Chapter 13. To be sold:

13. To be sold:

This Chapter is dedicated to HOTDOGFIRST 1. Thank you for your support .

Days passed, and I became acquainted with living with two additional members in the family, or should I say one. Lance had relocated to his house near the borders, so that won't count, I guess, and the other is Sky's mate.

The idea of informing Skylar or Lance about my second mate had to be abandoned. They were preoccupied with their own mates and would quickly grow bored if I tried to engage them in a conversation.

Even my brothers' support had its limits. They both acted as if I was no longer their little sister, the one they had saved countless times. While I won't claim they were always supportive, they were the only ones willing to stand up for me.

I work like a robot all day, without knowing what I'm doing or why I'm here, simply working to forget all my problems.

My parents' torture has become worse by the day, to the point that I want them to just kill me so that all of us may be happy, but it came out of Mom's mouth that she had a reason for keeping me here. I'm always wondering what it is, and even if I ask her, she won't tell me anything, so I figured out why to waste my luck when I could simply concentrate on the better stuff.

Every day, I wish I was the one who should have died that day, because whenever I try to sleep, his (my Second Mate's) face keeps flashing in front of my eyes, showing how he was slain.

I still don't know who he was, whether he was a human, a vampire, or something else, but he took a piece of me with him when he died, even though I never met him.

After what happened, I'll never be able to be normal again; his and Edward's memories will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Charlotte is pregnant, which is fantastic news for both of us. I had stopped being affected and kept myself busy to avoid thinking about it. Sometimes, though, I couldn't help but wonder what I would do if I were in her shoes. But I pushed those thoughts away, reminding myself of my worth and that this love was not meant for me. If I played along, I would lose myself, so it was best not to set any expectations.

Inside me, everything was a mess, and if I ever had to find someone, it had to be me. I had lost myself amidst everything else. Today seemed strange, as did the dream I had in the morning, where I emerged from the mud and was purified. I couldn't make sense of it, but I liked to think it was a sign. However, that didn't seem logical; why would I be the one emerging from the dirt?

I know what will happen to me sooner or later. Still, I want to deny it for as long as I can live my life because if this pack's custom is followed, my life will come to an end, and expecting my parents or brothers to help me is a total waste of time.

It's difficult to bear the shitload of pain and despair every day while masking it with a lovely grin. I'm sick of convincing myself that I'm strong every day.

There are times when I feel that ending my life would help me escape everything, but I don't have the guts to do it. I'm curious to see what else life has in store for me.

One day, I was even standing on the edge of a cliff, waiting for someone to scare me from behind and cause me to fall into it.

I don't like to admit it, but my own mother is pulling me into the darkness that I've always feared; she's forcing me to become someone I'm not.

Some years ago, I would look at other girls who were given the freedom to do whatever they wanted, regardless of whether it was right or wrong. Still, here I am being punished even if I maintain the best version of myself, and it's not just my mom; everyone around me despises me, which may irritate and shame her when everyone compares me to their children.

Yes, they are all perfect, and their parents standing up for them is everything that makes them shine, whereas when I was degraded, no one could stand up for me.

Except for the earlier stages when I was joyful, my childhood has been filled with a battle to exist on my own, and all of this is exhausting, and I just want to rest. I want to sink into a deep sleep and never wake up again.

I stood up, sighed, and walked away. 'Let's see what this day has in store for me,' I mumbled as I began to walk away from the tree I was leaning against.

I was back in the forest, as I often do, to find peace of mind, but I didn't want to leave this time.

It's a peculiar feeling I couldn't define. It's not the first time it's occurred to me that sometimes when I'm alone, I feel like someone is about to appear in front of, like someone is very close to me, but nothing happens, and I end up disappointed.

I shook my head, shrugging the thoughts aside, and went home. "What if she doesn't agree, Mom?" Skylar exclaimed.

"But baby, it will be good for her, and I will do it with or without her agreement. Dare she challenge me?" Mom screamed.

I had the impression that the internal conversation was about me or who else would be disrespected in this house to this point.

"All right, Mom, I'll try talking to Astrid first." I had no idea that Lance was also in the house.

Now that my name has been mentioned, I'm just hoping it's not something related to what I'm guessing it is.

"Astrid, are you back?" Skylar asked, his gaze fixed on me as I stood at the threshold.

"Yes, I am," I said, faking a smile.

"Come on, we have something to tell you." They hauled me inside.

"What?" I furrowed my brow.

"You'll find out. But before that, know that we only want what's best for you. So, listen to us before making a scene," Lance said. "You know our pack rules. When no one wants a mate or is repeatedly rejected, what happens to them?" he inquired.

I swallowed and nodded.

"So, tomorrow some people are interested in buying you. They will come and finalize the sale, and the pack will earn a lot of money from it," Mom said nonchalantly.

I couldn't believe my own mother was talking about selling me, and for what? Just some money they promised to give in return of me?

It was not illegal in our pack, but they justified it by saying it was for unmated wolves' benefit. We could find someone to take care of their physical needs in exchange for them taking care of our worldly requirements. In my opinion, it should be unlawful, but no one cared about my perspective. At least they asked for the agreement of every girl or boy before selling them, enticing them with the promise of luxury, and only those who accepted were sent away. Most of them never returned.

"How could you do that, Mom? You didn't even ask me and decided everything on your own." Tears welled up in my eyes.

"Aren't we asking you right now?" Mom gave me a fake grin.

"Mom, you're making decisions for everything without even asking me. You're just forcing me into everything because you know you can't do anything without my permission," I warned her.

"You'll eventually agree, and don't worry, we won't send you away without your permission," Mom remarked as if it was no big deal.

"But I don't want to," I protested.

"Astrid, watch your tone. Is that how you speak to your mother?" Sky scolded me.

I was taken aback because I expected him to side with me and put some sense in mom's brain, but instead, he was siding with Mom, and this was the first time he had done so; he had always remained silent and didn't speak for anyone at all. At this moment, he looked like he was possessed by something evil.

"Sky, why are you siding with her?" I asked.

"Astrid, they gave us everything since we were kids and this is the least we could do to repay them," Sky reasoned.

"Not us, Sky; they gave you both everything, but I was always the unnoticed one in the family,' I added. "But how can she sell me like that and make decisions for everything without even asking me?" I grumbled.

"Astrid, what else could we do? We can't keep you here forever, and we want to see you settled in your life before we die," Mom reasoned.

That's the customary statement our pack's parents end up throwing in the faces of someone going to be sold.

"If I'm such a burden, I'm going to leave this house and start living somewhere on my own, and I'm never going to see you  people, or show my face again," I screamed.

I wasn't going down without a fight, so they should come up with something else now.

"Astrid!!! Watch your tone" Sky warned in a dangerous tone.

"Or else what Sky? What will you do? Huh?" I challenged him. "Why did you turn your back on me when all I did was support you in everything?" I asked

"Astrid, you should know your place. We only want what's best for you," Skylar said.

"Really, Sky? You're telling me it's for my own good when I have no say in who I'll be spending my life with? I should be the one making decisions about what's best for me, but you've taken that right away from me," I argued.

"Edward is the only one you will ever want to spend your life with Astrid but Face it, Astrid. You can't make him see your worth so don't get your hopes up. He always deserved better, and being mated to you was a mistake. He got what he deserved, so forget him and move on," Skylar growled through clenched teeth.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _