12 Cubs for the Alpha Mafia

"The highest bid has been made! Mr. Frank from Gasoline TV is willing to pay $180 thousand for our cutest snow-white. Will there be a higher offer?!" Do you know? As a student majoring in history, Giselle Rosanne was so familiar with auctions. She even attended some with her late father when she was younger. However, it was the first time she learned that there was such a thing as a human auction in this world. Moreover, she became one of the selling items. As if standing in front of hundreds of people in a see-through dress was not crazy enough, the nineteen-year-old girl had to endure their mockery stares as the bids were made. She tried to swallow her disgust as she showed off her best - fake - smile to everyone. By the way, she was bid fantastically. It started at $100 thousand and the number kept rising. It seemed like the audience was so eager to 'buy' her. How did it start? Why did she end up standing there? Since the death of her parents last year, her life has changed completely. She had to leave their house due to their large debt. Things were getting worse when her seven-year-old little brother was diagnosed with brain cancer which cost a lot of money for treatment. One of them was a $15 thousand surgery that needed to be paid for by tomorrow morning. She was so frantic. So, she decided to accept one of the shady offers on social media, thinking that it would be the only way out of the situation. "$220 thousand so far. Wow, it looks like many of you are so interested in this 'item'. FYI, we named her 'The Snow White' for a reason. Look at her beautiful face with that fair and clear skin. Imagine being the first person to touch her because she has never experienced that before -- she is still a virgin, and we can guarantee you that. For those who like pets, imagine being able to pat her and hear her meowing to you every day. Isn't it worth the price?" What was so funny about the emcee's gibberish? Why was everyone in the room laughing? Giselle had to hold back her disgust as she saw many men who were even older than her father looking more and more eager to take her home. It was so scary. She felt like crying and running away. But, she couldn't do that, especially with the glass showcase that now enclosed her like a bird in a cage. “Well, finally..." A murmur caught her attention. It was not too difficult to spot the source as it came from the VVIP row at the front. Her watery eyes met the cold gaze of a male stranger in his early 30s. He was probably the youngest of the other bidders -- the hottest too, if she may say so. The man gave her different creeps because instead of a dirty look like the others, this one seemed completely devoid of emotions. It was like she was being skinned alive by the way he stared. The man calmly took a sip of his wine before raising his bidding card for the first time. He then shouted out, "$12 Million!" The atmosphere changed immediately. It became so quiet that even most of the orchestra members in the corner stopped playing. Everyone seemed hard to believe their ears because the bidding had increased drastically from the previous price. 'W-What?' Even Giselle didn't believe it either. "It's not like I am taking you lightly, Mr. Russert. I am sorry if I offended you, but I just don't believe the situation right now. I need some convincing." The MC talked again. "You really just mentioned $12 Million, right? I heard it right? We settled on $620 thousand at the moment." The man didn't say anything. It was the gentleman beside him, who seemed to be his assistant, who spoke instead. "That's true. " "Wow, Mr. Russert made such a generous bid. The price has skyrocketed to $12 million, can you believe that?! Is there any bigger offer? Anyone?" The guests were more passive than usual. Not even one person raised their bidding cards anymore. Everyone just looked down and discussed with the people beside them in whispers. Giselle stole a glance at the biggest bidder. He was indifferent to the attention as he sipped his wine again. However, he seemed confident that he had won this session. 'Is he the one who will take me home? Someone who will claim me as his own? My Master?' Her feeling was strange. She was so afraid and nervous about her future, but on the other hand, there was also a feeling of relief. She thought - at least - instead of ending up in the hands of those crazy old farts, the man was the best choice ever. Giselle even admitted that he was quite attractive. Although he looked mature -- around a dozen seniors of her age, he had a face and an indescribable charisma that made him quite easy on the eyes. 'What am I thinking? How come I still have time to think about that? Either way, he must not be a good person to get involved in a disgusting world like this. No one knows what bad luck is awaiting me ahead,' Giselle muttered to herself while lowering her eyes again. "Okay. So, no more bids in this session? The Snow White is finally sold to Mr. Dean Russert for $12 Million. Give a big round of applause for the virgin and her new master!" *** "I can't believe you would sell for that much. But, don't be too proud, honey. I think it's just because you are the first 'item' showcased tonight. This is also his first auction after ignoring hundreds of invitations I sent to him. So I guess he was just bored and wanted to leave early." The Asian middle-aged woman, Madam Wen, greeted her with that when she came down from the stage. She was the host of the event. It explained why she looked the happiest after the sale. "Here are your things! Just leave immediately because they are waiting for you." She glanced at two men dressed in black. They seemed to be the bodyguards of her buyer. "You remember everything I taught you, right? You have to behave well around him. Do according to the contract you signed. Don't even think about making me get into trouble. Understand?" Giselle received her belongings from one of the woman's subordinates. "H-How about my share?" she asked. "Gezz, I will send it later." "You will keep your promise, right? The 20% belongs to me." She needed to make sure once again. "Sure. I will only subtract it from your brother's medical expenses. The surgery was done earlier and it went well. Now, you have nothing to worry about." What a relief to hear that. There was nothing on her mind other than Jeremy's condition. Even when she endured the embarrassment at the auction stand earlier, she always prayed for him. "C-Can I call him? No. Please show me his recent picture, so I--" "We don't have time for that!" Madam Wen shouted in annoyance. "Never mind. Let's deal with that later, Honey. You have to leave now. Don't let my $12 million wait for too long. Go!" The woman pushed her towards the exit where the bodyguards were waiting. As if she was a robot that had been programmed, she followed every command from them. She tried to ignore the fear in her mind. For the money she desperately needed, she was determined to do whatever her new master told her, no matter how humiliating or scary it would be. She was led to the basement parking lot. There were many luxury cars. She was brought to a limousine parked in the most strategic place. She saw another man in black had been standing there and opened the back door for her. There was that man again. What was his name again? Dean Russert? The man who seemed busy with his tablet glanced at her briefly. "Come in!" he said shortly before returning his attention to the screen. "Yes, Master. Thank you," said Giselle while slowly occupying the seat beside him. Calling the buyer 'Master' and speaking politely to him was one of the instructions she got from Madam Wen. It was even written in the contract. Giselle didn't know what would happen, but she knew so well that her life would change after that. Just like how this limousine slowly left the basement of the hotel. ***