Sold to the Highest Bidder

4. Failed attempt

It had been just a few seconds when I heard them calling my name, and soon I heard them after me.  That only made me more eager to get away, but soon they had caught up to me.  I had to stop when one of them jumped in front of me, I tried to change direction, but another lion was already there.  I was surrounded and had no way out, but I had gotten this far and I was not going to stop.  I tried to attack one of them, even managed to scratch him, but before I could press my attack someone tackled me from the side, pushing me away and hitting a tree with so much force that I blacked out.

When I finally came to me, we were halfway back to the house.  One of them, the driver, had shifter to human and was carrying me back, while the other two were still in animal form.  I was thinking how to escape when they noticed I was awake.

"Don't even think about it, or you will regret it," the man said, and he sounded mad. 

I was also mad, what right did he have to be angry?  I was the one who should be mad, I was mad, but I also understood that there was no way for me to get away from them.  When we arrived back to the house everyone was outside, the couple that had received us was watching the house. 

"Is everything okay?" the man carrying me asked.

"The fire didn't have time to extend that much, most of the damage was done by the smoke.  The room is lost, but the rest of the house is intact.  But you, what were you thinking!?" he came at me, and I just hissed at him, since I was still in my animal form.  The man carrying me dropped me, and the leader grabbed me by the scruff.  "I hope you are happy now!" 

He took me to the car, and opened the trunk, there was a cage there, and I knew it was for me.  I tried to fight him, but he managed to get me inside, even if I barely could fit in it.  I tried to push the bars to see if I could get out, but all I managed to do was hurt myself.  He closed the trunk, leaving me in the dark.  I was feeling really claustrophobic, and no matter how much I roared, no one came to help.

Once the adrenaline ran out and the situation I was in really set in, I felt exhausted, and crashed.  When I woke up everything hurt, we were moving and my body was hitting the sides of the cage with every movement.  I was too tired to even try to call them for help, and I didn't have enough space to try to shift, so I waited, and waited, until the car stopped.  The trunk opened and the light hurt my eyes, so I hissed at them.

"I'm going to let you out, you better not try anything," he said, but I was too hurt and tired to try anything.  My previous failure was also affecting my desire to try again.  He got me out of the cage and I could barely walk, he let a dress fall over me.  "Shift, and put that on," he ordered, and I did as he asked.

Shifting was enough to fix the small cuts and bruises, but did nothing to help with my exhaustion.  I dressed quickly, under their watchful eyes.  We were near a park that had some picnic tables.  One of the men was walking toward a group of food trucks, and I guessed he was getting us some food.  We were on the quiet side, but the other side of the park was full of people.

"Don't think about it," the driver warned me.  "We don't want to hurt you or anyone else, but if you try something, we will."

I didn't protest, I didn't have the energy for that, but that didn't mean that I liked my situation or that I was defeated.  I was sure that after getting some food and rest I would be able to start thinking how to get free.  I still had time, even if I knew that I was running out of chances and time.  I could tell they were angry at me, but I was angry at them.  I was sure that in my position, they would be doing the same, or maybe even worse things.  

The food was surprisingly good, and I was starving, so I ate with gusto.  I could hear them whispering to one another, but being in the open, with so much ambient noise, it was impossible to follow them.  I was fine, I had already tried to ask them to let me free and they didn't listen, I was sure another attempt would be equally ignored. 

Once I was full I started thinking about my options, maybe I could try to run, but as if guessing my thoughts, my captors got up and dragged me back to the car.  I was getting sleepy again, and I couldn't help but think they had drugged me yet again to stop me from trying to get away. 

I had no idea how long it was before I woke up again, by then the car was going through rough terrain and the movement woke me up.  It was already late, I could see the sun going down.  The more I looked around, the more familiar the scenery looked, and I started going crazy, I had run out of time.

"No, stop!  Don't take me there!" I begged, but no one was listening to me.  "Please, please, let me go."

"I'm sorry, but we have our orders, and you have your duty."

"What you are doing is wrong!  You can't do this to me," I told them.  "Please, don't make me go there."

"Shut up, just shut up or I'm going to shut you up, and you won't like it."  I had no doubt he was telling the truth, but I couldn't give up.

"Don't you have any empathy for others?" I asked in a lower voice, almost a whisper.

"Like you did with that poor family?" he retorted, clearly angry at me.

"That was self-defense," I objected, "they were helping you hold me against my will.  I had to do something.  The moment they decided to be part of this, they had to know that something like this could happen to them.  It was wrong of them, and they had to expect consequences."

"They were being loyal members to our race, they were the ones in the right, you are the one who betrayed your people, you are the one who should expect to suffer the consequences of her actions.  And if I hear another word out of you, you will regret it."

I was afraid, and feeling alone and hurt, and I was running out of time.  The moment the manor came into view, I felt numb, it was like I was conjuring it out of my nightmares.  I remembered when my parents had taken me there, it was just before my eighteen birthday.  I had felt honored, until they told me that on my birthday, I had to choose a male and start working on making some babies.  The more I heard them talking, the more I realized what their plans were for me, and how trapped I would be if I stayed there.  So I ran, I ran and ran until I arrived to the wolves' territory and thought I would be safe. 

The car stopped, and I could feel them getting ready to stop me if I tried to escape, but a foreboding feeling was getting at me, as if once I stepped inside the house, I would never get out. I was getting terrified, I just knew that if I walked into that place, I would never come out, and I started to hyperventilate and get anxious.  I screamed and kicked and scratched them, trying to get away, as they got me out of the car and started dragging me toward the house, but the closer I got, the worse I felt, the more I struggled, even knowing I wasn't strong or fast enough, I still couldn't just let them get away with it without a fight.

"Stop being so dramatic!" the leader said, as he got something out of his pocket, I didn't see, but I felt as he injected something into me.  "I'm tired of you, I just have to get you inside and then you won't be my problem anymore."

I felt myself fading, all my resistance gone.  I felt them carrying me inside the house, and as the door closed behind me, I felt myself losing hope.  What would happen to me?