Nikolai

"Are you sure she is here?" Alexander asked me as we stepped out of the car.

"Yes. My men have found her." I replied.

Alex was an old friend of mine. He was a part of my pack before he met his mate and joined the Wintercrown Pack. His pack has been attacked, many of she—wolves have been abducted, and today he wants to rescue his mate who is about to be auctioned off.

We walked to there. The building was taller and grander than what I had expected it to be. It looked like a perfect place for a luxury stay but I knew what actually goes down here.

Auction of slaves.

The bidding had already started when we entered so we took our seats. The humans on the stage were between the age group of sixteen to twenty four, of varying sizes, colour and level of training. We could pick and choose which one we wanted according to our taste.

A snarl left Alex's mouth and I glared at him, silencing him. I have no doubt that he caught the sight of his mate—Belle, on the stage. But right now wasn't a good time to lose control.

The emcee kept doing his thing, describing the slaves and bringing them forward. I ignored him.

All of a sudden a slight smile stimulated me. What was that? I wondered. I never had a feeling like that before. I felt the urge of my wolf, he's telling me something. But it was subtle and weak.

Was she my mate?

It should be a very strong feeling when getting close to the mate. But weirdly my wolf didn't give me a clear signal.

My gaze laid on her. I stared at her, trying to figure out what was going on. There was something kind like a connection between us. I wasn't sure.

Her hair was dark, eyes were downcast, her back straight and body still with her hands behind her back. She's gorgeous, wasn't she? She was very well trained, no doubt. I wanted to have her look at me. She was undeniably beautiful, pure and innocent — she was someone who didn't belong here.

"Slave number fifteen." The emcee announced and the beauty crawled forward, "Starting hundred thousand."

"Two hundred thousand." Someone called.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand." Someone else called.

The bid kept going up.

"Six hundred thousand." Someone else said. It was Alpha Alphonso, and yes, Alphonso liked mangoes. What a shitty name. And a shittier person. He was the Alpha of Verdura Pack and was infamous for the way he treated the slaves. And he had influenced his entire pack to brutally abuse all their slaves for the smallest of the things.

I didn't know what had happened to her. But if I missed her this time, I might never found her.

The room was filled with the lust of those filthy men here. Disgusting. I couldn't stand it if my mate ended up in hands of one of those bastards.

"I'm going to save her." I made up my mind.

"Six hundred thousand once, six—" the emcee was saying.

"One million." I cut him off, shocking my own self. My urge to protect her was strong and my wolf wanted to snatch her away from this hell hole.

"What are you doing?" Alexander looked skeptical. I didn't reply. I wasn't answerable to him and it wasn't like I actually had one either.

I looked at Vladimir and he nodded at my silent command. He went to the back stage where they would be preparing her for me now.

The last female was Belle and Alexander bought her, as per my order.

The after party had just begun and now it was time for us to get our slaves.

"All the Masters who have purchased slaves are requested to come and take a seat at the front." The emcee said.

I stood up and walked past the numerous tables and the numerous assholes sitting on them and took a seat at the front on the sofa.

"Before you all are handed your slaves, you are required to test them to see if they are up to your standards." He said.

While it was absolutely normal to test the slaves before you make your payment, I knew that I wasn't going to do that.

The slaves then made their entry, crawling towards their masters. My eyes immediately fell on her. She was just wearing a thong.

My breath hitched in my throat. She was utterly beautiful, more so up close. Purity and innocence radiated off her, how she stayed that way in such a place, I had no clue. When I was handed her leash, I took it and held it tightly, she is mine now.

Her fate was sealed the second I saw her. There was no freedom from me now. My wolf was happy too.

But what confused me was that she wasn't my mate, yet I felt that with her.

I took a hold of her wrist before she advanced further, I could control only for so long.

"What's your name?" I tried asking softly, yet it felt grating to my ears.

"I have no name, Master called me pet." She said softly. She had the softest, most melodic voice I had ever heard.

"What was your name before you were brought here?" I said.

"Avalyn." She whispered so softly that I would have lost it, if it hadn't been for my wolf.

I trail my hand through her thick black hair, in an attempt to console her but she did not move an inch. I wanted a reaction out of her, wanting to know if I affected her in the same way she did to me.

I leaned ahead, past her lips to her ear and whispered, "Don't be scared of me, Avalyn."

My hand was cupping her other cheek. She shivered at that and I grinned. Finally some normal movement!

"Look at me." I said softly. Her head was still bowed down and her eyes trained to the ground. "I said look at me." I demanded in a Master voice and her eyes snapped to mine.

"I will take you away, you will be free, Ava." I said, my thumb caressing her cheek. She sighed and leaned into my palm like a kitten. She was fucking perfect.

I bent and captured her full lips, she hesitated before kissing back.

"Do you feel it too?" I asked, tearing my mouth from hers. She had to feel the spark, the connection I felt with her.

She gave me a small, almost imperceptible nod.

It may not be mate pull but I didn't give a shit.

"I want her back, Volkov." I heard someone snap, breaking our moment.

Of course, it had to be Emilio González, the Alpha of the Montaña Pack.

I shifted Ava to the side and stood up.

"She is mine." I growled out, making my blood hum louder.

"You haven't bought her yet and she was mine from the start." He shouted but I heard the slight tremble in his voice. His blood wasn't as strong as mine. I was a full blooded Alpha and he was a Beta by blood.

"I bought her. You shouldn't have sent her here if you didn't want to sell her." I growled out. I couldn't stand this fucking asshole. I knew he wanted her back just because I had bought her, it was always a competition with him.

"Come here, pet!" He ordered my Ava. How fucking dare he! She was trembling again, confused about what to do.

"She is mine now, González. Tread carefully." I said, standing in front of her, covering her naked form and making sure she didn't follow the piece of shit's order over mine.

The emcee came rushing towards us, having bloodshed here would mean bad for the business. New York was a common ground for all the Packs but that did not mean I would let this go.

He gulped but didn't say anything. When he saw an audience forming, he smiled widely.

"I'll let you have her if she comes to you." He suddenly grinned smugly. I knew this was one of his mind games, but he did not know I had felt more for Ava than just lust, it was a connection that bound us and from what I understood, she did too. It was time to teach this fucker a long overdue lesson.

I took her leash off.

I took a few steps forward and turned towards them.

"I'll punish you raw if you take a single step pet." González growled at her. Fucking weak bastard.

"Come to me, Avalyn." I said.