Chapter One: First Encounter

Anastasia’s POV

The plan…

“Sixty-four million.”

The plan wasn’t supposed to go like this.

“One hundred million!”

My heart hammered against my chest, my breathing growing hurried and I felt like there wasn't enough oxygen as anxiety took over.

“Two hundred…”

“Three-fifty… Can I get five hundred?”

The plan was never supposed to go like this!

What happened to being backed up by the others? Why am I here, tied up, alone, and half-naked under these ridiculous auction lights that make it look like I’m about to strip and pole dance? And where the hell is that green-eyed bastard?!

The crowd roared like hungry dogs as the auctioning went on. I could smell the mix of sweat and heavy cologne in the air, despite how chilly it was.

Or maybe that was just me.

I was surrounded by wolves, but it wasn’t the first time. This time I was terrified of what they were capable of doing to me.

I felt every pair of glowing eyes in the crowd shift in my direction the second the Beta on stage before me was dragged off, sold to a Don from the south for seventy million.

That was supposed to be my cue, there was supposed to be a distraction right after the person before me was sold. My team would cause chaos while I slipped into the VIP section unnoticed, dropped trackers and microphones, and got out unseen and in one piece.

Instead, here I am… next to be sold.

A human girl, posing as a rare Omega.

I gritted my teeth as the announcer yanked my collar forward, forcefully pulling me up to the stage. He pushed back the hair that had fallen over my face to show off my neck and eyes.

“Gentlemen, and our beautiful Alpha females, we have a truly exotic specimen tonight.” He purred into the mic, his voice trying hard to hide his own urges. “A lost Omega breed, rumored to have gone extinct. Notice the eyes, platinum blue, uncommon even among the purest lines. No documents, no records of being bred in the past which means she's still pure. Her ancestors must’ve lived like the hybrids of our kind, possessing immense and rare abilities. And she also survived on the human streets, away from the eyes of us wolves. A miracle!”

A miracle, my ass. It was just genetics, malformations, and bad luck.

“If her kind was rumored to have gone extinct, then how did you find her when the ISG couldn’t?”

I heard a voice ask from the front rows and they weren’t wrong. In fact, that was actually a smart question.

The only reason I managed to slip in was because my eyes resembled the mythical Omega’s features. That, and the organization’s brilliant plan to sneak me into the auction house to gather intel and plant bugs before my next mission, which was this same night.

My targets were the three ruling families of the ISG..also known as The Black Genesis Syndicate.

The Incors, the White Lotus, and the Stones.

The three who owned the ports, the drugs, the labs, the weapons, and apparently, people. Yes, even humans.

They were in the VIP balconies above me, watching in their fancy getups like gods.

The Incors, according to the information, were brothers. One always more dressed and approachable. Both wore black and silver suits. They had cold gazes peering into my soul, I couldn’t tell what their eye colors were since all three families wore masks.

Just a pillar away from them, the head of the Stones lounged unbothered with a glass of wine in hand, dressed in black as well. His off white hair caught the chandelier’s light above, and the lazy smirk beneath that half mask already showed that he liked what he was seeing.

And furthest left, in complete white, sat the head of White Lotus, a calm, quiet man with an aura that could stop even the strongest in the room… or so I heard.

His eyes were dead, yet carried a faint resemblance to platinum as well.

Then the bidding began.

“Five hundred million!”

The announcer’s grin widened. “We have five hundred! Do I hear six?”

“Six hundred.”

“Seven hundred.”

“Eight.”

“Nine hundred and fifty million!”

My stomach dropped. Were they… competing? Over me?

Each new number became terrifyingly higher than the last.

Then came the voice that made every muscle in my body tense and the color drain from my face.

“Two billion," One of the Incor brothers raised his paddle.

“Four,” Stone countered.

I turned my head instinctively toward the White Lotus and he smiled just as our eyes met.

“Ten billion for the girl.”

The entire room went silent. Heads turned toward the Incor balcony, expecting them to compete, which was usually the case. But the twins sat in silence, probably smiling as well.

White Lotus smiled. “No competitions today?”

“Depends..” the one in black replied. “...on whether you plan to live long enough to enjoy her… or leave here alive.”

The crowd erupted into whispers, louder than the announcer’s voice. I swallowed hard, things were not going according to plan at all.

The announcer laughed nervously, silencing the crowd again. “G..Gentlemen, perhaps the final bidders would prefer to discuss...”

“End the event,” Stones voice echoed through the speakers, cutting him, “I’ll take all the others if there are any and her, if possible. We’ll settle her bidding in private. Right, gentlemen?”

White Lotus stood, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeve. “Agreed.”

I was dragged by the collar around my neck to a private, soundproof room. The guards tied me up, handed me a large shirt to cover up, and a glass of wine.

The moment he created a two-foot distance, I threw the glass at the guard by the door.

I drove my fist into the nearest man’s gut, sidestepped when he tried to grab me and kicked him hard in the crotch. He crumpled to the ground, trembling in agony. I quickly grabbed his pistol before the other guard could regain his composure, flicked off the safety, and shot him in the knee.

However, before I could fire another shot, White Lotus’s head was the first face I saw when the door opened. His cold eyes met mine for one second too long but I didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.

I knew I was making a big mistake laying a finger on someone like him but I had to prioritize my life and freedom.

The bullet slammed into his forehead. Blood splattered everywhere, and he fell back.

I didn’t wait to see if he was dead, so I sprinted past him just as the other two families’ voices came from another door.

“Get her! Don’t let her out!” the announcer shouted from behind me.

Before I could get far, I heard a low, amused laughter echoing through the hall.

“Marvelous, isn’t she?"

My heart sank, even without turning around I knew who was talking. "Just like her eyes, she’s also a rare type. A feisty Omega who’d put a bullet through me… haha.” How did he survive that? It wasn't bad, but also not good.

“Shut up,” yelled one of the Incor twins, sending a shiver down my spine. “Your so-called prize is running, and you’re lying there laughing.”

“She’s not a prize,” White Lotus replied as Stone offered him a hand. “She reminds me of....”

I couldn’t hear the last part because I was already too far, and the second twin had given his orders.

“If she escapes, I’m killing everyone, including the announcer!”

I didn’t stop.

I couldn’t afford to stop.

Not after all this.

Bullets flew past my ears, echoing through the corridors. I only managed to reach the back door, where the 'goods' would be taken to their buyer without causing chaos in front, when I heard White Lotus’s voice echo behind me, even after crossing three halls.

“Anastasia!… I’ll get you back. Mark my words.”