It was dawn when we arrived at the back gate of a grand manor. By how big the manor was, I'm certain it was where Keegan lived. After all, I was about to meet him, wasn't I?
"We're here!" Ron knocked on the wooden door.
My hands were still bound when the old butler let us in. They led me somewhere inside, and I was thankful it was not an underground prison. Nothing worse than sleeping in the cold around the winter time.
This property was indeed beautiful. I passed the exquisite garden and held my step when I saw the familiar white small flower.
Lily of the valley
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A man suddenly appeared on the back.
I turned around and finally met him in person, the one who was supposed to be my master. Keegan Geargo. Definitely him.
As I kept my stare, I knew I was somewhat familiar with that pair of eyes. It was the same shade of yellow that the man had.
"How nice to finally see you," He took a step closer to me, but i'm not going to let him touch a single one of my hair, so I took another step back.
He saw how reluctant I was and nodded, grasping the situation.
Keegan looked back at the flower beside me. He plucked those beautiful flowers, touching each of the bulbs. "Lily of the valley. This was my mother's favorite all the time."
I remembered it. The time when I was all over that man, smiling like a fool. We met nearby the forest I was living in before.
After the avalanche destroyed the village, our pack had to move out and build another place to stay.
He always told me beautiful things about his mother. There was a time when he brought this flower for me, symbolizing the pure feeling he had. But it didn't matter anymore. Once a lie was still a lie.
"Are you thinking of that man?" Keegan said, inspecting my face. "You know, I can tell you one to two about Conrad if you want."
I didn't give any answer for that. Though a little bit of information about him wouldn't hurt, we had to pass the earlier stage first. "What are you doing by buying me, Keegan?"
There was a gasp behind me as I said that.
"How obnoxious!" The butler that opened the gate before, came to me in anger as he slapped me so hard.
"Rupert!" Keegan shouted.
"No, sir. This woman had to understand. She's just a slave that means nothing more than a sow!" He said that while pulling my hair. "How could you talk back to your master!"
"Let me go!" I struggled, trying to pull back my hair from his grasp.
He pulled it even harder. When he was about to hit me again and I was ready to face another slap, Keegan stopped him.
"Stop it!" Keegan's voice was hard. He was looking right behind me to his butler. "Did you not understand about it, Rupert? Or you just bluntly ignore my warning?"
The butler named Rupert, then let go of my hair right away. He was on one of his knees facing Keegan. "Forgive me, Sir. This will not happen again."
I didn't expect Keegan to stop his man. But only for him to hit me right after. His palm landed on my cheek. It was stung and a hundred times more hurt than the butler's slap. "I won't tolerate disobedience. Follow me."
I was brought to another room. There was a lot of whiskey displayed and a desk that I assume was his working place.
He let me sit on the sofa as his men were standing guarding the door. Keegan was a big man wolf like his brother. With his figure alone, he would easily intimidate the other wolf.
He stared at my face, inspecting the wound on my lips. "Seems like I'm not the only one hurting you." He said, looking back at his goon, "Tell me."
There's a moment of silence before Todd cowardly shuttered his words. "Sir.. I.. I just.."
Without batting an eye, Keegan pulled out a silver gun from his waistband, directly shot him in the head. He told his man to get rid of the body right away.
"I told them not to touch you. There's no patience in me for disrespected people. My words are absolute unless my father, the Alpha, says something about it."
His eyes were meeting mine, "That's why you have to be grateful I let you live after what you put before. Keep your head down." He said that, taking a seat right across mine.
As a slave, saying the master name was a direct insult. But he had to understand what he was dealing with when he decided to make me a slave.
"I'm not going to cower, Keegan. Nor let you play a master above me." I kept my stares unwavering as I spoke. "Over my dead body I will bow my head for a kind like you."
I thought he was going to put bullet in my head. But surprisingly, Keegan was laughing when he heard my statement. "Now I understand why Conrad was so into you ten years ago."
"If you're looking for a girl ten years ago, she's dead." I said a matter of fact. She was dead when my brother sold me to this man. Or even, she was dead a long way before when I happily offered my soul to my uncle for Aibek.
Keegan waved away what I just said, He was sure not interested with what I had become, nor that I needed him too.
He gave a sign to his man and Ron quickly gave the silver ring to him.
"This ring," He put it right on the desk in front of me. "I would give this to you freely if you want it."
That meant he was going to free me from my slavery. But I'm not a fool. "Nothing is free."