Sold to the Highest Bidder

6. Taken away

Everything that happened after that was a whirlwind. I was dragged from the front of the room to another room, where soon the Elder and the man that had bought me joined us in a more intimate place.  At least they weren't holding me anymore, and I was able to take the tape off my mouth.  It hurt, and my arms also hurt.  I knew if I tried to get away they would hurt me again.

“You did great,” the Elder was saying, “the House of Claw is one of the most prominent we have, and you have just secured the next generation,” he sounded so happy. “Are you going to be sharing her with your brothers?” he asked, as if I was just an object and not a person.

“I think we are getting ahead of ourselves,” the man, Dillan, replied. “First, we need to make sure she is in fact able to have cubs, and then decide where to go from there.”

“You must remember that even if you paid, you have to produce at least a cub in the first two years or she will be taken back and given to another man,” there was a warning in the Elder’s voice, but it was clear I was not going to be spared any time or agony in the matter.

“I know perfectly well the terms of the contract, I read it all before coming here, but as I told you, I will have the best team of doctors going over both of us to ensure there is nothing to prevent a healthy cub from being produced. There is no need to make her unnecessarily uncomfortable if there is really no chance of her getting pregnant.”

“As long as you fulfill your side of the contract, I really don’t care what you do or how you do it. But remember, she is your responsibility now, and if you lose her, you will pay for it,” it was like the Elder didn’t want me to be happy or comfortable, it was like he wanted me to suffer.

“I don’t want to go,” I said, but my voice was weak, it was becoming really hard to deny my new reality.  What could I do against all of them? 

"Don't worry, I will do my part," the man said, and it was clear he was getting a little angry at the Elder's insistence.  "Now, I want to get on the road as soon as possible, I have a long way to go before I can take her to my home."

"Understandable," the Elder said.  "Just let me clear the check, and you can take her away."

"Are you doubting me?  You think I would give you a check if I didn't have the money to back it up?" there was a dangerous edge to his voice that made me shiver.  From the Elder's face, I could tell that he was a dangerous man, and I was now in his hands.

"No, it's just protocol, I mean no offense," the Elder said.  "I hope you understand, the rest of the gentlemen wouldn't be happy if they find out that you took the only pure breeding female available without following all the proper steps."

"Do what you need to do, and do it fast, like I said, I need to get out of here soon."

"Of course, just give me a moment," the Elder walked outside, leaving me with the one who had captured me, and the one who had bought me.

"This one is a menace," my captor was saying, "you will have to be very careful with her.  No privileges or trying to go easy on her.  She actually set a house on fire to try and escape.  Luckily we managed to stop the fire on time, or the poor family who was housing us would have lost everything."  It was clear by his voice that he was still angry about that, but it's not as if they were innocents in that, they were the ones who had asked them to help keep me captive, I was just trying to get free.

"Don't worry about that," the man, Dillan, dismissed him.

"She will keep trying to escape, you need to be on the lookout," he insisted.

"Wouldn't you if you were being held against your will?" Dillan asked, surprising both of us with his words.

"We all have to make sacrifices for our people," it was like a mantra for them.

"That's easy when you are not the one making them," Dillan said.  "I know what has to be done, but I will look for the best way to do it, one that is not as painful for her.  You should be more appreciative of her sacrifice, and don't be so eager to see her suffering for this."

"I'm just giving you a fair warning.  It was hard enough finding her the first time, I don't want to go looking for her once again, besides, you don't know the kind of damage she could cause, she is not as sweet and innocent as you seem to think she is."

"Well, as much as I appreciate your input, like you said, she is my responsibility now, and I will be taking care of her from now on.  She is part of my family now, and I will deal with her as I see fit."

Part of his family.  That reminded me that I had no family.  My own parents had given me to them, they had lost the right to call me part of their family.  I was alone now, and I wasn't eager to call that person part of my family.  Despite what my own had shown, a true family was supposed to be there for each other, not to take advantage of one another.  Even if I kept silent, something must have shown on my face, for both of them were staring at me.  

"Don't trust her, that's all I'm saying," my captor finally broke the silence.

