For a moment, the laughter hushed, and men began exchanging glances. The price was climbing really fast, and some were already contemplating their choices.
The girl jerked against her restraints, her fingers curling into fists as her expression darkened by the second.
“She’ll need breaking,” a man to my left whispered to his neighbor. “With all that fire, trust me, it’ll cost you more than money to tame her.”
“It’ll be worth it, though,” the neighbor replied. “I mean, look at her—beautiful and hot. She’ll fetch a hundred easily.”
He wasn’t wrong. Shewasbeautiful—too beautiful, actually. The kind that didn’t wilt under pressure. The kind thatmade men reckless. I had no doubt that she would exceed a hundred without stress.
And so it went.
“Eighty-five!”
“Ninety!”
“One hundred!” someone barked from the back.
The room fell silent for a second, whispers thickening amongst the bidders.
Even the host looked baffled by how quickly the numbers had risen. He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. “Do I hear a hundred and twenty?”
“One hundred and twenty!”
“Do I hear one-fifty?” he asked, raising the bar.
“One-fifty!”
“One-fifty going once…going twice….”
“One-seventy!” Someone else raised their paddle from the front row.
Voices fell silent, and soon murmurs turned uncertain. The bidding began to falter at this point as men leaned back, rethinking their choices.
“She’s too wild to be too expensive!” someone bellowed from behind me.
“Yeah!” another shot back. “And too much trouble, too. Why waste so much money on a wild animal?”
My jaw locked, fingers balling into fists. While they all saw a beast—a nuisance to be tamed—I saw raw potential. A spirit not yet extinguished.
The host wiped at the sweat glistening on his brow. “Gentlemen, remember she’s rare, untamed—” His voice was cut off while trying to reignite the room.
“She’s unmanageable!” said a bidder. “Not worth another dollar.”
A moment later, I decided it was time to put an end to this. So, I casually raised my hand, quiet and deliberate.
The effect was instant; conversations died mid-sentence, the host’s voice lodged in his throat, and even those who’d been laughing moments before went pale. The room went still, and all eyes were on me, tension thick in the air at the realization that I’d just entered the game.
“One million,” I said, my voice smooth and effortless, leaving no room for further debate.
A collective gasp rose from the crowd, and even the host’s brows yanked up in shock.
My eyes were pinned on my prize, the wild girl who glared at me with so much hatred in her gaze. Her scowl grew deeper, as if she’d rather stab me in the heart than stand in my shadow. That was how fierce her hatred was. I liked it.
I didn’t need her for anything, but somehow, I couldn’t resist the urge to claim her as mine. Despite the resistance in her eyes, her fate had already been decided.
She belonged to me now.
Chapter 3 – Blair
