Destined To Be Theirs

Adija’s Pov I walked through the market naked, the sounds of my chains clanging against each other as I took small steps ahead. My chain was connected to five other slave women, making us walk in a straight line, with one slave master leading the way and another following behind. I raised my head that was originally lowered in shame as I turned to look around the market. I saw women looking at us in disgust while whispering things to each other. Some even spat at us, calling us names, while the men, on the other hand, looked at us with lustful eyes, as if they wished they could make every desire running through their heads a reality. “Walk faster,” one of the slave masters, whose name I learned was Bee, said as he pushed me forward slightly, causing me to lose my balance and fall to the ground. I was hungry and hadn’t had anything to eat. They had deliberately starved me for almost two days because I was a little bigger compared to the other girls, and they thought their actions would make me lose some weight. “This one is always slowing us down,” Bee said, laughing slightly while I struggled to stand to my feet. Another one of the slave masters, whose name was Rain, simply added, “Perhaps we should save her for the hounds later. She has a lot of flesh, so I’m sure she will feed them for weeks.” They both laughed at me while I stood to my feet and wiped my tears, sniffing back the tears that ran freely down my cheeks. “Her mother owes me too much money. I better get my money’s worth from her fat daughter,” Bee said. “Perhaps you should stop giving her water too, because it seems she gains more fat even from breathing air,” he added before pushing me forward. I began to walk again, trying hard to cry but I couldn’t. I had cried so much that it was almost impossible to do so anymore. “Curse you, Mother,” I whispered under my breath. Having her do something like this to me isn’t much of a surprise since she has always hated me. Ever since I was a child, she has despised me and made my life horrible. Now she owes some slave masters money because she borrowed from them for gambling. When she couldn’t pay the sum anymore, I was given to them and they brought me all the way to this kingdom. Here I was in Redmoon Kingdom, a place that nobody from my homeland of Romania would want to find themselves in due to the fact that their king and our king don’t see eye to eye. They were two brothers who had fought for the throne and divided the kingdom in half, each ruling his side and promising never to cross the borders. If anyone other than the slave masters finds out I am from Romania, I would be killed instantly. I wondered where they were taking us, making us walk through the market naked. They hadn’t said anything about their plans for us, but I was sure it was not going to be anything desirable, to say the least. My stomach grumbled aggressively as I bit my lower lip, trying to suppress the pain going through my body at that moment. I wanted to faint, my head was spinning, but I had no choice but to keep moving forward. After walking for hours, we finally arrived at our destination, which, surprisingly, was the castle. We were stopped from walking further by the guards. Just then, an elderly woman walked out, glaring at us before asking the slave masters, “What do you want?” “The king and his men are searching for mistresses today, aren’t they? We have many girls here,” Bee responded. The woman eyed all of us. “So you decided to bring your whores instead?” she asked, while Bee didn’t say anything. She added, “You could have at least dressed them in something. Appearing with them naked is unacceptable.” “A woman’s beauty is better seen without clothes,” Rain replied, to which they laughed. I lifted my head to see the woman’s expression, but she didn’t seem pleased as she shot a glare at me, causing me to panic and quickly lower my head. “And the plump one?” she said, and I immediately knew she was referring to me. “Who exactly is going to buy a woman of her size among the king’s men? She will be better off scrubbing the palace walls. How much does she cost?” I had been called plump, fat, and all sorts of demeaning names since I got to Redmoon, which was new to me because I had never been considered fat back home. I was just a woman of normal weight, not stick-thin like the women here. “Her mother owes me a lot. I am hoping to get my money’s worth on her, Madam Nazre.” The woman laughed as she said, “You would have been better off collecting some grains. You are not making anything on that one. She isn’t exactly beautiful, and she is quite large too,” she paused for a while before saying, “The other girls seem beautiful; they will have better chances with the king’s men, I suppose.” “Let the large one try her luck. Perhaps she could be lucky enough to be bought as a maid for one of the king’s men’s wives,” Bee said while madam Nazre didn’t say anything. I struggled hard to fight the tears that were spilling from my eyes. She finally broke the silence as she said, “Get them dressed. The guards will escort you to the maids’ room. There are some dresses there, so get them dressed, and they can join the auction.” With that, Madam Nazre walked away, leaving us to our thoughts. The guards immediately escorted us to a room to get dressed. I saw one of them hit the buttocks of one of the slave girls right before walking out of the room. This little act irritated me to the bones, but I dared not say anything. We were immediately forced to wash up, and they squeezed us into dresses that revealed just a little to the imagination. I took small, hesitant steps as I walked forward. We immediately arrived at another section of the castle where young women gathered. They were so beautiful that I knew I stood no chance of getting sold with them around. “Sit down here and do not move until you are called upon,” he said, and I nodded. “Is she also here to be a mistress?” I heard one of the stunning women say, obviously referring to me. “I’m not sure, but I think she is probably going to end up being a servant. She has no choice,” another replied, to which they chuckled. