Cal
Woman after woman in skimpy undergarments is brought through a door at the back of the room and helped up onto a raised platform in the center with white numbers in front of them like lots in an estate sale. Some smile and strut, while others do their best to maintain their composure under the bright, blinding lights and confusion.
I sit on the other side of a one-way mirror along with one hundred other vampires waiting to place a bid on the woman of their choosing via an iPad system intended to maintain both fairness and order among us.
My skin crawls with discomfort and disgust because this is what these men think is normal—but the real match strikes whenshecompletes the line, stepping up to the left side of the platform and squinting into the light.
Auburn hair, black lingerie, and sweet cerulean eyes complete a look built with illicit intentions and blatant disregard for her fear, and a silent scream begs for freedom from my throat as I notice her tremble.
My uncle gets up with a wave and moves away, leaving his iPad behind in the seat he’s just vacated. I watch him retreat for a moment, but with my mate onstage, scared for her life while a room full of evil, dangerous men look on around me, I can’t prioritize him for long.
Romy squints into the glaring lights and fists her hands at her sides as her discomfort grows.
I scan the room and watch as men pick up their iPads, clicking through the screens to make their silent bids. Nathanial, the shit-stirrer, finds my eyes from his spot in front of me and winks.
I don’t have to guess what it means—he’s bidding on Romy, just to spite me.
What he doesn’t understand, though, is that I don’t respect the rules of this sanction any more than I respect him and the other men here. It doesn’t matter if I have the winning bid or not—I’ll kill if I have to.
I assume you’re ready?I ask Rook, chambering my anger into preparedness.
Of course. Blair and Kylie are too. As soon as the bid is over, we’ll make our moves.
Scanning the room again and forcing my eyes away from Romy temporarily, I spot my uncle in the back, discussing something with his assistant and Narris, the president of the Council.
I should be able to hear what they’re saying, but I can’t, and the temporary loss of ability is unsettling.
I look back at Romy as Lucian, Narris, and Lucian’s assistant part ways, to find that she’s calmed considerably. She doesn’tshake anymore, and despite the bullshit reason for seeing her like this, she looks exceptionally beautiful.
“Stop!” The sound of my uncle’s voice jolts my attention back to him as he takes a spot in the front of the group, unexpectedly obstructing the view of the women through the glass.
There’s a titter of confusion and then quiet, as he clasps his hands in front of himself and looks down toward the carpet with a shake of his head.
When he looks back up, he’s staring right at me.
“Something’s happening with Lucian,” Kane warns suddenly. “Intention is muddy to say the least, though.”
Oh, I know,I mentally respond.He’s just stepped to the front of the room.
“Gentlemen, I’m sorry, but I have to interrupt,” Lucian commands the room. “The auction cannot go on without addressing the news I’ve received about a violator in our midst.”
Noise ticks up again, and my uncle holds up a hand, sweeping the room with sharp, angry eyes.
“A vampire, last night, violated the isolation order and entered the room of one of the auctioned,” he states through a tense jaw. “Not only that, he mated her, drank of her blood, and betrayed the treaty we hold so dear by robbing her birthright.”
A wave of anger rolls through the room, men jumping to their feet all around me and demanding an answer.
“Who?”
“We’ll kill him!”
Rook, I prompt, standing up and steeling my nerves.I hope you guys are ready. It’s happening now.
“Oh, we’re ready, buddy,” Kane answers for him. “When the shit hits, we’ll be at your back.”
One of you get Romy.
“We’ll take care of it, bro. We promise.”
