ENSLAVED TO BE HIS MATE

THE PRICE FOR A SOUL

POV: Mona

The smell was the first thing that hit me when they dragged us out of the transport cages

"Move it, Omega! Stand straight!" a guard barked, shoving me toward the wooden auction block.

I stumbled, the heavy iron chain around my neck jerking my head back. I didn't say a word. I just stared at the ground, my jaw locked.

"Look at this one," a fat merchant said, stopping in front of me. He reached out a greasy hand and tilted my chin up. "A rejected mate? She’ll be nothing but trouble. She'll probably pine away and die in a month."

"She’s young," Alpha Tharr replied. He was standing nearby, already counting the coins he’d made from the others. "She can scrub floors or carry water until she drops. Fifty gold pieces."

The merchant laughed in my face. "Fifty? For a rejected Omega? I'll give you ten. And that’s only because she has all her teeth."

"Ten? She’s worth more than that!" Tharr snapped.

"She’s trash, Tharr. Everyone here knows it," another buyer shouted from the crowd. "Nobody wants a female another man didn't want."

I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood. I wanted to scream, to tell them I wasn't trash, but I kept my eyes on the dirt. I was counting the guards again.

Suddenly, the noise in the market died down. It didn't just fade; it stopped completely.

A man stepped through the crowd. He was huge, dressed in dark leather and obsidian-colored silks.

He didn't walk like the other buyers; he moved like a predator that owned the ground he walked on. His hair was black, and his eyes were a piercing, honey-gold that seemed to see through everything.

"Who is that?" someone whispered.

"That’s Alpha Draven," another man replied, his voice shaking.

"The Alpha of the Fireball Pack. What is he doing here?"

Draven didn't look at the other buyers. He didn't even look at Tharr. He stopped right in front of the auction block and looked directly at me.

The moment our eyes met, my world tilted. It wasn't the golden, soft pull I’d felt with Ryon. This was violent. My breath caught in my throat. My wolf, which had been curled in a ball since the rejection, suddenly stood up and growled.

Draven’s nostrils flared. His eyes darkened until they were almost black. He looked at the rejection mark on my collarbone, and for a second, a flash of pure rage crossed his face.

"Is this the one?" Draven asked. His voice was a deep, low rumble that made the wooden planks beneath my feet vibrate.

Tharr stepped forward, looking nervous.

"Yes, Alpha Draven. She’s an Omega. A bit stubborn, but—"

"Five thousand gold pieces," Draven interrupted.

The entire market went silent. Tharr gasped, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

"Five... five thousand? Alpha, she’s just an Omega. The bid was at ten."

"I don't care about the bid," Draven said, his gaze still locked on mine. He stepped closer, stepping onto the platform.

"I want her. Now."

"But Alpha," one of Draven’s own advisors whispered, stepping up behind him.

"Five thousand? For a laborer? We could buy twenty strong Alphas for that price. This girl is rejected. She’s a weak link."

Draven didn't even turn around. "Did I ask for your opinion, Silas?"

"No, Alpha, but the pack will wonder—"

"Let them wonder," Draven snapped. He looked at Tharr. "The coins are in the wagon. Take them and give me the key to her collar."

Tharr scrambled to produce the key. He handed it to Draven, who took it and stepped right into my space. He was so tall I had to crane my neck to look at him.

He didn't say anything kind. He didn't look at me with pity. He reached out and grabbed my arm, his grip firm and hot.

"You're mine now," he whispered, loud enough only for me to hear. "Do you understand that, Omega? I bought more than the very breath you take."

I glared at him, my stubbornness flared up despite the fear. "You bought a body to work your fields. That’s all."

Draven’s grip tightened, not enough to bruise, but enough to show his power. A small smirk touched his lips. "We'll see about that."

He turned to his guards. "Take her to the wagons. I’m finished here."

As I was led away, I could feel the eyes of everyone in the market on me. I heard the whispers.

"Why her?"

"What does the Alpha of the Fireball Pack want with a rejected slave?"

"Five thousand gold... he must be crazy."

They pushed me into the back of a covered wagon. It was a royal one. I'd never been inside such.

I was going to the Fireball Pack. A place where the Alpha had bought me for an amount a lifetime of work would not pay pack.

"You're not going to break me," I whispered into the dark of the wagon.

I reached out and touched the wood of the wagon wall. I needed to find out everything about this pack.

Draven might have paid five thousand gold for me, but he was going to find out very quickly that I was the most expensive mistake he’d ever made.

The wagon jerked into motion. We were leaving the neutral grounds. I was leaving the life I knew behind. I didn't know what was waiting for me in the Fireball Pack, but I knew one thing for sure.

I wasn't going to be a slave for long.

The journey was long and bumpy. Every time the wagon stopped, I hoped for a chance to run, but the guards were always there, their eyes sharp.

Finally, the wagon stopped for the night. The door opened, and Draven was standing there. The moonlight hitting his face.

"Out," he commanded.

I climbed out, my legs stiff. He reached out to help me, but I pulled my arm away.

"I can walk," I said sharply.

Draven’s eyes flashed. He stepped into my space, forcing me to back up against the wagon. He put a hand on either side of my head, pinning me there. "You have a very sharp tongue for someone in chains, Mona."

"The chains are on my neck, not my tongue," I retorted.

He leaned down, his face inches from mine. I could feel the heat radiating off him. The bond pulsed, making my heart race. He looked at my lips, then back at my eyes.

"I like it," he murmured, his voice a low growl. "It'll make it more fun when I finally make you go silent."

He pulled away and signaled to a guard. "Give her food. And keep a double watch. She looks like a runner."

I watched him walk away toward his own tent. He was right. I was a runner. But I was also a fighter. And if he thought a few gold coins and a scary look were going to make me submit, he had no idea who he was dealing with.