Who is Magpie?

It was hours before anyone returned with food, but they had also returned with the hose and a tray with syringes. Both were drug heavily before being dragged down the hall to a room with a toilet for their twice daily release, at which point Jessamine was sent back without her jeans.

She now wore little more than Kai, who had been given a pair of shorts after shifting back. Her teeth chattered in the cold room in just her shirt and boxers, but believed that was the point as cold skin was more responsive to their abrasive touch.

When they returned Jessamine was again forced to drink an inhuman amount of tea, and then Kay was taxed with drying them and feeding them. She combed out Jessamine’s hair with her fingers and braided it, using a long loose string from her shirt to tie the end.

And they returned, and returned, and returned. Every three hours they returned with tea, but it only took two hours for her to burn through most of the drugs even with her wolf being constantly sedated.

The next day she warned them, repeatedly, that she would throw up if she consumed anything. True to her word, when they tried to force the liquid into her body, her body rejected it at full force and covered the two holding her in little more than tea and bile.

They left to shower, and the hose returned to the room. She tilted her head in and down, a practised movement to protect her face and ears. Kai did the same as it was turned on him.

The teas slowed down after that, but other hazardous activities increased. Kai was questioned about things like their pack numbers, support, money, and equipment. Jessamine was questioned about Azural’s pack, where they were, how many, about the fighters. She was glad she had kept her head down in the car, making it impossible to give away any location.

By the sixth day they were wiped, having spent three nights on the ground to sleep and the others strung up. That morning the Martin woke them with the rap of his cane on the door.

“Magpie, you’re looking well,” he lied, her fat lip from a sarcastic response still bleeding into her teeth.

She spat a clot of blood on the floor. “What do you want Martin, I know you’re not here to compliment my ravishing good looks.”

“Tongue still so sharp Magpie. That’s okay, I have a little present for you.” He walked toward her with a device looking like a collar with her name carved into it.

It tightened around her throat and small pins stuck in her neck. She barely winced but never stopped staring at him. He backed up one step and one of the needles shot into her skin to inject her with a new serum.. Jessamines lips curled back and she growled at him, but no sooner had the sound left her lips did he lean in and push a button on the collar to shock her.

She grimaced as the pain lanced up through her neck and burned behind her eyes, but he just chuckled. “Gotta keep those emotions in check. It is a waste of my resources to have my people bring you tea every few hours. This way you’ll get a steady dose all day.” He leaned in and brushed a smudge off the band from his finger. “You can’t take it off yourself without completing the circuit and stopping your heart.”

“What a gift, but I didn’t get you anything,” she muttered through clenched teeth that still ached.

“Don’t worry,” he grinned, “I know how you can repay your debt. Been a lot of people at the auction asking about you…. A lot of the regulars are very excited to hear that you’re a wolven and are willing to pay an arm and a leg for the experience. You’ll be on the docket through the long weekend, and I’ll even make you a deal. You bring in 5 million over the weekend and I’ll consider letting your friend go.”

Jessamine’s lazy eyes darted to Kai hopefully but he shook his head just as fast. He didn’t know what the auctions were but he had a pretty good guess. She looked over him, his skin as battered as her own, and she knew how each aching and throbbing wound felt.

“10 million and you will let him go. No considering, no maybe, when that gavel slams down with that last bid, he leaves with a car to get just passed the gates, in no greater shape then he’s in now.”

He cackled and lit a cigarette. “What makes you think you’re in any position to bargain?”

“Jessamine stop,” Kai begged. “Don’t do this, don’t give him anything more.”

“A drugged wolven might as well be human. You’d get more money if I could show my traits, and react.” Jessamine offered, despite the acid in her stomach turning.

He snickered as he turned to leave. “Promising offer… I’ll think about it.”

The door slammed shut and Kai began growling loudly while swatting at her finger tip. “Jessamine! You fucking idiot, why would you make such an offer!?”

“Kai!”

“No I’m with wolf boy on this one. Jessamine that was incredibly stupid,” Kay agreed, looking up from her place on the floor.

“Kay, you will be sent far off some place and be some jailer to the people they’ve inslaved. We will die if we stay here. If there is any way that one of us can get out, I’ll do it.” Jessamine wished she could fold her arms; move her arms at all really.

“Would you go and leave me?” Kai asked. “I bet a strong male wolf could fetch a pretty penny too. A compliant male wolf…. I’m sure the bidders could get creative with that.”

“The money is a plus, but he wants me. He delights in seeing me squirm. The stupid wolven that sought Fae for help.” She turned to him. “You could return to Chey.”

His chest ached at the reminder.

“Chey understands my duty. Don’t lower to your belly for them, it will be oddly embarrassing for you if they open the door and I refuse to leave.” Kai looked at her, pressing his pinky to hers. “We leave together.” She craned her neck painfully with the pins that prevented the collar from shifting. “How bad is it?”

