Chapter 4: Sold

Chapter 4: Sold Kaya I can’t tell how much time has passed since Damien spoke those words. The silence grows heavier, suffocating, and the more I try to steady myself, the more I struggle to grasp the reality of what he just said. He can’t do this. He can’t give me to that revolting Alpha. I am his favorite—no one else can have me. No one but him. So why did he say that? The deafening ringing in my ears finally fades, and I catch snippets of the conversation between Damien and Camilla. "...give her to him? Don’t make me laugh," Camilla smirks, her voice laced with disbelief. Her doubt offers me a sliver of relief. She knows, too—he won’t do it. "I’m not joking, Cam," Damien’s sharp voice cuts through the tension, and my heart plummets once more. He’s serious. "The deal’s been struck. Kaya is leaving with him first thing tomorrow." I can’t see Luna, but I can feel her gloating from the way the air shifts. Their conversation continues, but I can no longer focus on the words. My heartbeat thunders in my ears, and a wave of bitter bile surges up my throat, threatening to spill. I try to remain silent, but every fiber of my being screams to leave. And so, I wait. I wait for the moment when their conversation ends, and the instant I hear the doorknob turn from the other side, I gasp and dash down the hidden path Damien made for me. I’ve been sold, traded like an object. I had grown too comfortable beside Alpha Damien, believing that my life mattered—that I had some value. But now, it seems my worth was only in being handed over to that abominable Alpha Steven, to become a miserable addition to his harem. I can’t think straight. I run for what feels like an eternity, stumbling, my shoulders slamming against the cold walls of the narrow passage that leads directly to my room. Each breath I take feels like it’s being ripped from my chest, and hot tears burn my eyes, stinging like acid. At last, I crash into the hidden door to my room and wrench the doorknob open, rushing inside as though someone is hot on my heels. Once I’m in my personal sanctuary, I finally manage to exhale, though each breath feels like it’s still being wrenched from me, my lungs burning with the effort. My thoughts are a tangled mess, my head spinning so violently that it feels like the walls are rotating around me. I need to calm down. I collapse onto my bed, eyes squeezed shut, but even the inside of my mind seems to spin wildly, the darkness under my eyelids suffocating me, pulling me deeper into its sickening vortex. I force myself to take a series of deep breaths, clinging desperately to the slight distraction it brings, but just as I start to feel a semblance of relief, the front door of my room slams open with a suddenness so violent it makes every muscle in my body flinch, sending me crashing to the floor. I don’t fall completely––someone grabs me by my limbs and flips me over. My face is shoved into the pillow, and before I can even process what’s happening, a familiar female voice hisses in my left ear, venom lacing every word, "Did you really think that little trick of yours could conceal your disgusting stench, you little whore?" Camilla’s sharp claws dig into my silver hair, gripping it by the roots. The pain is agonizing, and it forces a scream from me, though it’s muffled as she presses my face harder into the pillow, my voice swallowed by its soft, suffocating embrace. She knew I was there; knew I was listening. And yet, she let me stay, allowing me to hear every word. Because once Damien said he had sold me to Alpha Steven, Camilla wanted me to hear him say it wasn’t a mistake. "You stupid bitch," she hisses, each word dripping with venom. "Eavesdropping while your Alpha and Luna have a private conversation, huh? Do you have any idea what I can do to you for that?" Her voice softens slightly, as if she knows, deep down, that in truth, she can do nothing but threaten me. Damien would never let her publicly accuse or punish me, but if he never finds out... That’s when I realize there’s someone else in the room with us. His presence suffocates the air, his pheromones mixing with a sharp, primal lust that immediately seeps into my lungs, making the fog in my mind clear just enough to think. Mateo. Camilla’s beta. He’s holding my arms behind my back, his strong thighs wrapped around my knees, trapping me in a deadly grip. I swallow hard. I know what it means. "Fucking whore," Camilla spits again, her grip on my hair tightening painfully, yanking my head back. Tears sting my closed eyelids as I bite down on a scream, knowing it will only make it worse. "Just because Damien lets you do whatever you want because you spread your legs for him doesn’t mean it will work with others... Well, I guess that might not be entirely true." She smirks, and I know exactly why. Alpha Steven. He asked for me in exchange for his help, wanting yet another whore to use. And that’s all Camilla thinks I am––just a whore whose legs are always open. Suddenly, Camilla’s scent intensifies––an overwhelming, malicious excitement surges through her, forcing her wolf to emerge with an even more threatening presence that presses down on me. "Even though you’re leaving tomorrow, I can’t let you go without one last warning, Kaya." She finally releases my hair, and a shaky breath escapes me as the painful tugging ceases. But then she chuckles darkly and strides toward the door. "Mateo," she calls, turning the doorknob. "Show this bitch where her place is. That place," she adds, her words slicing through the air as she shoots a venomous glance in my direction, "is on a man’s cock." With that, Camilla leaves, the door slamming behind her with a foreboding thud. "You heard your Luna," Mateo sneers, his voice dripping with malice as his free hand begins to unzip his pants. "Now let me teach you one last lesson."