Sold to the Highest Bidder

5. Sold!

Waking up in the house was like waking up to a nightmare. I knew what would happen once they dragged me inside, but it still hurt.  Facing the Elder was as bad as I expected, and I could tell that he was finally showing his true face.  He was a sadist, he was enjoying my pain, but he was disguising the situation as something for our kind, when he was just mad that I had dared to disobey him.   When the Elder said that I was going to be auctioned, I felt sick, but I knew it wouldn't change anything, he had made his decision. Getting ready for them was like giving up, but I had no other choice, I couldn't do anything else.

"I thought I wasn't going to be your problem once we got here," I told my captor. He had complained about having to babysit me all through our little trip.

"Well, as long as the Elder says I have to babysit you, I will. It's better to make sure you don't run away, than to have to look for you again. You caused a lot of trouble with your little tantrum."

"You just don't get it. The Elder just said he was going to sell me, as if I wasn't a person. What kind of life do you think I will have? I will probably be r***d again and again until I get pregnant, only for that to happen again as soon as I have the baby. Over and over again. That's not life!" for a moment I thought I was getting through to him, but then his face went blank.

"We all have to make sacrifices. It's your own fault for not doing what you were supposed to do from the start."

I felt so defeated, so sad, but there wasn't much I could do at the moment but wait. Wait and see what would happen, and hope that it wouldn't be that bad, that I would have a chance to escape before they could destroy me. I wanted to scream and cry, but I was doing my best to hold on, I wouldn't crumble while they could witness it, only when I was alone.

I heard someone knocking on the door, and then another one of my captors opened the door. "It is time," he told his leader.

"Don't cause any trouble, or we will have to drug you again."

He was merciless, and I knew he was going to do as he said, so I followed them. I was still going over my options, thinking if maybe it would be better not to be conscious while they auctioned me, but then I decided that it was better if I knew what was going on, I needed to have some control, or at least know what was going to happen to me.

When they opened the door, I found myself in front of a group of men, most of them were old and I knew they were the Elders and other powerful men in the clans. They all smiled and applauded at my entrance, and I tried to backtrack, but the man pushed me forward.

“Let’s welcome our guest of honor!” the Elder that had captured me said.

“You mean your captive?” I said, raising my voice so it could be heard over the noise, and my words did affect them, for the noise died out. “Let’s not pretend I’m here on my own free will, you know if it was up to me I wouldn’t be here!”

“Shut up, girl, this is not the time to be throwing a tantrum. All these gentlemen are here for the good of our people. They will do their part, and you have to do yours.”

“How noble they are, sacrificing themselves by r****g an innocent girl,” I mocked them, and I saw their immediate reaction, they were angry, and offended by my words.

“Shut up!” the Elder repeated, slapping me so hard that I fell down, my face on fire. “Stop acting like a victim. We are looking out for our kind, if we keep going this way we will face extinction. Stop being so selfish and ungrateful. Think about the future generations. The other shifters are surpassing us, our numbers are down, even the bears are growing in numbers. We all will do what we have to do.”

“You are animals, justifying your crimes in whatever way you can. Dress it whatever way you want, the reality is that what you are doing is criminal and you should be ashamed of yourselves.”

I could see the anger in the Elder’s face, and with a gesture to my guard, I was lifted off the floor, and had my mouth taped shut. He also dragged me to the front of the room. He twisted my arms behind me, and hold them there, keeping me standing tall to avoid some of the pain of the posture he was forcing me into.

“We have talked about this,” the Elder said, “and I warned you it would be difficult, but we also agreed this was necessary. And I need to know that whomever takes her will be committed to the cause. The one who gives more money to the cause, will take custody of the girl, and will make sure she fulfills her duty.”

“The girl has a point,” a man from the back said, “we are asking a lot, and we should make sure that at least we are doing things right. Have you confirmed that she is fertile? It would be a true crime to take advantage of her, only to find out that we abused her for nothing.”

I was surprised by his words, I never thought of that possibility. I could be passed around, abused by multiple men, all for nothing. Then I also considered that I could have avoided a lot if I had taken extreme measures to avoid getting pregnant. If I had done something permanent… but it wasn’t that I didn’t want to have cubs, it was that I wanted them to come out of a loving relationship, not from a r**e.

“That is a valid point,” another one said. “Being young is not a warranty of fertility. And it’s not only her, those who want to breed with her, should also be tested to ensure compatibility. If we are doing this, we should do our best to ensure the results we want.”

“If you feel better, you can do all the tests you want,” the Elder said, “but I know that she will be able to produce the cubs we need.”

“And how do you know?” the man that had first spoken, asked.

“There is a lot that experience has taught me, young man. My animal can smell on her the ability to have cubs, but I know that you younger generations don’t know how to trust your animals and prefer all those modern, human methods, of doing things. Maybe that’s part of the problem, we have lost contact with our animal side. If you win her, you are welcome to do all the tests and studies you want, if that makes you feel better. All I care about is that our kind continues to grow in numbers and power.”

“There are many young, healthy men in my territory, once I win her, I will make sure that only the best candidates get in contact with her. I will make sure to fill the quota you require," one of the older men said.

I started to hyperventilate, I just couldn’t believe the way they were talking. They were crazy. The man at the back at least sounded like he regretted the situation, but that didn’t stop him from being part of it. I tried to get free, but the guard twisted my arms harder, lifting them a little and forcing me to go on my tip toes to avoid the pain.

“Let’s start the auction,” the Elder said, and the chaos that followed would have been kind of impressive, if the situation wasn’t so dire.

The numbers they were throwing were more than I could dream of, but that also made me feel faint. A man willing to pay that kind of money wouldn’t be careless with me once they got me. The prospect of getting free from them was looking worse and worse.

The man who had boasted to have a lot of candidates to sire my cubs was winning. The price he offered was too great and the others were no longer offering. I started to cry, already thinking of what my life would look like once I went with him. But then the man in the back doubled the offering, making everyone gasp. It was a huge amount of money, and even if the others wanted me, it quickly became clear they couldn’t match the price. I could hear the glee in the Elder’s voice as he accepted the offer, sealing the deal and my fate.

“Sold to Mr. Dillan Claw!” he announced, to polite clapping.