The Auction Series

Chapter 1 Howling Wolf Bar

Angela POV

I have heard of stories of the wolves coming into town on the full moon and taking women. Some locals say it is a myth and others know it to be true. Some people have seen the wolves, and some have families that vanished, never to return home. I have never known one personally until now. My best friend is missing. No one has seen her in weeks. And no one seemed to care but me. It seems like everyone is covering up her disappearance. I want to find Deanne, but the only way to do that is to go into wolf territory to look for her. I know she would look for me, so I am not giving up on her.

I am not afraid. At least, that is what I am telling myself over and over. I dress in jeans, a t-shirt, a warm jacket, and running shoes. I am not sure if I can outrun a wolf, but I have to look for my friend. I have to find her tonight. If I can find one wolf or just one person not afraid to talk to me and tell me where she is located or simply that she is okay, I will be content. If Deanne is where she wants to be, fine, if someone took her, or should I say some wolf, then I will bring her home, one way or another.

I leave my apartment. I am shaking in my shoes if I am honest with myself. I am nervous. I am afraid that I might not come back home. I could be taken by the wolves too, but at least we would be together and could work to get back home together. I'm not fond of the thought of her all alone.

I drive my car to the edge of town, where the wolf bars are located. Deanne was seen here last by the only person willing to talk to me. He is not even willing to talk anymore. The only witness has a sudden case of amnesia. The wolves probably paid him off or scared him into forgetting what he saw that night. Whatever the reason, he stopped taking my calls and refuses to talk to the authorities about Deanne.

She went for a drink with a guy she met online in a chat room for singles. I told her it was a dumb thing to do. She knew nothing about him, But she did not listen to me. I was busy that night, or I could have gone with her. I should have been there to protect my friend. I should have dropped everything and went with her to meet the mystery man.

I have a lot of guilt about it, but the only thing I can do now is to keep looking for her. I am damn determined to find my friend one way or another. I will not give up on her. Her parents have suddenly stopped looking for her, which leads me to believe that a wolf paid them to stop looking. I wonder what their 26-year-old daughter was worth to them. They both have begged me to stop looking, but I refuse. Tonight I will have my answers. Tonight I will bring Deanne home with me.

I park my car, and I walk down to the Howling Moon bar and grill to see if anyone will talk to me. I go in the old rusted door and sit down at the most disgusting bar. I wonder if the health inspector has ever been in this nasty place. The other patrons are definitely wolves, and they are getting their eyes full of me. I bet not too many college girls come in here unless accompanied by a wolf. I can hear their chatter and growling. Fuck them. I am here to find Deanne.

An older lady wolf comes over to me. She smiles and smacks her gum. She looks a little rough around the edges. She has seen her better day, and it is in her distant past.

Honey, I think you are in the wrong bar, she says, smacking her gum loudly and putting her hands on her tiny hips.

I pull out a picture of Deanne from my coat pocket. Have you seen this girl? She is my friend. I am trying to find her; please help me, I beg her.

She looks at the picture and leans down at me, still smacking that damn gum. Put that away, honey. Are you trying to get yourself killed, she says.

She grabs a beer from behind the bar and puts it in front of me. Drink this beer and then get the hell out of here before something bad happens to you, too. You do not want to end up like your friend, trust me, she says.

What? Wait, please help me, I beg her.

Listen up, buttercup, you need to drink up and get, she says, smacking away at her gum.

I sip the beer and watch the people in the bar. They are looking at me and whispering. Someone here knows where Deanne is; I just know it. Maybe if I hang out long enough, one of them will tell me, or maybe the bartender will say to me what she knows. She comes back after a few minutes. Alpha is here; you best get out of here before he sees you, honey, she says to me.

Maybe he can tell me where Deanne is at. I am not afraid of him or any of these wolves, I say to her.

Evidentially, you are stupid too, now get the hell out of here, honey. I am telling you flat out you do not want to ask him anything, she says.

Maybe, I am stupid, but I only want to find my friend; please help me. What if it was your friend? Wouldn't you want to find her? I ask.

I am telling you, if you want to find your friend, you better get the fuck out of here before the Alpha comes over here, she says to me.

