The Rogue Alpha's Sold Mate

01||~Rumi. ~~~~ "Is she dead yet?" Luna Azalea asked with a lazy glance at my beaten frame. The whip cracked through the air, landing on my numb back with a sharp snap. I didn't dare let out a cry. Years of being sold from master to master had taught me to endure and keep my mouth shut. "Not yet my lady." The omega whipping me responded. "She sure is tough. Hundred lashes and she's still standing." The cold sliced into my bones as heavy rain drops hit my open wounds, yet I couldn't even feel the pain. The wolfsbane potion had always had this effect on me. My bare feet were bruised and dirty and the tattered cloth clinging to me threatened to be blown away by the rain. I shivered, struggling to keep myself upright. "I-i am sorry, my lady." I stuttered. "I shouldn't have appeared before master." She had warned me against it multiple times and I had always made sure to abide. Yet, the one time I got careless and slacked off, he just has to pass by and see me. Luna Azalea sent me a sharp glare, her icy gaze a contrast to her bright brown, almost golden eyes. "Slut! Just because he bought you and made you his concubine, you think you have the right to disrespect me?" She shrieked, standing to her feet. I watched her wearily, barely able to stand still. Showing weakness at a time like this would only infuriate her further. "No my lady. It was a mistake. I am just a mare slave, I would never-" the sharp crack of pain across my back cut me short. This time, I couldn't stop myself from crying out. It hurt, it hurt so bad. My knees met the ground sharply as the Omega behind me kicked the back of my knees. "How dare you stand when speaking to the lady." Wet Ivory strands covered my face as I bowed, my forehead and matted hair pressed into the cold, wet ground. "I apologize my lady. I will never do it again. " "I am the daughter of Vance Seth. The beta of the second largest pack in this realm. How dare you, a mere slave try to take my place?..." I had heard this speech so many times for the past two months that I could recite it even in my sleep. Luna Azalea was the daughter of the Beta of the Black Diamond Pack, once the strongest pack in the realm before the Cobalt Pack took over. Her father had nearly lost his life when a teenage Rogue Alpha defeated him. That Rogue Alpha had grown into Adler Veyr, the current Alpha of Cobalt. If I didn't exist, perhaps Adler would be the person at the top of Lady Azalea's hate list. But I did exist, and she hated me for it. Still, the person she seemed to hate even more than me was her husband and mate, Alpha Neo Ark. She hated him for buying me and using me to punish her. She hated him for being the Alpha of the smallest pack in the realm. And she hated me for being the easiest target for all that anger. I was merely a means to an end for the couple. I knew that much. Keeping my head down and staying out of their way had been my best chance of survival. I had learned that lesson long ago. Masters changed, but the rules rarely did. Be quiet. Obey. Never give them a reason to notice you. Yet somehow, I had still ended up here. "I have had enough of this!" She declared. "Beat her! Keep beating her until she's dead. I want to see what that useless bastard will do." My head snapped up, my eyes locking with her fuorious ones. No! I shook my head frantically, the rain blurring my eyes as I crawled forward using all my willpower. "No! Please no! My lady, don't kill me! I will do anything you want. I will stay away from the master. I promise I will--" "Shut up! b***h!" The whip struck with so much force my body slammed against the ground. One... With each blow, i felt my life slipping away. Was this it? Was this how I would die? I had never dared to curse the moon goddess for the fate she had given me. Perhaps I'd simply been born unlucky. Two... Since I was three years old, I had been sold from one master to another. Nine times, if I counted correctly. Each place had been worse than the last, but somehow, I had always survived. Three... There had been a time where I dreamt of being free. Sometimes I imagined my parents finding me and taking me home, though I could barely remember their faces anymore. Four... Eighteen years had gone by after that and I was still alone. No one was coming. Five.... Perhaps i deserved it. "What the f**k are you doing!" A furious voice cut through the rain. The Omega stopped mid-swing. And for the first time since master bought me, I felt a flicker of relief at his presence. Through the rain, I saw Alpha Neo striding over, his steps hurried and rigid. A man in a dark hooded cloak followed close behind him, his face hidden beneath the hood. "What does it look like?" Luna Azalea snapped, wrenching her hand away when Alpha Neo tried to hold her. "I am getting rid of that slut you brought into our home." "This isn't the time for this." Alpha Neo snapped, sending glances towards the cloaked man standing right behind me. "I have an important guest and I won't have you ruin this for me. Let Rumi go." "I don't care which lowlife you have brought into your impoverished pack! Why do I have to be mated to a useless thing like you? You wanted to get a concubine yet you couldn't afford a decent woman, instead you brought this disgusting rat into my--" "THAT'S ENOUGH!" Alpha Neo's roar made both Lady Azalea and me flinch. I had never heard him raise his voice at her, no matter what she did. The tiny movement sent a fresh wave of pain through my body, I sucked in a sharp breath as the wolfsbane finally began to wear off. The action, though tiny, drew everyone's attention towards me. My breath caught and I almost curled into myself. To make myself so small that no one would remember I was there. SMACK! Luna Azalea slapped Neo across the face. "Did you just raise your voice at me because of this lowly b***h? Neo, how dare you? How --" "Why don't you just sell her." A deep voice interrupted her. The voice fell quietly, yet everyone turned towards the speaker. Including me. My gaze met a pair of storm grey eyes beneath the shadow of the hood. For one strange moment, I forgot the whip. The rain muffled in my ear, the pain spreading through my body numbed. Something stirred inside me as his gaze held mine. Something I couldn't quite name. Whoever this mysterious man was, he seemed determined to look unimportant. I might have bought the lie if I hadn't noticed the way Master moved around him, his head slighly bowed. Master was the Alpha of a pack, yet he seemed careful around this stranger and even rose his voice at his mate for him. Who was he? For that fleeting second, I almost forgot my pain. Then the man's words sunk in. Sell me. Of course. Why wouldn't he suggest that? I was a slave. A possession that could be passed from one master to another whenever I became inconvenient. The tiny flicker of hope within me withered away. He wanted them to sell me. My gaze shifted to Master. He was the only person who could decide what happened to me, yet for the first time, I wasn't sure if even he had a choice. Would he dare refuse this man? Or had my fate already been decided? ~P-Lia~