Page 12 of Lion's Prize

I glanced at Braxton. He sat in the front seat, next to his right-hand man, who drove the car. Braxton’s presence filled the car, and the way he talked was with authority. He moved with a strange, fluid elegance that didn’t seem possible for a man of his size. I was acutely aware of every movement—the way he scratched his beard, drummed his fingers on his thigh, clenched his jaw. The way his Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed. They talked about some kind of business, their voices filling the car in low baritones. Braxton was gruff, but it looked like his second in command respected him.

Uma sat next to me, twirling her blonde hair around her finger. When she caught my eye, she smiled encouragingly at me. It didn’t help to calm me. I clenched my hands in my lap, my heart beating too fast, and my breathing was shallow.

Where were they taking me?

We drove through the trees for a while, climbing up, up, up against the mountain.

Finally, we stopped in front of a large mansion built against the mountainside. It hung against a cliff like a bird.

“Take her to her room,” Braxton ordered. He looked at me, and his amber eyes flashed golden. They softened for just a second. “Make sure she has everything she needs.” He turned his back on me, and Uma led me into the house.

The place was incredible. We walked through an entrance hall and through a large living area, with a fireplace that crackled welcomingly. Large windows stretched from an impossibly high ceiling all the way to the floor, and the view took my breath away.

“This place is incredible,” I breathed, looking out over a valley.

“Braxton loves the cabin,” Uma said warmly. “He spends most of his time here, even though he has a house in the city.”

I let out a laugh. “Cabin?” This place was huge. It was a villa, a mansion, apalacerather than a cabin.

She chuckled. “Yeah, well, that’s what we call it. Come on, you’re down here.”

She led me down a hallway with rich wooden floors, and the smell of pine filled my nostrils.

My door was the second on the right, and when we walked in, I turned around, my jaw dropping.

It wasn’t aroom.This place was an entire suite. Couches huddled intimately around a fireplace, with bookshelves on either side. A thick rug lay on the wooden floor, and on the far side of the room was a king-sized bed with posters and a sheer curtain that would block off the room from the sleeper. A vanity with a plush armchair stood against the wall, and next to it, a wooden door led to a large bathroom, showcasing a jet bath from what I could see from here.

“This is for me?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Uma said, nodding.

“This is… not the kind of place I thought I’d be in asproperty.”

Uma frowned before she shook her head. “Right. The auction thing. Braxton bought you, but he won’t treat you like an animal, you know.” I glanced at her, and Uma giggled. “Yeah, yeah, I know how it sounds, with everyone being shifters and all, but still. He’ll make sure you’re comfortable, at least. He looks like a brute, but he’s the most humane creature out there. More than humans, sometimes.”

“Humans,” I said softly.

It felt like a whole different life out here, where the human world I’d grown up in faded more and more to the background.

“Someone will make sure that closet is filled with clothes that fit you,” Uma said, pointing to another door I hadn’t noticed. “We didn’t expect you. You’re free to make yourself at home, but you can’t go outside without permission, for obvious reasons.”

“The auction thing,” I said, throwing Uma’s words back at her.

“Right,” she replied. “It’s going to be okay, you know.”

“Will it?” I asked.

A lump rose in my throat unexpectedly. Until now, I’d been standing strong, keeping it together, but everything about this world was different, and I was suddenly in the lap of luxury with people who acted like theycared. I hadn’t had that in a while, and after being treated and auctioned off like a slave, it was jarring.

“I’ll leave you to get settled,” Uma said. “If you need anything, just shout.”

“To whom?” I asked.

“There are staff everywhere, and if you need me, just ask for me, and someone will find me. Trust me, it’s going to be fine.”

I blinked slowly. I wasn’t sure I could believe that. Nothing made sense, and that was a red flag. Not that my life had made a whole lot of sense since I’d shifted into a rabbit the first time, but this had gone from weird to bizarre in record time.

“Oh, you should know…” Uma stopped at the door. “Braxton asked me to put a spell on the place so that you can’t leave. So, don’t try to escape, okay? It won’t work.”

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