The Alpha's Blind Fate
Chapter 216: Side Story 5: Onyx Wins Diamonds

Chapter 216: Side Story 5: Onyx Wins Diamonds

MOON

"Hard enough to break even a hammer, ominous enough to enchant your wives, and clear enough to not be tainted by sin, diamond is the stone that will lead all stones."

At the end of Fionna’s bold declaration, the auction room seemed to be enraptured by the few words that had made for a most audacious statement. Of all the stones, they had of course expected that Diamonds was sure to be a big contender during the auction, but they had all been banking on one twist...

...and that was in the fact that mining Diamonds was not only hard, but the process was one that proved to be very difficult. As such, there was a bad case of rarity which would have worked for the merchants representing the GreenLands if not for the fact that Alpha Dale wasn’t there to look for something just rare, no, he was also in search of something that was saleable and that diamonds just wasn’t that.

"Diamonds are rare," Marcus’ assistant spoke in his stead after the dramatic presentation, "surely Alpha Dale is in search of something more flexible."

Alpha Dae stroked his chin, his beady eyes going from Fionna to Marcus as if weighing who was worth his money and time.

"You must be Kaliga the merchant, I heard you don’t talk."

Marcus said nothing and simply nodded to his assistant who said, "we are here to present to you something far more valuable and exquisite."

The Alpha chuckled, "Rarity also makes for far more exquisite items." He said, his eyes now glued to the glittering clear cut stone in Fionna’s hands. The Red Sister panted slightly, although her eyes betrayed her confidence in the fact that she believed this to be a done deal. Her stone would surely win.

"Alpha Dale," she said, twirling the diamond cut in her hand somewhat dramatically and seductively. "The East has found a new mining ground where we don’t need to dig deeper to get stones. We can assure you of five thousand grain seeds of Diamonds with this new mining area."

Everyone in the room gasped while Marcus j tree d from surprise. Surely the Red Sister was simply bluffing? Five thousand grain seeds of Diamonds? That was my only outrageous but unforeseen. How had they missed this?

"Five thousand grain seeds?" A merchant who was auctioning white clear jade interjected with a scoff, "surely you do not think us dimwits to believe such?"

"But it is true," An Eastern Merchant said with a demeaning smile, "we can assure the Iron Coast of five thousand grains of diamonds supply in just six months of our eventual trading agreement."

Of their eventual trading agreement? Marcus scoffed at the boastful words. He was yet to show his goods and yet some were sure that a conclusion had already been reached.

On cue, Alpha Dale’s eyes rested on his. "The Diamond Hostess strikes a charming bargain, what does the master of merchants himself have to present to us?"

The Eastern Merchant cackled, "I hear the great Kaliga is here to auction his onyx stones. We were just betting on whether the man has finally gone senile or if he has simply lost his touch?"

Everyone in the room cackled at the joke including the ones that were peeved over the looming fact that the East might just yet win this money anticipated auction.

Ignoring them, Marcus stepped forward with a dagger while the girl he had run into earlier glared at him with equal mix of anger and glee. The diamond was still thrusted in between her fingers causing Marcus to briefly wonder how much effort it would take to hold something so small in the position.

So fast that the ordinary eye could not track him, Marcus buried the dagger in the arms of the Eastern Merchant who let out a billowing roar while steam came out from the now burning flesh. The guests leaned in as for the first time, they realised that the dagger thrusted between Marcus’ fingers was not in fact silver as they had thought of it. Instead, the dagger was a gleaming black that reflected the candlelight in the room.

Marcus’ assistant stepped forward, raising up the bruised hand of the Eastern Merchant. "We present to you a silver dagger coated in Onyx element." He declared in a voice loud enough to sound in the room.

The guests gasped as they watched the gaping wound inflicted on the merchant not heal in the least. Alpha Dale stood, his eyes holding a renewed glee.

"You’re at least a Level three shifter," he observed, staring at the wounded merchant with eyes filled with shock and awe, "why are you not healing?"

Marcus’ assistant bowed dramatically. "Here is the Onyx Stone in its best element as a Silver Enhancer. Enough to inflict brutal harm that can’t be healed by even a Supreme wolf, and the most beautiful weapon of destruction you’re yet to see."

Following the very dramatic introduction, Fionna knew that she was in trouble as she literally watched her hard work of six months crumble to the ground. For it was a well known fact that in their world, nothing, not even diamonds, could be comparable to the lifespan and powers of a wolf.

And that was the exact thing the man called Kaliga was selling at the auction. Not just a useless onyx stone, but a chance to possess the one weapon that could cause brutal harm and make one wolf dominate over another. Just the same way the people of the old hoarded silver and wolfsbane.

That night, Kaliga made a proposal to exclusively sell the Silver Enhancer recipe to Alpha Dale, and his Onyx won over her diamonds. In that same manner, her dreams of escaping hell crumbled as she failed a mission everyone was sure she would win.

She vowed to hunt Kaliga through the ends of the earth, but she herself was a slave with no authority over her little freedom. She later learnt that the man who called himself Kaliga was not in fact, Kaliga. Not only that, the real Kaliga was never found... same as the fake one. And the deal that Alpha Dale accepted during the auction disappeared into thin air like dust leading to one of the greatest con in their entire history.

On the day she was to return to the Red Sisters in disgrace and shame, the fake Kaliga appeared before her just at the infamous Wandering Path. Fionna knew it was him for however could she forget that eye of his that was the same colour as her hair.

He was there on the lonely path, waiting lazily for her with his face masked. Why did he come back? She should have wondered. But rage clouded her mind.

"You destroyed my life," she muttered, lunging for him. He expertly dodged it, exhaling a breath that sounded like that of exasperation.

"Did I?" He said, in that young voice that held all the strength of the world. He was certainly not as young as her, even though he was probably older than whatever his true age was.

Before Fionna could lunge for him again, his fist connected with her chin, knocking out her breath until she fell to the floor in a panting mess. She was on her feet immediately, but his feet darted out, landing a swift kick to her belly that caused her body to topple and roll down the rocky terrain. She groaned while his taunting voice travelled to her.

"You are acting tougher than you actually are, surely you can take my beatings?"

Her eyes flashed with anger as she struggled to get back to her feet, her body aching from the fall. Marcus’s eyes gleamed with amusement as he watched her, his masked face a picture of calmness.

"You’re so predictable, girl," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. "You think you’re tough, but you’re just a fragile little thing."

Fionna’s face burned with rage as she charged at Marcus, but he was too quick. He dodged her attack with ease and landed a series of swift punches to her face and body. Fionna stumbled backward, her vision blurring from the blows.

Marcus’s taunts continued to ring in her ears. "You’re not even a worthy opponent. You’re just a pathetic little girl playing at being a warrior. This is just a lesson on how to play with the big bad wolf since you insist you must."

Fionna’s anger and humiliation fueled her determination to fight back. She launched herself at Marcus, but he was ready for her. With a swift kick, he sent her crashing to the ground once again.

As Fionna lay there, dazed and defeated, Marcus stood over her, his eyes gleaming with darkness. "It’s either you’re strong or you’re gone. So tell me which it will be, will you either be here, or will you be gone?"

Fionna didn’t get to answer that query as all she could do was watch his back from the ground she was sprawled on while he left. An onyx stone dropped from him and he never looked back.