Sold to the Beast

POV: Cassia.

The agonizing sounds of my own screams echoed through the cold, damp air of my bedroom, bouncing off the stone walls and ringing in my ears. The heavy leather belt whistled sharply through the space between us before it struck my back again. Fire erupted across my raw, battered flesh, burning deep into my exposed nerves. I collapsed onto the hardwood floor, my knees slamming into the rough planks. My tears soaked into the thin layer of dust covering the wood. I curled my body tightly, wrapping my bruised arms over my head to protect my stomach and chest, but there was no escaping the wrath towering over me.

My father raised his thick arm again. His chest heaved with heavy, ragged breaths, his rage unyielding.

I pressed my bleeding cheek against the floorboards, choking on my own sobs. "Please, Father, stop! There has to be another way! Please don’t give me away."

My tearful pleas fell on deaf ears. The heavy metal buckle crashed down on my shoulder blade. I gasped, the sudden impact knocking the wind straight out of my lungs.

"How dare you defy me!!" he roared. His face twisted with uncontainable anger, the veins in his thick neck bulging against his collar. "You will marry Alpha Darius Thorne, and you will save this family."

Darius Thorne. The mere sound of his name sent a fresh wave of panic ripping through my exhausted body, freezing the blood in my veins. Our once-proud Dusk Pack was teetering on the brink of financial ruin. The ledgers were empty, the debts were crushing us, and in his sheer desperation, my father had sold me to pay his massive dues. He sold me to the twenty-eight-year-old Alpha King. Darius was a ruthless, terrifying billionaire notoriously known across the vast territories as a black beast and a cold-blooded killing machine. His dark reputation for merciless slaughter and unhinged cruelty made grown wolves tremble in their sleep. Tomorrow, I was supposed to belong to him.

The heavy oak door to my bedroom suddenly burst open. My frail grandmother rushed forward, her silver hair flying wildly around her face. She threw her small body between me and the rising leather belt, holding her thin, shaking arms out to shield my broken form from the vicious blows.

"Stop this madness, Gideon! She is your own flesh and blood!" she cried out, tears shining in her wise eyes.

My father did not hesitate or show a single ounce of remorse. He shoved her aside. She stumbled backward, her fragile shoulder slamming hard against the wooden doorframe with a sickening thud.

"Move out of my way, Mother! Her marriage tomorrow is final." he coldly declared, pointing a thick finger at my shivering form on the floor.

He threw the blood-stained belt onto my small mattress. He gave me one last look of utter disgust, marched out of the room, and slammed the heavy door shut with a deafening crack.

I lay alone on the floor in absolute agony. Every breath I took felt like shattered glass slicing through my ribs. Warm blood trickled down my shoulder, soaking into my ragged shirt. The physical pain was excruciating, tearing through every muscle in my back, but the raw betrayal cut much deeper into my soul. I stared into the dark corners of the room. My mind drifted away from the cold reality, retreating to how happy our family used to be before my mother died. I remembered her warm, gentle smile, the comforting smell of fresh vanilla and rain that followed her everywhere. My father used to look at me with such immense pride. He used to carry me on his broad shoulders through the pack lands, calling me his greatest treasure.

After her tragic death, the bright light left this house forever. He married Vallerie within a single year, bringing her and my vicious stepsister Sabrina into our home. Together, they systematically stripped away my dignity. They took away my favorite books, my warm clothes, and my mother's precious heirlooms. They handed me a dirty mop and turned me into a despised, overworked maid in my own home. I scrubbed the sprawling pack house floors on my hands and knees until my knuckles cracked and bled. I served them lavish, steaming meals while my own stomach cramped with unbearable hunger. And my father? My once-loving father simply watched it all happen. He grew coldly indifferent to their relentless cruelty, treating me like an unwanted stray wandering through his halls.

I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees. My battered muscles screamed in fierce protest. I refused to let them hand me over to a ruthless killing machine. Desperate to escape this unloved, torturous existence, I dragged my heavy body toward the narrow window. I forced the rusted metal latch open, swung my legs over the wooden sill, and dropped into the damp bushes below.

I scrambled to my feet and fled into the dense forest. I ran as fast as my bruised legs could carry me. The freezing night air burned my dry throat. Thick, low-hanging branches clawed at my face and arms. Sharp thorns shredded my thin clothes and sliced deep cuts across my bare skin. Jagged rocks and exposed tree roots dug deep into the soles of my bare feet, but I pushed through the blinding pain. I just needed to reach the border. I needed to disappear into the wild unknown.

Then, the terrifying sound reached my ears. The heavy, rhythmic thud of combat boots closed in from behind, crushing dry leaves and snapping thick branches underfoot. They were moving too fast.

"Stop! Come back here, now!" my father commanded, his voice booming through the dark woods.

