"One billion!"
"One billion five hundred million!"
"Two billion!"
"Two billion seven hundred million!"
"....."
"Anyone wants to go higher?"
Elyna faintly heard the voice, although it was unclear who was shouting back and forth. Her hands were tied by heavy chains, joined to her bare feet. She was lying tiredly in a cage due to the effects of the drug given to the hunters who captured her. She was treated like an animal, even though she was indeed a half-animal.
Her bright blue eyes looked empty as she stared at the iron bars that confined her. Her cage was small, only big enough for her to curl up in the cage in a miserable condition.
"Ten billion!"
The noisy voices of the audience could be heard faintly in Elyna's ears. Her eyes were still dizzy, unable to scream even if she wanted to.
Her pack members had been slaughtered by the hunters. Where else should she go after this?
"Sold!"
Elyna's cage suddenly moved and opened, and then her hand was pulled forcefully by a strong man.
"Be careful. I'll cut off your hand if she gets hurt," threatened the neat man who looked down on Elyna.
"Half-werewolf. You're lucky to be bought for a high price," said the strong man sarcastically while handing Elyna to the sturdy man.
Elyna's body quickly moved again to the bespectacled man who used a warm cloth to cover her body. They immediately went out without saying anything else, carrying Elyna, who was sleeping in the man's arms.
***
Elyna's blue eyes opened as the sun began to sink in through the large black curtains that covered the glass window. Elyna tried to get up slowly but fell back asleep when her body ached so much every time she tried to move it.
"How are you?" the cold baritone disturbed Elyna's groans as she lamented her bad fate. It didn't take long before Elyna's eyes met the black eyes of the flat-faced man who was looking at her.
"I ask again, how are you?" the man repeated more firmly. Elyna immediately shrank in fear as her hands tried to cover her bare body with a warm blanket.
"A-a little dizzy," Elyna said timidly. The man slowly reached out his hand to touch Elyna's forehead, grumbled a little, and then went outside to call someone without saying anything to Elyna.
After some time, he came back with a man wearing glasses who carried Elyna out of the auction at that time. His face looked much gentler than the man from before. Unlike other men who looked scary, the man with glasses smiled as he walked towards Elyna.
"Check her, Zen. Her body is too cold for a dog," said the man coldly.
A dog?
Elyna's ears felt itchy after hearing what the scary man called her.
"I'm... not... a dog," Elyna whispered timidly. Her eyes did not dare to look at the arrogant man who looked like he could eat her alive at any time.
"Then what are you?" he asked again. Elyna was silent for a long time before answering in her low voice.
"I'm... a werewolf," she said, although she was not sure whether the man in front of her understood what she meant or not.
"This is the first time I've seen a werewolf so weak that they couldn't do anything when caught by a hunter. Where are your pack members? I thought it was common sense for anyone to stay with their pack when they couldn't protect themselves properly," he commented cruelly. Elyna lowered her head. She wanted to defend herself. But every time Elyna wanted to speak, she felt her lips were too stiff to say anything.
"Stop teasing him, Val. What's your name, Cutie?" asked the glasses man kindly while tidying up Elyna's messy hair.
"Elyna," Elyna answered softly. At least this glasses man had a better attitude than someone he called 'Val'.
"Elyna, my name is Zen, and he is my brother, Val. I would like to welcome you to The Silver Moon pack. Ah, by the way, Val is the alpha in this pack. This is the first time he has ever cared about someone outside the pack. Maybe because you are his mate, he made an exception for you."
Elyna was silent after hearing Zen's words. Mate? Pack?
Elyna, who was believed to never have a mate because she was not a perfect werewolf, suddenly got matched with an alpha who looked extraordinary?
"You don't need to hear what he said. Sleep for now and restore your energy. That's the first thing you should do instead of caring about unimportant things."
Elyna's eyes turned to the cold man called Val. Not important, he said? Finding their mate was the dream of every werewolf out there.
"Sleep," Val ordered again.