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself as I wiped away the tears that rolled down my eyes. I cursed the pathetic life I was living, but I knew there wasn't much I could do about it. “Stand to your feet,” Rain said, urging me up, and I immediately did. Just then, every girl in there arranged themselves in order as different old men dressed in expensive fabrics began to make their way in, checking out each woman like they were an item on display. They would touch their bodies in ways that were not pleasing, and I had to hold back the vomit that threatened to come out. “Where is the Alpha?” I heard someone beside me whisper, but another person quickly answered back, saying… “I wonder too,” she paused for a while before adding, “It sure would be unfortunate to be sold to one of these old men. Being with the Alpha would be a better option.” At that moment, I didn’t understand why anyone would want to be with the Alpha of the Redmoon pack. I had heard many stories of him and his cruelty. Why would anyone want him? He has conquered many kingdoms, killed women and children, stripped people away from their homes, and forced them to slave in his own kingdom. Pity for anyone who would end up being a mistress for someone so vile. “Is this perhaps a joke?” one of the old men said as he eyed me in disgust before walking away to view the women closer to me. I haven’t had a single man touch me ever since this started, and I considered myself lucky for that. But then I was scared—if I didn’t get a buyer, what exactly were Rain and Bee going to do to me? Would they really consider feeding me to the hounds? “This one looks interesting,” an old man said as he looked at me lustfully. He was the first person who had shown any interest in me, and seeing his appearance, I could understand why. He had brown teeth, a short and large figure, and a horrible smell coming from his body despite the expensive fabrics he wore signifying his wealth. “She seems like my type,” he said, using his finger to dig for gold. He stretched his hands toward me and used them to caress my face while I grimaced. “Perfect,” he said as his hands traveled gently to my round breasts, fondling them. “She has a lot of flesh; I will certainly enjoy her in bed.” “This one is going for just ten thousand silver,” Bee said, to which the old man looked at me one last time as if considering his decision before saying, “Ten thousand silver it is. Have her sent to my carriage, and they shall hand her price to you,” he said, looking at me as if he had just won a prize. The old man tried to touch me again, but this time I shifted my face away, unable to endure any physical contact with him. He grew angry, saying, “You think of me as disgusting, don’t you?” He struck me hard across the face, causing me to fall to my feet. “I was going to treat you like a queen, but I’ve changed my mind. You shall be treated like a w***e, and I will f**k every last piece of silver I spend on you out of you,” he said angrily while I held my burning cheek and tears filled my eyes. Bee immediately pulled me up, making me stand on my feet as the man looked at me and said, “Take her away right now.” Bee began to drag me away from the area, and I was devastated. Was I really sold to this old man who wasted no time showing me his true colors? What kind of fate was this? Just then, someone blew a very loud horn, causing everyone to stand in place, and Bee, who was dragging me away, immediately stopped. “It seems the king is about to make his decision and choose a mistress,” Bee said to Rain. I sniffed back my tears as the horn stopped blowing. Everyone fell silent, as if they dared not say a word after the horn had sounded. Just then, a small man came forward and began announcing, “Alpha King Zarek, son of Alpha Ordinth the Third, ruler of the Redmoon Pack, Guardian of the Crescent Plains, Warden of the Northern Territories Conqueror of the Seven Realms has chosen his mistress.” “I really hope it’s me,” I heard someone whisper next to me, but I immediately ignored it, not thinking too much of it. All I could think about was the fact that I had just been sold to this pathetic old man. What kind of fate was this? “Alpha Zarek has chosen you,” he said, pointing at a beautiful blonde woman standing in front of me. She looked left and right to be sure before turning to the announcer and asking, “He chose me?” “Yes,” the announcer said. Just then, everyone started clapping as the girl tried to control herself from jumping with excitement. Again, I couldn’t help but wonder why she was so happy. Why would anyone want a life with that man? “Let’s go,” Bee said as he began to drag me away. “Wait, hold on,” the announcer said. “It appears the Alpha has changed his mind about his mistress and has chosen someone else.” The blonde girl in front of me, her happiness cut short, now looked confused. The announcer’s eyes scanned the crowd and suddenly landed somewhere I never thought they would. “Move away from my view, miss,” he said to the blonde lady, who moved away. His eyes traveled up and down my frame, confused, as he said, “Well, the Alpha seems to have changed his mind and now he wants something different.” His eyes traveled up and down me for a while, “You there,” he called, pointing at me. Just like the lady who was chosen before me, I also stared behind me, wondering if he called someone else, but he quickly corrected me, saying, “I am calling you.” “Me?” I asked, pointing to myself. “Yes, you,” he looked at me, still very confused, before finally saying, “It seems our great Alpha has been kind enough to choose you. You are to be the Alpha’s mistress.” At that moment, it seemed the entire world suddenly stopped as I tried to process the situation. Me? Me, of all people? Was I dreaming? The Alpha of the Redmoon Pack chose me to be his mistress? Surely this cannot be real. Alpha Zarek chose me? What is going on here?