Bring her forward."
The auctioneer's voice trembles, as if he can't believe what has just happened. The slave master from earlier today watches the scene with venom in his eyes, but there is nothing he can do now that Alpha Rex wants me.
He wants me.
But why?
The slave masters do not come close to me. Instead, Alpha Rex's warriors do the job, their nails digging into my skin as they haul me towards the center of the dais, where my new owner stands.
"You should be relieved," the girl formerly standing behind me mouths, longing in her eyes,
She's wrong.
"Alpha Rex," a member of the high council, starts, while the rest watch him from a distance, not wanting to be caught in a crossfire. "Are you certain…"
"The next person who questions my choice will forfeit the council and their pack."
He plops back into his seat at once, resigning to a much higher authority.
Alpha Rex moves towards me with purpose, a dagger I didn't notice before gleaming in his hand. The crowd starts whispering again, but no one dares stop him.
No one dares move.
He doesn't even look at me as he slices his palm, his blood seeping out immediately. My eyes flutter closed unconsciously as the scent of his blood hits me. It smells like honey and cedar, like danger and wealth.
My wolf claws at me, desperate to close the distance between us.
He looks at his guards pointedly. At first, they seem confused, looking around with widened eyes. When Alpha Rex takes another small step forward, they seem to get it, rushing to my side.
The chains fall off my hands, and I feel a whole lot lighter. But the same cannot be said for my chest.
"This will hurt a little," Alpha Rex murmurs, taking my left hand in his. He turns my wrist to himself and retrieves the crest of the Red Moon Pack. His pack.
Just when I start asking myself when the pain will start, he slices into my wrist suddenly with the crest, allowing his blood to drip into the open wound. It glows faintly, just before the heat overtakes me.
A feral scream escapes my lips suddenly as it burns into my skin, binding me to Alpha Rex and the Red Moon Pack, as is customary for every purchased wolf.
But no one expected him to do it, to perform a blood-seal in front of everyone.
Every Alpha might do this at an auction, but not Alpha Rex.
He withdraws his hand from mine, and I immediately feel the loss of his presence.
"She belongs to me now."
***
The Red Moon Pack's territory is unlike any place I have ever been in, but then again, that's very possible since the only place I can remember is the dirty building the slave masters kept us in.
Alpha Rex doesn't speak to me throughout the ride. In fact, he acts like I am not in the car with him. The minute we arrive at the pack, he strides out of the car, just as a woman in a black dress meets him at the entrance.
"She's yours to manage," he murmurs, disappearing through the doors without another word.
She looks at me with kind eyes. "What is your name, kid?"
"Raya," I whisper, wrapping my arms around my small frame.
"I'm Maren," she responds. "Welcome to the Red Moon Pack."
At first, I let her lead me inside in silence, through a long hallway lined with dark wood. The quiet gets strangely haunting, because I preferred it back with the slave masters.
"Can I ask a question, Maren?"
She looks at me fleetingly, then nods.
"Does he do this often?"
"Alpha Rex?"
My head bobs in affirmation.
She doesn't reply, her feet moving faster and leaving me running out of breath as I chase after her. I take the left turn after her, continuing in another long, dark hallway before she finally halts in front of a door.
"This is the east wing," Maren says, turning to look at me, a stern expression etched in her features. "Don't wander where you don't belong. Meals are thrice daily. If you miss one, it won't be kept for you."
She stalks away, and I feel whatever hope I have of making a friend here vanish into thin air.
I hear her pumps stop in the middle of the hallway. She turns around. "And Raya?"
"Yes?"
"You shouldn't ask questions about Alpha Raya if you don't want to get burned."
I am left standing there in the hallway, like I am just another chore. Her last words stay with me throughout the day as I lie on the huge bed, staring up at the ceiling and wondering what would have been happening right at this time if Alpha Rex hadn't bought me.
After hours of remaining in the same position, I get on my feet and try to find my way around the huge pack house. The mark on my wrist buzzes, as if vying for attention, and my bare feet feel the chill on the stone floor.
I don't know how long I have been walking for, but then, suddenly, I see him again.
He is at the end of one of the many hallways, standing by the window, as if looking down at something.
That's when I notice it.
His fingers clutching onto the bars of the window, as if in pain. Dark waves ripple around him, black and filled with energy.
His energy.
A groan slips from his lips, and he holds on even tighter. The waves move like smoke, but are more alive.
Trepidation runs through me as I take a step closer, urged by my wolf even when I know I should be running in the opposite direction.
"Alpha…"
As soon as I move close enough to the waves, I feel myself flung mid-air, the force knocking me into a wall. My vision flickers for a few seconds as I struggle to breathe.
Alpha Rex's head whips around, his icy eyes falling on me. They are rimmed with something darker, and fear rushes through me.
"What the hell are you doing?" His voice is low, yet lethal.
"You were…"
"Stay away, Raya!"
Is he….cursed?