Chapter 6: Stars Of The Night

I shook my head and sighed, feeling my body tense up once again. The Alpha King was here. I knew what the man looked like because I had seen him in pictures. And he was just gorgeous beyond words. Honestly, I kind of wanted to meet him. I was certain that my photographs did, but only as a wanted person.

But I was sure the picture the Alpha King received of me had an image that was far from my real face or from years ago probably. When I was still a spy, well, I still was, just on a break, the man I was working for named Keith Cadwell met me twice a year. That man only knew me as Makayla Ellis and not Florence Lancaster—my real name. Meanwhile, others called me Veilios, which means shadow, known as the conniving spy.

My father hated my mother so much that he changed my name to Makayla Ellis because my real name sounded like hers. He even made it a rule for me to wear contact lenses whenever I would go see him because apparently, I got my hazel eyes from my mother.

Since I started to work as a spy, I had become used to hiding my face using prosthetics, makeup, wigs, contact lenses, and other accessories. It was the same when I was meeting Keith. I would cover half of my face with a thin black cloth.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. Everything would be fine. The Alpha King would not recognize me because no one knew the real face of Makayla Ellis. I looked back at my reflection in the mirror. My long dark blonde hair cascaded down to my shoulders, weary almond-shaped hazel eyes shimmering in the bright light, and my full and pouty lips pressed in a straight line. I had only put on light makeup because if I did the full-on, someone might recognize me. I needed to be as close to my bare skin as possible.

Well, Makayla Ellis or Veilios never showed up in dark blonde, though.

"Be ready, ladies!" someone shouted at the door, grabbing our attention.

The women started practicing their smiles in front of the mirror and jumping in excitement. I started putting a light concealer on my neck to hide Austin's handprints around it. It had been fun riling him up, letting him feel angry, but torturing others was not my idea of fun.

After five minutes, a staff member of the tavern appeared at the door with a warm smile on his face.

"Let's go, ladies."

The remaining women fell into their respective lines. I strolled toward them, at the end of the line because apparently, no one wanted to stand behind me. I cracked my ring finger, squared my shoulders, and adjusted my expression.

If I wanted to escape, I needed to be picked first. If my assumptions were right, these Alphas may only have one bodyguard with them. It would be easy to handle that number. And I was confident I could put an Alpha to sleep.

Soon after, we left the room and stepped outside, stopping only once we were a step away from the stage.

"Now, I will present to you the best picks of the night! The stars of the night!" the host announced excitedly.

Uproarious cheers from the crowd echoed backstage. It was our signal to go outside. I maintained my expression as I lifted my legs, decorated with gold strap sandals, highlighting my thighs. The bright lights greeted me as soon as I walked onto the stage, followed by the roaring noise of the men once they saw us lined up on the platform.

My hazel orbs landed on the gorgeous men in front of me, each in different clothing, some in suits and

 casual attire, oozing with power. They were sitting in front seats that were enough to make any woman's heart race. Alphas. They were staring intently at us, their gazes burning on my flesh. A normal wolf would be affected by the natural power Alphas emit, but not me. I was a pro at this game, thanks to being a hybrid with Lycan blood.

Almost 20 men were sitting in front. I looked around, sensing my surroundings. They said the Alpha King was here, but I couldn't sense that very thick air of power.

Maybe he's not sitting here.

With that thought, I let my body relax even more and avoided looking directly at them. Instead, I fixed my gaze on the wall until my eyes caught sight of the tinted glass room. I immediately looked away.

Damn. Maybe the Alpha King was there.

The bidding started, and the announcer enthusiastically introduced each woman one by one.

"Two million dollars for that woman," one of the men in front said, raising his right hand and pointing to Lynne.

Everyone waited for someone to bid higher, but no one did.

"Going once, going twice, sold!" The announcer grabbed Lynne's arm. "Lynne now belongs to Alpha Derron!"

I arched a brow at the name, watching Lynne excitedly walk towards the Alpha who harshly grabbed her hair and dragged her away from the scene. Way to be gentlemen. Alpha Derron Fitcher, the Alpha of the third-largest pack in the world. Seeing him here, along with the other powerful Alphas, surprised me. This was good intel, actually.

I caught sight of how Lynne's face shifted from shock to a grinning one the moment Alpha Derron tugged her hair. That was one of the disadvantages of this auction. Whatever the buyer did to them, no one had the right to question or stop them. But it's not like their buyers could hurt and abuse them forever.

"This is Dawn, 24 years old, and it's just her third time participating in this auction!" said the host, gesturing to the brunette woman in front with an innocent face.

"The starting price will be—"

The announcer was cut off by the deep, rich voice of a man with dark brown hair and gray eyes.

"Five million dollars for her."

I caught sight of how the announcer blinked several times before clearing his throat. I couldn't blame him; it was a lot of money.

"Going once," the announcer waited, yet nobody had raised or yelled a larger number. "Going twice, and selling!"

"Dawn now belongs to Alpha Carter of the Craven Pack!"

The man stood up as the brunette woman confidently descended the two rungs of steps in front of her, her innocent face transformed into that of a temptress. A smirk ghosted my lips as I admired the woman's confidence. Seeing women master that kind of attitude pleased me.