llowed the

he him, certain he'd misheard. "

t, but the absolute dominance from

rembled in his hand. "Ten billion, going once - goi

lone was enough to make the auction manager scramble down from his

a worthless slave," he stammered, forcing an oily smile

finish the

ide him, some primal instinct screaming at him to stop talking, to back away, to survive. He felt it bef

ong his hairline. "Let me just finish the paperwork. P

rd, I want every record of her existence dissolved. Every ledger. Every name. If so much as a rumour abo

eneath him, and he sat hard o

Elena remained shackled, her wrists still trapped inside heavy iron cuffs. She never reacted to his approach. There was no fear, no struggle

ck. The moment he lifted her, his expression hardened. She offered no resistance because she

possessed. She rested against his chest with unsettling ease, her arms hanging lifelessly at her sides while her head rolled weakly onto his shoulder. She should ha

aw cl

ever have been

e anyone could understand them. Her eyelids fluttered without ever fully opening, revealing only fleeting glimpses of dull blue eyes that struggled to remain c

ppeared instantly, draping heavy

t without waiting for a reply, carrying her toward the

driver glanced back. "Are we still

long moment, looking down

finally. "Back

nd respected in equal measure, mateless for longer time. He was on his way to a banquet in Salt City that night, hosted by th

t known was missing. He'd heard other Lycans describe it - the mate-bond pull, but nothing had prepared him for how completel

mething powerful surged through him - a need to tear the building apart with his bare hands, to make

lly, after decades, all he felt was fury and grief tangled into something unbear

e before he c

t of him wit

window burst outward in a shower of shattered glass. The steel frame groaned, the doors buckling beneath the pres

with blind terror, and instinct took over. She tore herself from his arms with desperate

d to obey her. Every frantic movement carried her farther away until she reached the base of a tree.

broken pieces. "I'm trash... I'm trash... Plea

d of dignity. She wasn't pleading for mercy anymore. She w

eeched to a ha

ad walked through blood-soaked battlefields stood rooted to the ground, their expressions slowly crumbling as Elena continued to beg for forgiveness for crimes she

and forth. "Please... I'll be good... I won't a

ore stepping toward her. He kept his hands open at his sides, making certain she could

entle enough to break. "No

the tree until there was nowhere left to go. Her entire body sh

ut. "Please don't hit me! I'm trash! I'm t