The Auction

JULIETTE

“Hey Dad, I am heading to the laundry room. You got any dirty laundaries you wanna wash up?” I asked, after placing a gentle knock on my father's door.

There was no response, “Dad?” I called again and got the same silence.

It's a fresh morning, and my father doesn't leave home until mid-afternoon. “He's probably still asleep.” I shrugged it off and continued on my way.

“Please don't!” A sharp yell resounded in my ears, grasping my attention. I halted in my steps, tilting my head.

That was a desperate cry, and it sounded like my father. I instantly felt a nagging feeling in my chest.

“Dad?”

I dropped the laundry basket, heading towards our front door.

Bang!

I jerked, staggering backwards as something heavy collided with the door.

“D–Dad?!” My lips trembled, and my heart leaped into my throat.

“Juliette!” Another yell, and this time there was no mistaking it. It was my father yelling outside our door, he kept yelling, but his speech was fast and slurred from whatever was happening outside.

“Dad, you are scaring me.”

Then I heard it loud and clear.

“Jules, run!”

“Don’t open the door!”

I didn’t have to. The door blew apart a second later, kicked as if it were made of paper. I staggered backwards, losing my footing and landing on my butt.

Two men in black entered, dressed in matte suits and snug earpieces. I retracted in my disorganized state, recognizing the men.

They were loyal enforcers of the Alpha. Big, cold, and soulless men, doing the bidding of The Alpha King Darius. Their gaze met mine, and they straightened their composure.

“Omega Juliette Hale?”

I rose to my feet, dusting my plain, worn-out skirt.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

The shorter-looking one took out a tablet from his pocket and extended it to me.

“Your father’s obligations to the Crown have lapsed. This, he wrote to me two weeks ago, I believe, is what he signed making you collateral.”

“Excuse me?” I blurted out, blinking and trying to make sense of the words I heard.

They didn't respond, leaving me to digest the information they just passed.

“No.” I chuckled, “That can’t be right. I never agreed to anything.”

“He did.” The taller enforcer pointed towards my father who was standing next to our broken door, his head bowed.

The enforcer moved closer, “And as his legal dependence and pack omega, that makes you transferable property under the Omega Debt Act.”

My mouth went dry. “That’s illegal. That act was abolished years ago…”

“Not the royal debts,” the first cut in. “The King has the power to seize any omega as security. You’ll be transported now.”

I faced my father, who had his face in his hands. “Dad,” I whispered, gulping the lump forming in my throat. “Tell them you didn’t…”

“I did, Juliette, I am…” he paused, not even bothering to look at me. Instead, he whispered, “I didn’t have a choice, Jules. They were going to kill me.”

My heart shattered from disbelief, it felt like a joke, something out of a book or movie. But this was my real life, strangely.

I shook my head, goosebumps gracing my skin. “It's a joke.”

“I am so sorry Jules…”

“You sold me?” I cut him off. “To the Alpha King?”

“Jules…” he tried to reach me, but the enforcers didn’t wait. They took hold of my arms and dragged me out.

“Let me go! You are making a big mistake!” I yelled, kicked, twisted, but to no avail.

One of them scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder like I didn’t weigh a thing. I didn't get to talk to my father, to understand why he betrayed me.

They pushed me into a sleek, black car, the sort I had only seen in political parades.

There was no conversation during the entire drive. The windows were tinted black. I was clueless about where we were heading until the gates pulled back. A palaced fortress lurked against the city sky, dark glass and stone. Cameras watched every angle. Armed guards lined the perimeter. There were no flowers or fountains here, just power and silence. They did not take me to a courtroom. They pulled me right to the throne hall.

The space was enormous with vaulted ceilings, polished floors, and an obsidian carpet that led to the huge stage. And on it, seated on a throne made of black steel and dark leather, was he.

Alpha King Darius.

I had never even seen him in real life, only on TV or on the news cycle. He looked younger than I expected; the news loved to toss around his age, claiming he was in his mid-thirties and still without a Luna.

His features were a chiseled cold jaw, storm colored eyes, a mouth that hadn’t smiled in a decade. He radiated power. Cruel, and dangerous power.

They pushed me to my knees in front of him and I stumbled, falling on my knees. I glanced up and we locked eyes, for one awful moment.

He gave me the same glance he would have given a speck of dust on his shoe. Then he reclined slowly and smoothed the lapel of his jacket. Turning to the enforcer beside him, he said…

“This is the Hale girl?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“She doesn’t look like much.”

I bit my lips, staring at the ground feeling humiliated.

“Name?” he inquired, addressed not to me but to the other enforcer who had been standing next to him the whole time. I didn't even notice his presence, until I looked up.

“Juliette Hale. Registered omega. Age twenty-one.”

His eyes skimmed up and down me, slow and judging. “And her father’s debt?”

"Four hundred and eighty thousand dollars, sire. Unpaid for three years. And he’d agreed to give her up as part of the settlement.”

Alpha Darius swiftly stood from his throne, and my heart skipped a beat.

Even that motion was terrifying.

He was tall and wiry, he looked as if some beast wore the guise of man.

He slowly stepped down from the dais, his shoes echoing against the marble, he stopped right in front of me.

His gaze alone burned hot on my skin, and I tried not to react.

My chin snapped up, and I almost let out a wince, his fingers moved so fast I didn't see it settle under my chin.

“What a pretty little thing to lose to debt.” He chuckled darkly, causing me to glare at him.

“Your scowl won't change a thing, you should be wondering what's going to happen to you now,” he said coldly.

“Let me break it down for you. S.L.A.V.E.” My chest rose and fell, raging flowing through my veins.

“You will work your debts off, You will do everything I tell you to.” Every word he spoke tripled my rage.

“You will speak when spoken to. Obey every order. And if you even roll your eyes…”

I spat at his feet, gritting my teeth and hating myself for being so weak. I should have punched him or kicked his balls. But instead, I spat.

Silence followed, heavy on my shoulder. I expected the sting of a slap, but I didn't feel anything.

Darius's eyes narrowed instead. And then his hand snaked out and clamped my jaw so hard I felt it bruise.

“You dare?” ” he growled, low and dangerous.

“You are not a king. You are a monster,” I yelled to his face.

“Careful, little omega.” He warned, his tone dangerously low. “Your life is no longer yours. It belongs to me now.”

“You can’t just buy people.”

He smirked. “Oh but I can, and your father made this purchase successful.”

I hated that reminder, the cruel truth of my father's betrayal. It weakened my repulsiveness.

Darius loosened his grip on me and I felt my chin sink.

And then he addressed the enforcers. “Take her to my quarters.”

I stiffened.

“N. . .No!” I gasped.

He didn't look at me. He simply went up the steps and reseated himself on his throne like a God among vermin.

“She doesn’t have manners,” he said. “So I will teach her some.”