“Mm, I smell a virgin. A human! And a healthy one.”
Carmen’s heart thudded hard in her chest when a grating voice spoke behind her. She dropped the milk into her shopping cart without turning around, immediately regretting her choice to go out alone. She had decided to run out and get some groceries before Clark returned, and had borrowed the truck after securing Rachel’s groggy permission.
“Don’t talk to me,” she said as firmly as possible, but her voice wavered. The man cackled.
“You’ll do nicely. Yes…”
“I said don’t –” She whipped around to face the man, and was shocked to find that there was nobody there.
“I must be losing my mind,” Carmen mumbled to herself, taking her cart to the checkout lane. She hadn’t gotten everything on her list, but she was too spooked to stay out any longer. Why was it that the only safe place for her in this town seemed to be Clark’s house? And even there, the dark, looming, sexual threat he posed was not to be overlooked.
“Miss! I said $17.80! Where is your mind at?”
Carmen blinked in surprise. She hadn’t even heard the cashier the first time.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, digging the exact change out of her purse.
“Mm-hm,” the cashier replied, refusing to meet her eye.
Nobody seemed to be a big fan of humans in this town. That, or everybody was under a lot of stress due to the shift in power favoring the outsiders. The shifters liked them even less than they liked humans.
“Have a nice day,” the cashier said mechanically as Carmen took her bags. She smiled half-heartedly and walked briskly to the truck, tossing the bags in the passenger’s seat. She couldn’t wait to get home.
“Here she is,” the same unnerving voice said from behind her.
“What-”
Hands were suddenly over her mouth and a strong arm wrapped itself around her torso. Carmen tried her best to scream. The sound was muffled and ineffective, and no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t free herself.
“Oh, Thames will be pleased with this one.”
A sudden piercing pain invaded Carmen’s neck and she let out a muffled cry of pain. Soon, the world was turning black and Carmen fell into a deep sleep.
***
“Where am I?”
Carmen woke up cold and sore on a sandy surface that smelled of earth. She sat up and pain seared through her head. The whole room was pitch black, and she couldn’t see in front of her at all.
“The underground palace,” a woman’s voice whispered.
“What?!” Carmen’s heart thudded fearfully. “What for?”
“The virgin auction,” another woman’s voice answered.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Carmen growled, trying to get to her feet. But a wave of nausea overpowered her and she stayed on the ground.
“No…I heard them talking about it when they brought me here,” the first woman answered. “I guess it’s a gift to the townspeople. An old, outdated custom that died back in the 10th century. But Alexander’s dug it up. He’s Thames’ right hand man, now.”
“That little freak?” the second woman exclaimed.
“Yup. Thames is going to be officially taking over the throne and giving out virgins to bless his reign and the people who support him. It’s such a barbaric ancient custom.”
“So what’s going to happen to us then?” Carmen broke in. She didn’t know Alexander or Thames, but the last thing she needed was to be part of some horrific ritual that would leave her at the mercy of the type of man who would buy a virgin.
“That depends on who buys us, I guess,” the first woman said. “I really don’t know.”
“This day just gets better and better,” Carmen sighed. She couldn’t help but curse her parents. If they had just told her that she could come home, she would be on a train right now heading to Iowa. But no. She was stuck in some dark pit in the underground palace waiting to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. What good was her virginity now? She might as well have given it to Clark when she had the chance.
“Tell me about it,” the second voice said. “I started my period and everything.”
Carmen couldn’t help but laugh before the severity of the situation caught back up to her.
“So why does it have to be so dark in here?” she asked, reaching her hand out in front of her face to test the limits of her vision. “Couldn’t they give us something to work with?”
“They don’t want the guards looking at us with temptation,” the first woman said bitterly. “They might mar the goods.”
Carmen fumed at the idea of her hymen being thought of as a currency by these people. Who the hell did they think they were? They were total pigs.
“So what’s going to happen to King Lobos?” the second woman asked. “Why is he allowing this to happen?”
“Oh, you know the king is an old coot by now. His mind isn’t quite right. He’s just doing what his advisers tell him to do. They were probably paid off or something by the outsiders. I don’t know what they’re playing at but I don’t like it at all. They’re taking shifter society back into the dark ages.”
“You know, I read in my anthropology course about rogue shifters like these ones,” Carmen said, her mind suddenly reeling back to her studies. “They might not even be wolf shifters at all, but another type entirely. It’s easier and less obvious than flat out warfare, and they use manipulation to secure territory for themselves and their clans. Do you think…”
“The Grizzlies!” the other two women gasped in unison.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” the first woman groaned. “I should have just stayed home today.”
“Try not to worry,” Carmen said, Clark’s image strong in her mind. “We’re going to be all right. I know somebody who is working on taking care of this. Don’t give up hope yet.”
The other women grunted and fell silent as all three of them contemplated the bleak future ahead of them.
“Come on, Clark,” Carmen begged silently. “I know you can do this.”