I Bought Two Enslaved Men To Save Them From Execution, But I Didn’t Know I Purchased The Enemy Princes
Part 1
I had managed to avoid the brutal reality of the slave auctions for my entire life.
Today, my luck finally ran completely out.
My cruel father, King Craig, forced me into the royal box overlooking the crowded stone chamber.
The unbearable stench of unwashed bodies and pure, concentrated fear made my stomach churn violently.
“Pick one,” Craig ordered, his harsh voice echoing over the jeering aristocratic crowd.
“Pick which one lives, Megan, and which one dies.”
Two massive, bruised warriors were dragged onto the wooden stage in heavy iron chains.
They were shifters, the sworn enemies of our kingdom.
My father always called them mindless beasts, but these men looked like dangerous, lethal warriors.
The first man, Tyler, had golden hair and strained against his bindings with raw, unbridled fury.
The second man, Dan, had striking blue eyes that swept over the room with icy, absolute contempt.
Craig sneered, leaning uncomfortably close to my ear.
“Which one will you take as your pet, Megan?”
“And which one will you let die today?”
My blood ran cold as ice in my veins.
The entire hall began chanting for me to pick one, their voices merging into a deafening roar.
Dan’s piercing blue eyes suddenly locked onto mine, freezing me in place.
I refused to let my father murder either of them for sport.
“Both,” I declared, my voice trembling but somehow loud enough to carry.
“I will take them both.”
My father scowled darkly, but the intrigued crowd roared in approval, forcing his hand.
I brought them directly to my private royal chambers.
The moment the heavy wooden door clicked shut, Dan collapsed onto the cold stone floor.
He was burning with a dangerously high fever.
A dark, poisoned wound festered menacingly beneath his ribs, oozing black blood.
Tyler lunged against his restraints, roaring at me to stay away from his fallen friend.
I dropped to my knees without hesitation.
I tore the bottom of my expensive silk gown into strips to press against Dan’s bleeding side.
“I am trying to save him,” I pleaded, hot tears spilling down my pale cheeks.
Tyler stopped struggling immediately.
His warm amber eyes searched my face for any trace of a lie or hidden cruelty.
He found absolutely none.
Tyler guided me through the difficult process of cleaning the poisoned wound.
For three agonizing days, we hid Dan’s worsening condition from the palace guards.
I bargained desperately with a young chambermaid named Brenda to smuggle an illegal antidote into the palace.
We lived in constant terror of my manipulative sister, Heather, discovering our dangerous secret.
When Dan finally opened his eyes, the icy hatred I had seen on the auction block was completely gone.
He cornered me against the stone wall of my room late one night.
His large, warm hand wrapped gently around my trembling wrist.
Dan whispered, his deep voice sending shivers down my spine.
“Why are you doing this?”
His thumb brushed slowly, deliberately over my lower lip.
“Because it is the right thing to do,” I breathed, unable to look away from his intense gaze.
He realized in that suspended moment that I was not the cruel monster my father had raised me to be.
We hatched a desperately dangerous escape plan together.
During a massive royal banquet, I risked my very life.
I slipped my hand close to my father’s side and stole the heavy master key directly from his belt.
I led Dan and Tyler down a dark, winding secret passage that emptied into the old, forgotten orchard.
Tyler kissed my cheek in profound gratitude before vanishing silently into the thick trees.
Dan stared at me with blazing blue eyes, his fists clenched tight at his sides, clearly fighting an internal battle.
He looked as though he wanted to say something important, but he simply turned and disappeared into the shadows.
I climbed back up to my empty room, my heart breaking into a million tiny pieces.
I truly thought I had lost them forever.
I thought I would never see those striking blue eyes again.
Suddenly, the warning horns shattered the midnight silence of the palace.
Screams erupted from the courtyard below.
Flames bloomed brightly across the southern terrace, painting the night sky a violent orange.
The shifter army had somehow breached the impenetrable palace gates.
I ran blindly down the long corridor, my silk slippers skidding on the polished stone floor.
A feral enemy shifter burst from the shadows.
He grabbed a fistful of my hair and slammed me brutally into a woven tapestry.
He bared his sharp, dripping fangs, leaning in close, ready to rip my throat completely out.
