Chapter 5 - Thea

I watched in disbelief as Tannen pushed his way through the crowd. My legs turned to jelly as I processed that it was really him. I would actually get out of this. I would get back to Astrid and Brixton. Somehow, things had turned out okay.

Except something still seemed off. It couldn't be this simple… could it?

Tannen's eyes met mine, and again, he shook his head. I didn't need him to tell me not to give away the fact that we knew one another. That could spell disaster. But I hadn't been able to keep my eyes off him as he'd bid. Still, I tried my best not to sigh with relief. It was all about to be over. I wasn't about to be hauled off by some stranger. I'd find a way to pay him back. I'd tell him about the other girls, and this would all be over.

He hopped on the stage, taking the steps two at a time. Some of the shifters stalked out of the clearing, dipping into the trees. A few of the other lingered, which I didn't understand. They'd lost. I'd assumed the instant they hadn't won me, they would have taken off. Were they expecting other girls? Had Damien changed his mind about only selling me? I couldn't tell by his expression.

Tannen approached Damien, that intense look in his eyes as they darted everywhere. He was assessing the situation, calculating the risks and next steps.

"Congratulations," Damien said to Tannen. He jerked his head at me. "Do you want to examine her?"

Tannen looked me up and down with vague disinterest. "Sure."

Viktor jerked the chain and hissed in my ear, "Behave yourself, or you'll regret it." I shot him a glare but didn't say anything.

Tannen strolled up to me. He looked me up and down, circling me. My body warmed, practically burning, as if his gaze was enough to send heat racing through my body. My heart thudded even as I told myself to get a grip. Just because he was doing me this one favor didn't mean I had to like him. Besides, all of this was an act. He was helping me out of a jam, and that would be the end of it. Once I got home, we'd go back to seeing each other whenever he showed up at Rand's house, and we'd pretend that none of this had ever happened.

The problem was, something about the situation felt realer than that. If it were fake, my pulse shouldn't have been racing. His scrutiny wouldn't make my wolf stir with something that felt uncomfortably like longing.

Tannen came back around and tilted my chin upward. My skin seemed to electrify where he touched. For whatever reason, I couldn't breathe.

He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, sending new shivers running through me.

"I'm going to get you out of here," he said. "Just follow my lead, and we'll get out of this, okay?"

He pulled back before I could answer, his eyes searching my face. I blinked, the only real indication I could give was that I'd heard him and trusted him without giving our relationship away.

Tannen stepped back. "Yeah, she'll do," he said.

Damien clapped his hands. "Excellent." He stepped forward, tugging Tannen away from me. "We take bank transfers."

I watched as Tannen pulled out his phone. With a few swipes of his thumb and taps of his finger, he transferred over $50,000. There was something surreal about the whole thing. Tannen had just bought me. Literally. In Damien's eyes, Tannen owned me now.

The thought should have made my skin crawl. It was disgusting. Yet, part of me was almost… excited by it. My wolf stirred with interest. Traitor.

Damien looked at his own phone, nodded in satisfaction, and said, "She's all yours."

"Good." Tannen marched over, holding his hand out to Viktor to take the chain. But Viktor held onto it. When nothing happened, Tannen said, "I bought her. Hand it over."

"Ah." Damien stepped forward. "I'm guessing you're unfamiliar with our safety precautions."

Tannen's eyes narrowed. "Safety precautions?" he growled.

"Just as a way to make sure our operation stays secret," Damien said. "We've learned that our clients are a lot more inclined to keep quiet if they're more… attached to their bride."

Tannen stiffened, head whipping around. "Bride?"

My own stomach churned with dread and disbelief. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another shifter walking up to the stage, wearing official ceremonial robes. The kind worn by officiants.

"What's going on?" I blurted out, earning a sharp jerk of the chain as the collar pressed against my throat.

I doubted they would have even acknowledged I'd spoken had Tannen not growled, "I'd like to know that, too."

"This is a marriage auction," Damien said. "Just like all our auctions are. It's easier for us to conceal what we're doing if our clients come back with a bride as opposed to…" he trailed off, leaving the implication hanging in the air without explicitly saying it.

The officiant had finished climbing the steps and now stood a polite distance away, watching the proceedings with indifference, as though he'd done a thousand of them.

