left with my black card. I want a name, an address, and everything else before noon.”

There was a short pause, then a clipped, “Yes, Alpha.”

I ended the call and stood, rolling the stiffness from my shoulders. The private room still smelled like sex and her. My wolf paced inside me, dissatisfied that she had slipped away while I slept. I should have locked the door. I should have kept her here until I decided otherwise.

But she had run.

And for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t willing to let a woman simply disappear.

An hour later my phone rang again.

“Her name is Charlotte,” my bodyguard reported. “No last name on record that matters. She lives with a woman named Margaret and a girl called Mia in a rundown apartment on the east side. The older woman is not her blood mother. There’s talk of an arranged marriage some old human named Black was supposed to buy her. She’s been working at the bar to scrape money together. The card you gave her has already been used once this morning at a small café near her building. She’s still in the city.”

I listened in silence, eyes fixed on the city skyline beyond the window.

Charlotte.

Even her name settled differently under my skin.

“Keep eyes on her,” I ordered. “Do not approach. I want to know every move she makes. And clear my schedule for this evening. I’ll be meeting her soon.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I ended the call and exhaled slowly.

My wolf finally stopped pacing, settling into a low, possessive hum. The girl thought she could take the card, disappear into the city, and outrun whatever this was. She was wrong. I had spent years being called heirless, broken, incomplete. Last night something in me had recognized her. I was not going to ignore it.

I looked at the empty bed one last time.

“You can run for now, Charlotte,” I murmured. “But I’ll find you.”

Charlotte’s POV

I woke up to the sound of my phone vibrating nonstop against the nightstand.

Margaret.

Mia.

Margaret again.

Mia.

Margaret.

I stared at the screen for a long moment, then slowly smiled.

Every single day it was the same. Missed calls. Angry texts. Demands to know where I was. Threats. Bargaining. I unlocked the phone just long enough to watch the notifications pile up, then locked it again.

Your plan is not going to work.

The thought made something warm and sharp settle in my chest. They had sold me. They had treated me like a piece of furniture they could trade for a banquet ticket and a future with the Gray family. Now I was gone, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Then a new message from Margaret came through.

Don’t think you can run away from me. I will find you.

The words wiped the smile off my face.

My stomach twisted. For a second the old fear crawled back under my skin the same fear I used to feel every time she raised her hand or looked at me like I was nothing. I quickly turned the phone off completely and tossed it onto the bed.

This woman is so evil.

But I cared less than I used to. At least I was out of her sight. At least I was no longer sleeping under the same roof as the people who had tried to sell me.

I sat up and looked around the small apartment I had rented two days ago with the black card. It wasn’t fancy, but it was clean. It was mine. The bed was soft. The door locked from the inside. No one could walk in and slap me or scream at me or tell me I was worthless. For the first time in years, the silence felt safe.

Still, I needed a few things food, basic toiletries, maybe a cheap change of clothes so I wouldn’t keep wearing the same bar uniform. I pulled on a hoodie, tied my hair back, and slipped the black card into my pocket before stepping outside.

The afternoon sun felt too bright after days of hiding. I kept my head down and walked quickly toward the small supermarket a few blocks away. My mind was already calculating how long the card’s balance might last and how soon I needed to disappear to another city.

I never saw him until it was almost too late.

A black car was parked across the street. The back door opened. A tall figure stepped out, and even from a distance I recognized the broad shoulders, the dark hair, the controlled way he moved.

Gray.

Alpha Garcia Gray.

My heart stopped.

“Oh no.”

I spun around so fast I almost tripped and ducked behind a parked van, pressing my back against the cold metal. My pulse roared in my ears. I peeked carefully around the edge.

It was definitely him. He was speaking to a man in a dark suit probably one of his bodyguards while scanning the street with those sharp, unreadable eyes.

I can’t let him find me.

Embarrassment burned hot across my face and down my neck. The memory of that night slammed into me without mercy the way I had tilted my head for him, the way I had moaned, the way I had let a complete stranger fuck me because he handed me a black card. I had sold myself just as easily as Margaret had tried to sell me. The only difference was that I had done it willingly for a chance to escape.

Shame made my stomach turn.

I stayed hidden behind the van, barely breathing, until I heard car doors close and the engine pull away. Only then did I dare to move, walking fast in the opposite direction with my head down and my heart still racing.

I had escaped Margaret.

I had escaped Mia.

I had escaped Mr. Black.

But Alpha Gray was something else entirely.

And I wasn’t ready for him to find me.