An intriguing tale about the wolf's mate

One: New Town, New Life

"Am I not enough?" He whispered to himself.

"Please sign this part of the contract, and we'll be done." a man said as sitting across the table before Austin Reese, a 15-year-old boy. It was one of those days when he could barely keep it together.

There was a man who had a reassuring smile as he pushed the papers towards him and pointed to an underline at the bottom of the first page.

Austin picked up the pen beside his hand; it looked as expensive as the man's elegant suit. He hesitated a second before signing his name, not even bothering to read the lines of the contract. He was far from home now, and there was no turning back.

Where is home anyway for him anyway after all, he did spend time in a group home. Orphanage. The place he had called my home for the past seven years after the uncaring stare of his mother when she told him to get out of her house.

"I never wanted you," she spoke, before closing the door quietly like he was just an inconvenient guest, before she did completed suicide after one month.

Ever since that day, those words had echoed in Austin's mind every single night, reliving childhood again and again, trying to understand what he did wrong. Why did his own mother abandon him like that?

Austin didn't even know his father. Maybe that was for the best. He didn't know if he had a family somewhere. He didn't know if they knew he existed. He had spent so many nights hoping that maybe someone would come to take him away, an aunt or an uncle or a grandmother or at least a long lost third cousin. Someone. Anyone.

But no... No one came. Seven years passed, and no one came.

There once was a time when I kept telling myself that everything was all right, he would get adopted, he would get a new family who would care for him and give him a real home. He was looking forward to it. He kept a smile on my face because he knew there would be a family for him somewhere.

But no... No one wanted him. Seven years passed, and no one wanted me.

Well, he didn't have to worry about that now. He didn't even care about where he was going to end up after this.

"I'm not enough," Austin answered to himself in a whisper, burying his face on his knees as he finally accepted his fate.

"You're not going to regret this later, are you?" the man said.

"I won't." Austin said.

"With that, the contract is complete, Austin Reese." the man said. "We'll put this on you for the meantime. I know you won't run or harm yourself, but this helps in your image for the auction."

The man—no, Seth Noel—said again while Austin was looking down at his feet. He looked up to see him holding a metal collar with a sizable length of chain connected to it.

He stilled himself as he placed it on his neck, the metal feeling cold to his skin and making him feel uneasy. Still, it was loose enough to breathe, so he paid no mind. Then another set of shackles was placed on both his ankles with a chain connecting both, its length allowing him enough room to walk.

"Well then, shall we go?" Seth invited as he motioned towards the door, and Austin can't help but feel like he was stepping into a portal to a new dimension. This was it. A new life for him. If it was for better or for worse, he only felt one thing: indifference.

Meanwhile, in the midst of the bustling city, a young man named Jason Gary, roughly Austin's age, navigated the crowded streets with a scowl etched across his handsome features. His frustration was palpable, born of an ordeal he was forced to endure due to his father's sudden illness.