Do you know where she is? I ask her.

The bar gets quiet as the Alpha comes in the back door. He looks around the room and spots me first. He looks at me and shakes his head. Well, I bet you are going to find out, she says to me.

I turn to see the Alpha staring me down. He is the most enormous wolf I have ever seen. His long black hair hangs down his back. His boots click and clack as he walks over and sits next to me at the bar. He is shaking his head at me and clicking his tongue as he stares me down. Are you lost, little girl? Alpha asks me.

I think she might be, Alpha, the bartender says.

Not your concern Lia, shut up and bring me a beer, Alpha says to the bartender.

Lia walks away to get the Alpha his beer. She returns a few minutes later to find the Alpha still staring me down. He is waiting for me to get scared and run away from him, but I am not afraid of him.

So why are you here, little girl? the Alpha asks me.

I sit up straight and look him in the eye. I am looking for my friend Deanne, I say to him sternly. I pull out her picture and place it on the bar in front of him. Alpha takes a sip of his beer and sets his beer down on her image. He makes that annoying clicking sound with his tongue as he looks at her picture through his beer.

The Alpha laughs at me. I know where Deanne is; she lives with me now, the Alpha says.

I only want to know that she is okay, I say to him.

Fine, I will take you to her unless you are scared of the big bad wolf, Alpha says to me.

I am not afraid of you, wolf, I say to him.

Alpha finishes his beer. He stands up from the bar and extends his hand. I take it. He leads me out of the back of the bar as everyone watches. We walk through the back to a car waiting for him.

Get in, little girl, he says as he opens the door for me.

I pause for a moment, but I get in the car. This is probably the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life, but I need to know Deanne is okay. Alpha goes around to the other side and gets in the car. He looks pleased with himself as he grins at me. He makes that clicking noise again. I wish he would not do that.

You can get out if you are scared, little girl, Alpha says.

I already told you that you do not scare me, wolf, I snarl back at him.

Well, then let’s get this party started, little girl, Alpha says to me.

He drives down the back street and onto the main road. I try to pay attention to where he is taking me.  Just in case I have to make a run for it later. He drives us out of the city and into the country area of town. Within an hour, we are deep in the woods. There is no way I can find my way out of here. I am at his mercy now. This is the stupidest thing I have ever done; there is no doubt now. I am in a strange car with a peculiar wolf going down an unfamiliar road. Fuck! What was I thinking?

Are you afraid yet, little girl? Alpha asks me.

No, are you taking me to Deanne, or are you taking me out here to kill me? And stop calling me little girl; I am a grown-ass woman, I snap at him.

I would never hurt a woman, Alpha says.

"Are you sure about that?’ I ask him.

I am positive, miss, Alpha says.

He pulls into a row of cabins and stops his car. He gets out of the car and comes around to open my door. I step out of the car. I look at the row of cabins in front of us. Your friend is in that cabin, right there, Alpha says to me, pointing to a small cabin in the middle of the row.

I can just go in and see her to make sure she is okay, and then you are just going to take me back? I ask.

Yes, if you want to go back tonight, or you are welcome to spend time with your friend, miss, Alpha says.

Okay, thanks, wolf, I say to him.

I walk across the gravel and through the grass to the cabin. I step up onto the porch, and I knock on the door. Deanne, it is me, Angela, I say through the door. I wait patiently for her to come to the door.

I hear some movement, and then people talking. I hear other women talking. I wonder how many are in there with her. It is true the wolves take women, and now I am here with the wolves. What have I done? I look back to see what the Alpha is doing, but I do not see him anywhere. I knock on the door again.

Deanne, please, it is me, Angela. I came for you, I say through the door.

Deanne comes to the door. You shouldn't have come here, she says as she reaches out to hug me. As I feel the warmth of her embrace, something pinches my arm, and everything goes black. I feel myself hit the floor, and then I feel someone pick me up.

Angela, I hear Deanne say my name, but I cannot open my eyes. I let myself fade into the darkness. I am one of the women the wolves take now.

