Page 18 of Auctioned Wolf Bride

“They are,” she said. “I tried breaking out the second I had the chance.”

I stared at her in disbelief. She frowned, folding her arms. “What?”

“Nothing,” I said. “It’s just surprising, that’s all. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I wouldn’t have expected you to try and break out on your own.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” she shot back.

The corner of my lip tugged upward. “Clearly, I’ve been missing out.”

A blush crept over her cheeks. She coughed and looked away. “Flatterer,” she mumbled without any real contempt. She walked over to a table and began rummaging. “No keys,” she muttered. She turned toward me. “I’m guessing you don’t have a second set of lockpicks?”

“Never needed a second set for any reason, so no.”

“Anything flat?” Her smile turned wry. “One of your girlfriends wouldn’t have happened to have left a bobby pin in your bag by chance, would they?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Jealous?” I teased. She gave me an annoyed look that somehow only enhanced her features. “In any case, no. I don’t let most women near this bag. You’re one of the lucky ones.”

She let out a frustrated but determined sigh. “All right. Guess we’ll just have to share.” She held out her hand. “Give me the rake pick. I’ll start on this side, you take the other.”

“You know how to pick locks, too?” I asked.

“I taught myself how to do it after the first time I was kidnapped,” she said. “Again, I would have broken out earlier, except I couldn’t find anything to pick a lock with. Granted, you’re a lot better and a lot faster based on what I’ve seen the last few minutes, but two people will still go faster.” Her brow furrowed at me again. “What?”

I realized a little too late I’d been staring at her in surprise and with something close to admiration. “You’re right. There’s a lot of things I don’t know about you,” I admitted.

She gave a smirk that stirred something inside me. For a wild moment, I wanted to clear the gap between us and press my mouth to hers. My wolf tugged at me, wanting to take her right then and there. Not for the first time, I thought about what it would be like to fuck her. Though, I was beginning to realize she wouldn’t be nearly as submissive as I’d imagined in the past.

I shook my head to clear it. This was neither the time nor the place. Besides, it was probably the claiming bond talking.

I pulled out the pick she’d requested and handed it to her. “Let’s move quickly,” I said.

We started on opposite sides. I could hear the opening click of padlock after padlock on the opposite wall as Thea made short work of the cages on that end. I ran through as many as I could, ushering the girls out, removing their collars, and instructing them to wait by the steps. I could hear Thea giving similar instructions on her end. Just as I finished on my side, I turned to see her working on the lock of the final cage.

When she broke out the last person, the girl flung her arms around Thea.

“Thank you!” the girl said. “How did you get out?”

“I didn’t, but that’s a long story for another time. Come on, we’re going to take you somewhere safe.”

The woman went to join the cluster at the stairs while Thea hurried to me. “That’s the last girl,” she said.

I nodded, taking stock of the large group. It was going to be difficult getting out of here without getting noticed, and covering our trail was going to be nearly impossible. But if we hurried, we could probably make it.

“Everyone is going to need to shift so we can run,” I told them. “The instant we’re outside. Anyone who isn’t up for it needs to ride someone else. Understand?”

All the girls nodded. I turned to Thea.

“I’m going to go upstairs first,” I said. “Once I know the coast is clear, I want you to lead the way. I’ll take the rear to make sure everyone gets out of the house. The instant we’re in the woods, wait for me. Once we’re all out, we’ll head to Brixton. You can ride on my back, all right?”

Something in her eyes told me she wanted to argue, that she wanted to go up the stairs first, but she knew this wasn’t the right time to have that conversation. She nodded, her face steely with determination.

“Right, then,” I said. “Let’s get going.”

Chapter 7 - Thea

Tannen cracked the door open, peering through it before opening it a little wider. A hush fell over the group, the silence filling every nook and crevice. I waited, listening for the sound of wood creaking or the soft murmur of voices, something to indicate someone in the house was still awake. But all we heard was the silence of the late hour.

After what felt like an hour, Tannen stepped through the door, ushering the rest of us through. He gave me a short nod, even as I could see the unease in his eyes. After the claiming bond, I wasn’t particularly surprised. He was bound to be overprotective of me. Still, I couldn’t explain why that protectiveness made my stomach clench and my knees weak.

---