Damon's POV.

"Find a mate and present her to the council soon, or!!" Alpha Lewis's voice still echoed in my head, the malice in his words dripping. "You'll lose your position as alpha."

I remembered the feeling of rage that coursed through my veins as I'd listened to the council's ultimatum.

I had always known being an alpha without a mate was going to be an issue, but I'd never thought it would come to this.

"You're not a real alpha without a mate," Alpha Lewis had spat. "And if you don't find one soon, you'll lose all that you are."

I had wanted to kill him, wanted to rip his throat with my bare hands and watch him bleed into the ground, but controlled myself and knew I would have to continue playing their games if I needed to survive.

"What's the meaning of this?" I'd growled, my voice barely hiding the rage that threatened to consume me. "I'm a powerful alpha, with a strong pack. I don't need a mate to rule."

"You may not need a mate to rule, Damon, but you need one to secure your position. And unless you find a mate soon, the council has no choice but to remove you from power.”

I stormed out of that meeting, my rage simmering just below the surface.

How dare they? I am Damon Brooks, alpha over the most powerful pack in the land. I didn't need some petty mate to make me whole.

But I knew I had little to no choice as I'd stormed back to my throne room. The council had me over a barrel, and I knew that. That was when I decided to seek out the moon goddess for a deal.

I had always been cautious of the goddess and her powers, but like they said desperate times called for desperate measures. I'd summoned a sorceress, and here we were, standing in the middle of the forest.

"What's taking so long?" I growled, patience thin.

She turned to me, her eyes glinting with an eerie light. "The moon goddess is not one to be rushed, Damon Brooks," she said, her voice low and husky. "You would do well to remember that."

I nodded, my jaw clenched with frustration. I knew I was taking a risk by making a deal with the goddess, but I had no other option as it was the only way to secure my place as an Alpha.

Standing there, the wind whipping around me, my mind began to wander over the events that had brought me here. Always a powerful alpha, I had never been in such a situation where I would be at the mercy of the council and the moon goddess.

The voice of the sorceress cut into my thoughts, "It is done."

I turned back to her, narrowing my eyes. "What's done?"

The sorceress smiled, a bright light in her eye. "The moon goddess has accepted your offer. You will find your mate, Damon Brooks."

"But," the sorceress said, an air of caution dripping from her voice.

An eyebrow rose, and my instincts yelled that something was wrong. "What do you mean by 'but'?" I asked, my tone commanding an answer.

The sorceress took a deep breath before speaking. "The moon goddess's gift comes with a condition, Damon Brooks. You must find the girl she has chosen for you and love her with all your heart."

I snorted. "That's it? That's the condition?" It sounded so easy, too good to be true.

The sorceress nodded. "Yes, but-

I cut her off, my patience wearing thin. "I want to speak with the moon goddess herself," I growled. "Now."

The sorceress's eyes widened in surprise, but she nodded and started chanting in a language I didn't understand. The air around us began to shimmer, and then a bright light showed up to illuminate the whole forest.

Where the light faded, the moon goddess herself was standing before me, treading with beauty both radiant and ethereal.

"You have called for me, Damon Brooks," she said, the sweet sound of music.

I inclined my head in respect, while saying my piece. "I wanted to clear up a point about that condition."

The goddess smiled. "The condition. You go to an auction house and purchase your mate, whom I have chosen to be yours."

I raised an eyebrow. "An auction house?

She nodded. "And once you do buy her, you must treat her right and fight for her love as your woman. Doing so, it will break this curse that happens to plague you and solidify your position as Alpha."

The determination surged deep within me as I knew right then and there I would make sure to get the curse off my back once and for all and seal myself as alpha in the process. "I will not fail."

She smiled, eyes alight with approbation. "I believe in you, Damon Brooks. Now go and may the gods be with you. Remember, you are to care for her and fight for your love.”

Standing in front of the auction house two hours later, my heart began to pulse as it started. I'd had word from my beta, Kane, that she would be here, the mate given specifically to me under the pale goddess's attention-tonight, sold on an auctioneer's whim.

I scanned the stage as I walked into the crowded room; my eyes landed on a figure that made my heart skip a beat.

A surge of pity twisted in my gut as I took in the scene, a frail figure stripped of her clothes standing there with a price tag dangling on her neck. Who would do such a thing to any living being?

But the look in her eyes made my heart weep even more.

There was no fire or even a spark left in them… she had given up.

"Hundred thousand dollars," I called out loud across the room.

The room was silent, all eyes wide in shock turning towards me. The auctioneer's face had brightened, with a greedy smile on his face. "Sold!" he yelled, slamming his gavel down.

Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a big man who looked every bit like an alpha approached me, his eyes narrowing. "Wait! You're the one who just paid a hundred thousand dollars for that Omega," he stated, his voice low and menacing. "Who are you, and why are you paying such an outrageous amount for a wolfless omega?"