Maria.

I lifted my head slowly and turned my gaze toward the Quadruplets, my heart thudding so loudly in my chest that I was certain everyone around me could hear it. All eyes were on them now, waiting for their final judgment, waiting to know who I would be handed over to, as though I were an object being passed across a table.

Seconds stretched into eternity.

No one spoke.

The garden fell into a suffocating silence, the kind that pressed heavily against the ears and made breathing feel like a conscious effort. Even the night breeze seemed to hold still, as though the world itself was waiting.

My fingers curled tightly into the fabric of my dress as dread crept up my spine. I searched their faces desperately, Aidan, Damien, Davian, Adrien, hoping for something. Anything. A sign. A refusal. Protection.

But there was nothing.

Then suddenly, the silence shattered.

Adrien let out a loud laugh, sharp and careless, the sound echoing unpleasantly through the garden. It startled me, making my shoulders flinch.

"Alpha Darren, Alpha Noah," he said with a grin that didn’t reach his eyes, his tone light as though this were all some amusing spectacle. He lifted his hand and pointed casually in my direction. "Don’t you think this rogue over here isn’t worth fighting over?"

His finger felt like a blade pressed against my skin.

"You wouldn’t want to ruin the peace between packs because of this thing. She really isn’t worth it, I will advise you think twice."

That word hit harder than a slap.

Thing?

My chest constricted instantly, a sharp ache blooming where my heart should have been. I lowered my head without thinking, my gaze dropping to the ground as humiliation burned through me. I felt exposed. Stripped. Reduced to nothing in front of everyone.

So this was how he truly saw me.

Not Maria.

Not a person.

Just a rogue. A thing.

Yet the irony of it all twisted cruelly inside me. This same man, this same Alpha, was the one who held me close in the quiet of the night. The one whose arms wrapped around me when the world felt too heavy. The one whose warmth I had known, whose breath I had felt against my skin.

To him, I was worthless in public... but desirable in private.

The realization hurt more than I wanted to admit.

My vision blurred slightly as tears stung my eyes, though I refused to let them fall. I swallowed hard, forcing the ache down, forcing myself to stand still even as my insides felt like they were unraveling.

All I wanted in that moment was for it to end.

For them to decide quickly.

For them to pass me to Noah.

At least with Noah, I wouldn’t be spoken about like this. I wouldn’t be reduced to something disposable. Even if he couldn’t protect me fully, even if his position was complicated, I knew—deep down—I wouldn’t have to hear words meant to crush my soul.

Before anyone else could speak, Noah stepped forward.

"She isn’t a thing, Alpha Adrien."

His voice cut through the tension, firm and unyielding.

My head snapped up instantly.

Adrien’s smile vanished, his expression darkening as his jaw tightened. His fingers curled slowly into fists at his sides, the playful façade falling away to reveal something far colder beneath.

"She is someone worth fighting over," Noah continued, his voice steady despite the storm raging around us.

The words struck straight into my chest.

My heart melted instantly.

For the first time since the gathering began, I felt seen. Truly seen. Not as a bargaining chip. Not as a rogue. Not as a tool for peace or power.

But as someone who mattered.

I turned my gaze fully to Noah, my breath catching in my throat. There was no hesitation in his eyes. No shame. No doubt. Just quiet determination and something achingly sincere.

Adrien stared at him, his gaze sharp and dangerous, but Noah didn’t back down. He stood his ground, shoulders squared, as though daring anyone to challenge him further.

The garden buzzed with unspoken tension, whispers threatening to rise but never quite forming. Every Alpha present could feel it now, the shift. The line that had been drawn.

And as I stood there, my heart pounding, one truth settled deep within me:

No matter how this ended... I would never forget the moment someone stood up and declared that I was worth fighting for.

Aidan finally cleared his throat, the sound sharp and deliberate, instantly pulling everyone’s attention back to him.

"Fine," he said coolly, his voice carrying authority without effort. "The both of you would have to toss a coin. Anyone that carries the head can have her."

For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.

My breath caught painfully in my throat.

A coin?

My heart slammed violently against my ribs as the meaning of his words sank in. He hadn’t chosen. He hadn’t protected me. He hadn’t even refused them.

He had reduced my fate to a game.

Cold spread through my limbs, starting from my chest and creeping outward, numbing me where I stood. I felt dizzy, like the ground beneath my feet had tilted slightly. They weren’t even trying to pretend anymore. I wasn’t a person in their eyes, I was a prize. Something to be won or lost with the flip of metal.

I clenched my hands tightly behind my back, my nails biting into my palms as humiliation burned through me. Was this really my life now? Something to be gambled away in front of dozens of powerful Alphas?

Before anyone could react further, Davian finally spoke.

"No," he said calmly, yet firmly.

The single word cut through the murmurs forming in the garden.

I lifted my head slowly, my gaze snapping toward him. Davian had been silent all this while, observing, calculating. His expression was unreadable, his posture relaxed, but there was something dangerous beneath it.

"That’s too easy," he continued, rising to his feet with measured grace. His voice carried across the garden effortlessly. "It would be a shame to our name if we let our personal maid go so easily."

Personal maid.

The words tasted bitter in my mouth.

He turned slowly, his sharp gaze sweeping across the gathered Alphas, making sure he held their attention. "So we will compete for it."

My chest tightened.

Compete?

"There would be a competition," Davian said, his tone final, decisive. "And Rogue 456 will go with the winner."

The garden seemed to grow colder.

I stood frozen, my mind racing, my thoughts tumbling over one another in panic. A competition? Between Alphas? Powerful, ruthless men who were used to winning?

This wasn’t about peace anymore. It wasn’t even about pride.

It was about ownership.

Davian then turned slightly toward his brothers, his eyes hardening. "And in that competition," he added, "I and my brothers will participate."

A murmur erupted instantly.

I felt my heart drop straight into my stomach.

The Quadruplets too?

My knees weakened slightly, and if I hadn’t forced myself to remain upright, I might have collapsed right there. The very men I had hoped would protect me, men who touched me, held me, claimed me in private, were now stepping forward as competitors.

Not protectors.

Competitors.

My gaze drifted instinctively to Aidan, searching his face for something, regret, hesitation, anything that suggested he might stop this madness.

But he didn’t.

He only watched.

And that hurt more than I was prepared for.

Just when it seemed like the decision had finally been made, when the weight of it had already crushed my chest, another voice rose from the crowd.

"I would join the competition as well."

The words were calm. Casual.

Yet they struck me like a blade.

I froze instantly.

Slowly, almost unwillingly, my gaze drifted toward the source of the voice. An Alpha stood among the gathered guests, his hand raised with quiet authority. His face revealed nothing, no emotion, no intention, yet the sharp focus in his eyes betrayed a clear, unsettling interest. It was the kind that weighed heavily, impossible to ignore.

Around us, the murmurs swelled, no longer hushed. Excitement crackled through the crowd, anticipation spreading like wildfire, feeding on itself with every whispered word.

My chest tightened, my breaths turning shallow and uneven.

So this was it.

Not just Darren.

Not just Noah.

Not just the Quadruplets.

Anyone could want me now.

Anyone could fight for me.

Anyone could win me.

I felt smaller than ever, standing there as the center of attention, my fate dangling precariously in the air while powerful men measured one another with calculating eyes.

My throat tightened painfully as fear wrapped around my heart.

What would become of me if I lost?

Who would I belong to?

And worse—what if I won... but to the wrong person?

I stood there, utterly powerless, as the realization settled deep within me...this was no longer about choice, I needed to survive.