Page 45 of Auctioned Wolf Bride

I curled into a ball, closing my eyes as I leaned against the bar. For the first time, I felt completely helpless. I was exhausted and worn down. For the first time in years, I bristled at being an absent. If I’d been able to shift, I might have gotten out of here. I might not be in this position.

Who was I kidding? All those years I’d spent trying to prove myself, to show that I was just as good as any shifter. In the end, none of it mattered. I’d wound up in a cage. Tannen was going to run into their trap and die. And I’d be sold off to the highest bidder. Again. Nothing I’d done or tried to do had changed that.

And on top of all that, Tannen was going to die.

Tannen. I opened my eyes, staring out of the cage. He was going to die because of me. Guilt squirmed inside me, and I wanted to scream in frustration. Even if it was only because of the claiming bond, I cared about him. Maybe even loved him. The fact those feelings were forced on me didn’t change the fact that a part of me would die when he did. The thought of seeing him killed nearly made me vomit.

I ran my fingers along my collarbone, tracing where he’d bitten me, where the claiming mark had…

Vanished?

I froze, looking down at the place he’d bitten me. There wasn’t a claiming mark. There was barely any sign that he’d bitten me at all.

I stared, mouth open, my brain trying to accept what my eyes were seeing and its implications. But my eyes weren’t lying. There was no mark, and that could only mean one thing.

Somehow, the claim hadn’t happened.

So everything I’d thought about Tannen, everything I’d attributed to the claiming bond, it had been real.

My wolf growled in frustration, as if she’d known this the entire time and had waited for me to figure it out. I was in love with Tannen. And the things Tannen had told me, his willingness to give us a shot, that had also been real. All my worries about our connection forcing false emotions on us had been wrong.

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I should have noticed something was off ages ago. I’d heard stories about claiming bonds going wrong because the shifters ended up hating one another. Some of them suddenly didn’t even like one another because of the bond.

I gave a breathless laugh, clarity and relief rushing through my body. My hands trembled. The knowledge felt freeing, liberating. New life and energy consumed me. I wasn’t going to lie down and give in without a fight. I couldn’t. I made a mental promise to myself. I was going to get myself out of this, and soon. I started coming up with a plan.

The door above creaked open. My head shot up, and my stomach twisted when a familiar scent filled the air. It wasn’t Damien. It was Viktor.

Suddenly, all my plans and certainties started evaporating. My fingers clenched, and my breathing shallowed. Panic washed over me as my mind started to go blank. Every time I had gone against him, he’d beaten me. Not just that, he’dmade me feel weak. Useless. Like all the stories about absents being useless were true.

The insecurities I tried so hard to ignore flared up. I was already at a disadvantage. What was the point of trying to get away?

The point was that I wasn’t weak, no matter what Viktor said or did. Tannen was right. I didn’t need to prove myself to know that. And even if he won, I still had to try. Not to prove myself, but because of what would happen if I just gave up. Damien and the rest of them would keep doing what they’ve been doing, and Tannen would run straight into a trap.

I hadn’t given up before, and I couldn’t now.

Forcing myself to go through with the plan, I retreated back into the corner and curled into a ball, leaning against the metal bars. I watched Viktor through half-lidded eyes, trying to look sluggish and tired as he started putting food into each of the crates. At each crate, he would wait to make sure the girl began eating before moving to the next cage.

Eventually, he arrived at mine. “Here,” Viktor said, shoving the food through the opening.

I didn’t move, just leaned against the cage, groaning with my eyes closed, breathing heavily.

“Hey, you,” he growled. “Eat.”

“I can’t,” I muttered. “I’m sick.”

“Eat,” he ordered again.

I didn’t respond. I wondered if he could hear my thundering heartbeat as much as I tried to steady it. I didn’t know what would happen if this went wrong—and there was a strong chance it would—but I couldn’t just take all of this lying down.

When I continued not to move, Viktor swore under his breath, and I heard a rattling of keys. Grumbling, he opened the cage and marched in.

“If you’re not going to eat, I’ll force-feed you,” he snarled.

“Do you want me throwing it all up on you?” I asked innocently.

He growled, his eyes flashing with anger. He grabbed the tray and marched over.

“Listen here, you little—”

---