Chapter 1

_Astrid’s POV_

The air was filled with the smell of sweat, smoke, and fear.

I stood barefooted on the cold, marble stage, arms bound in front of me, my wrists raw from the rough rope that tied tyen together. A single spotlight bore down on me, blinding me, as faceless figures in the audience murmured, their voices low and expectant.

The auction house reeked of wealth and sin, the kind of place where men bought flesh with the snap of their fingers, where lives were measured in gold and power rather than worth.

The auctioneer, a man in an expensive suit, lifted his hand. "Lot 43," he announced, his voice spreading across the big room. "Twenty years old. Untouched. A rare find. We’ll start the bidding at twenty thousand!"

A shiver ran down my spine, but I clenched my jaw, refusing to let them see me break. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat coming as a drum of my impending doom. I wanted to scream, to run, but there was nowhere to go. I was trapped.

My father had already pulled me into this world, there was no going back now.

If only I had fought harder back then, maybe I would have escaped this fate. Maybe I would have a chance to run away and live happily somewhere faraway from them all—my stepfather and his wife.

"Twenty- five thousand!"

"Thirty!"

The numbers climbed higher and higher, voices overlapping in a frenzy. I forced myself to keep my chin up, though my insides twisted into knots. My mother used to tell me that monsters weren’t real, that the worst thing in the world was the dark.

She was wrong after all.

Monsters were real.

And they were sitting right in front of me, bidding for ownership of my body and soul.

When I caught sight of a bald old looking man, who seemed to be an Alpha bidding higher than the others, my kneels went weak.

Please Goddess, even if my destiny was to be auctioned off, I wouldn't want to end up with that bald man. He looked malicious, like he was ready to tear me apart the moment I was declared his.

Just when I thought I would really be sold off to that ugly disgusting man, a voice cut through the air like a sharp blade.

"One hundred thousand."

Silence.

A ripple of shock passed through the room. I swallowed my saliva in shock, my eyes darting toward the source of the bid.

Who….who outbid him with such a crazy amount?

I questioned myself immediately, was I even worth that amount of money?

The man who spoke sat lazily in the shadows, his long legs stretched out in front of him, a hand draped over the armrest of his chair as though this was all some kind of game to him.

"Ah, Lord Zarek," the auctioneer said with a slick smile, clearly pleased. "A generous offer, indeed. Any higher bids?" He added and glanced around expectantly. Such greedy fellow.

Silence stretched like a knife’s edge. No one dared challenge this lord Zarek. But who was he? I couldn't see his face properly.

"Sold," the auctioneer declared with a sharp bang of the gavel.

My stomach dropped.

Two men walked onto the stage, untying my wrists before dragging me down the steps toward my buyer or should I say, my new owner, Lord Zarek.

My legs felt like lead as they pushed me toward him.

Up close, he was even more terrifying.

Zarek had the kind of beauty that was meant to deceive—sharp cheekbones, dark eyes framed by his thick lashes, lips curled into a smirk that promised nothing good.

But it was the way he looked at me, like I was something he already owned, that sent terror spiking through me.

"What’s your name, little rabbit?" he asked, his voice a silken threat.

I swallowed against the dryness in my throat.

"Astrid."

His smirk widened. "Astrid," he repeated, tasting my name like it was a delicacy. "You belong to me now."

A shudder ran down my spine, but I kept my expression blank. I wouldn't let him see my fear. Men like him loved weak women.

I wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

He turned to his right, where another man sat—one I hadn’t noticed before.

My breath caught.

He was just as beautiful, just as dangerous, but where Zarek had a smirk, this one had cold indifference.

Twins?!

His black hair was slightly longer, falling into eyes as dark as midnight. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he studied me, silent and unreadable.

Zarek chuckled. "Zade, aren’t you going to say anything?"

Zade’s gaze flickered over me, then away, as if I wasn’t worth his time. "You really shouldn’t have bought her."

"Oh, but I should have." Zarek’s fingers trailed along my arm, his touch featherlight yet suffocating. "She’s… interesting."

"She’s human," Zade said flatly.

My head snapped up. Human? The way he said it, like it was something lesser, something insignificant. A sick feeling pooled in my stomach.

So what if I was human?

Did that mean… they weren’t?

Well, it wasn't surprising since there weren't many humans in this part of the werewolf world.

It was a world we're humans and werewolves resides.

Zarek ignored his brother, gripping my chin between his fingers and forcing me to meet his gaze. "Astrid, you will do as I say, when I say it. Do you understand?"

Every fiber of my being screamed at me to fight, to claw at him, to run. But I couldn’t. Not yet.

So I gave the only answer that wouldn’t get me killed. "Yes."

Zarek’s smirk deepened, and beside him, Zade exhaled sharply, as if already regretting whatever this was.

Whatever I was to them.

I couldn't get over their looks. Identical werewolf twins. Goddess.

I was led out of the auction house and into a waiting car, the leather seats cool beneath my bare skin. The doors locked with a soft click, sealing my fate.

I was no longer a person. I was now a property.

And I had just been sold to the devil. No, Demons.