Chapter 2 Wolf Work Camp

Angela POV

I awake with a pounding headache. My vision is blurry. I try to focus, but everything is blurred. Angela, can you hear me? Are you okay? Deanne cries out. She grabs me and holds me tightly. It feels so good to be with her again. I look around the room, trying to see where I am and what the hell is happening here. I cannot get my eyes to focus on anything, not even Deanne.

What the hell are you doing here? And why were you with Alpha? she asks me.

I was looking for you. I went to the bar and tried to find someone to tell me what happened to you. Alpha came into the bar and offered to bring me to you, I answer her.

Angela looks me over. I swat at her. What the hell are you doing? I ask her.

I am checking to see if they marked you yet, Angela says.

Marked me for what? I ask.

Ladies! A loud growl comes from the front of our cabin.

Get to your feet fast, Deanne says. Deanne helps me stand up and wait for the grumbling wolf to walk by all of us. He looks at each of us. I wonder how many women are here.

You..... you..... you..... and you, he says, pointing at different women. He stops in front of me. He grabs me by the chin and pushes me down. Not you..... at least not yet, he says as he walks away. He keeps walking through the room, picking women.

He finally takes the women he chooses. He ushers them out of the cabin and leaves the cabin with them. I grab Deanne by the arm. I pull her down to me so I can whisper into her ear. What the hell is going on here? I ask her.

Come on, she says, pulling me to the back of the cottage.

I follow her. We walk past the other scared women until we get to the back bunk. There is a long row of beds. She leads me over to her bed. She sits down, and I sit down on her bed with her. I do not know what is going on here, not really. I was drugged and brought here that night I went on a date with Archie. He was nice, but he took me for a drive, and now I am here. I woke up with a headache and a dog collar around my neck, she says, pulling her shirt down to show the collar around her neck.

I reach out and touch it, and it seems to have a tracking device or something. There is a light and something electronic blinking from the side of it. I touch my neck. I feel a collar. I open my mouth to scream, but Deanne places her hand over my mouth. We do not have time to panic, Angela, Deanne says.

What are they going to do with us? I ask. The fear and reality of this situation are starting to overwhelm me. I cannot let the wolves win. I have to get the fuck out of here alive.

Deanne shrugs her shoulder and hangs her head. I do not know. They have not touched us if that is what you are getting at. The wolves make us work. We cook and clean for them. I do not know what happens to the ones they come and take. You know the ones we never see again. I have heard stories about what happens, but I do not know for sure what happens to them. I just want to get out of here alive, Deanne says.

We have to get the hell out of here. There has to be a way out of this hell, I say.

Deanne looks around the room at all the other women. Don't you think we have all tried and failed? There is no way out. They watch us twenty-four hours a day. These things on our necks track our every move. If we did get out, guess what? They would be able to track us down, she says.

There has to be a way out. There is no way this is how I am going to live the rest of my life, I say to her. I curl up in a ball on her bed and begin to sob. Deanne touches my back and rubs my back, trying to calm me.

Everything will be okay. Just keep your head down and do what they tell you to do, she says, trying to soothe me, but I know it will not be okay. I cannot live like this. I cannot be someone's servant. I am in med school. I have my entire life planned out. I do not have time for this craziness.

No one will come for us. They stopped looking for you. I was the only one looking for you, I sob.

I know. The wolves told me no one would come. I bet Alpha lost it when you came into that bar looking for me, Deanne says.

I did not back down from him either. I told him I was not afraid of him and that I would not stop until I found you, I say.

I know you didn't. Don't try that here. The wolves will beat you. Don't be a hero. Just do whatever they tell you to do, Deanne says.

I will, I say.

No, you won't, but I warned you. That bastard Archie beat me the first week I was here. I finally stopped fighting. I cook, clean, hell I chop wood if they tell me to chop wood, Deanne says.

I will try my best for you, Deanne, I say to her.

Deanne takes me into her arms and hugs me. A few of the other ladies come over to say hi. Before they can introduce themselves, the wolves are back. They are growling and screaming for us.

That is Aspen, the dark-haired one, and Archie is the blonde-haired one. Archie is a real bastard. Maybe you will get paired with Aspen, Deanne says.