"That's absurd," Tannen said.

Damien's smile froze on his face, then melted into suspicion. His eyes narrowed as he took a step closer to Tannen. "It's common knowledge for most of our clients," he said. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen you here before."

I forced myself not to react, even as my gaze locked on Tannen, waiting for his response. I didn't know what they would do if they found out he was a Silver Wolf, but I couldn't imagine the result would be pretty. I forced myself to breathe, wondering how Tannen would be able to slip out of the potential noose dangling in front of us.

"You wouldn't," Tannen said. "I'm new. I have a friend who's used your services before."

"Who?" Damien asked.

Tannen stared him down, his lips a thin line, eyes flashing with his wolf and indicating to Damien in no uncertain terms that he wasn't about to tell him anything.

When the silence continued for the span of several heartbeats, Tannen said, "You know I'm not going to tell you that. I thought you were all about anonymity."

Damien snorted, his lips curling into what was either a sneer or a smirk. He took a step back.

"Your friend should have told you about it, then," Damien said. "You buy them, you marry them. That's the deal."

Tannen's gaze flicked over to me. I tried to read his expression and gauge his plan. Because there was no way he would want to go through with this.

Before I could even guess what he might have been thinking, his attention shifted to Viktor, still holding my leash. Tannen's eyes lingered on his hold, as if deciding whether he could break it, then went back to Damien.

"She's not for me," Tannen said. "She's for someone else."

Damien raised an eyebrow. "Then he should be here instead of you," he said. "Either you get married, or you leave without her." He gave a wolfish grin, showing sharpened teeth. "No refunds, either, by the way."

Tannen's jaw twitched. He glanced over at me again, and this time I could see the reluctance and frustration in his eyes. Of course he wouldn't want to tie himself to me more. After all, I was an absent. Granted, I didn't want to marry him, either. But the near revulsion in his gaze still infuriated me, making those small, nagging insecurities I normally managed to hold down needle their way back into my head. That feeling of not being good enough and having to prove myself.

"Fine," Tannen said. "I'll get it annulled before I hand her off."

Damien shook his head. "You can do that all you want," he said. "I won't stop you. But that's not going to fix the claiming."

The world seemed to stop. Even the trees stopped rustling in the wind. I sucked in a breath. There was no way this was happening.

Tannen, for his part, remained stoic. But I could sense the reluctance and alarm in the set of his shoulders, the way his fingers twitched.

"Claiming?" he growled.

"Again, your friend should have warned you," Damien said almost casually. "We've found that when our clients are reluctant to leave their new brides, our operation remains much safer. Think about it. How much more unwilling would you be to tell authorities about us when it would almost certainly guarantee you would lose your claimed mate?"

My head rang at the word, everything swimming. Claiming bonds were the strongest bond you could have with a shifter. In fact, not everyone did it because the attachment it created was so intense. It made it difficult to be away from your mate for any length of time, enhanced all emotions, and linked you for life. It was unbreakable.

Even Rand and Astrid hadn't done it yet, though they'd talked about it. There were risks involved, namely that if a couple decided they didn't want to be mates any longer, it wouldn't matter. That link would tether the two together no matter how they actually felt about one another.

And that bond was about to be forced on me.

"Like hell," I blurted out before I could think any better of it.

Viktor snarled, jerking at the chain so the collar pressed against my throat.

"She's just a little shocked, is all," Damien said to Tannen. "She'll be docile enough once the claim takes place."

Tannen frowned. "I'm not claiming a reluctant mate," he said. "Marriage is one thing—I can get her to tolerate that. Once she's gotten used to her new life, then I can think about claiming her then."

Damien's face darkened. "None of this is negotiable," he growled. "Like I said, it happens, or you walk and she stays."

Tannen exhaled, his face inscrutable as he looked me up and down. I couldn't tell what lurked behind those piercing blue eyes. Annoyance that I was making him go through with this? Resignation toward the situation? Reluctance at claiming someone against their will? Disgust that it was an absent he'd have to claim?

Whatever he thought in those handful of minutes, I'd never know. With lightning speed, Damien appeared by my side. His fingers lengthened to claws as he took my neck, one of them pressing into the soft flesh beneath my chin.

