Loving The Alpha I Once Bullied

Ciara Raven was the most beautiful girl Ashton Smith knew. She had long blonde tresses, deep blue eyes, a face that was sculpted to perfection, and a body most could only dream to attain. The girl locked up in a cage at the center of the stage was that Ciara Raven. Her beautiful blonde tresses were in dirty patches. Her deep blue eyes were hollow and held sorrow behind them. Her face and body were riddled with bruises and cuts. The girl Ashton once knew was not the one he was staring at right now. The host of the auction event disrespectfully introduced her, saying, “Here is the fallen daughter of the late Alpha and Luna of the prominent Moon Blessed Pack. Though she looks nothing better than trash right now, she was once the most desired in the werewolf territory.” Ashton felt embarrassed on her behalf. But the ‘fallen daughter’ in question behaved as though she was not the one whom the host was referring to. She sat humbly inside the cage, hugging her knees. Her expression was blank, her eyes were devoid of emotion. “Though she carries the blood of an Alpha in her veins, she has been groomed perfectly and won’t ever act unless given an order by her master. A perfect toy she has become! We will begin the bid at five hundred thousand dollars!” The host continued enthusiastically. Ashton shivered at those words. Groomed perfectly? Perfect toy? All of this in reference to the mighty Ciara Raven? He couldn’t believe his ears. “One million dollars!” “One point five million dollars!” “Three million dollars!” Everyone seated in the audience wanted Ciara. Even after falling and being belittled to such a lowly status, she was still easily the most beautiful creation of the Moon Goddess. Ashton stared at the lonely figure on the stage. Just what had happened to her within the six years she’d disappeared from the werewolf territory that made her entire being change? There was no single trace of pride exuding from her figure. The haughty and egotistic Ciara he knew from the past was no more. Ashton doubted the Ciara Raven locked inside the cage was the same girl who had bullied him relentlessly in high school. What extinguished her flame? “Twenty million dollars.” Ashton’s deep voice echoed in the enclosed auction room. Everyone was silenced at that moment. Even the host was stunned at Ashton’s words. “Twenty million dollars! We’re going for twenty million dollars! And one and two and sold to the man in the red mask!” The host announced. Since it was an underground auction event, Ashton was wearing a mask, lest his position as an Alpha be questioned for attending such an event. He was only here because he had gotten a tip that something dangerous was going to be sold tonight. He had come with the mind that it would be a dark arts artifact. If only he had known that the dangerous thing would be Ciara Raven. Ashton stood up from his seat and walked up to the stage to claim ownership of his purchase. He slid down half of his mask before speaking. “Ciara,” he said, his voice as warm as the morning sun. She was looking at him but she wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes were without focus. “Do you remember me?” he asked. No response. But Ashton still smiled kindly. Something utterly horrible had happened to his first love, and right there and then, Ashton decided that he would fix her broken pieces and make her whole once again. He promised himself that he would bring back the light to Ciara Raven’s eyes. And as though the Moon Goddess heard his resolve, she performed something miraculous. The two souls which were as unlike as oil and water became one. An unbreakable bond formed between them. “Mate.”