Chapter 2

Isolde's POV

After my devastating conversation with Dad, I needed to find Sybilla. No matter what issues we had between us, she had to know what our father had just done to us both.

I climbed the familiar stairs to her room in what used to be our family home. The Blackwood mansion might be falling apart downstairs, but Sybilla's wing still maintained its pristine elegance – apparently, step-daughter privileges included keeping the nice parts of the house.

As I approached her bedroom, my enhanced hearing picked up sounds that made my stomach drop.

Low murmurs. The rustle of sheets. And then...

"God, Kieran, that feels amazing."

Sybilla's voice, breathy and satisfied.

My world tilted on its axis.

I pushed open the bedroom door, and there they were. My boyfriend of two years and my step-sister, naked and tangled together in silk sheets.

Kieran's head snapped up first, his dark hair disheveled, his face flushing when he saw me standing in the doorway.

"Isolde." The word came out strangled. "Fuck. This isn't... we didn't..."

Sybilla turned lazily, like she had all the time in the world. Her blonde hair cascaded over her bare shoulders, and she made no effort to cover herself. In fact, she smiled.

She fucking smiled.

"Oh, hi, Izzy," she said casually, as if I'd just walked in on her reading a book instead of screwing my boyfriend. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

The star-shaped birthmark on my shoulder blade began to burn with fury. Lyra was clawing to get out, demanding blood, demanding revenge.

"How long?" My voice was surprisingly steady, considering I felt like I was drowning.

Kieran scrambled to pull a sheet around his waist. "Isolde, let me explain—"

"How. Long?"

Sybilla stretched like a cat, utterly unbothered by my presence. "Six months," she said with that same casual tone. "Maybe seven? Time flies when you're having fun."

Six months. While I'd been struggling to keep my head above water, working three jobs to pay for that shitty apartment, worrying about Dad's debts, Kieran had been coming here. To her.

"Why?" The word came out broken.

Kieran finally found his voice. "Isolde, you have to understand. Everything's been so fucked up lately—"

"So you decided to fuck my sister instead of dealing with it?"

Just then, I heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

"Sybilla, darling, are you upstairs? I heard voices—"

My stepmother appeared in the doorway, then stopped. She took in the scene – her naked daughter, my naked boyfriend, and me standing there looking ready to murder someone.

"Oh." She said, and then a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I suppose my timing could be better."

"You think this is funny?" I turned to face her, my anger reaching new heights.

"I think this is not a big deal," My step-mother said calmly. "Kieran just abandoned you because Sybilla is a better choice, just like your father did back then."

She was talking about Mom. About how Dad had thrown away his marriage for this woman standing in front of me.

"You mean like how Dad abandoned my mother for you?" The words came out venomous. "How he cheated on the woman who gave him everything and threw her out of her own home for his mistress?"

My step-mother's perfect composure flickered for just a moment. "Your mother was weak. She couldn't handle the pressures of real success—"

"She couldn't handle her husband fucking his mistress behind her back!" I exploded. "She couldn't handle being humiliated and replaced!"

"Isolde," Kieran said quietly, "maybe we should—"

"We should what?" I whirled on him. "Talk about this like civilized people? You want to explain why you've been screwing my sister for months while I've been living in hell?"

"Look, I didn't plan for this to happen," Kieran said, his voice getting defensive. "But Isolde, you have to understand – your life has become so chaotic, so unpredictable. The constant stress about money, your family's problems... I need stability in my life."

"Stability?" I laughed, the sound bitter and sharp. "So you decided to find it in the bed of the daughter of the woman who destroyed my family?"

"Your family destroyed itself," My step-mother said coldly. "Alaric made his choice based on what was best for his future. Just like Kieran did."

The burn on my shoulder was getting hotter. If I didn't get control soon, Lyra was going to force a shift, and then there would be blood all over these expensive sheets.

"Do you know what’s the future ahead of us now? About the Moon Alliance Program?" I asked, my voice dangerously quiet.

Sybilla's perfectly arched eyebrow rose. "The what now?"

So she really didn't know.

"Our father," I said, emphasizing the word, "has signed us both up for something called the Moon Alliance Program. To pay his debts. Twenty-two million dollars worth of debts."

For the first time since I'd walked in, Sybilla's composure cracked. "What are you talking about?"

"A car's coming tomorrow morning at eight AM to pick us both up. Congratulations. We've both been sold for eleven million dollars each."

The color drained from her face. "That's impossible. Daddy wouldn't—"

"Daddy would and Daddy did." I turned my attention back to Kieran. "And you. Did you know about this too?"

Kieran said quietly after a long pause, "It's a harem."

The room went dead silent.

"What the fuck?" I called.

Kieran couldn't look me in the eyes. "I heard from my friend. Silver Moon Group's Moon Alliance Program... it's not some corporate position. It is... it's a modern harem system providing companions for their Alpha."

That hung in the air like a noxious gas. Harem. An outdated, barbaric tradition from the old werewolf days, repackaged with a sleek, corporate name.

Sybilla's face turned pale as paper. "You mean like... like those places in ancient times where women were locked up for kings to enjoy?"

"Modern version," Kieran nodded. "But essentially, yes."

"Is this true? So..." I felt the world shake beneath my feet. "He fucking sold us into a harem?" My voice was dangerously low.

"Mom, you can't let this happen! Not to me!" Sybilla shrieked.

I felt the room spinning around me. Harem. Not a job, not an opportunity, but a harem.

My step-mother suddenly stood up, her face becoming pale as death. "No. Alaric wouldn't... he wouldn't..."

"He would, and he did," I turned toward the door. "I'm going to find him. I want to hear him tell me to my face that he sold us to a werewolf harem."

"Isolde, wait—" Kieran started to speak.

"You shut the fuck up," I said harshly. Sybilla jumped out of bed, hurriedly putting on clothes. "I'm going with you."