ARTHUR’S POV
My heart lurched forward when I saw the girl standing in the auction ring, about to be sold off.
I was in need of a new handmaiden, seeing as my previous one had decided to fling herself from the third floor of my mansion, inadvertently killing herself.
My day had started with the minor inconvenience of acquiring a new maid. But when I saw the slave girl on display on the stage, I was glad about the inconveniences.
Because fate had brought me to her.
One look at that stubborn vibrant green in her eyes and I knew immediately who she was.
Fiona Lockwood. The daughter of the man I had been keeping tabs on since he took everything I loved dearly from me.
Long ago, I made a promise to my family to protect them from the vicious werewolf slayer. A promise I couldn't keep after he took them from me, beheading them right in front of my eyes and awakening the evil monster in me.
The monster that wouldn't rest until ever single one of these filthy humans knew where they belonged; right beneath our feet.
Waves of anger washed over me and I fisted my hands tight as a bitter memory made itself to the surface of my mind. I swallowed and pushed it back, biting my lip against the pain that came with it.
Viktor Lockwood will pay for everything he took from me but the man had been in hiding for a long time, almost like he disappeared from the face of the earth.
But I knew, I knew the vermin was still alive and was only bidding his time until he sees the perfect opportunity to take me down.
An opportunity I would never give him.
And now, I practically had his daughter - I had the upper hand.
It didn't help that his daughter was his spitting image and anticipation thrummed through my veins, cradling my bones at the thought of defiling his spawn, tearing her apart to the point where there is no hope of putting her back together. Tossing her at his feet, miserable and broken.
My eyes gleamed as I followed the movement of her body, taking in her graceful curves and beautiful face, dressed like the filthy w***e I was about to make of her.
Things had been very boring as of late and my wolf was salivating at the thought of acquiring the spawn of my mortal enemy and breaking her in ways that haven't even been invented yet, taming her until she purrs and making sure she knows who her master is.
The possibility of drawing out that scum that was her father was an added bonus.
My c**k grew rigid at the gruesome thought of f*****g her on top her father's remains, after I have ripped out his heart and split open his gut with my bare hands.
Perfect.
Fiona was about to be the one object of all my wicked desires, and the thought of sinking my teeth into the opportunity to break her completely made my fingertips buzz with excitement. It also helped that she was pleasant on the eyes.
Maybe she could serve some of my more baser urges when I'm in a lighter mood.
The auction started and I watched, bored as hell as it drawled by.
"Bid to start at one thousand," the auctioneer announced.
A couple of men started yelling prices and placing their bids, squabbling over the opportunity to own her.
But she's mine.
Growing impatient, I made my presence known. "A hundred thousand gold coins," I said, not needing to shout because the entire room fell silent at my voice.
Everyone turned to look at me and the metallic tang of fear and reverence oozing out of their pores and enveloping the air, made my wolf groan in satisfaction.
I loved when people knew their place. When they knew who it was they were dealing.
"A- Alpha Arthur!" The auctioneer gasped and soon, everyone was falling over themselves, tripping over their feet in their effort to bow to me.
But my eyes remained on Fiona who was looking at me as if she had seen a ghost.
I didn't blame them for their shock. It was hard to get a hold on me. I hardly ever showed my face in public and when I did, it only meant that there were businesses that demanded special attention. Tasks that needed to be taken care of by me.
This time, however, I was glad for the little anomaly that had intertwined my fate together with Fiona's.
I walked all the way to the stage, my eyes never leaving hers and her defiant eyes never leaving mine.
I climbed up the platform, not stopping my leisure, steady walk until I was right next to her.
She looked up at me, her sweet floral scent enveloping my nostrils in a way that made me want to sneer at her in its sweetness.
At this distance, I saw that her skin was even softer than it looked, fair and white with hardly any blemishes. Her hair was the colour of beaten gold, lush and curly, framing a beautiful heart shaped face. Her eyes were a piercing shade of green, her cheekbones and jaw were delicate and regal, her lips were as red as wine, perfect and voluptuous, a tiny birthmark above her upper lip only added to her unreal, sensual beauty.
Her eyes glared at me, unblinking, unflinching and her insolence made a new bout of rage curdle in my veins.
My hand shot out and dug into her hair, my fist clamping tight into her golden tresses and I tugged on it hard, tilting her face even higher.
She gritted her teeth in pain and I lowered my lips to graze her ears, my lips pulling back into a livid sneer.
"First rule, love. Don't you ever look me in the eyes. Is that clear?"
She whimpered, nodding profusely, tears spilling out of her eyes as I infused my strength into my hold on her hair, pulling tight to the point where some strands escaped their roots.
Glad that she had properly cowered, I let her go, satisfied with seeing her bow her head in submission even though I noticed the angry, defiant way she balled her fists.
Excitement licked through my veins. A thrilling anticipation cradling my bones.
Oh, I'm going to have so much fun taming this one.
Silence settled throughout the hall as I made the p*****t to purchase my new pet but as soon as I received the receipt, the evidence of transfer of ownership, I noticed her make a mad dash for the door.
My hand shot out, wrapping around the thin material of her flimsy gown and pulling her back to me, turning her around and delivering a heavy slap across her cheeks that had her collapsing to the ground, the sound of the slap cracking through the air.
Pocketing the receipt, I bent a knee to grab her chin, lifting her up to look at me.
The angry red imprint of my fingers on her face sparked a manic sort of excitement through me and I couldn't stop myself from grinning at the first of many scars I was about to imprint on her skin.
"Rule number two." I crooned to her in a lover's whisper, my hand stroking her hair like she was a good little pet. "If you give me more trouble than you're worth, I won't hesitate to rip your heart out of your chest and feed it to my dogs."
I let go of her chin and watched in simmering satisfaction as a giant sob tore through her throat, the tears that she seemed to have been holding back now flooded out of her profusely, her tiny little body vibrating with the force of her sobs.
Her cries were like music to my ears, feeding the aching void in my chest that had been opened up by her father.
I had so much planned for her. Much more than my excitement could contain.
And by the time I was done with her, Viktor Lockwood wouldn't recognize his daughter. Death would be something she would ache for, salivate for. Something I won't grant her until she was begging for it. And then, I would murder her right in front of her father the same way he did all those years ago.
If she thought she had been living in hell, she was about to find out that things were going to get a lot worse.
That was one promise I was going to keep.