3.

Terror had always been a part of me since coming of age. Yet, I couldn't seem to remember the time I had ever felt a terror as gripping as this.

It was like an open pit, and I was the dirt being thrown in.

This couldn't be. This shouldn't be. I did not run away only to end up in a deeper mess. So once again, as quickly as our eyes locked, I dropped my head down. My body was shaking, my heart pounding, my senses in overdrive with fear.

And for a fleeting moment, I had hoped my mind was playing games with me and Alpha Turk wasn't sitting directly facing me. But when I lifted my head just a bit to check, our eyes locked again.

Cold. Calculating. And devoid of any emotion.

Alpha Turk and I had never met each other, but I had seen his pictures. Read stories about him on the internet on days I managed to sneak in a phone into the attic. What I did not know, however, was if he knew me, considering I was supposed to be his luna.

“Starting price?” Someone from the men called.

“Two Million naira.” Romero answered, before he stepped closer and yanked my hair again, causing me to whimper as I looked up.

“That much for such a…skinny thing?” Another grumbled.

“She may be skinny, and has nothing to show for the body. But her face covers it, don't you think, gentlemen?” Romero's voice dripped with sugary coating, as though hoping that would make them buy me.

“With that ugly mark on her face?” Another grumbled, sounding disgusted. “Nothing to show on the body and the face is also stained with…what is that? A birthmark? Looks disgusting. Was she struck by lightning to have a lightning mark?”

Romero chuckled. “Which means you can scrape it off if you want to. Or you can tattoo your name on it.”

“I can now, can’t I?” The man answered, rising from his chair and walking up to where I stood. The light from the chandelier above and fluorescent light was enough to see even a mouse on the floor. It was why I still knew Alpha Turk was staring at me. What I didn’t know was if the rest of the men were all alphas or even werewolves.

We mix with the humans sometimes, although they have no idea of our existence. They can’t cross over to our side due to the protective barrier, but we come and go in their cities, just like I wanted to do.

The man began to circle me as the stench of cigarette filled my throat, making me cough. The man chuckled, leaning down to my short height and blowing more smoke directly to my face, before he tipped my head and dusted the ash from the cigarette on my face.

It burned. Even if it lasted for a few seconds. And I was mere minutes from crying. But I could take anything, anything that would stop Alpha Turk from taking me. So I swallowed my tears and attempted to smile. But I couldn’t. Instead, my lips faltered into a flat line before I winced when he dusted more ash to my face.

“Or I could turn it into a beautiful scar with my cigarette. I think she will look more beautiful that way. And maybe with proper feeding, she may fill up those bones and actually look a bit more…fleshy. And I would hopefully have something to pound into.”

Laughter filled the room. And not just any laughter, but the mocking type. The man let go of my face and stepped back, eyeing me carefully.

“Three million,” he murmured, his eyes still on my face.

“Three.five million,” another called.

“Five million,” another.

And another. And another. Until it reached ten million.

“I think that should be it, Romero. No one wants to go above that for such a thing.” the smoking man said.

Romero laughed. Again. And for a moment, I imagined shoving a dagger to his throat, tearing through his windpipe.

“Is that it, gentlemen? Are we leaving the goods to Mr. Akanbi?”

Akanbi. So that was his name, which meany he wasn’t an alpha, because I know the names of all the alphas in the northern region. So he is probably a human, which already made him ten times better than Alpha Turk.

“Thirty million,” a sharp voice said, and even without my wolf, somehow, I felt his presence before he reached me. “But I need to see the goods first, Romero,” he finished, yanking Akanbi from the back and replacing him in front of me.

Alpha Turk tipped my chin up, just like Akanbi did earlier, and the trembling in my body was more evident now than it was before.

Who wouldn’t tremble in front of a man who takes joy in destroying lives? A man desperate enough to do anything just to seal his alpha title. A man willing to marry me just to secure that position.

“What is your name?” He asked, no, commanded, gripping my jaw tightly.

I stared at the tall, broad, and grumpy man before me. He had a mohawk, just like the pictures. Full beard, brown eyes that lacked any warmth and swirls of ink around his neck, disappearing into his white shirt, tucked into black pants. I had his face memorised from the moment Abbati had said he was going to be my husband.

“Sa…Sasha…” I answered, my voice trembling.

And my goodness! I hated it. I hated the tremble in my voice. The tremble in my body. The fear that gripped me tightly, washing away all rational senses. I hated it all, yet, there was nothing I could do to escape it.

Maybe I shouldn’t have left home. Maybe I should have…

A sharp gasp rose from my throat, as the tears I had desperately been holding back finally fell. Because Alpha Turk had torn my dress in the middle, and I stood there, with it hanging on either side of my shoulders, leaving me completely bare before the prying eyes of the men all around.

I had nothing underneath, just like the rest of the women when we got dressed, and right now, even the white dress covering me wasn’t doing so anymore.

Alpha Turk tutted, taking two steps back to examine me, his face expressionless. I squirmed. I tried to cover my body as more tears rolled down my cheeks, but the growl from Alpha Turk stopped me from making any move. So I simply stood there, eyes shut, and merely waiting for my end.

Then I felt it. The featherlight touches of fingers dusting over my bare chest, just slightly close to my pulse point. Then a sharp inhale as I felt his breath fanning my face, before something like a tooth grazed my neck, replacing his fingers.

I wasn’t crying silently anymore. I could hear the sound of my cries echoing in the room as Alpha Turk inhaled deeply again. Then like everyone of them, he yanked at my hair and tipped my head up to look at him. “I am going to enjoy breaking you. That look in your eyes? I absolutely love it, and it excites me. It gives me all sorts of ideas, ways to make you mine. A submissive woman just for my satisfaction,” he whispered, his mouth grazing across my collarbone, his teeths leaving small bites all over.

My trembling got worse.

“Won’t you like it if I make you tremble for a better reason?” he licked his lips, staring into my eyes. “And maybe if you behave correctly, you get rewarded for it,” his palm trailed below, causing my cries to get louder. “So fragile. So small. So perfect.”

Then he yanked his tie and used it to tie my dress in the middle, closing it.

“I like what I see, Romero. So an additional ten million to the price I mentioned. Get me the papers. I am done for the night.”

Oh shit!

That is it for me. Running from home did no good to me, because in the end, I still ended up with the man I ran away to avoid.