Page 19 of Fat Sold Mate
My skin crawls at how easily he embraces this charade. How calmly he plays along with my purchase, my humiliation.
Petra holds the knife up, inspecting the blade with exaggerated care. “The blood bond is simple but binding. It creates an instant connection between mates—even,” she glances at me with malicious amusement, “reluctant ones.”
“Get on with it,” James says, his impatience barely contained.
“Eager, aren't we?” Petra laughs. “Very well.”
Verne and Damon position themselves on either side of us, silent sentinels ensuring we don't attempt escape. As if I could run now, with my ankle throbbing from my earlier capture and my body aching from their rough handling.
“Your payment first,” Petra says, extending her hand.
James produces a phone, his fingers moving across the screen with calm precision. “Wire transfer. The account information you provided.”
She watches carefully as he completes the transaction, then nods to Verne, who checks his own phone and confirms receipt.
Just like that, I've been sold. Fifty thousand dollars for a defective witch who can't shift. I almost laugh at the absurdity of it, but the sound might turn into something darker, something I can't control.
“Now the binding,” Petra says, stepping forward.
She takes my hand first, her grip painfully tight as she turns my palm upward. I try to pull away, a reflexive rejection, but Verne's massive hand clamps down on my shoulder, holding me in place.
“This will hurt,” Petra tells me, not bothering to hide her enjoyment. “Consider it your introduction to Cheslem hospitality.”
Before I can respond, she drags the knife across my palm, deeper than necessary. Pain flares hot and immediate as blood wells to the surface, trickling between my fingers and dripping to the rough wooden floor.
I refuse to flinch. Refuse to give her the satisfaction.
She turns to James next, who offers his hand without resistance. The knife slices across his palm with the same unnecessary brutality, but his expression doesn't change. Dark red blood beads along the cut, a mirror to my own wound.
“Now,” Petra says, taking our bleeding hands and pressing them together. “Repeat after me, enforcer: 'Blood to blood, I claim this mate as mine.'“
James's eyes meet mine, something unreadable flickering in their amber depths. His fingers curl around mine, warm and strong despite the slickness of our mingled blood.
“Blood to blood,” he repeats, his voice low but clear, “I claim this mate as mine.”
The words hang in the air between us, weighted with finality. Each syllable is a stone in the wall being constructed around my future, my choices, my freedom.
“And now you, witch,” Petra says, turning to me.
I press my lips together, a final rebellion. Verne's fingers dig into my shoulder, a threatening reminder of my position.
“Say it,” James rumbles, and it’s almost a growl. I wish I could melt into the floor. I wish I could evaporate away and disappear.
It's no choice at all, and we all know it. I meet James's gaze, letting him see the fury and betrayal burning behind my compliance.
“Blood to blood,” I say, the words bitter ash on my tongue, “I claim this mate as mine.”
Something shifts between us immediately—a strange heat spreading from our joined hands up my arm and through my body. The sensation isn't physical, not exactly. It's more like awareness, a new consciousness overlapping my own. I can feel James's presence, a shadow at the edge of my mind, foreign yet unmistakable.
The bond. It's actually working.
“It is done,” Petra declares, releasing our hands. “By the old laws and the new, you are bonded mates.”
James pulls a handkerchief from his pocket, wrapping it around my bleeding palm before binding his own cut. The gesture should be tender, but it feels mechanical, impersonal. Just another transaction in this business arrangement masquerading as marriage.
“You have what you wanted,” he says to Petra, positioning himself slightly in front of me. “We're leaving now.”
Petra exchanges glances with Verne and Damon, something passing between them that sends ice through my veins.
