Teresa POV
"Strip, mutt!" The auction organizer beckoned at me harshly and I flinched.
Tears kept streaming down my face but the man didn't care, he eyed me like if I delayed a second longer he would strip me himself and I wouldn't like any part of it.
I began taking all my clothes off as I tried to calm my aching heart that was filled so much hurt.
"Is this the new arrival?" a man approached us and asked the organizer.
"Yeah, that cunning woman has been hiding her daughter all this while, she will definitely give us good sales tonight with those curves," he replied cheerfully.
I could feel their wandering eyes on my naked body and I mentally prayed to the moon goddess to let the ground open and swallow me whole.
How could my mother do this to me? I knew we weren't the best mother and daughter but at least working as a maid for her shielded me from the pack's brutality against omegas.
Being an omega with no wolf was a curse ever since I was born. My own mother had refused to acknowledge me as her daughter and I had to work for her as a maid in her house just to get shelter and food. I had already accepted my fate, ready to devote my time to getting in her good graces when she suddenly handed me to the pack's auction house. Despite my pleas she left me to be sold out without turning back, how could she do that to her own daughter?
"Very strategic, that woman. She came to get rid of the trash now that she had secured the gold. Anyways, better late than never" The man said and patted the organizer on the back before leaving.
Secured the gold? What was he talking about...
I wasn't privy to my mother's activities, she barely spoke to me or acknowledged me, I was just like every other maid to her. I had always hope she would call me her daughter at least once.
"Alright, it's show time. You, stay on the number five tag" he pointed at me and instructed. There were ten of us present, all naked omegas waiting to be sold off. I anxiously walked out to the stage with the rest of them and stood under the number five tag.
Then the entrance door to the auction house opened and the men walked in their numbers and took their seats.
My head was bowed in shame but a tingling sweet scent tickled my nose and forced me to look up. It was addicting and it took a lot for me to keep my feet planted on my spot.
What the hell was that? How was I the only one perceiving it?
My eyes followed where I thought the scent was coming from and my gaze fell on some pairs of eyes sending a death glare at me.
Mates
I bit my tongue hard to stop myself from blurting it out loud but my eyes widened to show how shocked I was. I was trembling from the reality that was staring back at me.
Mates? Not one but three?... How was that possible...
I had turned eighteen three months ago and with no mate in sight, I thought I was doomed to die alone. It was one of the reasons mother began to get even more irritated with my presence, she had hoped my mate would come soon so I could be taken away. I had to work extra to please her to let me stay till my mate came around but I guess she had had enough of me to send me to the auction house.
Who would have thought I would found my mate here, three tall and intimidating men?
Omegas got mates even with no wolf but their partners were always someone insignificant or weak like them. I have never heard of omegas getting more than one mate before and they all looked strong as well.
I gulped and looked away from fear. If looks could kill I would have been buried 18ft under. It was so clear that they didn't approve of me at all, what games was the moon goddess trying to play by pairing me with them?
"As usual gentlemen, I will call out by number tag and you place your bids, you know how it's done" the organizer began from tag number one and the men called out prices like we were mere objects.
With this new development of my mates being in the same room with me, I felt extremely tensed and uncomfortable... more than I was before.
They didn't say anything or place any bids but I could feel their eyes boring into me. I couldn't help but wonder what was going through their mind.
I had only glanced at them after a few seconds so I couldn't get a clear description of their features but they shared a resemblance that made me suspect they were brothers. One was muscular with black hair and red highlights, the other leaner one had a plain black hair that was cut low and the one in-between had short brown hair. Apart from their intimidating face, they looked like hot greek gods sent from hell.
I wasn't allowed to go out so I had no idea who they were, but it wasn't far off to guess that they were no ordinary wolves. Auction houses were for the creame of the crop, only influential people frequented there.
"Number five, going for 500 coins..." The organizer's voice cut through my thoughts and brought me back to reality, it was my turn to be sold.
