*Arianna's POV*
My eyes scanned the crowed and I saw my family among them, but from the look on their faces, I realized that indeed they were in on this too.
I shut my eyes tightly as hot tears rolled down my cheeks, the pain this time was even greater than the pain I had felt when Carter rejected me and right now, the least I can do is not to care anymore and just accept my fate, everyone has abandoned me, even the goddess herself has turned her back on me.
The light was focused on me, making me the center of attraction.
Carter who acted as the auctioneer himself then called out the starting price for me, "We have a beautiful young lady here, starting bid at $20,000."
The men in the crowd began placing their bids, "I bid $30, 000!"
"I offer $50, 000!" another man shouted.
The price continued to rise as more men joined in the bidding, and my heart sank with each new offer. I couldn't believe that I was being sold like an object with meaningless value and I have no idea what my fate would be once I was bought.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, a deep voice boomed across the room, "I offer $1,000,000!"
The room fell silent as all eyes turned towards the man who had just made the shocking bid. I looked up and saw him sitting in one of the front seats, his gaze fixed on me.
Everyone was taken aback by the sudden increase in price, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have an offer of $1,000,000. Anymore bids? Anyone willing to pay more?''
The other bidders were stunned into silence, realizing that they couldn't possibly compete with such a high offer.
"And that's it. Arianna has been sold to the Alpha of the ice claw pack for a whooping sum of $1,000,000." He declared, bringing the hammer down on the table.
My legs felt so weak that I fell to the floor, I didn't even have the strength to cry anymore, all I could think of was how ruined my life was.
A man walked up to me and request I go with him.
I have no say in this matter, the deed has been done, I am now a slave to another.
I stood up and followed him, like a sheep who's about to be slaughtered. As we walked outside to where a black jeep awaits us, all I could do was imagine all sorts of bad things that could actually happen to me.
What will he do to me? How is my life going to be from now on? Will it only get worse?
I seem to laugh at the last question because it sounds so dumb to me, my life has been nothing worse and I guess it'll continue to be so.
I didn't realize that the door to the jeep has been opened already until the man nudge my arm and asked me to go in.
That jolted me out of my thoughts and when I raised my head up, my eyes came in contact with that of the Alpha.
My eyes widen with shock, I wasn't expecting to be riding in the same car with him.
"Move." The man behind me said and I slowly went in.
"Do you know who I am?" He asked and I shook my head negatively.
"Luciano Dinero, Alpha of the ice claw pack.'' He introduced and I simply nodded.
I wasn't in the mood to talk since I know I'm nothing but a slave, so what's the use of engaging in a conversation.
The rest of the ride was a silent one, deep down, his intimidating aura was enough to make me tremble with fear, but I tried to act tough and un bothered.
When we finally arrived, we both stepped out of the car and I was amazed by the magnificent sight in front of me, his home was more like a palace, there was so much guards around and when they saw him, they all bowed in respect.
He walked inside with me closely behind him, when we got in, he suddenly came to a stop and I did too.
His back was turned to me for sometime and it made me so nervous as I awaited my fate.
"I'll make one thing clear to you." He sharply turned around.
"I do not like you one bit, in fact the likes of you shouldn't be allowed to live and I'll see to it that you won't get spared for being one of the disgusting creatures who caused me pain." His voice held so much hate and bitterness that I could literally taste it.
His words made me so confused because I have no idea what he meant by any of those things he said.
I wanted to ask what wrong I had done and what he meant by those words, but that is like me digging my own grave and as much as I would have loved for him to explain more and clarify things, he didn't do any of that, rather he walked away, leaving me confused as hell.
"Sorry about that." I heard a voice behind me and I jumped in freight.
I turned to see a man with blonde hair and very good looking, plus he had a nice body physique.
"He's always like that, but trust me when I say that he's a good man, something just....changed him." He sighed deeply. "Anyways, I'm Davison, Luciano's beta." He introduced and from the way he interacted, he seem like a nice guy to me.
"Arianna." I said softly and he nodded.
"Well then come with me and I'll show you your room." He said and then he left.
While walking with him, I couldn't help but admire the place since it was indeed a beauty.
He surprised me by taking me to a room that was super nice and not the kind that were offered to slaves.
I began to wonder if we were in the right room since this was beyond my expectation.
