Chapter 1 : The Auction

Athena

The guards dragged me outside and threw me on the stage.

My forehead hit against the rough surface of the wooden stage that had been used for selling countless girls like me; Fresh blood instantly seeped through my bruised skin and the metallic smell hit my nose.

A Chorus of cheers and sounds of approval buzzed throughout the entire place. The hunger-filled eyes of the disgusting people waiting around raked my body covered in a torn red dress that barely covered my skin.

A sob slipped past my lips and I brought my hands close to my body to avoid the eyes of these awaiting monsters on me.

I felt disgusted. So weak and pathetic that I wished for my own death.

But little did I know that death was in no way near me because I was yet to face worse than death itself.

"So here's another fresh piece," The auctioneer grabbed a fistful of my hair and forced me to stand on my feet; My knees were ready to give up at any second.

"So this is our lovely...Athena," The monster began speaking, his voice alone made every fiber of my body shiver in disgust, "Beauty with grace." He grabbed my jaw and roughly raised my face to make me face the crowd.

Every single individual in the crowd had their eyes shaded dark in lust; There was no sign of mercy in any of them, not even a vestige of it.

"So soft and flavorful that you can crush her in your bed every night and still there be more of her." He chuckled.

This stirred awake many waves of laughter from the animals in front of me, beneath their skin and lustful gazes they hid demons and their dark intentions that brought them here to the auction today.

They were here to enjoy the helplessness of girls like us and gain their profit from it.

"But don't worry, she's fresh as a newly ripe fruit just like her age," The auctioneer spoke again, the dirt his words carried caused more tears to spill down my cheeks.

What could I do other than weep because of my misfortune? Nothing.

"A virgin, wolf less she-wolf," He said and chaos of whistles broke through the entire place and it felt a tight slap landing against my cheek.

Wolf less- The misery that put me into this position where I was today. The reason why I never got the love of my parents and ended up here is that they sold me like some good to these monsters due to their greed for money.

And here I was- In the middle of these starving demons, moments away from being once again.

I was not wolfless... I could feel her, her emotions, her strengths but the only thing that brought me into this hell was because I couldn't shift. Despite having a wolf, I am wolfless.

"So the bidding starts at Twenty thousand euros..." The MC's voice cut through, "Twenty thousand?Anyone?"

"Thirty Thousand," One of the bidders raised his paddle. The sound left my heart beating faster.

I closed my eyes, more tears rolled down my cheeks. It felt like the world was laughing at my misfortune; The pain of a weak she-wolf standing in front of the crowd of monsters who were here to take advantage of her helplessness because of their wealth, the same wealth whose greed made my parents sell me like some crap.

"Thirty thousand," The MC's pleasant voice spoke, the joy could be seen through his orbs, "Thirty-One? Anyone?"

"Thirty-Five thousand," Another bidder spoke among the crowd.

My heartbeats rose. The dismay surrounded me more and more. I did not want to be sold.

In my mind, I kept praying that this nightmare would somehow end. But it did not.

Because it was the reality.

"Thirty-five thousand! Forty thousand anyone? Do we have a Forty thousand for this fresh flower?"

"Sixty Thousands." Another voice rang from the crowd along with the sound of the paddle.

"The bar has been raised, gentleman! Sixty thousand!" The amazement was palpable in his voice, "Sixty-One thousand? Anyone?"

"One million!" A sudden voice buzzed among the crowd, leaving a hush prowling around the entire place and my...soul.

Unknowingly a shiver ran down my body. My eyes became desperate to see the owner of that luring voice, a surreal feeling stirred awake within every inch of my skin as if some sort of heat entrenched it.

But I couldn't see the person. The crowd was too huge.

Hesitancy covered MC's expression as if he was contemplating a decision that might cost him his life. And the same hesitancy was perceptible among the bidders. Everyone here knew who that person was, but I didn't.

"One...One Million. Does anyone want to bid higher?" His voice trembled.

No paddle rose, it was not because of the amount of money, it was because of.....fear.

The MC opened his mouth to speak but a sudden slamming sound was heard and the same voice spoke again, "Two Million Euros." The words were spoken with anger and suppressed underneath a hidden threat.

"Sold!" The MC did not delay a second before announcing.

His voice shook and his eyes shaded with fear as he uttered the name, "Sold to...Alpha Sebastian Valdez."