I stood helplessly as the bid started coming in, I had no other choice so I could only hope my new owner was kind even though that was very unlikely.
"600"
"800"
"1000"...
"2500"...
"5000"
"5000 coins... going one, twice..."
"10000 coins" The crowd fell quiet and all eyes turned to the person who made the bid. I couldn't help but look up too, I wanted to know who bidded so high.
It was none other than them... my mates.
Teresa's POV
"10000 coins...going once, twice... sold" the organizer announced.
I gasped, still finding it hard to be believe I was sold in a matter of minutes to strangers who were supposed be my mate.
I was led out and given a dress to wear before I was sent out to the men waiting car. My hands were tied but as soon as I walked closer to the trio and their jeep, one of them, the leaner one, came closer to me and began undoing the rope while the other two watched quietly.
"Hello mate, my name is Lynch... the youngest of the three musketeers. The muscular one is the eldest, his name is Keller and the brown hair is Bennett" Lynch introduced in a cheerful tone that made me surprised. Weren't they glaring at me some minutes ago? Maybe I was just being paranoid and overthinking it.
They kept staring at me and I thought that perhaps they were waiting for me to introduce myself so I opened my mouth to speak, "I'm Teresa..." I barely got the words out when a hard slap landed on my left cheek. It stung so bad I placed my hand on it and turned to who had slapped me in shock
It was Lynch, his face had lost all the cheerfulness, replacing it was hard irritation and disgust.
"Rule number 1, never speak unless you are told to. Know your place, you are nothing but a pet to us... our plaything" Keller spoke up and said with an indifferent tone.
"Your head will remain bowed and you will do everything we tell you to without hesitation or you face punishment" Bennett added with nonchalance.
"Now get in the car!" Lynch ordered and I quietly entered while shaking in fear of what my future held with these men. I felt so stupid to have held unto the blink of hope that they would be nice to me as their mate.
But I was so wrong... these men were heartless devils.
The drive to their house was quiet, unnerving and uncomfortable. I felt like I was going to be working on eggshells around them... I already was. Their pet?... I still couldn't understand what it meant.
Soon we arrived at a mansion, I recognized it as the famous alpha mansion where all the alpha's family resided. It was so big that it could be seen from outside the pack's boundaries, the fact that it was already on a hill made it easy to spot. Putting the pieces together of why we could have stopped here, a cold shiver ran down my spine.
Wait! Don't tell me these men were the infamous Alpha sons...
I have never been to this side of the pack, omegas weren't allowed to walk freely without their master's permission. But I would hear people speak about them in hushed tones at the market... about how they were fierce and ruthless, crossing them was like courting death.
As if to confirm my thoughts, some guards opened the car doors and bowed, "Welcome back Alpha Keller, Alpha Bennett and Alpha Lynch... old Alpha Brock requested to see you all" one of the guards said with a bow.
My heart flipped, my mates were truly the Alphas, how unlucky could I be?
"Perfect timing, we were going to see him anyways" Keller replied and everyone alighted from the car before walking into the majestic building. My head remained slightly bowed but I could still see the grandeur and luxuriousness of this place.
After a few minutes of walking, we arrived at a hall where old alpha Brock was seated.
"Father, we heard you wanted to see us," Keller said.
"Oh yes, I did. There's a new addition to the family and I wanted to introduce her" he paused and added, "This is Milinda, my new wife"
I frowned. Milinda? That was my mother's name. I instinctively raised my head up and the face that greeted me made me stagger backwards in shock.
My mother was equally shocked when her eyes fell on me. All this time I wondered why she had suddenly sent me to an auction house, was it to get rid of me to marry the old alpha?
I hesitated before opening my mouth to speak but my mother quickly butted in, "Hello Alphas, it's an honor to be part of this family, I truly love your father and I hope we can get along well" she had completely ignored my presence and spoke in a cheerful tone to the alphas.
There was a little silence before someone spoke up. "Dad, has it really been that long since mom passed?" Bennett asked, exploding with anger.
