Fate is funny game

LYDIA

I stood rooted in the spot, the lights shining onto the stage made it hard to see who was bidding for me. I was terrified. Lined before me were other girls like me. I watched as the chains on their legs rattled. I watched as the bidding got hot before coming to a halt. The horror was barely over as cheers erupted from below the stage. A tribute had been bought. A girl who must have had a seemingly normal life before this had become someone's property. I looked helplessly as my cover was given away. The stage light circled around me, implying I was next.

The atmosphere in the room was terrible. Most, if not all of these men bidding were doing it for the opportunity to fuck a virgin because that was what would most likely happen. Men dominated the room and I was not blind to the look scribbled on their faces. Brash lust. These men wanted a young petite enemy werewolf to break literally.

The auctioneer sauntered over to my direction and smirked. His beefy arms coiled around my neck as he tilted his head back to the crowd. "Now this beauty here isn't just any tribute." He began. Bated breath escaped my lips and my sight blurred as hot tears threatened to pour forth. I felt my stomach lurch as the man's hand trailed behind the flimsy clothing we had been handed. He grasped the entire thing and pulled. A tearing noise followed and the robe of white drifted to the ground. Frigid with horror, I looked back at the crowd. Their mouth was ajar and I knew exactly why. Just beneath my breasts was a birthmark I was born with. It was shaped like the crescent moon and peculiar to only werewolf royalty. "This is the daughter of the famed tyrant. The seed of the one that caused us nothing but chaos. Lydia Nightshade, daughter of Duncan Nightshade." One of the stage lights traveled from my direction to the middle of the room. Beguiled in the bright orange light was a man. I made a curious glance. He seemed to be getting special treatment after all. He was clad in a black tie, snowy white shirt, and an even darker jacket. In the midst of the wealthy bastards that surrounded me, something about him seemed prominent. It wasn't the crimson red eyes or the fact that he scowled at my peeking. There was an inexplicable aura that surrounded him. The entire house fell silent. It seemed as if the bids had become hindered upon the disclosure of my identity. The lights receded to the stage once more almost blinding me this time around.

“Come on guys, which one of you really wants the chance to show this lovely lady what kind of a man they are. For our fallen sentinels. For the father of our beloved Alpha.” The auctioneer declared to spike his crowd into a frenzy. He sure knew how to get the men going, but then he was on a commission so it was in his best interest. But there was nothing more alarming than a loyal Lycan. The silence erupted into a war cry and the bid began.

"Five thousand!" One yelled.

"We have five thousand! Any contenders?"

"Seven thousand!" Another yelled.

The auctioneer stopped to take a good look at me. His smirk was unnerving. It was the bare minimum but it spoke enough. I would be raped, tortured, and discarded, or worse soon enough and all because of my father's reputation. My eyes burned thinking about it but I vehemently refused to let them break my spirit. It was all I had left. It was everything I believed remained and if that was lost, Lydia Nightshade would be nothing but a husk.

The bid seemed to die again at seven hundred thousand. It was almost as if none of them thought a creature like me was worth more than that.

"Any more contenders?" The auctioneer urged. Seven hundred happened to be the highest they had made so far but the haggler was bent on pushing his luck.

“There are no more contenders." A rough voice said from the crowd. It was the fellow who had bid seven hundred thousand. Unlike many in the room, his irises seemed to be colored orange implying that he was not a pureblood. "Now I would like to have a closer look, and touch."

My eyes widened in terror on hearing that. I had kept myself for my mate. Now a complete stranger was about to do me the things I had denied myself. nonetheless, it wasn't like I has a choice. Reality hit me like a cold slab of eyes to the face. I was an indentured now. Tribute to the wolves. I had to submit.

The crowd before me moved, a ripple of excitement and anticipation going through them. The man made his way forward. Once he was closer, I got a better look at him. He was middle-aged and balding, something about him made my skin crawl. He was not the kind of man any girl no matter the situation would envision herself ending up with. Ignoring his appealing physical features, I had to concede to the truth that my buyer was just like every kind of guy in the room. They were demented monsters.

I wanted to run, even when the chains that bound my hands and kegs prevented any chance of that happening. It was scary to admit but if I had a knife in my hand at that very moment, I would slash my own throat so that I died with honor. As the man's filthy hands etched closer, I clasped my eyes shut. I wanted to stop. I wanted all these to just be a nightmare. I would do...

“Five million.”

There was a gasp from the crowd.

“Five million?” The auctioneer repeated, his teeth jittering with disbelief. At the corner of the stage, I saw the slave master jump like a madman.

“Yes. Five million, if no one touches her.” The buyer assured. It was the man from earlier. The one with dominating ruddy eyes and an inexplicable aura.

“I want my assessment,” the balding man sneered, still coming forward.

“If you want to touch her," The man continued."You must be able to match my bid, or else she is mine.” The voice sounded aggressive, almost out of control.

This made the balding man curse and he turned to face whoever was speaking. The arrogance that clouded his face was immediately replaced by fear. He fell to his knees, making incomprehensible words. "Alpha Alexios . I...had no idea...it was you..."

Alexios ? I mused. Alexios Rose. The man who bought me was the Alpha who had a personal grudge against my family. As he threaded close, I tried to retreat but my body simply refused to move. The air slowly became tainted with a scent. What in God’s name was that smell, I asked myself.

It wasn’t a bad smell per se. I could detect that the smell was actually a person’s scent – the most delicious scent of fresh pine, spring rain, and cedarwood. The closer Alexios Rose got, the more prominent the smell became. It overtook my senses. It felt like a drug. A good drug. So good that it was beginning to frighten me. Alexios Rose stopped right at the edge of the stage and smiled. "Hello, Lydia."

That was the juncture of realization. My wolf echoed the words into my heart but I dared not say the word. Alexios Rose, the man who ruined my life and the bane of my very existence was my mate?