Chapter 1
I ended up at the hospital alone after my werefox, Kaelen Vance, scratched me—again.
"This is deep enough to leave a scar," the nurse muttered as she stitched the wound. "Has your werebeast ever actually been socialized?"
I offered a tight smile. "He has. He was at the top of his class, actually."
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
For once, Kaelen had sent me a flurry of messages. "It's only a scratch. Was it really necessary to go to the hospital?"
"I'm hungry. Come back and make me dinner."
"I never get enough to eat, not since I became yours."
"You seriously suck at taking care of me."
Was that honestly how he saw our life together?
After leaving the hospital, I headed straight for the Therian Registry. "I'd like to exchange my werebeast," I told the person at the front desk.
***
The receptionist was perfectly polite as she walked me through the standard intake questions.
"You've been registered with your current werebeast for a full year. You're almost eligible to form a bond. Why do you want to exchange him now?"
A deep pang of sadness hit me. It had already been a year. I still remembered how eager I had been for our bonding, talking excitedly with Kaelen about what our rings should look like.
He had just smirked at me. "Do you honestly think you're good enough for me? Crying won't change anything. I'm never going to form a bond with you. Here's a free tip—you lower-class humans look disgusting when you cry."
He was right. I was at the very bottom tier of humanity, barely qualified for entry-level work. No matter how hard I worked, I could never afford the lifestyle Kaelen demanded. Honestly, it was pure luck that I had managed to buy a pureblood werefox like him in the first place.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "He doesn't like me."
The truth was, he hated me.
The receptionist blinked in surprise. "Normally, trained werebeasts wouldn't act like this. They are supposed to be completely devoted to their owners."
And yet, somehow, the impossible had happened to me.
I managed a casual smile. "I guess I just have bad luck."
Her expression turned apologetic. "The issue lies with our training. Please don't be too hard on yourself. Come with me."
I had originally paid eighty thousand dollars for Kaelen, which meant I could pick a replacement from the same price bracket. I flipped through the available options, taking in faces that were slightly less striking than Kaelen's, but still gorgeous. Their files listed them as foxes and leopards.
I hesitated. "Do you have anyone else?"
I wanted a canine. Specifically, a golden retriever. I had heard golden retriever werebeasts genuinely liked humans. If that were true, maybe one would even like a lower-tier human like me.
The staff member maintained her polite customer-service smile. "Not at the moment. However, werebeasts mature quickly, and our next group will be available in two months. As compensation for your trouble, we'll give you priority selection."
I nodded.
As she walked me toward the door, a loose photo slipped out of her folder and fluttered to the floor.
The man in the picture had cold, vertically slitted gray eyes. With a high nose bridge, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist, he was undeniably handsome—but he looked incredibly dangerous.
He was a werewolf.
The receptionist sighed as she picked it up. "He's actually our best-behaved werebeast. Management wanted to try expanding into a new market, but buyers are terrified that a werewolf will lose control and attack them. Our supervisors are worried about losing money, so they're selling him to the fighting arena today. The problem is, he was raised to be gentle. If he goes to the arena, the other fighters will definitely kill him. Nobody wants to buy him, and it's truly sad."
Nobody wanted him?
Nobody wanted me, either.
But still...
Her sigh deepened. "I heard that once they go to the arena, they get completely mutilated by the other beasts. He won't survive."
That sounded like an agonizing way to die. And a werewolf technically counted as a canine, didn't it?
I stopped walking. "Is he really well-behaved?"
She looked up, instantly hopeful. "Yes, absolutely."
"Then I'll take him."