Chapter 1: Auctioned
Maureen
Life is so strange. One minute, you're happy, living your best life, and the next, everything crumbles without warning.
Moon goddess, please wake me up. Tell me this is all a dream.
"Keep moving, slaves," the angry rough Baritone voice echoed in, followed by a sharp smack on my leg. I stumbled to my knees, chains dragging me down, and so did the rest of the people held besides me.
Slave? The words feel like poison. I was never a slave from the beginning. I was a princess. The daughter of Derrick and Luna Marissa of the crescent moon pack. I was born with dignity, power, and respect. So how does someone like me end up in chains, reduced to nothing but a property of our enemies? The silver moon pack?
A sharp sting shot through my throat as I glared back and found my people being chained besides me. Some of them were falling on their knees, but the guards would smack them with chains, making them stand up.
I could hear their whimpers, their sobs, the tiredness and hatred in their eyes when they saw me staring at them.
Of course they hate me now. They believe my parents couldn't protect them. They believe my family is the reason why everything happened.
Maybe they are. If only my parents had taken the silver moon threats seriously, they would have prepared for this unexpected attack.
We've been trekking for what I think it's five hours now since the silver moon pack invaded and wiped out my people, including my parents. The Alpha and Luna.
"Maureen, do you know where they're taking us to?" Salsa, my maid, whispered in a hushed tone voice. Her body trembling as a gasping sound escaped her mouth.
Tears slid through my cheeks as I realized where we're about to enter.
The auction house.
I've heard about it before. The auction House is a place where slaves' wolves are sold like property. Treated like animals and traded like dogs.
As we entered, I couldn't help but ponder what my fate would be.
The rooms look like a theater. Rows of chairs go up the stairs, but filled with men and women in expensive clothes who look so excited by our presents. As if they've been eagerly waiting for the next batch of slaves.
Some sip wine, others whisper but most of them look at us with hungry eyes. Like predators waiting to choose their prey.
"Be quiet, slave," a guard rolled in. "And keep your head down." He shrieked like a barking dog.
The whimpering sounds reduced a little as everyone was instructed to sit down in the corner, close to the stage where bright light overhead.
This whole thing still feels surreal to me. Maybe we are here to perform. I'm very certain.
A tall man in a black suit stands at the center, holding a silver cane with a smile plastered around his face. He seems to be the auctioneer. I'm sure it's him.
"Ladies and gentlemen," his voice blasts from the speakers. *Welcome to tonight's exclusive auction. We have rare wolves for you. Strong omegas, untouched beauties. A collection you won't want to miss."
A scoff escaped my mouth as I watched people clapping in excitement. My lips curled in distaste.
"So we're going to start calling them line by line. According to their rank." He said cheerfully.
In a few seconds, the guards shoved me into a line with the others, separating me from salsa. My maid. We were now arranged in three separate lines.
The first line were mostly men, strong but broken. The auctioneer calls them labor stock. Good for farming.
"Lot 1: Male omega, good for farming and heavy work. Starting bid five thousand!"
And with that, they were sold to the highest bidder.
Now it's remaining the second line and third lines
The second lines were filled with warriors I recognise. Wolves from my pack who fought to the end.
"Lot 4: captured warriors, strong but obedient. Starting bid, fifteen thousand!" And just like that , people start bidding and eventually the highest bidder wins.
And now, it's the third line. My line. The special stock I guess.
This line were mostly young women, pretty faces, slim bodies, some trembling so hard they could barely stand.
"This line is filled with rare beauties, perfect for pleasure and untouchables breeding wolves." The silent crowd suddenly bursted with jubilation as everyone was placed on the stage, except me.
I guess I'm the last person.
The bidding started as usual, and everyone was once again claimed as property.
"Now the last slave we have here is..."
He gestured his hands towards me and instantly, I was pushed to the stage by the guards. My wolf howled inside me in shame as the light shone around my face, like a main character who was about to perform for an audience.
In the next second, gasps and whispers erupted from the crowd. Maybe they've finally realized who I was. The Alpha daughter.
"Here's a special breed. Untouched, Alpha bloodline, rare beauty, a true prize. Ladies and gentlemen. Look at her. Strong genes. Perfect for breeding. Who will take her home tonight?"
Shovers run down my spine at his words. The urge to scream out my lung till I can't breathe etched my throat. I wanted to tell them I'm not theirs. That I'm not an object to be claimed but the silver collar at my neck burns, silencing me.
"Is that not the Alpha daughter?" A man screeched out, laughing in dismay.
" Indeed, life is unexpected. If someone told me Alpha Derrick's daughter would ever be auctioned, I wouldn't have believed it. Your father should have given you to me with respect when I ask, "
An elderly voice rasped in, walking towards the front seat. I can see him now. He used to be my father's friend. He did ask me to be given to him but my father disagreed and cut all ties with him for having such thoughts.
"Umm interesting, so she's the Alpha daughter of the crescent pack?"
No! I muttered silently, tugging at my clothes as I tried to hide in shame.
I am still the alpha daughter. The princess of the Crescent moon pack, nothing, no one will take my dignity.
"Like I said, she's special. A rare breed. For that, the bidding starts from ten."
"Ten!"
"Twelve!"
"Fifteen!"
"Twenty!"
The voices rise, numbers climb higher and my stomach twists at the sight of men who desperately wanted me.
"Ninety!" A deep voice cut through, silencing the room immediately.
I raised my head at the crowd, to see the man who had desperately wanted me and found him, he was seated at the front seat. His demeanor screamed power, his eyes locked on mine and immediately, I felt tense and nervous.
"Hundred," he said curtly, everyone's expressions were shocked. They were still trying to understand what was happening and how a man like that could waste such money on a mere slave.
The auctioneer grips wide and smiles. "Sold to Alpha Stefon for a hundred thousand."
Alpha Stefon? I've heard about him. He's my enemy. His pack was the one that attacked my pack.
Moon goddess please, I will gladly accept any Alpha as my buyer but not my enemy.
Before I knew what was happening, two guards walked up to me and dragged me towards him. The moment my eyes came across him, something inside me ignited. Like a flame, my chest burns, my wolf stirred, trembling with a cry and in a second, the scent floods my nostrils.
Mate.
The words slammed into me, echoing in my bones, but my soul reached for him, desperate and terrified all at once.
But his expression made my chest tightened with despair. His face hardened, his eyes cold and emoti
onless.
"No," he growls.
"She's my mate," he spits the words like venom, his lips curled in distaste. "And I reject her."