Chapter 1 A Million Dollar Lycan

• Alexa
• “No, please, don’t! Let me go!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.
• My hands were restrained by two men. They dragged me out of my house, even though I screamed and kicked with all my might. My wolf couldn’t fight back and could only whimper in my head.
• “It’s okay, Alexa. It will be just fine,” my stepmother said, her gaze downcast. Beside her, my stepsister put on a display of fake tears.
• “Mom! Please help me! Don’t sell me out!” I cried for her help, but she stood still.
• “I’m sorry, Alexa, but we have nothing else to settle your father’s debt,” she said, tears streaming down her face.
• Wasn’t that a lie? How could they hide so many things in our house? Where had our TV gone? The car? Did we go bankrupt overnight?
• “No! There must be some mistake!” I defended myself.
• “Shut up, wench!” A brute slapped me so hard that my teeth scraped my lip. Blood dripped from the corner of my mouth. “Your father owed us a million dollars. Now he’s dead, so you must pay with your body!”
• “What? A million dollars?!” A pang of shock hit my chest. My eyes widened in panic as I looked around at the brute and my stepmother.
• “It’s impossible! My father was a respectable man. He was the Alpha! He would never do that!” I shrieked as the brute dragged me away from the house.
• They didn’t care about my reasoning. The man brought me to the door, holding my shoulders and arms so tightly that it hurt. Before the door closed, I saw my stepmother and stepsister stifling small laughs.
• It was them! They were the ones who borrowed a million dollars from these men! I knew it!
• All to support their lavish lifestyle. They traveled to another country for a week-long holiday just last week on a private jet. Was all their boasting funded by debt?
• I was supposed to reclaim my inheritance rights to my parents’ house and belongings tomorrow. For six months, they’ve been entrusted my parents money to my stepmother until I was mature enough for it. I promised to meet my father’s lawyer for fit and proper test in the morning, but this event clearly prevented me from doing so.
• “No! It wasn’t my father! It’s them!” I cried out loud, struggling in vain.
• “Shut up!” Another man pressed a handkerchief to my mouth.
• A sharp smell of wolfsbane poison assaulted my senses. My head spun, and my consciousness faded. All around me blurred, making my body surrendered into their hands.
• Just before I lost consciousness, I vaguely saw a man staring at me from a distance. His face was illuminated by the moonlight amidst the growing darkness that imprisoned my sight.
• Alpha Gabriel, the man who was supposed to be my mate, the one who was supposed to hold a marking ceremony with me next week, stood in silence. He stared at me with his cold eyes. His blonde hair shimmered under the moonlight, making him look like an angel, but his gaze held no mercy.
• ***
• I woke up to a ringing sound in my ears. A rough hand slapped me, shouting at me to wake up. I opened my eyes slowly but still couldn’t see anything. I blinked, searching for light, but there was none.
• My mouth was gagged with a thick cloth, forcing it open. I swallowed repeatedly to ease the dryness in my throat. Both my hands were tied behind my back. The silver chains scraped my wrists whenever I tried to free them.
• ‘Help! Someone, help me!’
• I called out through the mind link with my wolf. Deep down, I knew it was useless since I couldn’t even control my wolf or transform.
• I tilted my head, trying to see beyond the thick black cloth covering my head. Two large hands grabbed my arms, dragging me to walk before forcing me to sit on a hard chair. Their grip on my shoulders was heavy as I tried to stand and run.
• The cloth loosened as fingers tugged at the ropes around my neck. Then, in one swift motion, the cloth was pulled off my head. Bright light blinded my eyes, making me lower my head and blink several times to adjust. Slowly, I opened my eyes and took a deep breath.
• When I looked up again, I saw dozens of pairs of eyes adorned with colorful masks staring at me, scrutinizing every move I made. My heart pounded as I begged for freedom through muffled cries.
• “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s proceed with the next auction. A rare eighteen-year-old lycan girl, pure Alpha blood from the south, and a virgin. She possesses magical healing abilities, perfect for your punching bag.” The man gestured toward me.
• “We’ll start at one million dollars,” the man standing before me introduced me like merchandise.
• Everyone fell silent. There was whispering, but no one raised a paddle to bid for me.
• “Anyone? Come on, anyone?” The auctioneer looked around the dimly lit room. “Alright, let’s lower it to 900,000 dollars. Anyone?”
• For some reason, I had a bad feeling, worsened by the chaotic mix of pungent smells. But among the unpleasant odors, there was one distinct scent I had never smelled before. Musk, and it was so good, calming my nerves.
• “500,000 dollars!” A fat man shouted.
• No one responded with a higher bid. The auctioneer started pacing, looking at the others’ faces, searching for another bidder. I shook my head as tears streamed down my cheeks. My nose clogging up and my gagged mouth adding to my discomfort.
• “Anyone else?” The auctioneer still searched for a higher bidder. He looked around the audience and sighed in disappointment. “Come on, is no one interested?”
• Oh my Goddess! Was this real? The fat man chuckled and smiled in a senile curve, so sure he would get me as his punching bag.
• My heart raced, and panic took over. I glanced right and left, seeing the guards stationed everywhere. The only open path was in front of me, where the masked men and women gathered. Perhaps there was a door there with less security.
• When I felt the pressure on my shoulders lessen, I seized the moment and ran. I lunged at the old auctioneer, making him squeak in surprise. Before I could run further, searing heat clasped my wrist. I screamed in pain. My body collapsed to the floor as the heat and electricity coursed painfully from the silver chain through my body.
• The guards jumped on my shoulders and arms. I struggled again, but they pinned me harder to the floor. One of them whipped my calf, and I groaned amidst my tears.
• “One million dollars.” A deep male voice boomed in the room.
• Everyone stopped moving, including me, freezing at the sound of the voice. A large man in a suit walked through the crowd. He raised paddle number two to his ear. His chin-length black hair framed the black mask covering his face.
• “Stop that and let her go. She’s mine now,” he growled, then turned to the auctioneer.
• “O—oh, yes! One million dollars! Sold!” The auctioneer chuckled in satisfaction, nodding at the guards.
• The two guards beside me lifted my body to stand. They then dragged me out to the curtain. I couldn’t believe someone had actually bought me!
• My gaze locked on the dark eyes behind that mask in a split second. In my heart, I cursed the man who auctioned me, my stepmother, the Alpha who abandoned me, and the man who bought me.