"Thanks for the unsolicited advice.  I will do as I see fit," the other responded, with as much finality as he could muster.  It was clear he was done talking, and after that, a long, uncomfortable silence fell on the room.

"Everything is ready," the Elder finally returned.  "I'm sorry for the delay, but you can finally take her.  She is officially out of my hand, and you know what that means, right?" he asked.  "You will have to be responsible for her from now on, her security depends on you.  Try not to lose her, or there will be consequences," he threatened.

"There is no need for threats, and you know how I usually respond to them.  It will be better for all of us if you treat me with respect, just as I do with you," the Elder wasn't happy, but he also didn't fight him on that, that could only mean that Dillan was a powerful person. 

Since mountain lions were mostly individualists and liked to keep away from others like them, we didn't know much about each other.  Of course, there were families, and those families almost always had an Elder who represented them when they visited others groups, but I was as far from that as I could, my first interaction with them being when they decided to make me a breeding machine.  Because of that I didn't know much about other groups, and I had no idea what the Claw family was about or how much power they had.  The fact that Dillan was here had to mean he was the representative of his family, and from the way the Elder behaved in front of him, he had to be a powerful one.  None of those things were good for me.  Even if he was being somehow decent so far, the cold hard fact was that he had bought me, and intended to use me.

"I don't want to go," I weakly protested once again, but none of them even seemed to have heard me.

"Well, if that concludes our business, I need to go back to my house.  I will keep you updated on how things are going, but I don't want you to intrude on my business, so stay away from me," Dillan said, his words a warning.  "Now, if you could bring her stuff, we will be going."

"She has nothing," my captor said.  "You are supposed to provide for her," his last words mocking.

"Are you telling me that when you found her she had nothing with her?" Dillan asked.

"Well..."

"Are you saying that you didn't bother to bring her own stuff when you captured her?"  He must have seen something on his face, because he narrowed his eyes at him.  "Bring me her stuff."

"She is nothing, she owns nothing," the Elder said.

"I own her, so I own her things.  If you are trying to rob her, it's me you are robbing.  I can just ask her what she had with her and you can reimburse that to me."

"Everything she had was burned when she tried to escape."

"So she had all her things with her when you locked her up?" Dillan asked.  "And she didn't try to take them when she ran away?  Do you think I'm stupid?  I won't repeat myself.  Bring me ALL of her stuff, and make it fast, because I want to get out of here as fast as I can, I can't keep wasting my time, I have things to do."

I could tell my captor wasn't happy with the order, but with a quick signal from the Elder, he left the room.  I wasn't sure what that man intended to do, but even if he was acting like a decent human being, I couldn't make myself to trust him.  Having my stuff would certainly help, the clothes I was wearing were not the best to run away with. 

There was a heavy silence around us while we waited.  I wasn't sure what to think about the man, but I knew that I couldn't let my guard down.  After a few minutes the man returned with my bag.  I couldn't believe it was there, but I didn't move, waiting to see what they would do. 

"Take it," Dillan told me, "check that everything is there," he instructed, and I obeyed, mostly because I wanted my things, not because I wanted to follow his orders. 

I quickly went over it, it had most of my clothes, but as expected the money I had hidden was gone.  "Everything is here," I confirmed, "everything but my money."

"Where's the money?" Dillan asked them.

"We left it to the family whose house she burned."

"That wasn't yours to give.  If they were harmed during the work, then it's the Elder's job to pay for it.  I want every single penny back."

"That's nothing compared to what you already paid," the Elder pointed out.

"Exactly, I already paid a large sum, and I want everything that I paid for."  After some discussion, the Elder agreed to write a check.  They asked me how much it was, and I gave them an approximate number, since I wasn't sure exactly how much it had been.  "Right, I think that's all.  We will be leaving now."

"Just one more thing," my captor said.  "We need to prepare her for the trip," he said, and before I had the chance to react, he stabbed me with a needle, and soon I felt something cold and burning getting inside me. 

I tried to move away, but I was already feeling drowsy.  I could hear some yelling, but couldn't understand what was being said, I only knew that darkness was closing in.