Chapter 2 Give Her To Me

Alexa's PoV.

In one of the bases of the Slave Traders...

‘‘Perfect!’’

The moment the Slave Traders saw me step out of the carriage, their eyes shone brightly in response. That went especially for Roger, who was the leader of the group. I didn't know if he really meant it but at that exact moment, he gave Beta Miguel his thumbs up in approval of the "goodies" he brought.

For the first time in my life, I was dressed in something really extravagant. It was a luxurious peach dress embedded with several jewels that glimmered in the reflection of light. It revealed my delicate shoulders and some part of my rosy chest. It was a long back and short front, revealing my long legs and my feet in red boots.

And I could easily tell that all of their gazes were directed at me.

‘‘I'm not lying to you, am I? Roger? She is the princess of the enemy kingdom we defeated a few days ago. With her unrivaled beauty, I'm sure, eight hundred thousand gold is not enough of a sum for her price, right?’’ Miguel explained with a faint smile. His plump belly made it seem like he was the expert merchant here. He rubbed his plump chin as if scrutinizing me, nodding his head in self-agreement.

I was taken aback by the sudden remark of the Beta though. To think that the very reason why they let me wear such extravagance was because of this. I really was speechless. I almost yielded to my urges to puke. What princess? Princess in the illusion of their greed?

‘‘Haha, you completely underestimate the power of beauty, my friend,’’ Roger suddenly laughed in response. He shook his head slowly as he continued, ‘‘This time I will give you 1 million, next time there are such goods, remember to give me priority.’’

‘‘Haha, That's for sure! Then one million, deal?’’ Beta Miguel replied.

‘‘Deal,’’ Roger replied with a slight smile. After which, he outstretched his hand to shake the other party's.

‘‘Deal,’’ Beta Miguel did the same as he grabbed the other party's hand and shook it.

The deal was completed. And I, Alexa Mondragon, had officially become a slave.

***

It had been two weeks since I was sold as a slave.

For the past few days, we came by quite a few stops to collect the other slaves that the Slavers were supposed to deliver. As of now, we were here at one of their bases to collect the other slaves held there.

And right now...

Thud! Thud! Thud!

For goddess' sake, I was continuously banging my head on the stone wall of the prison cell I was thrown in. I might have gone really crazy but I really wanted to kill myself at that moment.

Blood splattered on the ground, my head dyed red as well as the wall where I banged my head on. As much as I wanted to do it instantly, I could only kill myself slowly and painfully like what I was doing at that moment.

*SFX: Sound of a metal door opening.*

I was finally on the brink of death but too bad, the door of my cell suddenly opened. Two men entered and they immediately found me trying to kill myself.

‘‘What the hell?! The ‘princess’ is trying to kill herself! Inform Boss Roger!’’ One of the two men exclaimed frantically as he ordered the other man who was with him hurriedly. The other man didn't argue as he hurried his way to obey the order.

I was just about to hit my head on the wall again but sadly, the man who was left there rushed his way to stop me, thus, preventing me from taking the final step toward death's door.

‘‘What the hell are you doing?!’’ The man grabbed my neck and then pinned me toward the wall. And seeing how severe my head injury was, he couldn't help but gasp, ‘‘Fuck, this is insane.’’

Perhaps he was wondering how could I still be alive in my current situation. I, too, also wondered about that.

‘‘What happened?’’ A deep voice with a slight trace of worry suddenly sounded accompanied by hurried footsteps approaching us. A man whose name was Roger then appeared right beside us to see my situation. ‘‘Oh, damn, my 1 million gold is really trying to kill herself.’’

‘‘What should we do, Boss? Tie her up?’’ The man pinning me on the wall asked.

‘‘No, how can I leave scars on such a beautiful and delicate body?’’ Roger was worried that wouldn't sell me for a good price.

But he must be thinking of punishing me. However, seeing the situation I was in, he just thought of something else, ‘‘Can't leave a scar... And we absolutely can't let her die or run away...’’

‘‘Use the dog's collar,’’ he said calmly as he nodded slowly.

The dog's collar, which I'd heard other slaves talk about, would discharge once I struggled excessively. And while it wouldn't leave a scar, it was enough to torment me to the point of defencelessness. It was really made for me.

Now I can't even decide on my own death.

***

The next day...

The Slave Traders started packing things. They put us, slaves, into the cargos as we were finally headed to our final stop. It was a place called the Black Market. I heard that I would be sold there at an auction for rich humans to enjoy.

I was alone in one of the cargos. I was seated on the cold iron floor of the carriage, I leaned my back against the iron bars, I lay my legs straight on the cold. I was already numb to physical pain. Soon, I believe that my heart would give in as well. I only wished that in my next life, at least somehow, the Goddess of Moon wouldn't forsake me as much as she let me suffer in this life.

Time passed by and soon night had come. After a long while of a journey, we entered a new place in which trees had long been withered. Not a single plant or grass could be seen standing anywhere in the place, only small and pinkish-red mushrooms growing on the trunks of the dead trees. I could only describe the place in two words. ‘Dead’ and ‘hopeless’, it gave off vibes so much similar to mine.

There was also this red mist floating here and there, giving off an ominous feeling. Everyone there knew that this red mist was the cause of the death of the trees and plants out there. And they needed to be extra careful.

It was intensely silent until...

‘‘What the hell is with the moon? Why is its color like that?’’

‘‘Who knows? It looks creepy. Perhaps a sign of a great catastrophe?’’

‘‘Don't joke around, Boss. Can't you tell it's beautiful? It must be a sign of good fortune!’’

I heard the two men driving the cargo talking with each other. It caught my attention real good as I shifted my gaze to the sky. The moon was turning pink in color. It captivated my gaze as, without me knowing, I smiled for the first time in a while. I felt warmth. I felt freedom. I felt like I was deeply connected with the moon.

I was still in a trance when suddenly, I caught a smell, a strange but alluring scent that pulled me back to reality. For a moment, I felt my dead heart starting to beat again. It was an inexplicable feeling, similar to that of a withering flower being sprinkled with the sweet rain.

Weakly and slowly, I turned my head to look at the source of that scent. But the two men driving the cargo I was being taken with obstructed my sight, having me nothing to see but them.

Filthy humans, even to my curiosity, were always there to restrain me.

‘‘Wait, someone is ahead,’’

Suddenly, I heard one of them, Lucas, speak with bated breath. Roger didn't reply but I knew that he'd already caught sight of that someone Lucas was talking about.

Yet again, I smelled the alluring scent from before. I felt like it gradually became stronger as we approached the source of that scent. I couldn't help but think that the person ahead was the source of that scent. Just who on earth was that person? How could he smell so good?

‘‘Everyone, load your crossbows. A suspicious individual is spotted ahead blocking our way. It's assumed that it's a rogue werewolf.’’

I heard Roger finally speak with the device in his hand.

But a werewolf?