*Arianna's POV*I felt someone's presence in my room and I hurriedly sat up. It's so late already and I should be asleep, but I found it so hard to fall asleep, hence the reason I'm still awake."Who's there?" I asked fearfully since the person's face was yet to be revealed."If you don't show yourself then I'll scream." I threatened."In my own home?" Luciano replied as he stepped into the light.I was surprised to see him here, I quickly got down from the bed and I bowed in respect. "Alpha." He walked to where I stood and after looking at me for sometime, he took a sit on my bed."I didn't specify what your duties here are before." He said.My body was literally trembling, I was nervous and scared at the same time and I would love nothing more than to be a thousand feets away from him right now. I haven't forgotten what he said to me before, nor the hatred I saw in his eyes, he looked so bitter and he directed that anger at me before, a man like this is certainly capable of doing a
**Arianna's POV** "Let's get started with your next punishment." He tells me and that mischievous smirk on his face grows larger. A feeling of dread starts to grow in my heart. I have a feeling that whatever he has planned for me is going to be really bad. I try to back away from him towards the door hoping that nobody is on the other side and maybe I'll be able to escape but deep down even I know that it won't work but I have to try, I can't go through what I went through last night again. I'd rather die. I started to back away towards the door and one of the floor board creaks. "And where exactly do you think you're going?" Luciano asks me with rage in his eyes. Tears well up in my eyes, knowing I've been caught. "Please Alpha Luciano, I don't know what I have done to you but please let me go. I promise I'll go far away from here and you'll never have to see me again." I tell him hoping that he'll really let me go. He starts laughing maniacally. "Let you go? Y
**Arianna's POV** The guards bow their heads and open the doors. Luciano walks in and me and Davison follow behind him. The room we walk into is nothing short of amazing. There are huge columns and the ceiling is made of glass bringing in natural light. At the end of the room is a huge throne which I'm assuming belongs to Luciano and in the middle of the room is a beautiful intricately designed table with chairs that have the crest of each family engraved on their backs. Immediately Luciano walks in, everyone at the table gets up and bows their heads and they stay like that until Luciano takes his seat at the head of the table and Davison stands by the seat on his left. I go and stand by Luciano's side and bow my head down. "You better keep that head up girl, I want you to see them looking at you.' He whispers to me and I do exactly as he says even though it pains me to do so. "You may have your seats." He tells them and they all sit down. Immediately they do it do
**Arianna's POV** I'm still sitting on the floor crying when I hear the doors to the room open, I immediately stand on my feet thinking It's Luciano but when I turn around and look at the door it's Davison. "I'm sorry I haven't cleaned up the room yet, I'm going to do it now please don't report me to the alpha." I tell him and walk to where I broke the glass of bourbon and start picking up the shards of glass on the floor even though I'm in pain and my hands are bleeding. All of a sudden he walks up to me and drags me to my feet. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You're clearly in pain so why are you doing this?" He asks me and I actually see genuine concern in his eyes but I don't trust it. "Please just leave me alone I don't want to get in more trouble." I tell him and try to go back to my work but his grip on my hand tightens. "No, you're clearly in pain and bleeding, you might get an infection let me take you to the pack doctor."
**Arianna's POV** He takes a deep breath and looks at me like he's sorry for what he's about to say. "She's an omega." He tells her. She looks taken aback and even staggers a little. "No, I thought he was getting better, that he was moving on." She says and then covers her mouth in shock, the look on her face is on of sadness. "I thought so too, but then you know he had his annual visits to other packs, and well he came back with her, I've never seen him this bad Aunt Becks, not since what happened." Davison tells her. "What happened? Why is he treating me like this? I asked them finally interrupting their conversation. Becky turns and looks at me with that same sad look on her face. "Oh honey, it's a long story, but it's not really ours to tell. Just know that none of this is your fault." She tells me and then places her hand on my shoulder to comfort me. "You have to do something about this Dave, you can't let him continue treating h
**LUCIANO’S POV**Silly Omega, she actually thought she had a chance. Typical of an Omega to be foolish. Walking into that auction might be the best decision I have made in a while. There is a knock on the door. I look up at it knowing who it is, no one else would knock on my door so loudly. “Yes, Dave, come in.” He walks in looking upset and confused. I have a feeling what this is about but I would rather not have this conversation. “Fix your face my friend.” I get up and walk to the side table in my office. I pour open up a half bottle of bourbon and pour myself half a glass. “Do you want some?” I ask Dave raising my glass to him, He takes it from me and sits in one of the chairs opposite mine. I pour myself another glass and take my seat.