Auctioned at 18 | Claimed by Two Alphas

Chapter 6 | My Role

Raina

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The moment I’m off the stage, I get yanked forward to a semi-private spot with Andrė. His eyes narrow at me as he asks, “What happened to your heel?”

“Excuse me?” I ask, pretending to be dumbfounded.

It doesn’t work; he yanks up the hem of my dress, showing one foot in its silver heel while the other foot is bare. He seethes, “What happened?”

“It broke when I was in that alcove. I knew I didn’t have time, so I kicked it aside.”

His jaw is clenched tightly, his anger is obvious, and I deserve it. From his perspective, I was trying to run away. A guard had to bring me back.

But if I admit to running so fast and hard that my heel broke, I know that I’ll be in worse trouble.

He huffs, “Come now, let’s go change your shoes. You’re one of the lucky ones that the buyer doesn’t want you to change.”

I follow behind him as I ask, “How does that make me lucky?”

“It’s a madhouse when the buyer wants people to be changed into particular outfits. Buyers are impatient to get their purchases in their territory, so when there are specifications, it can be an interesting environment.”

I nod as he leads me back to the room I started in. He rushes around, finding a new pair of heels to match my outfit. Before he can bring it out to me, a new woman with her dark hair in a tight bun, wearing a pencil skirt with a collared shirt and blazer, opens the door and looks at her clipboard as she says, “They wanted her just the way she is.”

Her eyes narrow on the heels Andrė has, and he breathes out as he sets the heels down and says calmly, “She broke a heel getting off the stage.”

She shrugs, “Doesn’t matter, the buyer has already asked where she is.”

I’ve been off stage for like 2 minutes. How impatient is this guy?

The woman looks down at her clipboard and says, “Come along, Miss Trainer.”

I look to Andrė in surprise, and he rolls his lips into his mouth before nodding his head towards the woman, silently gesturing for me to follow her.

I follow behind her, noticing how her heels clack along the tile floor, and mine would follow the same pattern, except that I’m missing one. She tsks, “You’re going to regret not caring for the things that were given to you, Miss Trainer.”

I want to sneer. Just because one of my heels broke, it doesn’t automatically mean it was due to my lack of care!

Should I have been running in them? Probably not, but too late to turn back now.

There’s a forest green door in front of us, and she opens it as she says, “Twilight Pack, we thank you for the purchase you made today, and per your instructions, I have brought Miss Raina Trainer here for you.”

A smooth voice sends a chill down my spine: “Thank you, Ms. Tate, that’s all for now.”

She bows her head and walks out, shutting the door behind her. I lift my gaze, and the only person in here is him.

His grin is wide now, he’s playing a game with me, and he knows it. He sets my missing heel on a desk and says, “I believe this belongs to you.”

I resist the urge to snatch it from the desk, knowing that if I did, I would be playing right into his hand.

I stand still as a statue as I ask, “Why did you choose me?”

His grin seems to get wider, his green eyes sparking with interest as he says, “You intrigued me.”

There’s a pause. I feel like he’s silently challenging me to end the silence. I don’t.

He nods towards the shoe and asks, “Don’t you want it?”

“I’d rather know what is expected of me and who exactly you are and what I should know about your pack.”

He nods his head, “I suppose that’s not too much of an ask.” His eyes flicker towards my feet, which are covered by the long dress, and he says, “Please, either take the other one off or put this one on. I can’t stand the thought of it being uneven.”

I frown, I think he must be a rather particular man to care so much about my shoes. I kick off the other heel, not wanting to close the distance between us yet.

His chuckle is low, sending warmth spreading through me. I hate the effect he’s having on me. I can’t let him know how he’s drawing me in.

He says, “My name is Malcolm Thorne, I’m the Alpha of the Twilight Pack. There’s not much you need to know about the pack at the moment. All you need to know is that you belong to me.”

His tone dropped when he declared me as his belonging.

I grit my teeth, hating that I’ve been reduced to nothing but a possession. I say, “And what is my role in all of this, Alpha Thorne?”

I’m careful to use his official titles; he hasn’t given me permission to call him by his first name, and I don’t want to be punished or make my life harder because of a rule I was unaware of.

As he gets closer, I can’t help but notice his dimples, which makes his mostly intimidating presence now seem boyish.

The closer he gets, I notice how defined he is in his arms and chest; it’s obvious even through the suit he’s wearing. My eyes flicker up to meet his, and he tells me, his voice low and seductive, “If things go well, then your role will be as my mate.”

I frown, “What exactly does that mean?”

His hand reaches out to touch mine. The moment the sparks meet my skin, I have to resist the urge to pull away in shock. My eyes meet his as I silently wonder what kind of game he is playing.

Malcolm smiles back at me, happiness seems to fill his gaze as he says, “That means that we have a lot to discuss. We have a bit of a journey back to the pack. Are you ready to go?”

I bite my tongue, trying to figure out if there is some way that I could bring up Elyria. But I hardly know this man, and I don’t want to give him any type of ammunition to use against me.

He already knows about her; he saw my reactions when I saw her results on the screen. I just have to hope that he wasn’t paying that much attention.

I force a smile to my face, “Of course, lead the way, Alpha.”