Auctioned to the Cruel King - Chapter 3: Chapter 3

KAYLA
Why did Alpha Lance, of all people, buy me?
This question resounded over and over again in my mind as I sat tied up in a dingy van, en route to the Lycan King's palace. After I'd been sold, everything else happened very quickly. I barely got the chance to digest the fact that I'd just been sold off like common commodity. As though that wasn't enough, it was also to the Lycan King.
I stood there on the stage, trembling as I stared wide-eyed at the man who had just bought me. In the blink of an eye, he had disappeared. And that was the last time I saw him. Two men dressed in uniforms that bore the Lycan King's insignia bundled me out of the hall, tied my hands behind my back, and threw me into the back of the van. It was from bits of their conversation that I learned where I was being taken.
The ride seemed to take forever, leaving me with my thoughts in the worst way possible. The way in which my whole life had changed in the space of mere hours was still the most baffling and heart wrenching thing that had ever happened to me. Each time I thought of Landon, I tasted bile in my mouth. The way he'd thrown me out like I meant absolutely nothing to him.
A tear slid down my cheek.
I shook my head, reminding myself of my vow to never cry because of him again. He didn't care about me and he never did. I should have known. I should have seen it coming the way his attitude towards me changed after I gave him my virginity. I should have known that he was going to fail me. But I was naïve and stupid, and I fed into my delusions of thinking that someone could actually love me.
I felt the back of my eyes sting with fresh tears, but I didn't let them fall. Instead, I focused on the journey.
Finally, the van came to a halt. I sat upright, suddenly fearful of what this place held in store for me. It seemed like the moon goddess had already abandoned me, but I took one last chance, praying silently that she spare me this time, give me a fate easier to bear.
"Out!" One of the guards barked, bringing me back to reality.
I quickly scrambled out of the van although my legs felt like jelly from laying in the cramped space. The other guard uncuffed my hands and pushed me up the stairs and into the large palace. I was too nauseous to appreciate the view the interior offered, but I could tell it was a luxurious place.
I was led through a brightly lit hallway until we arrived at a closed door. From the exterior alone, I could tell it was the Alpha's own space or maybe not. My heart began to pound furiously again at the prospect of being in close proximity to him.
The guard knocked twice at the door and waited.
"You may enter," a deep voice rang out from within the room.
The guard pushed the door open and shoved me inside, shutting the door behind me. I heard his footsteps as he walked away from the room. Now, I was completely alone with the Lycan King. He was standing at the edge of the room by the window, looking out. I stood rooted there, unsure of what I was supposed to do. There was something so chilling and formidable about his presence.
Just then, he turned to me and began to take steps forward. I resisted the urge to flee in the other direction and instead clutched the hem of my dress. I kept my eyes glued to the ground when he got close to me.
"Your name," he demanded.
"K-Kayla.." I stammered, summoning the courage to look up at him.
The moment our eyes met, a tingling sensation rushed through me.
"Mate!" My wolf yelled excitedly. "Mate!"
Something snapped inside of me. The mate bond.
My eyes widened in shock. I staggered backwards in disbelief. No, no, no. This couldn't be happening to me right now. The moon goddess couldn't possibly have given me a second chance mate. And this—this Lycan King at that?!
I'd never been so distraught. I thought I'd been to hell and back today alone, but it seemed my struggles were far from over. I wanted to scream and tear at my hair in frustration. Hot tears brimmed in my eyes at the unfairness of all this. Fate was playing a cruel game with me. I was certain the moon goddess had abandoned me as well.
I nursed a ridiculous hope that I could somehow get away with it, but one glance at him told me he'd felt it too.
I couldn't stay quiet. I could already feel tears threatening to spill at the thought of being tied down from another mate bond. I had suffered under a mate bond for years, and the thought of doing it all over again was terrifying. I just couldn't.
Normally, someone like me would never have dreamed of speaking to the Lycan King, or try to challenge him in any way. But the pain of the trauma I'd experienced was greater than any fear.
"Please…" I began before he could say a word. "I know you felt the mate bond between us snap. I know I might not have the right to ask this of you, but please…I want you to reject me and sever the bond."
His cold expression did not change, not even once. Instead, it grew even darker as he closed the distance between us.
"What did you just say?" He asked, his voice cold as steel.
I shook with fear but I stood my ground. "I…I want you to reject me. I can't—I don't want to be mated to anyone, I beg you."
If he was surprised, he didn't show it. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.
"Do you really think you're in a position to tell me what to do?" He asked. "I bought you. I paid for you, with my money, so the answer is no. You belong to me and I can do whatever the fuck I want."
This was already beginning to feel very familiar. Thoughts of Landon attacked me from all directions, and I almost cowered to the ground in fear. I couldn't let this happen.
"Please!" I cried. "I know I am speaking out of turn. And I swear to you, it is not my intention to challenge you. But you have to understand…I don't want this. I'm begging you…"
My eyes pooled over with tears.
He stared at me for a long while, as though weighing my words.
"So…you want freedom?"
Freedom. The word struck something in me so deeply that I sucked in a sharp breath. Freedom. It sounded so good I could almost taste it.
I nodded slowly. "Yes."
He looked me up and down before his eyes returned to my face.
"Alright."
My eyes widened. Did he just…agree?
"But not without a price."
I exhaled shakily. Right, of course. Why did I think he would agree just like that? But at least this was progress. It meant there was a chance.
"It's very simple. You want freedom, and I want something in return; an heir from a fated mate. We shall get married, and once you get pregnant and give me an heir, I shall give you the freedom you so desperately want; a rejection, and the dissolution of the marriage."
I mulled his words over in my head. I wanted to be free, so badly at that. But the marriage…
I stole a glance at him. The truth was that I really didn't have a choice. If I dared challenge him again, he would probably have me killed. And if I told him the truth, that I could never conceive, I would meet the same fate of death, or a life condemned to slavery. He was that cruel.
But I had a plan.
It was a risky one, but I was willing to take it. This might be my only chance to start my life afresh and carve out something good for myself. And if I had to marry the Lycan King to do that, then so be it.
I was going to guard this secret of my barrenness with my life. Before he found out the truth, I would be long gone.
Planning my escape was about to become my top priority over the next few weeks, and with everything at stake, I couldn't afford to fail.
I swallowed hard as I looked back at the Lycan King who was still waiting for my answer.
I stared into those cold eyes of his and nodded.
"I accept your proposal."