“Are you going to say something or did you develop a new love for brooding?” I’m staring at him but he won’t meet my eyes. “Speak!” This time he looks up at me, his Alpha just gave an order and he can not diso
*ARIANNA’S POV*I do not know how long I have been asleep, but I wake up to the sound of noise coming from a part of the house. I get up off the bed and go towards the sounds. I find Becky in the kitchen putting things away. It looked like she had been busy cooking up a storm. “Glad to see you are awake” she says without turning to look in my direction. Of course she heard me walk in. “It looks like you’ve been busy” I told her as I take a sit on a stool placed in the corner. “ I thought I would get started on dinner” she replied. Dinner? Had I been asleep the whole day? I look out the window and its a bit dark outside. “I’m so sorry, I Didn't mean to sleep so long, I Could have helped, let me put this stuff away.” What was I saying? A voice in my head asked. The audacity to think I was invited for dinner. “I’ll just grab my things and go, it looks like you are expecting people with all this food. I get up from the stool and I notice Becky looking at
*ARIANNA’S POV*This is the most ridiculously revealing dress I had ever had the displeasure of putting on. I guess that was the point. Humiliate me till I lose every will to fight. I was definitely on the verge of giving up. Davison seemed to think it was a faze and it would pass. Easy for him to say. He did not have to stand behind a 6 ft 5 deranged Alpha wearing this silly dress. I have followed him to meetings, lunches, and every outing that I had no business being at. I was convinced he was extending these outings just so he could extend my humiliation. Now we were inspecting a construction site. Something the pack was working on and would benefit from. Looking at all the business he did and how the pack was growing I could tell he wasn’t a bad leader. I just could not reconcile the good leader with my personal torturer, which is what he had become these last weeks.How long has it been since I was sold to him like a piece of unwanted property? I
ARIANNA’S POVAlex walked in and the sea of people standing around parted for her. She looked gracious and I couldn’t wait to tell her that her dress captured the light of the moon like she wanted. The crowd of people parted and converged around her. It was like a maze that opened up in front and shut behind you as you walked. They were leading her to the center. To her minotaur. But this time, it was no scary monster, it was the love of her life. She finally got to the center of the crowd and stood opposite Dave. Luciano stood with them to perform the ceremony. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. His robe, fortunately for me, left a lot of his chest bare. There was a lot left to the imagination but just enough was open that I couldn’t help but stare. I stepped up when I was called. It was time for best friend duties. I handed over the stone. It was white but a little see through. It was supposed to represent the moon. Luciano took it and placed it in Dave’s hand, he then covered it
LUCIANO’S POV“And what’s wrong with that?” She asked me. Fuck! That question tugged at the beast in me that just wanted to take her, with zero regard. I took a deep slow breath to calm myself. We both needed this, but she needed it more. Her body needed to remember that there was a lot more than the pain she had endured. “Shhh” I whispered back to her.I traced kisses all over her body, slowly, and holding on to her hips. Those hips. I would let them move, in time. I made my way down her body till I got between her legs. I buried my face in there and took a deep breath. The smell of her arousal drove me nuts and I could feel my erection grow in my pants. My tongue immediately went to work. Licking and sucking at her mound. I could feel her shaking beneath me and it made me happy. I slipped one finger into her opening and heard her let out a loud moan, I slipped in the second finger and let go of her hips. She was thrusting against my fingers now, my thumb once again found her c
ARIANNA’S POV “Alex, you did it! It’s beautiful.” I told her as we stood in the clearing. “You should see it at night, with the lights lit.” She said. “Two days away now. How are you freeling?” The smile that covered her face was infectious. I didn’t realize I was smiling too. “It feels like a lucid dream. A good one.” She explained.“Well, it’s not a dream.” I told her. “There you two are. Your parents have arrived.” Dave announced as he walked into the clearing. I watched Alex subconsciously gravitate into his arms. There was no thought behind it. Her body just moved. I loved that they had found each other. In the midst of all the crazy, something beautiful came out of it. “Where are they?” Alex asked Dave.“Luciano is keeping them busy in the big house. They came with the mystic moon’s new Alpha, Dylan.” Dave explained. “That still feels weird to hear. Alpha Dylan and the mystic moon. Thank the goddess for that.” I shuddered. Alex squeezed my hand for a brief second befor
