Chapter 2 The Monster's Eyes

• All the offers, all the foul mouths, all the contemptuous laughter vanished instantly. No one dared move. That dark silhouette walked towards the scene, positioned himself between my father and the old man. My father's face turned as white as chalk.
• The stranger slowly lowered his weapon and looked directly into my eyes. His eyes... gleamed not only with danger, but also with a strange, burning curiosity.
• "Myrande." he whispered my name like a curse. "It seems your father sold you to the wrong man. Because now you are no one's property. You are mine."
• He reached out to me. Was he expecting me to take his hand, or was he going to drag me away?
• And then I understood.
• I hadn't been rescued. I had simply fallen into the clutches of a true hunter.
• In the midst of that disgusting bargaining in the ballroom, the doors burst open. Entering wasn't a man, but a monster embodying all the sins of the underworld.
• His massive frame filled the doorway as he slowly removed the toothpick from the corner of his mouth and spat right at my father's feet.
• Then he raised the barrel of his gun and fired at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling. CRASH! Glass shards rained down on us, and the hall instantly fell silent.
• "Look at these rotten old hags..." he said, his voice hoarse with pure disgust, not anger. His voice cracked like a whip in the hall.
• "While you all owe me a mountain of debt, you're planning to get a fresh bride here?"
• His gaze lingered on Covin for a moment, as if he didn't even bother to look at him. When his eyes fell on me, I saw how his amber pupils gleamed; Those amber eyes had the gleam of a hunter choosing his prey. The tattoos on his dark skin and neck moved in tantrums, his muscles tensing with fury. He was a complete monster.
• "Fuck," he said, a single word.
• He crushed a toothpick on the ground with his heavy, boot-like stud. He pointed his gun at my father's forehead. My father's face turned ashen, and Covin cowered in the corner, trembling.
• "The auction is over," the man roared, pressing the gun harder against my father's head.
• "Because the girl is mine. In exchange for those port fees you haven't paid for nineteen years, I'm taking this girl as my property."
• My father couldn't utter a word.
• The man seemed to enjoy watching the fear on my father's face. He lifted my father's chin with the barrel of the gun, a mocking, crooked smile on his lips. "Forgetting your damn debts, how dare you start the bargaining table all over again, you balls-brained idiot?"
• The room was throbbing with tension. Every movement of the man was both a threat and a challenge. As my father's hands trembled and rose in the air, the man's amber eyes turned back to me. At that moment, I understood that everyone in this room was merely a pawn; he was the real player.
• He took a step towards me. The smell of gunpowder and tobacco clung to me, making my head spin, as he reached out his hand. He hadn't even put the gun back in its holster yet.
• "Come, my dear," he said, his voice lower than before, but more terrifying. "Your debt is paid, but the game is just beginning."
• Before I could understand what was happening, he grabbed me by the waist with his large hand and pulled me towards him. The hardness of his body burned like a fire against my skin through the thin fabric of my dress.
• Next to this man, everyone in the ballroom seemed like children.
• As he dragged me towards the door, I knew that my father would never rise again from the wreckage he left behind. As we stepped out into the cold night, I felt in my bones that the rest of my life would be a prisoner of those amber eyes.When the ballroom's massive doors slammed shut behind us with a heavy creak, the cold night air outside lashed my face like a whip.
• Xandros was dragging me across the concrete floor not like a human being, but like a sack of potatoes.
• His steps were so firm and self-assured that even the sound of my heels hitting the ground felt like a sign of guilt. He pushed me into the most secluded corner of the dark parking lot, into the shadow of his luxurious black SUV.
• My breath caught in my throat when my back hit the metal body. Xandros still wasn't looking at me; it was as if even making eye contact was a concession for him. His amber eyes were fixed on the void, as if they were in another dimension, pursuing another kind of savagery.
• I couldn't take it anymore.
• I collapsed to my knees, wanting to vomit out all the falseness, all the rotten underworld within me. His hands were still on my arms, so he pulled me down with him.
• I pressed my palms against his dusty, expensive boots, feeling I had no choice but to lay all my honor at his feet.
• "Please," I groaned. My voice trembled with a plea that sounded foreign even to my own ears. "Show me a way to leave, please. Whatever my father's debts are, I'll work and pay them. I'll give years, I'll give my life... Just let me go, let me leave!"
• Xandros, I felt the weight of his boot on my chin. He slowly lifted my head, as if examining an insect. At that moment, I made the mistake of looking directly into the depths of his amber eyes for the first time. There wasn't the slightest spark of humanity in them; only pure, unadulterated darkness.
• "Falcon trash," he whispered. His voice was like poison seeping under my skin. He leaned down, his face so close to mine that I could smell gunpowder and tobacco in my nostrils.
• "You'll have to serve three generations in slavery to repay the debt of your noble blood, that rotten family. Your wretched inheritance isn't even worth my time."
• He narrowed his eyes, a sickening mockery appearing at the corners of his lips. "But..." he said, lowering his voice and bringing his lips close to my ear.
• "If you offer me the juices of your sweet vagina... then things will change. Perhaps then, in a single night, I can erase all those debts and pull you out of that swamp."
• The crudeness of his words pierced my brain like a knife. With a sudden volcano rising from the depths of that honor, that humiliated girl inside me, I raised my hand with all my might.
• Slap!
• The slap I delivered echoed like a gunshot in the silence of the parking lot. Xandros's head was thrown to the side.
• I was breathless, my hands trembling.
• "The only difference between you and those rotten old men inside is that you're young!" I yelled, spewing all the hatred in my voice. "You're the same! You're all the same! You're all slaves to your disgusting desires!"
• I swallowed, forcing the lump out of my throat.
• Xandros slowly turned his head back towards me. The redness on his cheek was the only crack I'd made in his seemingly impregnable mask. He slowly licked his lips, his eyes gleaming like amber embers.
• As he slowly raised his hand, I imagined the pain of the blow that would land on my face, clenching my fists tightly and squeezing my eyes shut as if I were going to go blind with fear.
• When the blow didn't come, I opened my eyes and saw his cold, calloused fingers gripping my chin tightly. He pulled me towards him, leaving not a millimeter of space between us to breathe.
• "My wild little whore." "He whispered, his voice now hoarser, darker, and more dangerous.
• "To provoke me like this will be your end. I must lock you in a golden cage and fuck every cell of you according to my rules, to the limits of my pleasure."
• He ran his hand through my hair and pulled me to my feet with a forceful movement. His hand gripping my waist was so tight it felt like it wanted to burn my skin to ashes.
• When he shoved me towards the car door, the metallic thud echoed through the night.
• I was no longer just a prisoner of my father's debts; I was now at the very heart of this maniac, dangerous, amber-eyed man's insatiable desire.
• The lock was opened. The engine started. And we both knew very well that we had entered a road of no return into that darkness.