His oppressive alpha aura blasted through the ancient trees, striking my spine like a physical blow. The sheer weight of his supreme command forced the remaining air straight out of my lungs. My legs gave out from total exhaustion. I crashed face-first into the freezing mud, scraping my palms raw against the harsh dirt.

I rolled over on my back, gasping wildly for air. "Please, just let me go." I begged, hot tears streaming down my muddy face.

My father stepped through the thick brush, his massive enforcers flanking him on both sides. He did not say a single word. His men stepped forward, grabbed me by my bruised arms, and ruthlessly dragged me backward through the dirt. They hauled my exhausted body all the way back to the grand pack house and threw me hard inside my bedroom. The heavy iron deadbolt slid into place with a loud click, locking me inside the suffocating darkness of my room.

The very next day brought no escape. I stood frozen in the center of the grand pack hall, trapped inside a pristine white wedding dress. The heavy, intricate silk felt like a suffocating funeral shroud. The tight, unyielding bodice squeezed the breath from my bruised ribs, hiding the dark purple welts scattered across my back. I stared straight at the massive double doors, waiting with bone-deep terror for a man shrouded in dark rumors. My heart hammered a frantic, painful rhythm against my chest. Every passing second amplified my dread.

But Darius never arrived.

Instead, the polished brass handles clicked open, and a tall, sharp-eyed man stepped into our quiet hall. He wore a tailored dark suit that hugged his muscular frame. He lacked the crushing, suffocating aura of a supreme ruler, but his posture was rigid and dangerous.

My father stepped forward, his fists clenching tight at his sides. "Where is Darius? This is his marriage to my daughter. He should be here." my father demanded, trying his hardest to control his boiling rage.

Garek stopped in the center of the pristine marble floor. He did not flinch at my father's overwhelming anger. "Alpha Darius sends his apologies. He has urgent business to attend to. He asked me to oversee the proceedings in his absence." Garek replied smoothly.

My father’s jaw tightened until a muscle ticked in his cheek. The blatant disrespect hung heavy in the tense air. The terrifying Alpha King did not even care enough to claim his own bride in person.

Garek reached inside his dark suit jacket and pulled out a thick contract. The heavy document was bound in black leather, brimming with strict clauses. He stepped past my fuming father and handed it directly to me.

"Alpha Darius requires your signature. The contract explicitly states you must move to the estate immediately." Garek stated plainly, offering a sleek metal pen.

I stared down at the crisp white pages. The dense legal text blurred beneath my unshed tears. This was the final deed to my life, trading my precious freedom to pay off a massive debt. I looked up at my father, desperately hoping his natural fatherly instincts would finally break through his sheer desperation to save the pack. I silently prayed he would look at my terrified face, see the daughter he once loved, and tell Garek to leave.

His cold, unwavering gaze met mine. He did not blink. He did not soften. That empty, soulless stare crushed any glimmer of hope I had left in my shattered chest.

Heartbroken that he was selling me to a terrifying stranger who wasn't even my fated mate, I slowly took the heavy pen. My hand trembled. I pressed the sharp tip to the paper and signed the bottom line, sealing my grim fate.

Garek took the signed contract back and gave a stiff, polite nod.

Sabrina suddenly glided across the hall in a stunning crimson dress. She stepped close and wrapped her arms around my stiff, aching body, hugging me in a sick, feigned display of sadness. She leaned her head closer, pressing her painted lips directly against my ear.

"I heard your new husband is a barbaric beast who loves to torture and kill people. Good luck surviving his bed." she whispered venomously.

Chills ran down my spine. The warm blood drained from my pale face. I pulled away from her toxic embrace, my stomach twisting into painful, nauseating knots.

My grandmother stood near the bottom of the grand wooden staircase. She watched the cruel exchange with tear-filled eyes, clutching her shaking hands tightly against her chest. She looked so small, so utterly helpless against the unstoppable machinery of our pack.

My father stepped up beside me. He firmly gripped my thin shoulder, his thick fingers digging right into a fresh, tender bruise. I bit the inside of my cheek hard to keep from crying out in pain.

"Do your duty. Remember, you are saving our family." he whispered.

I swallowed the heavy lump forming in my dry throat. I nodded once, refusing to give him the satisfaction of watching me break. I stepped out from under his heavy hand and followed Garek toward the massive front doors.

A sleek black car waited outside on the long gravel driveway. The powerful engine purred like a massive, waiting predator. The silent driver opened the back door. I climbed inside, the heavy white wedding silk pooling thickly around my legs. The heavy door slammed shut, sealing me inside the tinted glass box.

The car shifted into gear and pulled away. I stared out the dark window as the sprawling green lawns and towering iron gates of the pack house quickly faded away. As we drove away from the only home I had ever known, an utter sense of loss washed over my soul. The crushing weight of reality finally crashed down on my tired shoulders, and I couldn’t control the hot tears streaming down my face.