ARIANNA’S POVLuciano took my hand in his and we walked off into the field. I had no idea where we were but I wondered who owned this place. No way, It was just a wild field. Someone definitely took care of it. There were wild flowers around, two trees apart from each other. But the grass was not wild. From the beginning to the end of the field the grass was cut to the same length. It had this feel of a wild place but at the same time, I could see the intentionality behind it. I watched Luciano spread a blanket on the grass and place the basket to the side. He stretched out his hand for me. I took it and he led me to sit on the blanket. I had never seen this blanket before, so I wondered where he got it. “So, what did the Chef pack us?” I asked. “Chef didn’t pack it.” He answered a little annoyed. “I was just teasing.” I told him. “I know. And I told Estell what to pack. So it was partly me.” He said, sulking. I giggled at his face. He reminded me of a toddler who wasn’t gett
LUCIANO’S POV“Good for Dylan.” I muttered. “Good for the mystic moon. Good for us.” Dave replied. I nodded at him. “Would you mind inviting him to the ceremony? Some of the pack is going to be here anyway.” I asked.“Of course. I was only trying to keep Carter out. Dylan is good. I think he and Alex used to be friends before he left the pack.” “Sounds good. Anything from the other Alphas?” “Just the usual. Nothing about us or Arianna though…” he looked like he had something else to say but could not decide. “What is it?” “Collin was trying to stir some of the others but they shut him down.” Dave explained.“Can someone do the rest of us a favour and challenge him already? By the moon! It’s always something with him.” I said, frustrated.“He’ll be out soon. Without an external factor to distract his pack, they will start to realise what a terrible Alpha he is.” “That may be true, but I doubt it’ll be that easy. He lets them get away with a lot of truancy. This year alone, more
ARIANNA’S POV“Did you know that Ciara was changing the natural state of your forest?” I asked Luciano.We were sitting by the kitchen Island, eating a bowl of microwaved lasagna. I was eating anyway, Luciano was just keeping me company. He had a confused look on his face that told me he had no idea that Alex was planting flowers in his forest. I giggled before explaining to him. “She says its too green and needs other colors to pop.” I explained. “Of course it needs other colors.” We both laughed at the way he said that. It was so playful and almost like saying why didn’t he think of it. “How was your fitting. Can I see your dress?” He asked. “Sure. It’s up in my room.” I said. I could see the very minute flicker in his eyes. If I had blinked I would have missed it. And if I had not noticed it a few times before I would have sworn I imagined it. “What’s wrong?” I finally asked him. “What do you mean?” “Just now. When I said you could see my dress. There was this … I can’t exp
CIARA’S POVHow would I explain to Dylan that I wasn’t welcome at the Ice claw pack? The last thing I wanted was him associating me with Carter’s tyranny. It was bad enough that everyone knew we were together. We were together. The thought took me by surprise. I knew we were done but I had not said it out loud. He was sick and dying. The last thing I wanted was to become his nurse and in extension, the punching bag for all his pain. I would make up an excuse to not go. He had his beta. From what he said, it would be no more than two days. Just a formality. There was actually no need for me to be there. The environment around the pack had been light and welcoming. Everyone who left with Dylan during the plague was back. Families were happy and no one even spoke of Carter. It was almost like he didn’t exist. But he did.I walked by his house for what seemed like the hundredth time in as many days. I knocked but there was no answer. He had locked his door days ago. His door was never
CIARA’S POVI knew Carter was weak but I at least expected a fight. Watching him writhing on the floor with drool running out of his mouth was just embarrassing.He could not even get through his change let alone fight. Everyone who gathered to watch didn’t seem to understand what was happening. “Is that part of it? “What the fuck is happening?”“Can he stand?” I heard these questions randomly from the crowd. This was beyond bad for Carter. If he couldn’t even turn, how did he plan to survive? It actually explained why he was absent during the full moon. Dylan walked up to Carter’s shivering body and placed one leg on top of him, signaling that the fight was done. If we could call it a fight. Dylan standing with Carter beneath his feet was the signal everyone needed to stop feeling sorry for Carter. The screams of joy were deafening. It was like years of pent up frustration could finally be let out. I ran inside Carter’s house to grab blankets. When I got back outside, old man M
CARTER’S POVI looked at my reflection in the full length mirror. I looked like I was hexed. Considering I had no idea what Luciano stabbed me with, I guess I could be hexed. Hexes were the worst, it was also George’s best guess. If he was right then there was no way out of this for me. I would walk a slow pain filled journey to my death. Curse Nadia. What did I ever do to her for her to do this to me? Not only did she tell other witches not to help me, if this was really a hex then it would not matter who wanted to help. Only the witch who places the hex can remove it. I had been in so much pain lately, I actually tried calling her. All my calls went straight to voicemail.In hindsight, leaving threats on her voicemail may not have been the best approach. I did leave an apology, but she still has not called back. I would find a way, I was not going to go down like this. “Max!” I called out. He ran in seconds later. “Any idea where Ciara has been since yesterday?” I asked him.