Chapter 02

I froze, my heart beating against my chest wildly because surely he had to be joking.

Surely I heard him wrong.

There's no way…there's no way on earth that my father would sell me off to a stranger for money like I was some sort of commodity. My own father.

‘What?” I gasped, unable to form anymore coherent thoughts. This had to be a nightmare. It better be a nightmare.

“You are finally getting an opportunity to become useful to the community, Xenia. You should be grateful.”

His words were like a slice of a blade into my heart.

Grateful?

I had to be grateful that I was being sold off?

“Besides, he is an Alpha which means you are going to be a Luna. A blessing we were expecting to fall on you.”

A blessing?

Tears burned my eyes and I felt rage building up in me as I looked at my father. MY father.

“When he said your daughter - did you for once think of handing lyra over ?” I asked my voice calm, “Of course you didn't. Even though she was the only one worthy to be called your daughter. But when the time comes to trade your daughter off for money you suddenly remember that i am one.”

“How dare you, speak to me that way, you ungrateful child?”

I stood up so forcefully that the chair fell behind me, “I will speak to you how I deem fit father. All my life I have done nothing but love you - respected you, tried to be good. Even when you cast me away as an outcast, even when you stopped being a father, I had prayed that one day -” I sniffed and looked away, blinking back the tears that were threatening to fall.

“How could you sell me off for money?”

“I will do what I want with you, Xenia! I am your father so I have the right to do what I want with you.”

I shook my head, “No. You are not my father and you will never be. So no you do not have the right to trade me off like I am one of your luxurious properties. Silver fang pack asked for your daughter - GIVE THEM YOUR DAUGHTER!”

Before I knew it, my mother stood up, marched to my sides and landed a slap across my cheek, the sound echoing through the hall.

“You will talk to your father with respect, you little ungrateful piece of nothing! And yes, you should be thanking him. You are a taboo - no one would have wanted you so count yourself lucky that you are being handed over to an Alpha.”

I cupped my stinging cheek and I stared at my mother’s face, her whole face filled with disgust. I let the tears fall - freely, without trying to stop them.

“Fight and resist all you want. You are marrying the Alpha tomorrow and that is final!”

I turned around and walked away so fast I almost tripped over my dress.

I can't look at them, I will not.

I didn't stop moving, I did not look back until I got to my room and once I did, I threw myself on the bed and let my wail out.

##########

It is a common rule that an Alpha cannot have anything to do with a woman who isn't a virgin.

It was that rule that drove me out of the house and led me to one of the smallest bars in town.

It was that rule that inspired the stupid and crazy decision I had made deep within my heart about thirty minutes ago while I was inside my room, sobbing and thinking about my life.

If i was not a virgin - then the deal between my father and the Silver fangs does not exist.

Or maybe it will exist but he will have no choice but to hand over his other daughter.

The thought gave me immense satisfaction.

I know what I was about to do had to be the stupidest thing ever but it has to be worth it.

I have done nothing but be obedient all my life.

There is no way I will sit still and allow my father to trade me away to some disabled stranger - alpha or not - just because he needed money.

Yes, getting to marry an Alpha wasn't such a bad idea.

No, not at all.

And it wasn't because he was a cripple.

This was about my freedom as a person - about making up my mind that I would not be a doormat for my family anymore.

I took a deep breath sealing off any sort of resistance in my mind and walked into the bar.

The odour of alcohol and sweat hit my nostrils with such a force that I froze by the entrance and just watched keenly - very keenly.

I had no idea what I was looking for but I would find it, and I would know it once I did. This much I know.

Screams filled the air, the yells from the men almost blurring out the sound of the music blaring through the speakers.

These men all looked dangerous - and I shivered.

Perhaps I should go back home.

Perhaps I am just being unnecessarily stupid.

But go back and do what exactly?

I squared my shoulders and headed straight to the bar, manoeuvring through sweaty bodies and holding my breath to block out the strong stench of some of the men passing by.

Goddess above, do they not know aht a shower is?

I stopped at the nar and gave the bartender - an elderly woman who looks ;ike she was in her fifties - a smile.

She smiled back leaning over the table, “Are you a lost young child?’

“No ma'am.”

‘Well - I can tell you this. This is not the right place for a young and beautiful girl like yourself.”

She was right because looking around, there were almost nomladies except the ones dancing on the stage.

I had not noticed the stage when I was walking in, nor the girls on it dancing but now that I did, I couldn't take my eyes off them.

The way they moved, their body, their hips to the tune of the music was so beautiful and breathtaking and I found myself wondering what it would be like to have that kind of freedom.

“They are beautiful aren't they? The best in the town and it cost a fortune to hire them for the night,” The bartender said and shook her head, “my husband insisted that it will be worth it and it totally is.”

I sighed, “I am sure no one treats them like outcasts ortroes to sell them off to strangers.”

The woman chuckled, “You would be surprised. This is life honey.Everyone comes with their own label of a messy package. Some are just better at handling it than the rest.”

Handling it.

I pulled my gaze away from the girls and turned to the old woman who was now looking at me with a quizzical expression.

“You look beautiful and very familiar. But tell me child, what brings you here? Into a place like this?”

She looked like she could see right through me with her dark eyes/.

“I am trying to run away from life - my life specifically.”

“Don't we all want that?” She laughed, “honey, I can sense the sadness in you and this is what i gotta tell you - you can write your own destiny and forge your own path.”

With those words she turned and walked over to the other side of the bar to attend to the men.

Write your own destiny.

That is definitely what I am going to do tonight.

But how exactly am I supposed to do that? I still haven't found what i was looking for or perhaps I was not looking in the right places.

Who knows?

I just turned my attention to the ladies on the dance floor dancing, and my nose cooked in disgust at the sweaty men whistling at them.

Men are so gross.

Which is definitely going to make my mission an almost impossible one.

“I can see just how much you want to be up there.” The deep voice just beside my ear almost startled me out of my chair and I turned, jaw dropping when I saw who was staring at me.

One of the most gorgeous men I had ever seen.

Gorgeous in all the right ways - but how many men had I ever seen?

But this one right here looked like something formed out of a romance fantasy book.

His eyes, which I was blue even though it was a little dark, sarkled when smiled and sat beside me.

“Hello there. It is not every day that we get to see a very gorgeous lady in her, you know.”

I blinked, and mentally smacked myself for staring like a damn fool.

“I am sorry.” I gasped out and cleared my throat, hating how the words came out.

He grinned.

“It is fine. You look lost and beautiful. What brought you to this den?”

I looked around and looked at him again quickly assessing him.

He was handsome. Devilishly so.

And he smelled nice so that was a very nice bonus.

Yes. The goddess surely has had mercy and delivered what I was looking for right next to me.

“One hundred thousand dollars for a night.” I blurted out and his smile dropped as he raised his brow.

“Excuse me?”

“Pardon me. I would have introduced myself but I feel that is not necessary. I am a virgin - and I am currently offering you one hundred dollars to take my virginity.”