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.

all that, no one else placed a bid. My bid stood unchallenged for more than a minute, right in the middle

their place. Instead, I scanned the room, gave a half-smile, and laughed

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

almost in my grasp. Even Nelson on stage had started smiling, clearly ready to congratulate me.

and

low and clear, firm enough to carry

which

in white gloves, looking down at the raw stone from above like he was examining something

had a bad feeling about

12

An Unremarkable

She turned to Freya and

wrapped around her finger! He's seriously buying that junk stone?

loudly, "Alpha Truman's really going all out, huh? Willing to waste

like you low- class mutts? Watch your mouth!" That one sentence managed to offend nearly everyone in the

harem, huh?" someone shot back. "Too bad, just like these seats, some ladies get the VIP treatment, while others are stuck down here with the

low you're squeezed in with us on the first floor, why are you

spender, but at least she's pretty. That one over there? I

no mercy now. Their taunts came

so furious, her fangs came out, gleaming and sharp,

that the gender war might spiral out of control and land her in the line of fire, quickly held her back. "Celine! Calm down! Alpha Truman is still watching