Aspen walks over to the cot. You are with me today, Deanne, and bring your friend. I hear she has a smart mouth, and I do not want to watch Archie beat the shit out of her today, Aspen says. Aspen grabs a few more women as we make our way to the front door of the cabin. Archie is already yelling and making the other ladies cry.

Don't look at them. They don't like it when you look at them. The wolves see it as disrespectful. Keep your eyes straight ahead, Deanne says.

I look at the ground. I cannot bear to see what is going on in the cabin. This hell cannot be my new life. I take Deanne's hand and hold it tightly as we follow Aspen.

We walk to another cabin. Wait here, Aspen says. We wait while Aspen goes inside the cabin to get more women. Deanne squeezes my hand.

It will be okay; just do what Aspen tells you to do, and you will get through this, she says.

I nod my head. Aspen returns with more women, and we continue walking cabin to cabin as he goes in and gets a handful of women from each cabin. How many women are here? I start looking around to see if I recognize any of them.

I know what you are doing; stop it. You do not want any trouble from the wolves. Keep your head down and try to make it through the day, Deanne says to me.

The group of us finally make it to a massive house at the end of the row of cabins. This is the Alpha's house, Deanne says.

I look up, and there he is, the bastard that got me. My mind and heart are full of rage. I want to stomp his ass. He walks over to me.

You do not look as tough as you did last night, little girl, Alpha says to me.

I am not your little girl, wolf, I say to him.

Alpha laughs at me. You will not talk to me that way, little girl. You are lucky you did not get chosen. Maybe I will step it up and send you with the others, he says as he slaps me across the face.

Stop, please, Deanne screams at Alpha.

Alpha grabs Deanne and pushes her to the ground. Work them hard, Aspen, Alpha says, growling at the two of us as he walks away.

Aspen helps Deanne and me to our feet. That was stupid. Are you trying to get killed on your first day here? Damn little girl, keep yourself in check, or Alpha will check you, Aspen says to me.

I know, I am sorry, I say.

I told you not to be a hothead, but you can't listen to anyone; you are going to cause us to end up at that awful place, Deanne begins and then stops without finishing her thought.

What place? I ask her.

Don't worry about it, just do your work and keep your mouth shut, Aspen says. He takes me by the arm and leads me away from the group.

Stop asking questions. You are going to get yourself killed on the first day. Listen to your friend, and you will survive, Aspen says.

I am scared and confused, and no one will tell me what is going on around here, I say.

I will explain everything to you; just go in the cottage and start cleaning, do the laundry, scrub something, just stay out of everyone's way, Aspen says.

I nod my head and run into the cottage behind the other women. I seemed to have managed to piss off everyone. Since no one is speaking to me for pissing the Alpha off, I walk around the cottage trying to find something to clean.

You can go do the laundry; it is down the hall, Deanne says.

I walk down the hall and find the laundry room. There are piles of laundry everywhere. I start separating the laundry and working as fast as I can. It is hot, and it smells in here, but at least I am out of everyone's way.

I look up from the pile of laundry I am folding to see Deanne. She walks slowly into the laundry room. I am not mad at you, but I did warn you. You cannot bark at the Alpha. You have to lay low. We need to do our work and fly under the radar until we figure out how to get out of here. For now, Angela, please, stop asking questions and just be obedient before you get yourself killed or worse, Deanne says.

I cannot promise to behave, but I can promise to try, I say.

That is all I ask. There is so much going on here. I want to get out of here alive and go home. Listen to me, please, Deanne says.

I do not say anything else. There really is no point in trying to plead my side of things. I came here to help her, and now I am trapped here with her. I have no idea what is going on, and no one will tell me.

Deanne helps me do the laundry in silence for the rest of the day. My friend no longer acts like a friend. She is different. What have they done to you? I look over at her. I want to smile and tell her we will be okay, but the truth is, I do not know what kind of shit show we are trapped in or how to get us out of it.

Aspen comes into the laundry room. Let's go! he yells at us. Deanne and I follow Aspen out of the cottage. This has been a horrible fucking day.

Chapter 3 Aspen’s Kindness

Angela POV

I am exhausted when we get back to our cabin. Deanne still is acting strangely toward me. I try to stay out of her way when we go into the cabin. I look around for a cot to sleep on and finally decide on one close to the window and away from her and the other women. I came here to help her, and now it seems she may not have needed my help after all.

