Chapter 2

I woke up when the van came to a halt, listening carefully to hear them leave so I could make my escape. Instead, my brows furrowed in puzzlement as I heard multiple voices right outside the van.

"Hey! Get down now!" My heart skipped a beat, fearing that they had discovered me. After a few seconds, I rose quietly, my heart pounding with fear as I peered through the tiny window of the van. To my surprise, I saw several vans parked nearby, with a group of women exiting them, visibly trembling with fear.

I sniffed the air repeatedly, detecting the unmistakable scent of rogue wolves, just like me. Without making a sound, I retraced my steps and returned to the van, settling down cautiously.

I'll just wait until they leave, and then make my escape. They looked dangerous, and it was evident that they were involved in nefarious activities. Where on earth am I?

I sat motionless, listening as they began leaving. Just when I thought they were gone, a deep male voice asked, "You smell that?" My breath caught in my throat, and panic flooded my system.

"A rogue." I could hear them sniffing the air repeatedly. "A wounded one." One of them chuckled as they all began moving around the van.

"Find it." A different deep, cold voice ordered, followed by footsteps leaving the van.

I breathed a small sigh of relief as the sounds of their footsteps faded away. Just as I stood up, ready to bolt out of this place before they were back, the door to the trunk of the van flung open, and a blinding light shone inside.

Squinting, I raised my left hand to shield my eyes and saw two tattooed men standing outside, with huge smirks on their faces, like they just made a big catch- maybe they did. "We got her," one of them muttered to himself before I heard footsteps approaching.

I sprang out of the van, striking one of the men in the nose and kicking the other in the groin before he could even react. The injuries I sustained previously were slowly healing already, so I still had a little strength to run.

Just as I was about to make my escape, a strong arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me tightly against a hard chest. The next second, I felt a small pinch on my neck and quickly turned around, breaking free from the tight grip. One of the men, who was quite bulky, held an empty syringe in his hand, his lips curling into a sly smile.

My hands flew to my neck, palming the spot as I felt my body weaken instantly, an almost unbearable burn spreading throughout my body. The world tilted around me and I slumped to the ground as my legs went weak. The effects of whatever he had in that syringe taking over my body and sending black dots around my vision. My eyelids began to close just before I heard one of them say, "We take her." Then I passed out.

.

I was already awake but kept my eyes closed when I heard multiple voices in the room. "Should we wake her?" A disturbed feminine voice asked.

"I'm not sure. She should be up by now." Another voice replied, sounding just as uneasy as the first.

"Come on, let's wake her up. We don't want them to find her asleep." I could make out three voices speaking, but knew there were more in the room.

"Okay, ladies, get up. It's time." A deep, cold, angry masculine voice yelled as the door suddenly swung open. "Is she still unconscious?" As I felt a strong palm touch my shoulders, I stood up and carelessly threw a hard punch to his nose. Before he could react, I held his hand, pushing it in the wrong direction, earning a scream from him.

"I suggest you pull that off." I looked towards the door when a voice spoke calmly. There were two men at the door already, pointing guns at me.

I looked around the room to see the girls standing in the corner with pitiful looks on their faces. Did they see me as a weakling? Aren't they supposed to be helping so we can get out of here???

Rolling my eyes, I pushed the guy away, but immediately regretted it as he turned to me swiftly, jabbing a syringe into my arm. I hissed in pain as I stumbled backwards, placing my hands on my head as a wave of dizziness washed over me. I half expected myself to collapse onto the ground and slip into unconsciousness just like before, but somehow I managed to remain standing, feeling numb all over. "What have you done to me?" I struggled to speak, feeling as though I was under some sort of spell.

He gripped my arm, roughly pushing me towards the girls huddled by the side of the room. "Prepare her, we're leaving in a few minutes," He gave the strict order and the girls scurried towards the small closet and dressing table as the men left the room.

It took a lot of convincing from the girls before I acquiesced and let them adorn me in a short, sleeveless scarlet gown and black stiletto heels. What were they thinking? The dress was so revealing that I felt like I was wearing nothing at all.

The girls were frustratingly timid for my liking. They sure feared these people a lot. But that would never happen to me. I refused to succumb to anyone's will. I had finally escaped my step-parents, and I would escape this, too.

I glared at the girl who reached for the brush on the dressing table, apparently planning to brush my hair down. She twitched her lips and backed away slowly, setting the brush back on the table. They haven't realized that they captured a problem and a source of frustration. I wasn't going to transform into a docile doll for something that I don't know or expect.

"They would tame you," a girl with short black hair and a plain expression suddenly spoke, leaning against the wall opposite me.

"Excuse me?" I arched my eyebrows at her, indicating that I didn't understand her statement.

"We were all brave when we arrived here, but they'll break you. They'll make you submit to their will," she explained flatly.

"That won't happen," another girl with ginger hair interjected firmly. "She's being auctioned tonight and might find a good, decent, and compassionate owner. Considering her looks."

I furrowed my brow in confusion, feeling lost as they spoke.

"Have you ever seen a compassionate owner?" another girl sitting on the bed snapped, rolling her eyes. "They're all brutal. And if you're putting her looks and beauty into consideration, well, that's making her situation even worse, cause the cruel ones would be wanting her the most."

What's happening here?" I demanded, my tone loud and sharp as I glared at the group of girls. "Who is getting auctioned and what do you mean by 'owners'?" I added, shooting a questioning glance at the ginger-haired girl.

"You'll find out soon enough," one of them replied cryptically, just before the door swung open and men barged in.

"Clear out, girls!" The men barked, and the girls scrambled out immediately while I lazily got up from my seat, walking past the men to head out when one of them, probably the one with bigger audacity, grabbed my arm roughly and yanked me back towards him. He scowled at me and eyed my disheveled hair.

"Don't even think about it." I yanked my arm from him and strode off, pushing my hair away from my face.

As we waited at what looked like a backstage, I got even more confused and the girls were obviously avoiding eye contact with me, which only made me frustrated. I wanted to grab one of them and shoved her against the wall, demanding an explanation, but my head was foggy and my body felt so weak that it was difficult to stand up straight. Whatever they injected me with sure did a number on my strength and made it impossible for me to put up a fight.

"It's time,” A man announced as he entered the room.

The other girls arranged themselves in a line with me in the middle, and we walked out onto what I recognised as the main stage, which was filled with a lot of people. Lots of men, to be precise.

Then a man walked up to the stage with a microphone over his ear, standing in front of us with a notepad and pen in his hands. I stared around the hall, scanning my eyes on the men who had alpha auras around them, and stared back at the man on the stage, immediately understanding why we were here. I was about to be auctioned off for sale.