Chapter 2

Alexa’s POV…

 

I was shocked by his sudden hostility towards me. Did he not just greet me now? Why did he suddenly have a change of countenance? Was there something about me that irked him? Did he find out about the one who killed Luna Samara, or did he even know about her at all? Had my pack members spoken to him about me before this time?

 

A lot of questions raced through my mind as I tried to give a possible explanation as to why my mate had just rejected me. I could find none.

 

So, this was it for me. I had chosen to remain in this party simply because I thought my mate would be the knight in shining armour to rescue me from the torture my father was about to marry me into, but now, that will not be happening.

 

A huge feeling of sadness suddenly overwhelmed me, and I felt my legs weaken then. I felt too weak to stand, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to carry on with this auction. I didn’t care what my father or anyone thought; it didn’t matter anyway.

 

As the tears rolled down my eyes, I couldn’t let him see. So I found the nearest exit and raced my way there, passing through many guests and servants. My father had already started the auction, and when he’d called me, he didn’t expect me to be running away instead, but I didn’t care. I needed to be far away from this place as I could, as the rejection hurt so badly.

 

The exit I took led to one of the large courtyards of the house, this place was less crowded, and it provided more serenity. It was the perfect place for me to relax before returning inside.

 

From leaning on the wall, I dropped to sit on the ground as I resumed my crying. As more tears left my eyes, I heard Kim’s voice.

 

“We have to be strong, remember?” Kim reminded me of the things I promised myself as I went through daily hardship in the pack house. She was right. I needed my strength at this moment, and rather than feeling sorry for anything, I needed to find a way out of this.

 

I should be strong. With the way I’ve lived the past 18 years of my life, no form of pain should be new to me, only that this one had to be new because I had never experienced rejection before. The pain from the past was similar to this one in the sense that my hopes were dashed completely, but still, I could not let that bring me down.

 

Many of those who passed me sitting there were Blue scorpion wolves, along with wolves from other packs. They saw me, they saw my poor state, but none of them cared, continuing about their businesses.

 

I didn’t remain there for long before I felt a sharp kick hit my face then. The pain seared through me and travelled to my brain, making me bleed through my nose. I was devastated upon seeing who it was that had kicked me. I never thought my father would have the mind to humiliate me in front of his guests; that gave me the boldness to do what I did. Under normal circumstances, I would have never tried it.

 

“Stupid child!” Danister yelled with all of his anger focused on me. He was oblivious to those formerly passing by but had now stopped to watch. “You dare to walk out on me in a public gathering! Who the hell do you think you are to do that?”

 

I got up from the ground, using my right hand to clean the blood from my nose, before standing to face my father. Before I knew it, I received three loud slaps on my face. The impact of the slaps, joined with the burning pain, nearly caused me dizziness, but I knew better than to fall to the ground, lest my father would think I was pretending. I had to hold myself right there for my own good.

 

“Off to the stage you go, young lady!” He yelled.

 

I didn’t waste time obeying. As I passed through the crowd whose full attention I was sure we had, I felt a lot of stares at me. I knew that the nobles would be pleased with the act of discipline my father chose to carry out on their behalf, but among the stares, I could feel the impact of my mate’s the most.

 

As I passed, I raised my head to stare at him for a moment; I saw his blue eyes, which appeared cold when I first went to meet him. They now seemed soft, and I could tell he felt some pity for me, but the next second after he noticed my eyes on him, the gentle face was gone, and the cold glare had returned.

 

Why was I so observant of that? It’s not like we’re going to be mated after this.

 

I turned my attention away from him and placed it on the stage, which I now climbed, ready for the auction. My father climbed it too after me, pushing me out of his way so he could continue addressing his guests.

 

“My fellow lords, I apologize for the brief interruption. Sometimes, a stubborn goat just needs to be tamed, if you know what I mean,” he gave a loud laugh which the nobles replicated before continuing his speech.

 

“Now that our prize has returned, we can begin the auction. So, now my friends, do you remember how it goes? The one with the largest knife takes the biggest cut, or in this case, all of the meat!” The laughter continued.

 

“Just live through this moment,” Kim advised me. I placed my head down, feeling too ashamed to look at anyone, despite having hundreds of aroused men staring at me.

 

Suddenly, one of the servants climbed the stage and handed my father a small piece of paper. It had a small message scribbled on it, probably from one of the guests. I could tell it was alpha Collin that passed the message, as not only did the servant come from the direction where he sat, but he also appeared to have a devious smirk on his face.

 

My father opened up the note and read what it contained before addressing the crowd again. “I see, so one of our bidders prefers a small show before the auction. They want to see the weight this prize carries. They want to see this prize dance!”

 

Panic gripped my heart upon realizing what these men wanted me to do. I’d always known my father to be heartless towards me, but it seemed as if every day, a new surprise awaited as to the lengths he could go to humiliate me in the worst ways possible.

 

After reading the note to them, most of the men agreed to it, wanting to see a show of my naked body before they began placing their bids. My father would permit this with all the pleasure in his heart.