Chapter 9

Kane takes a sip of his drink, and even though he acts unbothered, his eyes are on Ben’s fingers
digging into my waist. I can’t tell if he’s annoyed or happy that another man is touching me. The mate
bond is supposed to affect him just like it affects me, but so far, all I can see is a cold, heartless man
staring back at me. I don’t understand my luck; almost everyone finds a mate that shows some sort of
emotion but not mine; he’s the worst of them all.

“Drink some more.” He tells Ben, “we will finalize the payment in a few minutes, and then you can leave
with her.”

I’m so disgusted by both men. I can’t believe that people like them are just walking around freely; they
should be locked away in cells. I knew that trying to escape now would not be an intelligent choice; I
was surrounded by men who had orders to keep me locked up at all times. Part of me already knows
that Ben would not release me, not with those dirty looks he’s been sending my way ever since he first
saw me. However, I want to stay positive; I want to believe that he will change his mind when he finds
out wholam.

Judging by how he acted when he first saw me, he definitely didn’t know that I was a princess and the
sister of some of the most powerful men in the supernatural world.

Even if he did try anything, I would fight to my death before I let him touch me.

Ben does as my mate says and takes a big gulp of his drink without moving his arms around me. I hate
his touch. I wish to burn his hands. How many women have this man taken without their permission?

The way they spoke, he often bought women from Kane; this wasn’t something new. It was a recurring
transaction, and I was just another woman about to be sold.

Anna watches me with envy in her eyes; what could she possibly be jealous about? I wouldn’t want to
see my worst enemy in the position that I was in right now.



She rubs her ass against Kane, and it angers me so much. My blood boils and I just want to make
every single person inside of here pay for what they’re doing to me. She turns around and kisses his
neck while he conducts business with his guests. Do they have zero respect for themselves? How can
they be that way in front of everyone here? I don’t know why I’m even asking these questions; they
weren’t people that cared about their reputations.

Kane knows what she’s doing, and he knows that it’s affecting me. He watches me now, calculating my
reaction. I know just how much he enjoys seeing me in pain, and I want to hide my natural response,
but it’s hard. Every time I see them together, I feel this stabbing pain in my chest.

I swallow the pain and try not to elbow Ben in his stomach. And that’s when it hits me; Kane loves to
see me upset; what if I acted like I was enjoying Ben’s attention? Would that get him to keep me here?
Not that I wanted to stay here, I just preferred it over getting sold for my body.

I turn around so that I’m now facing Ben. He ignores everyone else and focuses on me. I ran my hands
down in his chest, which was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life. He looks
pleasantly surprised by my actions.

“Keep that up, and we will have to leave this party early,” he whispers to me. “You might turn out to be
my favorite.”

I swallow my disgust at hearing him say that.

Suddenly, I’m pulled out of Ben’s arms and straight into Kane’s. There is absolute outrage in his eyes,
and I want to smile at my first win. I stare at him innocently, and his arms tighten around me.

“Remember,” Kane growls. “You haven’t paid for her yet. Nothing happens until you pay your fees.”
Igape at him. Was that what this was about? Was he truly just angry that Ben hadn’t paid as yet?



My body tenses when Ben drops some gold onto the table and grins at my mate. “See? Now give her
to me, and I’ll be on my way. I may have overstayed my welcome, judging from your hostile behavior
towards me. That’s not something that I want to do.”

Kane let go of me abruptly, “take her. She’s all yours.”

My lips part, and I stare at him in horror. I can’t help but feel betrayed. Where has a man ever sold out
his mate for gold? How low can he stoop? I want to shout and scream at him, I want to call him so
many names, but I do none of those things.

I fight back the tears when I feel Ben grab my arm and pull me out the door with him. I walk with him
down the hallway, the same one I’d run from Kane recently. It turns out that I was going in the right
direction; it’s why Kane had come after me; I’d almost made it out of here that day.

I was finally getting my wish, but I was anything but happy.

We walk through the last door after getting clearance from some of Kane’s men, and then we‘re out of
the house, into the woods.

“You men can stay back here for a while,” he tells his pack. “We’re going to have a little adventure, and
then we will meet you back where we parked the vehicles.”

My back stiffens from the hidden meaning behind his words. He grabs my arm roughly and pulls me
with him deeper into the woods.

“Please,” I beg. “Please let me go.”

He quirks a brow, “were you not eager to be with me just a few minutes ago? Or were you playing with
my emotions? I have to tell you; I don’t particularly appreciate when people play with my feelings. It
never ends well for them.”



“If you just hear me out and listen to what I have to say, I can assure you that you’ll gladly help me get
home to my family,” I assure him.

He crosses his arms, “And please tell me, why would I do something like that after paying so much gold
for you?”


62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda