Cold and shivering, I slumped to the ground with my head feeling dizzy. It was seven days since I left my pack, Moonraven, and ran to the vast outskirts of Seattle from Vancouver, scared that Benedict's men must be hunting me down. But I guess this is the farthest I could get with no money and food.
I leaned on the tree and closed my eyes. The light from the horizon was starting to fade and I could barely see a faint light from where I was because of the tall trees surrounding me. Sure, it was a good place to die, somewhere peaceful and calm. But should I allow myself to just die like this after my parents sacrificed themselves for my freedom? Should I put their efforts into waste by giving up?
I don't think I have the heart to do that. But I also don't know where I can get strength in the middle of wilderness.
I can't help but ponder about some things. Too much trust and kindness were my father's weakness. He trusted Benedict and the people surrounding him too much that he was blinded by their lies and deceptions.
Back then, seeing how kind my father was, I was always proud of him. I looked up to his pure heart and I once dreamt of leading the pack with the same kindness he showed our people. But when I saw how those he trusted took advantage of his good heart, I wished he wasn't good at all. If one is too kind, it is easier for the wicked to take everything from you. What's the use of being good when you will receive no goodness in return?
The same time the darkness finally dawned, consciousness slipped away from me.
I woke up in a dimly lit room, doubting if I was in the afterlife. But after a few moments and feeling the pain in my head, I realized I was lucky enough to be still alive.
I heard muffled voices and cries and that was when realization hit me. I figured out I was tied, slumping in the cold tiles with thin clothes that could barely protect me from cold, and I wasn't alone in the room. There were like a dozen women, barely clothed and tied like me. Some were crying while some remained silent but had forlorn expressions on their faces.
"What's this?" I asked the girl close to me confusedly. I remember I was in the woods, alone and barely breathing. Why am I suddenly in a room with weeping women as if they were to stay here against their will?
"I have no idea myself…" the girl replied in a shuddering voice. "I-I was on my way home from school when a man suddenly grabbed me and put me inside a van. I can't remember anything else aside from that. But I think I know who those people are."
"Who?"
"Human traffickers from underground society. I know about this because my father used to be a part of it… and I know once in a while, like in several months or a year, they hold an auction in which women are the ones to be auctioned."
I was shocked. I didn't know something like this was happening in the city. I was raised in a town in Vancouver and spent my past nineteen years in a peaceful environment with the pack but today, I proved that I am yet to know many things in the world. I can't say that humans alone are the mastermind of this. Wolf shifters have a fair share of evil too and I have already seen it with my own eyes.
I want to shift and save myself from damnation but I was too weak to even move. Besides, humans had long known the existence of wolf shifters. They have advanced weapons to kill us and considering my state, I'd just end up dying so quickly than one could imagine. I better save my energy to see a way out from this hell.
After a while, armed men arrived along with a blonde woman who must be in her forties. She threatened the other girls to stop crying or else she would send them to the stage naked. I gritted my teeth in silence, pinning in my mind the image of the woman so I won't forget.
We were untied and told to go out without creating a fuss. The armed men were by our sides, ensuring that we won't be able to escape. I didn't feel the urge to cry. I was furious at how helpless I was in my situation. I was living the life of a town girl peacefully a week ago and now I have to face such cruelty. Moon goddess, what have I done to receive such a punishment? I never did evil to anyone.
The sharp light directed to us on the stage was blinding. The crowd cheered when we were pushed to the stand in front of their eyes, and from their voices, I could say that the majority of them are men, if not all of them are.
When I was put to the stand to be auctioned, my fist clenched at my side as I watched the evilness in every man's eyes looking at me. There were a lot of them and I don't know if Benedict was there or one of his men was, but one thing was for sure at that point. I will be sold to a man like a creature nothing less than an animal. Who knows what will happen to me in his hands, but I will do whatever it takes to survive even if it means losing my soul in the process.
"Two thousand dollars!"
"Five!"
"Ten!"
"Fifteen!"
I looked at the crowd with nothing but the glowing wrath in my eyes. I wanted to kill every man who looked at me as if I was just a thing at their disposal. How I wished I could.
"Fifty!"
"Eighty!"
"One hundred and fif—"
"One million."
The crowd fell silent, even the host was shocked. I was, too. But then weren't these men from the underground society? Their money for sure came from illegal doings. I shouldn't be surprised that they didn't care about spending hundreds or a million dollars just to have a woman sweep off their feet.
"I am surprised, I must say! That is the highest bid so far!" blabbered the host.
My eyes stayed at the sea of men, searching for the man who was willing to buy me for a million dollars.
Then there I saw a man who stood out amongst the crowd. There was distance between him and the people as if he didn't want to be touched by anyone. He wasn't an old man with wrinkles on his face like I expected. He was young, probably just a few years older than me, and his height and build were not average. He was in a dark three-piece suit without a tie, his short black hair was neatly combed back, and his eyes were… amber.
That made me realize he wasn't human. He was a wolf shifter.
"Going once!"
"Going twice!"
"Sold!"
My heart skipped a beat.