Sold to the Highest Bidder

7. New home

When I woke up, I had no idea of where I was.  My head was hurting and I felt odd, not to mention I was feeling incredibly thirsty.

"Want some water?" a cold bottle appeared in front of me.  It was a testament to my state of mind that I grabbed it drunk it as fast as I could.  "I'll take it as a yes," the same voice said, with a hint of laughter.

"What?" I started to ask, but then I remembered what had happened.  I realized I was in a moving vehicle, and that the man next to me was Dillan, the one who had bought me.  I realized I had been sleeping, using him as a pillow, and moved as far away as I could.  I noticed my body was hurting, most likely because of the position I had been sleeping in.

"You have been sleeping for a few hours, we are almost at my house.  Don't worry, I have all your things with me and I made sure no harm was done to you."

I said nothing, because there was nothing to say, but I didn't trust him.  Sure, he had been decent so far, but it was one thing what he did and say in front of me, and what he could do when I was passed out.  Trusting him could be a big mistake, and I couldn't afford to make any.

I looked out the window, we were surrounded by forest, and I could tell that the road we were traveling was a secondary one.  It was well kept, but it looked like not many people used it.  Looking back, I saw a few cars following us.  We were traveling in a caravan of at least five cars.  Just how powerful was this man?  I felt sad, my chances of escaping were getting dimmer. 

"Look ahead," the man instructed, "just after the curve you will be able to see your new home."

I did as instructed, and in a few minutes I saw the huge manor that was going to be my new jail.  It was beautiful, I had to agree, and it was very isolated.  It was perfect for a family of lion shifters, but I wasn't sure if it was going to be a good or bad thing for me.  Being so far away from others could help me if I could shift to my animal and run, but at the same time, they knew the terrain and following me could be easy for them.  I tried to convince myself that I had time, I couldn't be hasty, I needed to plan and to be prepared for whatever they decided to throw at me.  I had to take things one day at a time. 

The car stopped in front of the door, and people started getting out of all the cars around them.  A group of them moved to surround the car and I could tell they were getting ready to stop me if I tried to run away.  This was even worse than the first time.  Getting away from four guys had been impossible, trying to get away from a dozen was something not even worth considering.  

"Welcome back, bro," a guy walked out of the house, yelling at the top of his lungs.  "How did things go?"

"As well as they could go," he responded.  "Dan, let me introduce you to..." he cut himself and looked at me, as if realizing for the first time that he didn't have my name.  I knew that the Elder didn't care about me as a person, just my ability to have cubs, but still, that he hadn't even given them my name was hurtful.  "What's your name?"

"Do you care?" I challenged him.

"I do, or I wouldn't be asking."

I considered refusing to answer, but it wouldn't do me any good.  He had bought me, he could decide he could also name me whatever he wanted.  "My name is Penelope."

"Well, welcome to your new home, Penelope.  This is my brother Dan, Dominic and Demian should join us later."

"Nice to meet you," Dan greeted me with a smile, that I didn't return.  I wasn't going to play their game and pretend I was there as a guest.  

"I'll explain everything later," Dillan told his brother.  "Things are more complicated than I first thought and we will have to be very careful," I wasn't sure what he was saying, but I knew it was about me.  "Come Penelope, I will take you to your room."

"You mean my cell?" I replied bitterly.  Dan's look would have been funny if we were in a different situation, but instead it was tragic. 

"I get you are angry, and that the situation is hard for you.  Believe me, I thought that you were on board when the Elder first called us about a breeding female he had found.  This is a very difficult situation, for the both of us, and we will have to find a way to make the best of it.  I'll try to make this as painless for you as I can, and believe me, from what I heard back there, others wouldn't be as considerate, but you will have to cooperate with me.  Help me help you," he sounded so sincere that I wanted to believe him, but I couldn't, it was too good to be true.

"If you really wanted to help me, then you would let me go," I said, but I knew that a few words wouldn't change his mind.  And I kind of understood his position, from what the Elder had said, he would suffer consequences too if I didn't produce the cubs he wanted. 

"You know it wouldn't help much, the rest of them would look for you and next time, things could be worse," he said, but I felt it wasn't a threat, it was just the truth.

"I can't be thankful for the situation, even if it could be worse, it's still a bad situation for me. I'm a prisoner, and I will be breed against my will," I felt like crying, like every time I thought about it.

"Brother?" Dan asked, he sounded a little confused.

"We will discuss this later, when our brothers arrive," his words let no room for discussion, but I wasn't sure if it was good news for me, or bad.  I had no idea where I stood with him, but at least he had been half decent so far.  I needed to give him some credit, things could be worse.  "I'll take you to your room, I have your things, plus a few things that I prepared for you so you can freshen up.  My other two brothers will join us for dinner, and after all we can have a discussion.  I know you are involved in this, and I promise I will take your opinion into account, but there are a few things that we can't ignore or get around."

"I understand," I finally accepted.  At least that would buy me some time. 

"Good, then follow me."

I noticed one of the guards was carrying my bag, I wanted to grab it, but decided to let things go and see how it would play out.  I arrived at a huge room at the end of a hallway.  I couldn't help but see that it would be really hard to get out without being noticed.  Not only I was on the top floor, so jumping out of a window, if they could even be opened, was going to be really difficult, even in my animal form.  If I wanted to get out I would have to cross a lot of rooms and get down a lot of stairs.  I also noticed something that looked like cameras in the common areas and around the house.  If there was someone doing surveillance of the place, they would notice my attempts at getting away.  I also made a mental note to check the room for cameras, I didn't want them watching me all the time, it was bad enough that they were taking control of my life, but I wanted to have at least some privacy.  

"I'll give you some time to freshen up, I will send someone with some food for you, since you missed breakfast and lunch.  Just enough to keep you until dinner."

"Thank you," I said.  No matter how bad my situation was, I had to admit he was really trying, and I wanted to let him know that. 

"I'm sorry for the situation," he said, closing the door.  I heard the lock engage, and then his voice from the other side.  "I know you will try to escape, I don't blame you, but you have to know that I will do my best to stop you.  It's what's best for both of us."

I wanted to be angry at him, but he was right.  He needed to be cautious because I had every intention of escaping as soon as I could.  Even if he was acting like a good guy, I couldn't be complacent, my life was on the line. 

I faced the room. I knew that trying to set it on fire wouldn't work a second time, he was already warned about my previous tactic, so I needed to think of something else. The room was very luxurious, and in different circumstances, I would have loved it, but no matter how beautiful, it was still a prison.  The bathroom was just as grand, and the walk-in closet was full of clothes, I even found a few that I liked.

I was still feeling a little sick because of the drug they had given me, so after going around the room without finding a clear mean to escape, I decided to lay down.  I didn't want to sleep, but I was more tired than I realized and eventually fell asleep.