Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes - Chapter 2: Chapter 2

“Here is how this works.” Ruby says pacing up and down the line of ten of us standing wet and naked, handing out a tiny piece of fabric. “I am giving you all a dress to put on. You will put it on, and you will do it quickly without fussing.”
“And if we say no?” the woman next to me asks, bruises lining her face and neck as she scowls at Ruby, refusing to take the scrap of cloth.
“I advise you to remove that word from your dictionary if you want an easy life where you are going. You are all being given an opportunity here. If you blow it, you just go to the regular auction, the one where the bidders are full of booze, angrier and, well…hornier.” She walks closer to the woman, her nose an inch away as her lip twitches in annoyance.
“No.” The woman says, her face unflinching and Ruby grins.
“Woman to woman, you have made a terrible mistake and dug your own grave. But as a rogue who enjoys violence, I beg you to say it once more so I can verify it’s what you want and then beat your ass before sending you off to be used in every awful way you can imagine.”
My heart races as I reach out with shaky hands and I grab the woman’s hand, begging her with a soft squeeze to make her change her mind. She doesn’t pull away from me, but she doesn’t acknowledge me either. Instead, she looks away and clenches her jaw.
“Fine. I will wear it.” She grinds out. Ruby takes two steps back and I can see disappointment flash in her eyes before she shakes her head and continues with her spiel, handing me my dress before walking off to the others.
“We will get out of this.” I tell her, but she scoffs quietly.
“Keep telling yourself that.” She whispers. “You have the blood of a beta. Someone will come for you. Be it your father or alpha and pack.”
I drop my gaze to the wet ground, forcing the tears to stay away as I clear my throat.
“There is no one left to come for me.” I mutter, squaring my shoulders and gripping the dress in my hand. “They died and left me in this hell.”
She looks at me curiously before she exhales and we both slip into the sheer white dresses they gave us. I find myself self conscious for the first time in my life. My stomach aches and I wrap my arm over it to suppress the sound of my belly rumbling for food. No one utters a word, everyone just waiting in silence now as Ruby takes off to see when we are needed.
“My name is Eden,” I tell the woman, who licks her lip and looks away, ignoring me. “Not trying to be your friend. Just want someone to know my name in case I die.” I tell her truthfully.
I can see her visibly tense up before she exhales sharply.
“Leoni.” She says as she drops her head, looking at her bare feet. “I won’t let you die, Eden. Okay? I promise.”
Her promise is feeble, one that I know will be broken, but the fact she is trying to comfort me brings me a little peace.
“I’m glad you didn’t let her beat you.” I whisper, and she nods.
“We will be beaten down one way or another, Eden. Don’t let their flowery words fool you. We are being sold for our bodies. They want what is left in us obedient and too broken to care.”
I chew on the inside of my cheek, my entire body shivering even though I don’t feel cold. Out of all the ways I expected to die or end up, this was never even a thought.
“Heavens, what did I ever do to upset you?” I murmur to myself, looking up to where the sky should be. “Am I still answering for my family’s mistakes?”
Silence encases us, all of us resigned to our fate, knowing that right now there is no way out. But that doesn’t mean I won’t spend every damn day of this life trying. If they want me to breed a healthy child, then they need me to be healthy and strong as well. And the second I am that, I will die trying to escape.
Ruby comes back and quietly grabs woman after woman, each one reacting differently. Some of them sob and scream, while others already look broken and soulless. Leoni and two others stand with me, all of us feeling the rising tension as we wait for our turn.
When the door opens this time, Ruby saunters in with a sick grin and then she grabs me. Leoni reaches out, her hand gripping my forearm as I look at her, tears in my eyes before she gives me an encouraging nod.
I bite my lip, trapping it between my teeth as I am escorted into a dark alley and then through a massive red metal door that slides away, revealing a room stuffed to the gills with men.
My feet feel heavy as Ruby drags me in further by my arms. It feels like I am suffocating in laughter and sex crazed energy as my chest pumps up and down try breath. If I could smell, I know it would smell of filth and stale alcohol. That’s the type of environment these creeps and creatures breed.
As I look around the dimly lit room, I realize I recognize a few alphas from packs I had visited years ago with my father and others I know only by picture. My chin quivers as I fight back the sob brewing within me.
How deep does this illegal market go? Is no place safe from this awful trade? The king decreed these types of sales illegal over thirty years ago. And yet…so many people with titles and names sit in the crowd. People my old pack trusted, packs we considered allies.
“This one is not only unmarked, but while she was passed out, our very own doctor verified her purity.” The auctioneer proclaims with excitement, startling me as I snap my head in his direction.
My blood runs cold at his words, horror and the feeling filth dripping over my nearly naked body washes over me as a tear slips down my discolored, bruised cheek. My arms instinctively try to cover my body while the room grows quiet, interested eyes searing as they seem to lean closer, the room feeling smaller and smaller.
“The starting bid for her is 100 thousand.” He announces, and the room erupts in anger. “Now, now! If you do not think she is worth it, you need not bid, hmm? But let me tell you a little more about her. What you can not see from where you are is her piercing hazel eyes, with tiny soft freckles over soft olive skin.”
“She is too skinny! 25 thousand!” Someone shouts and others laugh.
“How will she survive child birthing?”
“And what about our drunken needs when we are trying to get her pregnant? Can her hips stand that?”
The men heckle and laugh, slapping each other on the back at my expense, and my cheeks grow red with anger.
“I am barren.” I shout, “So there will be no birthing you a child.”
It’s a lie, I think, but it’s all I have as the auctioneer laughs.
“Oh, you stupid girl, you are so, so naïve. Why else do you think we have a doctor to check you over?” he whispers. “Your ability to breed is guaranteed by this auction.”
Everything grows hazy, my body swaying as I try to remain standing and not pass out. It’s just hunger. I try to convince myself, but I know it’s the violation of me and my body that has me feeling like giving up on life. The fact I had no idea, the fact I am up here, it’s not some bad dream, it’s my reality, and it’s awful.
“She is of beta blood. The first higher ranking woman we have come across that is unwanted, and thus actionable. Plus, with her purity intact? If she bears you a son, he could go for a title in the kingdom.” He says as if it is some prize.
Everyone grows quiet before silent murmuring begins, and the auctioneer points out into the sea of men.
“Sir, is your paddle up?” He asks.
“101 thousand.” The man replies, waving his paddle before another flies up and another. Numbers start flying, men cursing at each other and others begging for a chance to buy my body. I watch in horror as no one seems to give a damn about what they are doing, what they are partaking in.
“250 thousand, in cash.” A voice breaks through the room. Mouths fall open as the man belonging to the voice pushes his way through the crowd, a bag full of cash in hand and held high.
“Well, that is quite the jump,” the auctioneer snickers.
“Is that a no?” He asks, stopping in his tracks. His black hood hiding his face as he tilts his head to the side, waiting for the answer.
“Uh, no! Sold! Sold for 250 thousand to uh…” he pauses and looks at the man. “What is your name?”
“Is that important with this amount of cash?” he asks as he turns his full attention on me and I freeze, caught in the gaze of his unique colored eyes. Then he places his gloved hand out for me to take, a strange gesture for a man who bought my virtue.
“I do not bite,” he whispers for me as I swallow roughly and walk toward him, choosing to refuse his hand.
“Right, I suppose a name doesn’t matter at that price point, but I need something to put on the ticket.” he says as my purchaser leads me away from the stage, his large frame hiding me in his shadow from the gaping eyes and grabby hands. “Uh, I guess. , it is.”