Chapter Three: Bidding

Ryker’s POV

Every year I went to the engagement auction, not usually to consider purchasing a wife but as an observer of the event. Some of my friends and family found wives here and it was always interesting to be there to witness.

The last few years no one caught my eye but that was most likely because I wasn’t looking hard enough due to a lack of interest. I had enough romance in my twenty-four years and wanted to focus on my investments.

There were always a lot of human women selling their hand in marriage. Humans lived much shorter lives so they didn’t build as much generational wealth in our country. Non-human bachelors loved the idea of having a human wife so it was easy money for the human families. I never had an interest in humans, I wanted someone I could spend my entire life with. My little sister Courtney often teased me for my sappiness. Our father was with his second human wife after our mother left him. He would always say their only downfall was their quick physical aging but it wasn’t anything magic couldn’t fix. With that flaw magically altered, he enjoyed their short lifespan.

This year I was going to the auction alone. No friend or family member I knew was single and interested this time around. Despite that, Kyle my best friend and business partner pushed me to go since he always stressed how important networking was. He wasn’t the sole reason I decided to go, something instinctual told me to. Kyle’s suggestion probably had an ulterior motive since he told me I should consider putting in a bid or two. He had been married for five years now and thought I was lonely.

I wasn’t.

While I waited with the other bidders I saw a lot of familiar faces. People I attended prestigious social events with, or maybe our families did business together. There were more people from the country Valkaria attending than I expected since their King was murdered. Kyle let me know how much of a panic everyone was in since there was no heir. I guess that didn't matter much to those who wanted a purchased wife.

As the auction formally began the women walked out onto the stage one after the other and stood next to each other. My attention was immediately grabbed by a familiar and unique beauty. As she stood beside the other girls she didn’t look quite as confident but there was this passion about her aura.

Quickly, I opened the brochure to get her name, Reina. We never met before but this wasn’t the first time I’d seen her. She’s caught my eye before but it was a long time ago when I wasn’t single. She left quite the impression on me and I’d never expect to see her at this event.

Something came over me.

I walked out of the main area and to the desk the ringman stood behind. “I’d like to make an offer.”

“Already? Sir if someone has caught your eye then keep them in mind. You’ll never know if you’d like someone else more by the end of the night.”

“I’m not interested in waiting, I’m leaving but I’ll send my driver back to bring her home.”

“Don’t you want to at least meet her during the mingling section of the night?” He asked as he handed me a clipboard with an offer form and pen. “Not only that but if she doesn’t meet you, she might not accept your bid.”

I handed the clipboard back to him. “She’ll accept when she sees the offer.” I made sure to put an amount she wouldn’t be able to resist, even without meeting me. Of course, I wanted to stay but the thought of entertaining the rest of the night felt like a waste of time.

I wanted her, so she was already mine and that was the way I saw it. I didn’t want to watch her present herself to men as if they had any chance of it. “You don’t know if someone else will top your bid.” He looked down at the clipboard as I turned my back to him. “Oh my—sir wait we need to confirm that you can pay this amount.”

“Look at my name, the organization knows I'm good for it.” Like I said, this wasn’t my first time at the auction. Not only that but my family was well known in our country.

Austin said nothing else as I left, seeing my last name had to have been enough to convince him.

I shifted into my dragon form and flew into the sky. During my flight, I thought about Reina being human and how that could be a problem. Their lifespan wasn’t the only reason I wasn’t fond of the idea of a human bride. Even though our country had a diverse species of people humans tended to be wary of us. Most here had no problem living around and befriending us but a lot of them preferred not to get romantically involved with us. I could only hope that my bid was a large enough amount that it wouldn’t matter.

When landed in the spacious driveway of my manor I shifted back to my human form and sent my driver Robbert to pick up my future wife before going inside my house.

I couldn’t get the image of Reina out of my head. I hadn’t felt like this in a long time, I was spellbound.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket as it rang. “Yeah, Courtney?” I answered.

“Can I chill at your place while you’re at the auction?” my sister asked.

“I’m not at the auction,” I said.

“Really? I can come over then right?”

I grabbed an empty box from the kitchen and made my way into the living room. “No, my fiancee is probably gonna be here soon and I don’t want to overwhelm her with meeting you already,” I asked as I circled my living room taking down a few framed photos and getting rid of anything in the display cases that I didn’t want to explain to Reina.

“Fiancee?” Courtney asked through laughter. “You’re joking, I thought you weren’t interested in marrying, plus the auction isn’t even over.” When I didn’t respond she added, “Ryker did you seriously put in a bid without meeting the girl??”

“Yes,” I said, not being able to interrupt my sister’s tone. “I don’t exactly have the time to explain myself to you.” I hung up before giving her a chance to respond.

After I put the box away in one of my storage closets I sat down on the couch in my living room. I pulled the auction brochure out of my pocket and flipped to Reina’s page. Her picture didn’t do her justice, her pose was stiff and a little awkward but for some reason, I still loved the image.

Under her image were facts about her and a short paragraph detailing what she wanted in a marriage.

“I’m looking for a life partner, someone to build with. I know love won’t come right away but it is important to me that we eventually get there. Having kids is a must for me because of the importance I put on family. This also means I’d want to spend time with not only my family but my partner’s family as well.”

Her statement was beautiful and filled me with the desire to give her everything she wanted.

The sound of my car pulling in brought me to the window facing the driveway after shoving the brochure back into my pocket. I peeked through and I saw a glimpse of her as my driver opened her door and she got out of the car. I backed away from the window and stood in front of the door. Even though I remembered her from the first and only time we were in the same place, I didn’t expect her to remember me since we hadn’t spoken.

Reina didn’t ring the doorbell right away. She must have been nervous, adorable.

The next couple of moments kept me impatient so when she finally rang the doorbell I might have been a little too eager as I opened the door right away.

I looked down at Reina, her eyes glued to the floor. “Hello…,” she greeted me, her voice soft and delicate. I reached out to gently grab her chin and raise her head slowly. Our eyes met and for the first time in my life, I was lost for words. Lost in her light brown eyes.

There was no doubt, I wanted to marry her.

Hopefully, this purchased marriage will turn out better than my last…