"That's enough, Bennett. Don't start today, this is supposed to be a happy moment so why don't you just..." old Alpha Brock retorted in irritation.
"Yes of course, a happy moment for you, you only care about yourself... It has only been three months since mother passed away for goddess sake" Bennett spat out before turning to walk out of the hall but Keller placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. It was clear his mother's death was a sensitive topic for him. I still couldn't understand how my mother was able to convince the alpha to marry her and she wasn't even welcomed by the old alpha's sons.
"Clearly, father doesn't care about our opinion, he's not worth getting agitated for. Anyways, we had come to show you our own new addition to the family as well, this is Teresa...our mate" Keller introduced to my surprise. I thought he was going to call me their pet or was he trying to spite his father?
All eyes turned to me in an instant, my mom's eyes especially looked like she was trying to shoot lasers from it and kill me instantly.
"Our mate? Don't be ridiculous! Why would an alpha be mates with a filthy omega, not one but three? You must think I'm dumb" Old alpha chuckled as he eyed me with disgust.
No one replied to him but the seriousness in their faces spoke volumes. Old alpha Brock's eyes widened and he stood up from his seat, "No, that can't be right... how many people know of this?"
"We met her at the auction house and we bought her before anyone else found out. She will stay here as our pet, we can prevent people from finding out if she remains in our custody" Lynch answered.
I shivered unconsciously and my heart constricted as I listened to their conversation. It all made so much sense now, like why they spent a whopping 10,000 coins to buy me. They wanted to shut me up from telling people I was mates with the alphas, I was nothing more than an embarrassment to them... they didn't want to be a laughing stock.
"No, no, this won't do. What pack would accept an alpha with an omega Luna as a mate? We will be laughed at by other packs as well. Worse still, she is mated to all three of you, my lineage is cursed" Brock was pacing back and forth at this point with the supposed dilemma at hand. Everyone was quiet as well, pondering on what to do with me. My mother was glaring hard at me, I knew she didn't want me here but there was nothing I could do as well. I couldn't even speak for fear of being punished.
"Even if we keep her hidden, it will only be a matter of time before our secret is exposed. We have to dispose her immediately" Brock's face hardened and he called out, "Guards, take her away and finish her off quickly and quietly"
Teresa's POV
"No" I whispered as I shook my head in shock and staggered backwards as soon as I heard him. In a flash, I was being held by the guards and they began dragging me away while I trashed wildly.
I couldn't stay quiet anymore, not when death was on my tail. "Please... don't kill me, please" I pleaded while tears trickling down my face like a waterfall.
No one said anything, they stood still with their faces turned away, an indication that I was all alone.
"I promise not to tell anyone, I swear on my life. I will do anything you ask, please. Mother..." I continued begging but it fell on deaf ears.
"Shut your mouth hole, don't cause a scene or I'll kill you right here and now" Brock barked at me with killing intent in his eyes. I immediately stopped talking as I was taken away.
Perhaps this was my final destination... I should accept my fate and let them kill me, I didn't have a choice anyway.
I was taken down the stairs to a basement that looked like it housed the lives of other that were slain there. My fight or flight kicked in at the thought of dying here and I turned to try and make a run for it. I barely ran two steps when I was caught and thrown to the ground so roughly I scraped up my arms, legs and hit my head.
"Where do you think you are going, wretch?" one of the guards came forward and pulled my hair to get me to kneel down. I whimpered from the pain, my head hurt and I was beginning to feel dizzy.
"Not to worry, I'll finish you off in one clean swipe" The other guard with the sharp sword in hand said. He came closer and raised the sword to strike me down and I instinctively closed my eyes waiting for impact.
My unfulfilled life flashed through my mind and a stray tear fell. I had never thought this would be how I met my end, slain by my mates and mother. They had turned a blind eye while I was being dragged away and indirectly responsible for my death.
