Page 3 of Dark Sold Mate

The crowd openly stared at Silas, trying to figure out who he was and what clan he belonged to. They also wondered why he had to spend that much on a single woman.

He did not care. Let them wonder about it. Let them talk about it. He did not care about any of the things they muttered amongst themselves.

“One hundred thousand,” Silas said.

Gasps filled the room, and the auctioneer smiled wildly. He looked around, “Going…” he waited a beat and repeated it, but when it was clear no one was going to pay that much money to get a woman, he struck the gavel on the table three times. “Sold to the fellow in the back of the room.”

Silas headed to the stage, and people cleared out of his way. He was a man who commanded attention, and people reacted to him accordingly.

His black ops training had been completely washed away. He no longer possessed his planning, discipline, or his control. The only thing that remained was his instinct. His wolf was telling him to do whatever it takes to protect the people he loves.

When Elle stepped off the stage, making her way to him, her scent struck him. It brought back the memories of summer rains and honey. It felt like home to him and reminded him of all that he lost eight years ago.

The handler who brought her over had a tablet in his hand. “You have to make the payment.”

Silas pulled out his phone and transferred the money without a second thought. At that moment, money did not matter to him. All that he could think about was Elle, who was standing right in front of him, staring with an expression he couldn't read.

The handler smiled in a sleazy manner and shoved Elle forward. “She's all yours.” And then he stepped back. Silas bridged the gap between them. As he moved closer, he saw the bruises on her wrists and how she was holding herself in a way that made it look like she was just barely hanging on.

“Hello, Elle.”

Her eyes gleamed with vicious anger, “You.”

The single word brought back eight years of hurt and anger. Silas felt it like a knife stabbing him in the ribs. His wolf was pleased that she remembered Silas.

He never forgot her, not for a single second.

The warehouse they were in continued on with its business. Some were getting the women they purchased, the handlers were leading some to the exits, while the auctioneer prepared to leave.

Silas needed to take Elle out of this place immediately. He needed to take her somewhere safe. He had to think about what he was going to do with the one woman he had spent eight years of his life trying to forget.

But he only stood there, drowning in her smell. The fact that she was there was virtually unbearable. He could not disregard the fact that fate had brought them back together. It was occurring at the most inappropriate time.

She was his mate. She was right in front of him, and the look in her eyes made it clear that she would rather die than forgive him for what he'd done.

Chapter 2 - Elle

Elle stood on the stage with her hands tied in front of her, as she tried not to reflect on how she had found herself in this situation.

Tried and failed.

The warehouse was full of people who stared at her as if she were an object. A thing to be purchased. Their eyes trailed up and down her body, determining her value in dollars and cents, and Elle felt like screaming at them.

But screaming wouldn't help. Fighting didn’t help either. She learned that three days ago, when they picked her up from the street in broad daylight.

So, she stood there with her chin raised high as her mind drifted back to a different life. Back to the days when she had had a home and family and a brother who loved her.

Back to when it all went wrong.

Her parents had taken her in when she was 6 years old. Elle recalled how excited the director of the orphanage was, telling her that she was going somewhere. The director had presented Elle as being a shifter child—one of the few instances when shifter parents had passed away and left their children with human beings.

In retrospect, Elle did not know whether the director lied on purpose or it was an actual mistake. Regardless, the Jones family had embraced her with open arms, thinking they were adopting one of their own.

August had been eight, already showing signs of the serious, intense person he'd become. He was a good big brother, educating Elle on the workings of the pack life, on how to shift, and what it was like to be a wolf.

For years, it had been perfect. Elle had a family. A home. A future. Then puberty hit.

Other shifter children started shifting at the age of thirteen or fourteen. Elle turned thirteen without shifting. The pack was tolerant initially, thinking that people develop at their own speed. There were also shifters who were late bloomers.