Page 9 of Auctioned Mate

This was a place for devils. Angels didn’t exist here.

Had I truly thought there were wings on his back? Nah, that must have been a trick of the light. And now that I could see beyond the lights in my face, I could see the men in the audience clamoring for a bid on my head.

Plus-sized women were all the rage now, huh? None of these assholes would have spared me a glance on the street other than to say something snide and disgusting. The only thing that kept me going while I was frozen in the spotlight was the fact that I knew Rick was pissing himself with how angry he must have been in this moment.

Percy hadn’t given him all the details either. I sensed it along with the choking musk of jealousy I picked up from beyond the general dining area. I sensed other things too, new things and old things, familiar and strange. Good goddess, the place waspacked. Centaurs, human men, half trolls, and full trolls raised their hands every time they wanted to place a new bid.

Popularity had never looked so unappealing. If these were the creatures that wanted to keep me for life, then I wanted to get the hell out of Dodge. I’d take my chances in a forest any day to avoid what I knew would be an awful existence here—or wherever I happened to end up.

My nostrils tingled with the combined scents of sweat, desire, and various species. A shocking number of wolves occupied the audience. Though I couldn’t recognize anyone in particular, I knew they were sitting out there. I knew they were salivating over me. Would it be better to end up with a wolf like me? Or would that be significantly worse?

I clenched my jaw.I don’t want to find out.

Among the thrum of noise, of hearts beating, of body odor mixing with hard liquor, came the surprising touch of something floral. Decadent sensations accompanied the smell, making me feel like I was about to be wrapped in a warm blanket. It was just on the edge of my peripheral vision. It called to me as much as the exit door blinking with its clearly marked red sign.

Macy, run.

Something ancient and powerful resided out there. None of the creatures I saw held the power I felt, but I felt it regardless of being able to see it. Strength like that was intimidating and simultaneously attractive. I wanted to go wherever that energy led. I wanted to be drawn away from this place, maybe even taken to another dimension.

Sweat ran to the base of my spine.

Is that possible at this point?

I took a deep breath while sizing up the crowd. Alright, there was no chance in hell I was going to make a break for it while everyone was watching. It would be better for me to put on a show than to give in to whatever gruesome fear fetish some of these creatures likely had. Predators could smell such insecurities from a mile away. Confidence would get me through the bidding—and then I could figure a way out after that.

Luck was on my side. Since I hadn’t had anything to drink, I had a clear head. Sweet goddess, whiskey sounded like a great idea. But I had to make sure I made it out of here in one piece. Any kind of escape would require every ounce of my cunning and attention to detail.

Which was quickly leaving me as more attention was drawn to my body.

My heart was screaming for help while my head was trying to keep my nerves from frying under the heavy catcalling from the audience. As the announcer continued taking bids, I leaned into being the center of attention and hiked my dress up a bit to expose more of my legs. A few saucy movements had the crowd enticed, whistles and claps of approval echoing throughout the bar.

Except the counter where liquor was served. That space was oddly quiet.

Just push through,I told myself while I sauntered to the right side of the stage.Show some leg. Show some cleavage. Make them drool.

Head up and tits out. That was Percy’s suggestion. I was going to heed it as much as I could without embarrassing myself.

After another steadying breath, I faked a smirk and bent forward, showing enough of the girls to make the vampire at the table in front of me drool. Every set of eyes in the vicinity landed on my melons.

Yep, they were knockouts, and I could definitely use them to smother someone if it came down to it. Years of being locked away meant plenty of time to learn new tricks. Percy would’ve had a cow if he knew all the ways I knew to defend myself. In front of him, I acted weak and subservient. There were parts of me that did it out of obligation, and more conflicting parts doing it for the simple fact that he was my alpha.

But after tonight, he would be dead to me. He could join the ranks of my past along with Rick as I made my escape. It was just going to take some serious manipulation to pick a bozo from the crowd and get him to bid higher than the rest.

Vampires were elegant fighters who typically defended their property with great force. Wolves did much the same, though they could also be reckless if they didn’t have good training with their tempers. Trolls were clunky and bulbous. Centaurs were just plain huge and intimidating.

“Show us your nips, doll!”

“That’s right. Shake it for us!”

“How wide are your hips in centimeters?”

Goddess, I would have given anything to go back to Times Square. At least the catcalling there was better quality. Not to mention the fact it was just plain normal in the city to get treated this way as a voluptuous woman. Here, it was horrifying because I couldn’t chalk it up to toxic flirting.

Here, it meant I was about to get purchased.

My stomach rolled at the thought. How could Percy treat me like this? How could he think that this was going to solve all his problems?

More pain settled into my jaw as I kept up my flirtatious grin.This is what I get for turning down his proposal.

---