Suddenly, there was complete silence in the room. As Hawk glanced at Selena, all carnal activities came to an immediate and complete halt. He had no expression on his face. Everything was silent, other than the jingling of the chains of the pets.
“Ha! so she is still alive,” Hawk smirked.
“Is it true? Is that your daughter?” Alpha James inquired.
He had moved away from Selena and was now glancing anxiously at Hawk. They kept their mates and legal daughters guarded. Touching them would lead to a war, unless they were captured as the spoils of war, or given away as bargaining chips. But no one had ever brought someone’s woman into the slave auction. Cayden had shown his power by humiliating Hawk, and this would divide the group into two factions. James wasn’t sure which side he would support. He didn’t want to offend either.
“Yes,” Hawk’s voice resoundingly exclaimed. “She is one of my bastards that I had given away to Gerald for him to use her as a breeder.”
It was now Cayden’s time to be surprised. “A bastard, you say. Sure, you are not mistaken?”
“Are you trying to insinuate that I don’t recognise my children?” Hawk laughed, which prompted the rest of his men to laugh nervously.
“I am prone to confusion. There is a great deal of them. “Again, he let out a hearty chuckle as he continued, “but I know who I sired with my mate and who I sired with my whores.”
In a fit of rage, Selena tightened both of her fists. She could not contain herself and blurted it out.
“My mum was not a whore!”
Hawk arched his eyebrow, but continued speaking to Cayden instead.
“What kind of slave are you trying to train? Is she allowed to talk if her master has not given her permission to do so?”
Cayden didn’t say a word, but Selena could feel his gaze on the back of her head. Cayden made a mental note that he would eliminate Hawk as soon as his power became more stable.
Cayden spoke in a low, menacing voice and stated, “Alpha Hawk. She is a slave of mine. She may speak whenever she chooses. I laid claim to her by slaying Gerald, a close associate of yours. Even if there is a possibility that she is an illegitimate child. She is still your blood. I have showed my dominance over you by capturing her.”
There was a cacophony of gasps.
The angry look that Hawk gave him was clear. “Are you issuing a challenge to me?”
“Interpret it in whatever way that you like. Your influence is dwindling, and you are aware of it.”
Hawk bellowed with hysterical laughter.
“You think you are superior because you fucked my bastard daughter? If I had considered her to be of sufficient value, I would not have given her to Gerald to be used as a breeder. You don’t have any heirs, do you? Accept her as a present from me to you. Perhaps she can provide you with the much-desired heir.”
The gaping hole in Selena’s mouth was obvious. She had not prepared herself for such an unexpected change of events. Her father disowned her, ridiculed her mother, and showed no concern for his daughter. She was on the verge of shifting and lunging at her father when she felt Cayden’s cool touch on her bare shoulders. She was seething with rage. His fingers stilled.
“I aim to fill her belly with my bastard, so that, your honour, what little you have will plummet farther.”
She did not know if he was joking or not, but he was mercilessly ridiculing her through his words.
“And that was his game plan?” She thought.
Cayden was the target of Hawk’s ire as he let out a snarl and pounced at him. Cayden transformed at the same time as Hawk, and the two Alphas barked at each other while flashing their pointed teeth. Cayden was knocked to the ground as Hawk lunged forwards and kicked him with his hind leg. Cayden twisted around and contracted his muscles. He dashed to the corner, where he counterattacked Hawk and brought him to the ground, where he pinned him down. It required the combined efforts of their betas and the other alphas to successfully separate them.
“No,” Selena sputtered out. “Cayden stop!”
Selena trembled in response to the abruptness of his rage.
“We can’t afford to fight among ourselves.” Alpha James raged. “Get a hold of yourselves, both of you.”
Hawk finally squeaked out, “I offered you permission to join this elite club, and this is how you thank me.”
Cayden snapped his head up and scowled at him. In a chilly tone, he asked Alpha Hawk, “have you no sense of protocol? You didn’t kidnap Alpha Baily’s niece to humiliate him after he challenged you, did you not?”
“Are you trying to do the same to me? Why?”
Cayden smirked. “Why? For the sake of power, of course."
“All right, start the auction. I couldn’t care less in all honesty.”
After finishing his sentence, Hawk turned, took his betas and slaves with him, and went away. Selena turned to face him with her tearful eyes. When he was trying to comfort her in the restroom, he had the same expression on his face. A look of pity.
She was thinking to herself, “I am useless for him now.” He believed he held some control over Hawk, but it turned out that the power was gone. Her father despised her as an unwanted bastard and wanted nothing to do with her at all.
He was fixated on her tear-streaked face and red eyes.
“It is time for us to go.” He then made an announcement and turned around.
“Hey! I’d like to purchase the woman. Get the auction started already!” One of the three Alphas that had been tormenting her uttered those words.
Cayden spun around and stared at the man.
“She is all mine! I am the one who will decide her fate. And she is not up for sale.”
Selena was completely taken aback. Even though his eyes were burning with rage, his face remained the same unreadable mask the entire time. He didn’t have to use much effort to convince her to let him wrap both of his hands around her torso. Her nude body could squeeze into his suited body comfortably, which shielded her from the wickedness that was occurring behind her.
Within moments, they were back in their car. Someone had wrapped a robe around Selena, covering her naked body and giving her some sense of warmth. Cayden was leaning against the car and looked out of the window. He didn’t say a word for several minutes. Finally, Selena broke the silence.