Her voice was a broken whisper, a plea for forgiveness I could never grant. Tears streaked down her face, glistening in the dim light, but I refused to let them move me.
She was crying? She was the one shaking, trembling, looking at me like she was the victim?
I stared at her-at the woman who had held me in her arms, who had whispered lullabies to chase away my nightmares, who had sworn to protect me. Lies. All of it.
My limbs felt like lead as I took a staggering step back, the weight of her words crashing down on me.
Sold.
The word echoed in my skull, sharp and unrelenting. I had been sold. Like cattle. Like property.
Not to a family in need of a servant.
Not to a merchant seeking an apprentice.
No.
They had sold me as a sex slave.
My stomach twisted violently. My vision blurred with panic.
"This can't be real," I choked out, shaking my head in a futile attempt to deny the horror unraveling before me. "No, no, no. Please... tell me this is a mistake."
But my mother only sobbed harder, her hands clutching at her chest as if she could hold in the pieces of her shattered soul.
As if she were the one being ripped apart.
"You don't understand," she whispered, voice hoarse. "We had no choice-"
"No choice?" My voice cracked, my disbelief laced with rage. "You had a choice! You could have protected me, you could have-"
A cruel laugh cut through my words, sending ice down my spine.
I had forgotten about them. The men.
They stood in the doorway, blocking any possible escape. Their eyes gleamed with something dark-hunger. Amusement. Possession.
One of them, a man with a scar running down his cheek, stepped forward, his smirk revealing yellowed teeth. "Now, now," he purred. "No need for all that screeching, girl. It's already done."
I took another step back, but the wall met me-cold, unyielding, trapping me as surely as the iron bars of a cage.
My pulse thundered. I had to run. I had to fight.
But where? How?
One of the men chuckled darkly. "She's prettier than I expected," he mused, tilting his head. "No wonder the Alpha King paid so much for her. Shame he won't get to enjoy her untouched."
A fresh wave of terror crashed over me.
No. No.
"You-" My breath hitched. "You're not supposed to touch me! I'm meant for the Alpha King!"
I was grasping at straws, desperate, pleading. The only shred of safety I had left was that I had been bought-that I belonged to someone powerful enough that these monsters wouldn't dare break me before I was delivered.
But their smirks only widened.
"The Alpha King has plenty of slaves," Scarface sneered. "What's the harm in us having a little fun first?"
Laughter erupted around me-low, guttural, wicked.
No, no, no!
My entire body went rigid as two of them lunged at me, their hands grabbing my arms in an iron grip. Rough. Bruising. Claiming.
I thrashed, kicked, screamed-but they were stronger. Too strong.
"Stop!" My voice cracked, raw with desperation. "Please, don't do this! I-I'm saving myself for my mate!"
Their laughter was sharp, cutting, merciless.
One of them gripped my jaw, forcing my gaze up to his as he sneered. "You think that matters?" he mocked. "You think some fated mate will come running in to save you?"
Tears burned down my cheeks, but I refused to let them see me crumble. "I-I hate you! I hate all of this!"
But my hate meant nothing.
My words meant nothing.
Because I was nothing.
A mere commodity. A prize to be passed from one set of hands to another.
Through my blurred vision, I saw my mother turn away, her shoulders shaking. She couldn't even bear to look at me.
Coward.
She had sold me. My father had sold me. They had abandoned me to this.
My future-my dreams of love, of freedom, of finding a mate-had all been ripped away.
This was my fate now.
I was sold.
And the Alpha King was waiting.