Page 12 of Auctioned Wolf Bride

Tannen looked me up and down with vague disinterest. “Sure.”

Viktor jerked the chain and hissed in my ear, “Behave yourself, or you’ll regret it.” I shot him a glare but didn’t say anything.

Tannen strolled up to me. He looked me up and down, circling me. My body warmed, practically burning, as if his gaze was enough to send heat racing through my body. My heart thudded even as I told myself to get a grip. Just because he was doing me this one favor didn’t mean I had to like him. Besides, all of this was an act. He was helping me out of a jam, and that would be the end of it. Once I got home, we’d go back to seeing each other whenever he showed up at Rand’s house, and we’d pretend that none of this had ever happened.

The problem was, something about the situation felt realer than that. If it were fake, my pulse shouldn’t have been racing. His scrutiny wouldn’t make my wolf stir with something that felt uncomfortably like longing.

Tannen came back around and tilted my chin upward. My skin seemed to electrify where he touched. For whatever reason, I couldn’t breathe.

He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, sending new shivers running through me.

“I’m going to get you out of here,” he said. “Just follow my lead, and we’ll get out of this, okay?”

He pulled back before I could answer, his eyes searching my face. I blinked, the only real indication I could give was that I’d heard him and trusted him without giving our relationship away.

Tannen stepped back. “Yeah, she’ll do,” he said.

Damien clapped his hands. “Excellent.” He stepped forward, tugging Tannen away from me. “We take bank transfers.”

I watched as Tannen pulled out his phone. With a few swipes of his thumb and taps of his finger, he transferred over $50,000. There was something surreal about the whole thing. Tannen had just bought me. Literally. In Damien’s eyes, Tannen owned me now.

The thought should have made my skin crawl. It was disgusting. Yet, part of me was almost… excited by it. My wolf stirred with interest. Traitor.

Damien looked at his own phone, nodded in satisfaction, and said, “She’s all yours.”

“Good.” Tannen marched over, holding his hand out to Viktor to take the chain. But Viktor held onto it. When nothing happened, Tannen said, “I bought her. Hand it over.”

“Ah.” Damien stepped forward. “I’m guessing you’re unfamiliar with our safety precautions.”

Tannen’s eyes narrowed. “Safety precautions?” he growled.

“Just as a way to make sure our operation stays secret,” Damien said. “We’ve learned that our clients are a lot more inclined to keep quiet if they’re more… attached to their bride.”

Tannen stiffened, head whipping around. “Bride?”

My own stomach churned with dread and disbelief. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another shifter walking up to the stage, wearing official ceremonial robes. The kind worn by officiants.

“What’s going on?” I blurted out, earning a sharp jerk of the chain as the collar pressed against my throat.

I doubted they would have even acknowledged I’d spoken had Tannen not growled, “I’d like to know that, too.”

“This is a marriage auction,” Damien said. “Just like all our auctions are. It’s easier for us to conceal what we’re doing if our clients come back with a bride as opposed to…” he trailed off, leaving the implication hanging in the air without explicitly saying it.

The officiant had finished climbing the steps and now stood a polite distance away, watching the proceedings with indifference, as though he’d done a thousand of them.

“That’s absurd,” Tannen said.

Damien’s smile froze on his face, then melted into suspicion. His eyes narrowed as he took a step closer to Tannen. “It’s common knowledge for most of our clients,” he said. “Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before.”

I forced myself not to react, even as my gaze locked on Tannen, waiting for his response. I didn’t know what they would do if they found out he was a Silver Wolf, but I couldn’t imagine the result would be pretty. I forced myself to breathe, wondering how Tannen would be able to slip out of the potential noose dangling in front of us.

“You wouldn’t,” Tannen said. “I’m new. I have a friend who’s used your services before.”

“Who?” Damien asked.

Tannen stared him down, his lips a thin line, eyes flashing with his wolf and indicating to Damien in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t about to tell him anything.

When the silence continued for the span of several heartbeats, Tannen said, “You know I’m not going to tell you that. I thought you were all about anonymity.”

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