Funny how, I had always dreamt of a loving mate that would take me away from my mother's slavery and live a small simple life happily. I never cared if he would be weak or be an insignificant figure in the pack, or whether he was poor and struggling.
My dreams were that simple but seemed like the moon goddess hated me so much to deny me of it. Now, I was in the middle of the pack's power system and condemned to death. I only wished life was a little less harsher to me.
Seconds ticked by but the blade never came, I opened my eyes to see a shocking scene unfold in front of me. Keller was in front of me and his bare hands was holding the blade of the sword, stopping it from coming down any further. Blood trickled down his palm but he didn't stop. To my side, the guard that held my body up with my hair was pinned to the wall by Bennett, the hard glare on his face showed he was this close to biting off his neck.
And then Lynch was bent over me, covering me protectively like his life depended on it.
I could barely process the scene to show a reaction when I felt a slicing pain on my palm. There was nothing there but it hurt so much, I screamed in pain to which Lynch pulled me into hug and picked me up bridal style.
At this time, the guard with the sword had realized that he was cutting Keller and he fearfully retracted the sword, "I'm so sorry, Alpha Keller, I didn't notice when you came in... please, have mercy" he pleaded remorsefully.
Keller was about to say something when his father and my mother rushed in. Their eyes were on me and they had an unreadable expression on their faces.
"Well, is it true?" old alpha Brock asked frantically.
I was confused as to why they all looked so concerned. The mysterious pain in my palm had dulled down but I still felt very weak and dizzy. I was barely trying to stay awake and the feeling of Lynch holding me so close to him made my body visibly relax.
"Yes, it appears to be true. This isn't a normal mate bond. When we are hurt, she's hurt and when she's hurt, we are hurt..." Keller trailed off in disbelief, as if he couldn't accept what he was saying.
I was still trying to understand what he meant when Bennett, "So that means, if she dies, we die and if we die, she dies"
That was the last thing I heard before I succumbed to sleep pulling at me.
***
I woke up to someone tapping me roughly and the face that greeted me was my mother.
"Get up, you need to leave right now!" she said with a sense of urgency.
I got up despite my body protesting that I lay back down and asked in confusion, "Why do I have to leave?"
I remembered everything. From the auction house to the strange discovery at the basement. I didn't know what games the moon goddess was playing but I felt relieved to know I wouldn't be dying anytime soon.
"You have to leave because I tell you to. You can't be here and ruin everything I have worked so hard for" she answered.
"Does anybody know we are related?" she asked as we made it to the door.
"No, no one knows," I answered.
"Good and it stays that way. If I find out that you told anyone that you are my daughter, I'll kill you myself" she threatened with all seriousness, I shivered and nodded my head in agreement.
"Now, follow this way and get the hell out of here. I don't care where you go, just leave" she pushed me while frantically looking at the surroundings.
I wanted to protest but decided against it. I knew the place I stood in my mother's life but I still wished she would accept me as her daughter. I wanted to please her and get in her good graces, it was one of my wishes I prayed for. So if she wanted me to go then I'll go, I wasn't welcomed here anyway so I was missing out on nothing.
I gave her one last look before turning on my heels and running. Following the path she showed me, I soon ended up outside the mansion and could see the tall fences ahead. I was about to take another step when I felt them.
My mates... they were here.
"Trying to run away from us so soon? Don't break my heart, Princess" The familiar voice of Lynch said from the shadows. I had only met them for a few hours but I could already tell them apart.
My heart skipped a beat. I have been caught and I knew I stood no chance in outrunning them. Mother would not be happy if she saw me back at the house, I couldn't even follow the one instructions she gave me.
Bennett was the first to walk out of the shadows, he came closer to me with a blank expression and he raised my face with a finger to look at me straight in the eyes
"Perhaps the knowledge that we cannot punish you too severely or kill you has made you so brazen... Think again, Teresa. There are other ways to punish you and we'll do you the honors of showing you one" Bennett said my name for the first time and despite the terrifying fear coursing through me, a growing desire was forming in my stomach.