Chapter 1

Alana’s POV

“Get ready ladies, the auction is about to start.” One of the waitresses backstage called out, inspecting the outfit that we were wearing. I always wondered why they called them waitresses until I realized that the men behind the curtain didn’t take us as humans. They took us as meals that they were going to take home and use for the rest of our lives.

I could see the fear in each girl’s eyes as they prepared for the moment we were terrified of. Each of us was bought directly from orphanages. When the deans realized that we weren’t going to be adopted and we had reached adulthood, instead of letting us leave on our own, they would bring us to this annual auction where we were going to be sold to rich men and alphas. The most disgusting part about all of this was that it was legal.

No one thought of protecting us, the fresh adults with innocent minds, to start up a career or continue with school. For me, it was medical school that I wanted to go to. I got admitted to the medical school of my dreams which was in a nearby pack. I was all set for it until the dean of my orphanage told me that he didn’t have money to put me through college even as a debt, which was a lie. He was just a greedy old man that was looking to make money through us.

Today, the three of us were going to be given out. I, Tara, and Sasha were going to be sold in this auction. Both of them were twins and had just turned eighteen yesterday, unlike me who has been eighteen for over two months now. Both of them were shaking as they spoke to each other in hushed tones. My heart bled for them because this was the first time that they were ever going to be away from each other in their lives, if they got sold to different men.

“It is time.” Another waitress returned from the hall where they were going to showcase us, and the one inside who spoke earlier nodded.

“Now, you know the rules. Stand there, look pretty, every tear shed means whooping you before you leave and you talk nicely to the men or else you would be taken to an even intense auction filled with monsters, other than just these wealthy alphas. Is that understood?” She asked.

We all answered her in unison before she smiled and put us on a line. There was a board placed on all of our necks and my stupid luck was that I was the first one to go. I guessed I was the oldest here even though all of us are over the age of eighteen with a few weeks. I was the first one that was called into the stage, and I walked until I was in the center, the bright light around us flashing directly on me and blinding me from seeing the men on the other side of the hall.

I could feel the footsteps of the other omegas on sale walking as we stood in a straight line.

“Welcome to the annual omega sale in the shadow pack,” the emcee spoke, his voice blaring through the speakers in the hall. “We gather here today to sell out these women who have come of age so you could give them the best life attainable.” He announced.

I nearly rolled my eyes. That was definitely what they said when deep in their minds they knew what they were going to do with us when they eventually bought us.

“So, we should get started. The first girl, Alana Pierce, please come forward.” He announced.

I nodded before I took a step forward, and the spotlight was suddenly on me.

“This beautiful lady turned eighteen two months ago. She is resourceful, smart, and aspires to be a housewife for her future husband or master. She is going for 4000 dollars.” He announced.

I cursed under my breath. I had never told anyone that, but I guess they would twist my story however they like to make me more desirable to the men sitting in front of us.

“5000 dollars.” The first bid came in. “6500 dollars.” The second.

“6700 dollars.” The third.

“10,000 dollars.” The last one.

The entire hall was silent as they turned to face the man who was willing to spend such an incredible amount of money on an omega auction. The lights dimmed away from me, and I made eye contact with the man sitting in the crowd who I assumed had just bought me. He looked like an innocent old man with kind eyes, which made me wonder what the hell he was doing here.

“Alana Pierce is sold to Alpha Matthew for 10,000 dollars.” The announcer said, and the crowd rolled into cheers and claps.

I was dragged away by one of the waitresses and was taken to the back where I was going to be processed. I was met with the dean of my orphanage whose smile was the biggest I have ever seen in my life. It was the look of the man who just had this wealth multiplied in a matter of seconds.

“Congratulations, Alana. I knew you were going to make me proud.” He smirked as we went to where the payment was going to be made.

“Go to hell.” I spat, knowing that he was never going to see me again. He had destroyed my life for money that was going to be finished and he had the guts to look at me like he was proud of me.

His eyes went wide as one of the guards of the alpha came and paid in gold before one of the waitresses blindfolded me and took me out of the hall. Once we were out, it was ripped off my head and I stared up at the convoy in front of me, my heart rate starting to quicken because of the dread of what lay ahead of me. I felt my eyes sting with tears as I marched up to the car and the door was opened up for me on the seat behind.

I got in, and Alpha Matthew, the man who had bought me, was seated beside me. There was a kind look on his face as he watched me get into the car, and then the door was closed beside me.

“Alana.” He called out. I tried to find any trace of lust in his tone but I couldn’t find any. He sounded like a father speaking to his daughter, his tone soft and fatherly.

“Alpha Matthew.” I replied.

“You must be confused about why I had bought you, and why I paid such a ridiculous amount of money for me.” He said.

I hadn’t. I figured he just had to be a creep with too much money in his bank accounts but now, I didn’t feel so because he didn’t give off that energy to me.

“Yes, I am,” I answered him.

He nodded, smiling as he looked away from me. He fished out something from his pocket and handed it over to me. I collected it and stared at it, shocked when I saw the woman in the picture who looked exactly like me, just that she was a much older version. How did this man know me and what does he want to do with me? The possibility that the lady in the picture was my mother, and he might have known my parents hit me, and my chest constricted.

“That is your mother.” He said.

“I can see that. How...how did you know her?” I choked out.

“She was my best friend. My first beta. She had you out of wedlock and she put you in an orphanage right before she was killed by her family members for having an affair with a man before they got married.” He explained.

My head started to dizzy up, his words registering in my head. “How did you find me?” I asked him.

“She put you up in a home and asked me to take you back with me when you reach eighteen years old and adopt you as my daughter because she didn’t want her family to find you. I understand if this might be too much for you to take in.” He said.

I was quiet, slowly processing all of this. Where and who was my father and why hasn’t he come to claim me before this man did? Was something wrong with him or did he choose to not find me after what had happened with my mother? So many questions were running through my mind with no answers.

“It is.” I breathed out.

“But, I am going to take you to my pack. That is going to be your forever home and if you want, I could give you a start-up to live elsewhere if you don’t want to stay with me. My point is you should know that you will always have me. I have looked after you since you were a child and now, you are going to be like a daughter to me. The daughter of the alpha of the shadow pack.” He said.

I wasn’t a fool. I might want to leave and start up my life elsewhere but I knew I needed as much support as I could have when I was going to start college. Now that I knew one of my parents was out there, I had to do everything I could to find him, so I muttered the answer while hoping to not regret it once we arrived at his pack.

“I will stay with you.” I told him. He nodded with a little smile on his face as we made our way to the pack. I tried to crack my brain all through the ride to at least see if I could remember ever seeing him but everything was blank. I couldn’t remember him but he said he had been looking out for me, and I believed it because now that I thought of it, my life wasn’t as bad as some of the kids back at the orphanage in terms of feeding in clothing.

He might be the angel that I thought was looking down on me all those years after all.