There is a cot next to me, Deanne calls to me. She points at a cot next to her. Something about the look on her face and the others: I do not think they want me around them.

It is okay; I want to be close to the window, I say to her.

Well, do not try to open it. It is locked, and there are guards outside just waiting for one of us to try to make a run for it, Deanne says.

The other women look at me in a disapproving manner. I said I was sorry, and I have tried to stay away from them for most of the day. Leave it to me to piss off everyone in one day.

I just want to be by the window,  that is all. I am not planning to jump out of it. I am too tired to run anyway, I say to her.

We are all too tired thanks to you, one of the women says.

I am sorry I caused so much trouble, I say in the women’s direction.

I lie down on the cot and curl up in a ball. I am tired, confused, and extremely pissed off. I want to go home. I need a shower. The other women go in and out of the back to the shower. I watch and wait as they all finish with their showers. I can hear them talking and I hear my name. I really did piss them all off. They cannot expect me to behave on the first day I am here. I do not know all of the rules. I guess not barking at the Alpha is pretty self explanatory, but I am a dumbass sometimes.

When they are done, one of the women comes out and kicks my cot hard. I look up at her. What did I do this time? I ask her.

You need to go shower. They turn out the lights and then count us. If you are missing, we all will get in trouble; again, the woman says.

Thanks, I say to her.

Just try not to fuck up. I cannot take two hell days in a row, she says.

I walk back to the shower room. I pass Deanne’s bunk, but she is busy talking to one of the other women so I do not say anything to her as I pass by her bunk. She looks like she is still mad at me anyway. Maybe by tomorrow she will talk to me.

I go into the shower room. There is a stack of clothes and towels in the back for us. The clothes look like scrubs with a little pocket on the top. I find something in my size and grab a towel.  The towel is dingy, but it is dry. I walk past all of the open showers. I want to be as far away from everyone as possible.

I go into the last shower just in case one of them decides to come in; at least they will not be anywhere near me. I reach in and turn on the water. I wait a moment for the water to get hot. Then, I step inside and let the water run over me while I cry. There has to be a way out of here. That is all I can think about as I stand in the water.

I take the soap, which is gross looking but does not smell too bad.  I begin to wash my body and cry harder. It gets better, I hear a voice say from behind the curtain.

I pull the curtain back and see Deanne. I promise it gets easier; you have to cooperate and be pleasant, Angela. None of us want to be here, but you cannot bark at the Alpha. He could have killed you for one, and he takes his anger out on everyone when he is challenged by one of us, she says to me.

I cannot stand the thought of being here. I have a life. Hell, you have a life; that is why I came here. I came here to help you. I wanted to help you get back to your life, and now here I am trapped with you, I say to her.

Someday, you can go back to that life, but don't get us killed trying to figure out what is going on here. These wolves are not playing with us, and trust me, every person that has tried to escape ends up dead or worse. Trust me, and dead is better than what they are doing with some of the women, Deanne says to me.

I won't, and I am sorry about today. I should not have barked at the Alpha; it was stupid. I have said I was sorry to you and to them. It will not happen again. I know it was stupid. I am just so fucking scared, I say.

Yeah, it was, but I know you were just being yourself. Now everyone thinks you are a trouble maker. If you get in trouble, then we all get in trouble. We have never had to work this late before, but because you pissed the Alpha off, we had to work our ass off today. Look, a lot is going on here; you just do not understand. You do not want to be chosen. There are worse things than being here with the wolves. Trust me, Angela, you need to back down, Deanne says.

Like what? What could possibly be worse than being held hostage by wolves? I ask.

Deanne walks closer to me. Like ending up with a vampire in one of those auctions, Deanne says.

What do you mean? What are you talking about, Deanne? I ask her.

I cannot tell you. Try not to ask questions and try to behave so that we can survive. I want to survive this. I want to go home to my family, and I miss my brother, Draco, Deanne says.

He misses you too, but your family begged me not to look for you. Why? I ask her.

"Angela, Stop asking questions. Please, for once in your life, back down.