Chapter Five

"Stop standing there, get in the goddamn cage!" Levi shouted while shoving her into the cage, slamming the cage door in her face. Groaning, she slumped to the ground with a thump. The auction had started and she had watched wolf after wolf be brought up to the front, auctioned off, brought back to their cage and a tag be placed on the bars of the cage door. At this point, she was the only one who hadn't been brought out. '𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦?'

Her heartbeat began pounding, fear taking over her. This wasn't how things worked. Wolves weren't supposed to be auctioned off. There was no way someone was going to buy her just because of what she looks like. Ember didn't say anything. She kept her eyes fixed on the floor. She knew if she caught anyone's attention then they'd remember she hadn't been up yet and she didn't want that. She wanted to escape.

But as if on cue, Levi walked over to her cage, unlocking the door. "Get up." Annoyance filled his voice. Ember stood up and slowly walked out as he grabbed her chain. She felt her heart race as they approached the podium. As soon as they walked out, she could hear the same man from before, announcing her name. Levi led her to the center of the podium as they began.

Her heart raced a million miles a second, she started frantically looking around the room at all the people and she could feel her head getting dizzy. She could hear the man talking but couldn't understand what he was saying as she was panicking and all the sound in the room seemed to fade away. And soon enough, it was over. Levi was leading her back to the cage.

She watched as he shut the door, put a tag on the bars and crouched down. He looked at her with a sinister smile on his face. "You just made me six hundred thousand dollars." He laughed.

A few hours later and the auction has come to an end. Most of the people who had bought wolves had started showing up to collect their newly purchased possessions. Levi approached with a strange man following close behind him. The man kept his eyes on Ember the moment she was in his line of sight. It made her shudder slightly, she didn't like him one bit.

"Here she is Mr. Adams." Levi handed over some papers and the man signed them. He then crouched down to Ember's level and smiled at her. "My name is Ryan Blake" He said with a malicious grin on his face. "Now listen closely 𝘱𝘦𝘵. I do not have time for horseplay. You will do as I say, when I say it. If you disobey me in any way, I'll make sure that you're punished for it. "

Ember stared at him with a blank expression on her face. His words made her uneasy. "Do you understand me? Are you deaf or dumb? Answer me girl. If you don't, I'm afraid I'll have no use for you and you can stay here." Ryan hissed. Ember licked her lips nervously before nodding her head. "Good girl."

"Get her out of the cage now or I'll only pay you half for wasting my goddamn time." Ryan snapped. Levi crouched down, unlocked the cage and led her out by the chain. Levi handed the chain over to Ryan as he handed him an envelope of what she assumed was money.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Ryan said with a smirk. He then pulled on the chain, making Ember look up at him. "Let's get going."

Ryan led Ember out the building to a black car that was waiting for them outside. As they approached it, an old man dressed in a black suit and tie stepped out to greet them. "Mr. Ryan, sir." The old man said. Ryan nodded his head as the man opened the passenger side door for him. Ryan led Ember to the backside of the car and dropped the chain so that he could open the trunk.

Ember looked down at the chain laying on the ground and then to the forest right behind them. '𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦!' Ember thought to herself. Her heart began to pound in her chest as she made a break for the forest. But she was stopped short when Ryan placed his foot on the chain, jerking her backwards. A pained gasp escaped her mouth.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ryan smirked. "That was a test. Just to see it you'd run. Looks like you need some more obedience training." He said with a dangerous look plastered across his face. Ember gulped nervously, fear running through her veins at the realization that she'd most likely never get another chance to escape.

"Let me make one thing clear, Ember. I own you. You're mine and you will never be allowed to leave. You'll do as I say, when I say it. If I say sit, you sit. If I say come here, you are to obey me and come to me. Understood?" Ryan ordered. Ember nodded her head as Ryan removed his boot from the chain. Ember slowly climbed in the car, careful not to make any wrong movements.