The Auction (JJK)

1

18+, MDNI, DDDNE

You haven't slept in days, haven't felt right in yourself for even longer, but somehow the adrenaline still floods through you, keeping you wide awake, on edge, your senses sharper than they've ever been, catching every little movement around you like your life depends on it.

It's hard to believe that just two months ago, you were innocently walking down the street, not paying any attention to the blacked-out car with its door cracked open or the figure loitering across the pavement pretending to be on the phone. You had no idea then that you'd soon wake up miles away in another country, surrounded by other cat hybrids, far from the only home you've ever known.

You're not stupid—you know exactly why they took you, what they've got planned, what they want from you. Even so, you stubbornly refuse to accept the grim future they've laid out for you.

The factory hall you're crammed into now, in some grubby back room with the other hybrids, is every bit as filthy as your once-pristine black fur. What was once sleek and soft is now matted with dirt, so vile it makes you want to gag.

You've overheard the men who dragged you here talking about some hidden annual auction, where dangerous men from all over the world come to bid on the likes of you. Ever since, the other hybrids have been breaking down, sobbing and begging, their wails so relentless you feel like your brain is going to explode. Yet you stay quiet, ears pricked, your senses locked on every faint sound coming from behind the door.

Soon enough, they come for you all, shoving you roughly through the corridor you were brought down earlier, though this time they steer you down a different path, lining you up on a shabby makeshift stage. The construction site-style floodlights beam down so harshly that you can't keep your eyes open for long, the brightness overwhelming and painful.

Through your squinting eyes, you catch glimpses of the men gathered in front of the stage—some muttering quietly to each other, others smoking as they lazily size up each woman. You search for even a hint of kindness in their faces, but of course, there's none to be found—only cold stares from the most powerful predator hybrids. You feel completely exposed, even with clothes on, so vulnerable that it's a wonder you don't simply keel over from the intensity of being watched.

The auction starts soon enough, but it drags on endlessly, until finally, you're the last one to be put up for bidding. It's a shock when your price rockets past the others by millions. What doesn't surprise you in the least is when a dangerous wolf hybrid steps forward to claim you. You knew, from the moment they snatched you off that street, that your life was always headed straight to hell.