Chapter 2 TWELVE THOUSAND BLOOD CROWNS
Selene gulped, blinking away her tears and glancing around the room. Everyone was quiet, listening and silently praying they weren't up next.
"Tonight, we have something special... something we all thought had ceased to exist for also a decade. But, right here, in my house, I bring you a pure, untouched breed. One with the blood of a wolf and that of a witch. Selene!" the demon man roared.
Selene stilled.
She could hear the murmurs and cheers from the people beneath the stage, and it had her blood boiling in anger.
She was no one's slave; the moment she figured out a means of escaping, she would run without looking back. She wasn't about to spend the rest of her life being treated like an animal.
"Do not try anything funny out there. He will kill you," the demon guard beside her warned before pushing her out through the curtains.
Selene stumbled onto the stage, almost falling.
Her hands instantly came up to shield her chest and between her legs as she lowered her head in shame.
She didn't want to see the faces of the monsters leering at her body; the mere thought of it had her skin crawling.
The demon man walked over and grabbed Selene's arm, pulling her to the center of the stage where the light shone brightest.
"Face up," he whispered as he pulled at her long, wavy pony behind her head.
Selene hissed in pain, gritting her teeth as her tear-stained, flushed cheeks were forced upward, exposing her at her lowest and most vulnerable.
Not a single woman was in sight.
It was men.
Men of different creatures and ages sat beneath her, eyeing her with filthy, hungry eyes.
She hated it, hated them... hated her family.
"Let me go, please," she turned to the demon man and whispered, hoping her plea would reach the compassionate part of his heart.
"The bidding for the half-blood begins at five hundred gold sovereigns!" the demon man announced, pushing her to her knees.
"Kneel to your masters," he murmured and slowly circled her.
Selene dug her nails into her palms so hard that a faint hue of blood marked her soft palm. Her eyes turned blurry from rage, and she wished for the first time that she could actually curse people as a witch.
However, she was a half-blood, never fully inheriting any trait of her parents.
"One thousand sovereigns," a man bid.
"Three thousand," another countered.
"Five thousand gold sovereigns," a man shouted, waving his hand among the crowd.
The crowd cheered, clapping in celebration for the highest bidder.
The demon man chuckled, "Five thousand gold sovereigns going? And—"
"Twelve thousand Blood Crowns," a deep voice called from the shadows.
The room fell silent.
People visibly stiffened; even the demon man didn't look so enthusiastic, even with the doubled amount of bidding.
Selene instantly felt the shift in the air, and something told her that that elegant, wealthy voice was about to be more dangerous than those shouting and nagging men.
The atmosphere turned cold as a tall, dark figure made his way to the front through the clearing crowd.
Selene watched in confusion as everyone fell on their knees as the man forged ahead, as if he were some noble king or something close to a god.
Cold boots echoed through the hall, as the man in an expensive black cloak approached the stage.
Selene saw the demon man kneeling and bowing; she knew she should probably lower her head like every other person, but her curiosity had her peering to see the face masked by that shoulder-length, silky black hair.
The moment the man stepped into the light, a sharp gasp escaped Selene's lips and her entire body turned icy cold.
The monster king himself came to buy her!
Lucian Drax stepped from the shadows in a perfectly tailored black tailcoat that hugged his broad shoulders. Silver embroidery traced the cuffs and collar like winding vines, while a crisp white cravat framed his pale throat. Dark leather gloves concealed his hands, and polished boots echoed against the marble floor with each measured step.
She wasn't hallucinating; the Vampire King was really standing in front of her!
She'd heard rumours, but staring directly into those crimson eyes had her soul leaving her body in a moment.
"Rise," the man's deep voice commanded as he paused three feet from the stage.
She swallowed hard, her throat suddenly feeling dry and her limbs going completely numb.
The demon man snapped his head to Selene as she still didn't move, his purple-slit eyes glaring angrily.
"You heard the king, obey your master," he murmured, too scared to use his full command.
But Selene was far gone in fear, frozen to her bones.
The devil was purchasing her; her life was over.
In her trapped fear, she noticed four guards standing at the entrance like statues carved from darkness. Their black coats were immaculate, silver insignias glinting on their collars. Not a single strand of hair was out of place, not a single expression visible on their faces. They looked less like men and more like executioners awaiting orders.
Suddenly, two of those guards moved in a blur, climbing over the stage like it was flat ground.
One of them dropped a heavy sack of coins in front of the demon man, and before Selene could realize what was going on, one of them lifted her over his shoulder, walking toward the stairs in long strides.
The jolt from the guard's shoulder forced Selene back to reality, and when she saw that she was already being carried halfway to the exit, her adrenaline kicked in.
She dragged in a long, sharp breath and then screamed, kicking her legs everywhere just to get the guard to drop her.
But none of her screams or struggles fazed the man; he easily carried Selene out of the auction house and toward a waiting black carriage under the bright moonlight.
"No! Let me go, No!" She grabbed the sides of the carriage door as the guard tried to throw her in.
However, with a hard push, Selene was shoved into the luxurious black carriage.
"Mng!" She moaned sharply as her buttocks hit the side of the leather seat before she fell to the hard floor.
She scrambled to her knees, pushing against the door with all her might, but nothing happened; the door had been locked.
She sobbed, letting her tears fall onto her lap in rolls as her chest heaved.
"No... please let me go. I don't want to die..." she whispered weakly, biting her trembling lips.
Is this how I end?
She cursed her father, stepsister, and stepmother in her head; if she had her way, she would get her revenge on them.
Suddenly, the door behind her was pulled open and Lucian entered. He carried the scent of sandalwood and winter, a clean, biting fragrance that seemed to freeze the air around him.
She held her breath and shut her eyes, as if that would suddenly make her invisible or stop the walls from mentally closing in on her.
She expected Lucian to ride elsewhere.
Instead, there he was, sitting like a grim reaper behind her.
They were alone.
No audience.
No auctioneer.
No father.
No nobles.
Just the girl who was sold and the king who bought her.
She was expecting the cold man to say something, or do something, but he didn't. He ignored her completely, reading documents in the dark carriage.
Selene refused to look at him, choosing to stare at the dark floor. She was only breathing because she couldn't not breathe, but she breathed so slowly for she heard that a faster pulse made your blood sing to the dark creatures.
And now, she was locked in a carriage with the king of dark creatures! She prayed he didn't drain her pale.
Gently, the carriage moved, the iron wheels rolling over the gravel as they rode away from the auction house.
Selene felt suffocated; she wanted to scream, to drag air into her lungs, to thrash around on the floor, but most importantly... to kill the man who killed her mother.
As her rage blinded her, she spun around on her knees and faced the vampire king.
"Why did you buy me?" She asked in a shaky voice.
One could see that Selene was beside herself with fear, but her rage and defiance got the better of her at that moment.
Ten seconds passed, and Lucian was yet to lift his head from the document he was reading.
The ignorance got to Selene's bones; she drew closer to him and snatched the document from his hand, heaving heavily as she glared bravely into his face.
"Answer me, you bloodsucking monster! Are you going to kill me like you killed my mother?!" She only managed to finish her questions before her back was slammed hard against the carriage wall behind her.
She wasn't given any time to recover as gloved fingers wrapped around her neck on the carriage floor, a dark shadow fell over her as those crimson eyes appeared right above her face.
"How about meeting your mother, little witch?" Lucian hissed.