"Like I said, no refunds," Damien said, giving a feral sneer. "But if you would rather not have her, that's fine. I'll sell her to someone else."

A growl rumbled in Tannen's throat, and he stepped forward, only for Viktor to step up as well, a silent communication that if Tannen tried anything, he'd have a fight on his hands.

I tried to keep my expression impassive, focusing on Tannen. For his part, he looked bored. Part of me wondered if that was part of the act, or if all of this was a massive inconvenience for him and he was doing it out of an obligation to Rand. "All right," Tannen said, eyes flicking me up and down.

Damien smiled, flashing his teeth again. "Good." His claws turned back to fingers, but he didn't release my chin. Instead, he jerked my head upward so I was forced to look at him.

"Say I do, or I'll rip your tongue out," he snarled, voice low enough so only I could hear it. "You don't have any say in this. Do you understand?"

I glowered up at him, but I knew there was nothing I could do about it. I gave a short jerk of my head.

He yanked at the chain, jolting me forward until I stood in front of the officiant, who continued to look on silently and impassively, clearly not caring that the bride was in chains and obviously unwilling. When Damien was satisfied I wasn't going to move, he let go of the chain and stepped behind me, still within reach in case I tried to make a run for it.

A hush had fallen over the group, and all I could hear was dead leaves rustling in the wind. The officiant stared at Tannen, who had yet to move. After a moment, Tannen stepped forward so he was facing me.

The officiant didn't mince words. "Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" he asked, not bothering with a preamble.

"I do," Tannen said. Something about the words made my heart pound faster despite myself.

"And do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the officiant asked me.

I didn't need to look to know that Damien and Viktor were both staring intently at me, ready to leap into action the instant I didn't do what he said.

My jaw twitched, lips refusing to open as a lump filled my throat. I wanted nothing more than to say no. I didn't want to be tied to Tannen, and I definitely didn't want him claiming me.

But what choice did I have?

Tannen's eyes stayed locked on me. I knew what he was thinking. He was as unhappy as I was about the situation. He didn't want me, especially not in that way. It didn't take a genius to recognize that. The stoic, determined expression, however, spoke of a willingness to do what was necessary. He was determined to get me out of this, even if it meant marrying and claiming me.

A flutter of affection blossomed in my chest at the thought. I shoved it down. The last thing I needed was to start thinking that way. But still, at this moment, we were in it together, and we both knew it.

Everyone stared at me expectantly. Someone cleared their throat behind me. I didn't have to look to know that Damien was glowering at me, ready to step in if I didn't cooperate in the next ten seconds. Taking a deep breath, I raised my head, meeting Tannen's gaze.

"I do," I said.

"I pronounce you man and wife," the officiant said. "You may now claim your bride."

Tannen took a step forward. His hands went to my shoulder, thumb stroking it gently as he leaned forward. His scent, familiar and surprisingly comforting, washed over me. My shoulders loosened, and I leaned toward him unconsciously.

His lips brushed my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

"We'll figure this out when we get out of here," he whispered. "I promise." He moved back, his eyes meeting mine, boring into me as if to make sure I understood what he was saying.

Something about the words made warmth and comfort run through me. I believed him. I didn't have any reason to do so, but I did. Taking a deep breath, I met his gaze and nodded.

His teeth sharpened, lengthening into fangs. A second later, his mouth fastened to my collarbone and he bit down.

Heat flooded through my entire body. I gasped, my body going almost limp. It was more painful than I'd expected, knives everywhere as his teeth sank into me. Warm blood spilled from the wounds.

I wasn't sure what I had anticipated. I'd read stories about claimings, heard people talk about them, but nothing could have prepared me for the actual sensation. My wolf snarled, howling, but I couldn't tell if it was out of anger or excitement. My mind went blank as I let out a soft moan and my eyes closed. Something about it felt strangely erotic, even through the pain.

After what felt like an eternity, Tannen stepped back. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes locked on me, an intensity there that seemed to flood my entire body with heat and something like longing. I sucked in a breath as my collarbone throbbed, streaks of crimson trailing down and staining my white dress.

My blood had smeared across Tannen's chin, and something about that sight solidified the reality of the situation more than anything else.

He'd claimed me.

I was Tannen's.