Page 8 of Sold Wolf Slave

The man laughed. “You must be new here. That’s not how it’s done. At least not for this lot.” He jerked his head behind him to the general area where the man and woman had gone. “If you want the normal auction, that’s back up the street you came. The big courtyard a few streets over.”

Raising an eyebrow, I asked, “Why’s it different here?”

“These are a cut above,” he said. “Prettier and more skilled, if you know what I mean.” He waggled his eyebrows.

I wanted to punch the asshole in the face, but that would only compromise me. As much as every inch of this disgusted me, I had to play along.

“That certainly sounds more up my alley,” I said with a grin. “How do I get one of these?”

The man sized me up, studying me. “You might cut it. Worth giving it a shot if you’re interested.” He pointed behind me. “Go around this building. Talk to the guy at the entrance. He’ll get you set up, if he decides you’ll put on a good show. Tell him Den sent you.”

I had no idea what the hell he was talking about with “a good show,” and I didn’t particularly care. I nodded and walked away.

Following his directions led me to a bored-looking shifter lounging at the front door.No, I realized after a moment. This guy wasn’t a shifter. He didn’t smell exactly human, but there was no way he was a wolf, either. A witch, then.

I came to a stop in front of him. He was examining his nails. When he finally deigned to look at me, a borderline disdainful look spread across his face, as if I were the biggest inconvenience he had ever encountered.

“Can I help you?” he drawled.

“Den sent me,” I said. My head was still swimming with thoughts of that woman. Where was she? Was she still okay?

The man looked me up and down and gave an amused quirk of his lip.

“Yeah, I can see why he would do that,” he said. He raised an eyebrow. “Are you interested in a girl?”

“Would I be here if I weren’t?” I asked.

Tilting his head, he gave a more genuine smirk. “Probably not. But I’ve never seen you around here, either.”

“First time,” I said.

“Congratulations,” he said. He flashed a dazzling grin, straightening for the first time. “Welcome to the Underside. Always happy to meet new faces.”

“You run this place?”

The man barked out a laugh. “Hardly. That’s Cain. He’s too busy to come wandering around to check out all the operations going on down here. We’ve got the brothels, the auction block, the pits… he’s busy enough without coming to oversee this, which is why he has me. I’m Lucas.”

“Will,” I said, glancing around.

“How’d you find out about us?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Not gonna lie, you look more than a little out of place.” He didn’t bother hiding the vague accusation in the words.

I shrugged. “Just a bit disoriented. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went through the portal. Definitely wasn’t expecting purple skies.”

Lucas chortled. “Yeah. Cain has a flair for the dramatic. Still, I like the shade I managed to come up with.”

So he was deep in the inner circle, then, if he had anything to do with building any part of this place. He glanced back at me, tearing his gaze away from the night sky. “How’d you hear about us?” he repeated.

“Friend of a friend of a friend,” I said with a shrug. “Asked him where he got his new bride, and he pointed me this way.”

Lucas’s brow creased, his head tilting. “Interesting. Most of our happy customers know not to blab about us,” he said, his tone still light and conversational. However, an edge of accusation had snuck in around the edge, as if he didn’t fully believe it.

I shrugged, rolling my eyes. “He’s never been great with keeping secrets,” I said. “He’s not dumb enough to go blabbing to anyone important. But I’m not here to talk about him.”

He chuckled. “I like your style. I always appreciate people who know how to be blunt. Anyway, you’re interested in a woman? I’m pretty sure we can help you out.”

“Great. In that case, how much?”

Lucas laughed, the sound deep and hearty. “You don’t buy women here. If you want to spend money, then go to the auction block in the town center. Though the girls aren’t nearly as fun.”

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