Alpha Hayley's Destined Mate by Andrea Townsend

Chapter 746 An Unremarkable Stone

Hayley's POV:

The raw stone was completely covered in thick moss. Its surface had a faint reddish tint, and under the light, it looked more like an ordinary rock than a gemstone.

It was about the same size as the first one, but its rough, unremarkable appearance caused a stir of murmurs and disapproval across the room.

The starting bid was set at 280,000 dollars.

In the silence that followed, I called out enthusiastically, "Five hundred thousand dollars! I'll take it!"

The moment the words left my mouth, every pair of eyes turned my way. Some were confused, others suspicious or outright condescending.

A half-second pause later, the whole place erupted in laughter.

"Haha! Whose spoiled rich brat is this, making a fool of herself in public?"

"She looks decent enough; too bad she's just an Omega. Doesn't even have the basic knowledge to tell a rock from a gem."

"Hey, sweetheart, do you know what premium gemstone rough looks like? The lighter the outer layer, the better chance there is something valuable inside. You take that rock home, and your elders are going to faint from rage!"

The man stretched his neck and made a show of looking concerned, drawing a wave of laughter from the

crowd.

of all that, no one else placed a bid. My bid stood unchallenged for more than

out and putting them in their place. Instead, I scanned the room, gave a

known no one would raise the price, I could've just offered 300,000. I ended

was almost in my grasp. Even Nelson on stage had started smiling, clearly ready to congratulate me. Then a sharp male voice cut through the room from the VIP box

and eighty

enough to carry across the hall. Everyone turned to

I followed their gaze, wondering which poor fool was joining me in this

gloves, looking down

brow furrowed. I had a bad feeling

12

746 An

with jealousy. She turned to Freya and hissed, "Why

sister's got Truman wrapped around her finger! He's seriously buying that

really going all out, huh? Willing to waste money just to win a lady's

Celine snapped loudly. "You think Truman's like you low- class mutts? Watch your mouth!"

Truman's got quite the harem, huh?" someone shot back. "Too bad, just like these seats, some ladies get the VIP treatment, while others are stuck

us on the first floor, why are you so smug? Maybe

one over there? I doubt even a man without a

showed no mercy now. Their

sharp, ready to snap back at

spiral out of control and land her in the line of fire, quickly held her back. "Celine! Calm down! Alpha Truman is still watching from upstairs. Don't make yourself look like