Another shiver ran up and down throughout my body hearing the name I'd never heard before.

Sebastian.....

The name caused my wolfish instincts to reach their peak. A rush of thrill, rising of indecipherable emotions. I was bewildered, I could not understand anything that was happening. Everything was just so sudden.

And suddenly the sound of someone's heavy footsteps broke my heavy chain of thoughts. I looked through my blurry vision in tears and saw him ascending his way towards me on the stage.

My heart stopped for a brief moment. The divine scent wafted into my nostrils, and my pupils dilated as I watched him with lips parted in amazement.

Perfectly sculpted face that took my breath away, framed with heavenly blue eyes that looked right through my soul, skin of an angel, and aura of a ruler......It was my mate.

I was stunned. Enchanted by his sight alone that made my whole world screech to a halt.

But amidst the chaos, It was unmistakably vivid that his eyes did not look at me the way mine did; They were ethereal yet cold.

Nonetheless, there was this hope within me that he'd give me any sort of reaction that'd tell me that he'd recognized me but he gave away none.

Instead, as he walked up the stage he did not bother to spare me another glance.

Another man walked behind him and handed the MC a suitcase that supposedly had the payment in it.

"Count it if you want," The man spoke.

"No. No need to count, it's okay. Alpha can take her right away." The MC spoke in a rush, fear, and anxiety screaming through his words.'

Then my mate suddenly spoke, "Nice to see, you have the intelligence to save your life," his voice and eyes both were void of emotions.

"I am taking my good, my beta will fill in the formalities," then he grabbed my hand for the first time, sparks shot through my skin and my heartbeats quickened but there was no change in the coldness I could sense from him.

He dragged me with him down the stage and headed out of place, straight to his car. There was no gentleness in his hold, it was extravagantly harsh.

The door of the car was opened by the driver and he basically threw me inside the car like some rag doll before he got in.

"Mansion." He told the driver and closed the door shut. He did not look at me, even for once.

I was speechless; unable to understand the reason behind my mate's behavior, why he was acting like a stranger to me, and as if he did not give a shit about me.

I did not know what made me crawl to the corner and wrap my hands around my knees and hide my face as the tears streamed down my face.

The security setup build-up in the car separated us from the driver's view but it did not make it any better.

I did not want to be seen. I wanted to hide somewhere and never come out.

Maybe it was the shame....because I did not have a wolf.....

The starting sound of the engine of the car was heard and moments kept passing. And suddenly a inhale and then heard a low growl that belonged to none other than my mate.

Before I could raise my head to look at him, I felt a harsh tug at my hand and I landed on the top of his lap.

I gasped loudly in surprise, a foreign feeling took over due to the closeness but all of it vanished soon because with his hands he shredded my dress into two causing me to gasp out loud and cover my bare breasts with my hands.

He threw away my clothes as if the smell disgusted him-The smell of the place and people I was kept among.

"I never wanted a mate, but I had never thought it would turn out to be this pathetic." He spat, his words full of venom, "Fucking miserable."

More tears rolled down my eyes but he did not seem to care the slightest bit.

He grabbed my hair in a fist and tilted my head to look into my eyes, "Listen to me very carefully, don't think I have purchased you because of this so-called mate bond thing. I don't give a shit about you."

In the coldness in his eyes, there was only hatred that remained in silence.

"So, if you are thinking that it's going to be a fairytale since I have brought you from the hell, you are wrong. And get this in your head that you are coming with me to my home, not as a mate but as a slave."

All my hopes were shattered the very moment I saw the hatred in his orbs. There was no sign of tenderness or love that I'd hoped to find, it was just the darkness that was going to destroy me.

"Got it?" He grabbed my jaw in a painful grip.

A sob threatened to tear through my throat but I held it in and forced myself to nod at his words.

"Good." He shoved me back where I was sitting prior, and threw his blazer at me, "Cover yourself before we get there."

My heart was hurting; It hurt so bad that I just witnessed myself losing the last hope, my mate.

But how could I even blame him? How could he possibly want the girl whose own parents didn't want her?

Holding onto all my sobs and tears, I covered myself with his blazer and forced my gaze away from him; I looked outside through the glass view of the window, looking at the darkness and hoping it'd swallow me in it.