Elyna did not rebel, trying to close her eyes even though she occasionally took the time to peek at the man who claimed to be her mate.
"Sleep, Elyna," Val said firmly. Instead of leaving, the man continued to sit on the edge of the bed and stared at Elyna with slightly furrowed brows. Seeing that, Elyna quietly tightened her grip on the edge of the blanket she was holding.
Tears began to well up at the edges of her eyes. When her body had confirmed that she was not in danger anymore, all sorts of emotions that she had kept bottled up finally spilled out as well.
Elyna tried to bite her lip to prevent sobs from coming out of her mouth. But her breathing became even more irregular. After days of being adrift and treated like an animal, Val's little attention succeeded in making her emotions uncontrollable.
Being by Val's side reminded Elyna of her pack members. Where every time she was tired or scared, they would take turns to sleep with her and make sure she felt safe.
"I don't think I can force you to sleep anymore."
Val got up from his sitting position after seeing Elyna start to cry. Elyna thought the man would leave her. But he only got up to get another warm blanket. He used it to wrap Elyna in another layer of blanket. Only when he made sure that Elyna felt safe did he climb into bed to hug the girl.
"If you want to cry, cry. Don't torture your lips like that. No one will forbid you to cry in your room," said Val. Elyna's eyes watered even more because of Val's words. While hugging the man back, Elyna started crying and spilling out what she had been holding all this time.
"They are a good family. The alpha was the one who wanted to take me into the pack even though he knew I was only half werewolf. Sob, they are my most precious family. I promised to protect them when I grew up. Sob, why did I have to be born half werewolf?" Elyna asked in her low voice.
Elyna used her soft hands to wipe her tears. But a pair of strong arms held her back. The hands carefully prevented Elyna from rubbing her eyes too hard.
"Don't blame your blood for everything that happened. It was my fault for coming late, even though you are the Luna in this pack," he said softly. Elyna's face turned even redder. Without shame, she poured out all her fears to the man who had just spoken to her less than an hour ago.
Elyna continued to cry until her voice was hoarse and fell asleep soundly in Val's arms. Her slender body curled up comfortably, occasionally rubbing her nose on Val's chest to seek security. Val stared blankly, not believing that his mate was a young girl like Elyna.
Elyna was indeed cute and funny. But... come on. Val was weak when asked to deal with a young girl like Elyna. He was not a pedophile, nor did he like the usual commotion caused by teenagers.
"Is she asleep?" Zen, who had disappeared, returned with a warm towel and slowly wiped Elyna's forehead to make her sleep comfortable. He deliberately went out to give Val time alone with his mate. But what Zen didn't expect, he opened up an opportunity to see how his brother could act so gently to someone.
Val just nodded slightly while his eyes remained faithfully watching the young face that he had never expected before.
A month ago, he had been quite surprised when his inner werewolf suddenly screamed in the middle of a quiet forest path, saying that in the big forest, there was his mate who was calling them because he needed his help. After searching for a long time, Val found a dead end because the village he managed to find in the forest contained piles of corpses without his mate's corpse among them. The search continued until Val had to attend an auction to get Elyna.
In the modern world, werewolves are rare creatures that are treated like animals. The decreasing population due to hunting forced werewolves to blend in with humans and hide their identities.
Fortunately, the Silver Moon Pack is one of the strongest packs in their country. They are unshakable, so many werewolves depend on their lives to be able to enter as part of the pack. With his connections, protecting Elyna should no longer be a problem.
Val could only feel calm after hugging Elyna in his arms. A strange feeling of comfort ran through his body. It made his eyebrows furrow, but he didn't comment on it.
"I'm done. You know, her face is so cute when she sleeps like this. Ah... Why does she have to be your mate? Even though she's my type," Zen grumbled in annoyance while tidying up his medical tool.
Val didn't change his expression after hearing Zen's words. However, those who are sensitive will be aware that Val's grip on Elyna tightened after hearing those words.
"Don't you dare. She's my mate, Zen," he warned seriously.