Page 15 of Auctioned Wolf Bride

Viktor handed me the chain.

“Here are the keys to the locks.” Damien plopped a set of keys in my hand. “Pleasure doing business with you,” he added. “And congratulations.”

I gave him a curt nod, then tugged at the chain, leading Thea off the stage and into the woods.

Neither of us spoke as we walked through the forest, heading toward Brixton. I kept looking over my shoulder, ears pricked and alert for any signs of someone following us.

When no crunching branches or rustling bushes followed us, and the only smells were those of prey and earth—along with Thea’s honey and lemon scent that seemed to continually interest my wolf—I came to a halt, dropping the chain. I paused for another moment, double-checking to ensure we hadn’t been followed before finally relaxing.

“Let’s get these off you,” I said, gesturing at the collar and cuffs.

I looked at the padlock, and a growl erupted from my throat. Something about seeing Thea chained like this made me bristle with anger. She didn’t deserve this. I wanted to march back and rip out Damien’s throat.

My wolf growled, flexing his claws. He wanted to protect Thea, to make sure she was always safe. Damien had gone too far. But from now on, I’d never let anything like this happen to her again, even if I had to stay by her side at all times. I wasn’t going to let anyone hurt her ever again.

I blinked, clearing my head. God, was the claiming bond already kicking in? It was supposed to take a couple of weeks. But it was the only reason I could think of that would explain this protectiveness.

I unlocked the padlock and threw it to the ground. Thea fumbled with the collar, throwing it to the ground in disgust.

“Could you get my wrists next?” she asked. It was the first thing she had said since “I do.”

I unlocked the handcuffs, and she threw them at the collar. They collided with a loud clatter. She shivered, rubbing her wrists as she stared down at the chains.

“Thanks,” she muttered.

“Are you all right?” I asked, looking her up and down. I tried not to think about what had just happened. The more I thought about it, the more real it would seem, and it was a problem for another time.

I tried not to think about how she looked startlingly good in white. And how relieved my wolf was to have her within arm’s reach.

I’ll be fine,” Thea said, though her eyes were wide and she looked as shaken as I felt.

“What happened?”

“They grabbed me when I was out in the woods, not long after you and I spoke,” she said. “Then I told them I was from Brixton and knew the Silver Wolves. They figured I was too hot of an item, so they decided to sell me quick.”

“Assholes,” I growled. I took her wrist. “Come on. We’ll get back to Brixton, and we’ll figure out the whole claiming thing. We can annul the marriage easy enough. I’m hoping Malcolm or someone will know something about breaking claiming bonds that doesn’t involve one of us dying. And I can do some research.”

“No—” She stepped back, jerking her hand out of my grasp. She looked up at me, glaring up.

“Thea, we’ve got to get you out of here before something else happens,” I said.

“I don’t care,” she said. She looked in the trees, back toward the hideout. “Tannen, there are more of them. Moregirls. At least a dozen in cages in the basement. I can’t just leave them.”

“I’ll call Jameson,” I said. “I’ll tell him what happened, and he’ll send people to come check it out.”

“For all you know, they could move or have sold off half the girls by the time someone gets here,” she argued.

“What is it you want me to do, exactly?” I snarled. “I need to get you home safe and figure out how to break a claiming bond before it’s too late.”

She folded her arms. “I want us to go in and rescue the other girls.”

I stared at her in disbelief. It took all my willpower not to laugh. Because she had to be joking.

“Thea. You were just kidnapped,” I said. “And for the second time in your life. I’m not about to let you go waltzing in and risk it happening a third time.”

“That’s not your decision to make,” she shot back.

I raised an eyebrow. “What? Buying you from an auction block and claiming you isn’t enough of a reason for me to have a say in what you do?” I asked.

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