Chapter 43

Elara

The world around me swam as the man carried me out of the buzzing auction room and into

another private room. Before I could say or do anything, he practically tossed me down like a

sack of potatoes, and I collapsed onto a large, unfamiliar bed.

A moment later, he reached down and roughly unhooked the leash from my collar, and I

slumped against the silken sheets. As I lay there, the room spinning nauseatingly, I looked

around wildly for some kind of exit, a weapon, anything. But my wrists were still tied and even if

they hadn’t been, my body wasn’t cooperating.

Whatever those bastards had injected me with still lingered in my veins, muddying my thoughts

and weighing me down like I had been submerged underwater. All I could do was lay there, limp

and helpless.

The man turned, his hand reaching for the mask over his face. When he pulled it off, I froze.

It was Asher.

Suddenly, the haze clouding my conscience ebbed, if only a little. Just enough for me to realize

what had happened. “Recommended by a powerful figure,” the auctioneer had said.

Had Asher been the one to ‘recommend’ me? For what? Just to humiliate me? Why go to so

much trouble, even going so far as to use his own money to ‘purchase’ me? It didn’t make

sense, but it didn’t matter. All I felt was anger.

“You,” I breathed, my voice cracking. “So it was you.”

Asher smirked, his sharp features shadowed in the dim light. He took a step closer, his hands

slipping casually into his pockets as if we were having nothing but a polite conversation.

“I didn’t think Alaric would get bored of you so quickly,” he said mockingly, tilting his head to the

side. “Imagine my surprise when he decided to auction you off.”

His words slammed into me like a freight train, and for a moment, doubt flickered in my mind.

Alaric wouldn’t do something like this to me… would he?

I shook my head, biting back the nausea and fury rising up inside of me. “You’re lying,” I

snapped, the words slurring on my heavy tongue. “This is your doing, Asher. Why?”

His smirk, of course, didn’t waver. If anything, it grew sharper. “Does it matter whose idea it

was?” he drawled, leaning closer. His dark eyes locked on mine, gleaming with some kind of

sick and twisted amusement. “All that matters is that you’re mine now. My very own prize. I

wonder what Alaric’s face will look like when he finds out that I’m the one who bought you.”

“Go to hell,” I hissed, every muscle in my body straining as I tried to push myself up. My vision

blurred at the edges, my limbs wobbling like a baby deer, but I wasn’t going to cower. I wouldn’t

let him win.

Asher just laughed, the sound low and mocking. “You’ve got some fight in you, I’ll give you that,”

he said. “But you’ll learn soon enough. I prefer my women to be obedient.”

With that, he began to advance on me. I tensed up, prepared to claw him apart with whatever

strength I had left even if my wrists were tied, but at that moment, a deafening noise caused us

both to freeze: a crash.

Suddenly, the door exploded open, slamming into the wall so hard the wood splintered and

cracked all the way down. A rush of air flooded the room, carrying with it the chaos of shouting

voices and heavy footsteps echoing in the hall. I gasped, my eyes widening as a tall, dark figure

stormed into the room.

Alaric.

His face was thunderous—not just cold and angry, but downright murderous. He didn’t hesitate.

Before Asher could so much as move, Alaric’s fist connected with his face. The crack of bone

was sickeningly satisfying, and Asher stumbled backward with a grunt of pain, blood trickling

from his split lip.

But Alaric wasn’t done. He hit Asher again, with as much force as the first time. This time, Asher

fell, sliding to the floor against the wall.

“Alaric,” I choked out, relief flooding through me so suddenly it left me even dizzier than before.

My chest heaved as tears pricked at my eyes, but Alaric didn’t look at me yet. His gaze stayed

locked on Asher, blazing with an anger I’d never seen before.

Surprisingly, Asher let out a low, humorless laugh as he pulled his pocket square out with a

flourish. “You should be thanking me, brother,” he said, dabbing at the blood on his lip. “I’ve

done you a favor, and this is how you repay me?”

Alaric’s jaw ticked, his fists clenching at his sides. “A favor?” His voice was low, sharp, and

cutting—so full of rage it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “You’re still trying to

justify this? I should’ve hit you harder.”

Asher smirked as he climbed to his feet. He swayed ever so slightly, but seemed otherwise

unfazed by the blows. Even now, his wound was rapidly beginning to heal. “You can hit me all

you want, Alaric. It doesn’t change the truth. I just rescued your wife from being bought by

another man.”

“I don’t have time to deal with you now,” Alaric snarled, clearly not buying it. “But I’ll make sure

you pay for this.”

Without waiting for a response, Alaric turned away from him and crossed the room to me. His

expression softened as he took me in—disheveled, trembling, tears streaking in rivers down my

face. I hated that I was crying, hated that I had been so powerless, but when he crouched down

in front of me, I couldn’t stop the sob that escaped my lips.

“You’re safe now,” Alaric said quietly. His voice was softer than I’d expected, so low I could

barely hear it over the chaos beyond the broken door. He reached out, his large hands carefully

working to free my wrists from the silk ties. “I’ve got you.”

Once the restraints fell away, my arms dropped to my sides. I tried to push myself up, but my

legs wouldn’t cooperate. I wobbled, and Alaric immediately caught me, steadying me with strong

hands.

“Easy,” he murmured.

Without another word, Alaric shrugged off his coat and wrapped it around my shoulders, the

heavy fabric warm against my trembling body.

“Can you walk?” he asked quietly, his hands still on my arms.

I shook my head and bit my lip. “I don’t think so,” I whispered, hating how small my voice

sounded. “They… They injected me…”

I couldn’t finish, but I didn’t need to. Alaric could already see how my knees were trembling so

hard they were practically knocking against one another, and how my teeth were chattering from

a combination of the cold and the drug coursing through my system.

“It’s alright.” His arms slipped under my knees and around my back in one swift motion, and

before I could protest, he lifted me off the bed with ease. My head fell against his chest as the

strength finally drained from me entirely.

I didn’t fight it. I couldn’t. But even if I could, I didn’t want to. I just wanted to feel safe. And with

him, with his warm arms steadily wrapped around me, I felt safer than I ever had.

As Alaric carried me out of the room, I caught one last glimpse of Asher leaning against the bed,

his lips curled up into that infuriating smirk.