“Not pleasant, but you’ve seen what the tea does. Soon I won’t realize what it’s doing.” She muttered the last bit, wishing she had even the energy to sleep, but she knew with the exhaustion taking over that she wouldn’t wake if the door opened.

“Sleep Jess, I’ll wake you if I hear them coming,” Kay encouraged, able to lean over and tap the tip of her toes with her hand.

—

Jessamine did drift off, woken hours later to her name being called and another tap at her toes. She barely had time for her eyes to adjust to the room’s lighting before the door burst open and a literal leash was attached to the collar. As Bluejay gripped the other end he squeezed onto a portion of the handle, digging the pins further into her neck, then pushed a button and she felt that teeth burning shock of pain again.

“Remember your place Magpie, it’s time for the first auction.” He grinned as others undid her shackles and she stumbled on exhausted feet, falling to the cold stone floor and Kay helped her stand with regret in her eyes.

Kai growled low and long. “When I get off of this Fucking wall, I will delight in feeling your neck snap in my bare hands.”

Bluejay chuckled, “such a feral threat. I’ll do you one better. You act in line and behave yourself, or I’ll bring in a nice little monitor and you can watch every second of what happens to her in there.”

A look of horror crossed Jessamine’s face and she looked at Kai desperately. “It would only add time to how slowly I kill you.”

A booming laugh sounded from within Bluejay that the women had never heard before. “That sounds like a challenge. I’ll bring the big monitor from my room, just for you.”

Jessamine turned back to Kai. “Apologize, please, please…”

But Bluejay didn’t wait for him to try, as he pulled her from the room and locked it behind them. She bit her lips down the the hall, feeling the dry skin split and bleed into her mouth. From what she could see, she knew she must look feral and wondered with a regretful curiosity what kind of clients wouldn’t care if she was already bruised and bloody.

She was brought to a large room, the back lit shadows of people sat in small booths around the dias she was brought to. Bluejay was talking, telling them what they called her and listing traits he thought would intrigue these people. Jessamine wasn’t listening, looking off to a blank wall like she wasn’t all there.

First thing you learned at the auctions was that reactive items were sought after by the most depraved. The next thing you learn is to avoid eye contact at all costs. They tend to bid more eagerly if they think you were asking them for it, .. and things were harder to forget if you saw the feelings in their eyes.

She heard a deep male voice double the opening bid and her heart stopped. She looked terrible, and exhausted, but the bids kept coming. One after the other, back and forth, the number kept going up.

When the final number came in her jaw nearly dropped open. The lights adjusted to light those that had won her for a few hours. Her stomach felt like it was full of spiders.

———

When Jessamine returned she walked with a limp. She was moved back to her spot on the wall, avoiding making eye contact with Kai or Kay as she watched the monitor being removed from the room. Her face was blank, devoid of any energy to feel the embarrassment she felt at them having seen her purchased and played with.

The door closed again and Kai opened his mouth but she spoke first. “Don’t tell them. Please don’t tell anyone,” she begged. “I never told them specifics, I’d like them to believe their imaginations are the worst of it.”

Kai nodded quickly, touching her smallest finger to his, this time as a promise.“I won’t Luna, I will take it to my grave.”

She nodded as well, drifting into a fog of consciousness until she fell asleep. It was at that point, late into the night, when Kay stood up and went to Jessamine to check on her injuries.

“You’ve been unchained this whole time?” Kai asked. “My nose has been itchy for like an hour.”

Kay rolled her eyes at the poor attempt at humour and winced at a nasty cut along Jessamine’s thigh. “No, she snuck me her lock pick when they took her away but we need a proper, useful time to use it,” she muttered under her breath so the camera wouldn’t pick it up. “No one is likely watching now, but just in case I can blame Finch for not locking it good enough. I just can’t not check, I’m worried about her head.”

She felt over the scalp for bumps and lumps, finding two small swollen areas along the back of her head.

“That stupid collar is disgusting, I can’t bare to see it on her.” Kai turned away, the images he had seen playing even behind his closed eyes.

“Get over it,” Kookaburra grumbled. “She doesn’t need to see your face like that.”

He tried to relax his face, but his anger had been covering his sadness and shame at being so useless to help her.

They let her sleep until breakfast came, but she didn’t speak much the whole day, acting much as she had before. Every few hours they would hear a needle disengaged and provide her next dose. Other than meals, no one came to their room all day until Bluejay came to take her away.

Kai begged to go in her place, apologized for the day before, even going as far as to say he would say it again on his knees if given the opportunity. Bluejay had laughed and told him this was part of her punishment for not returning when she had debts to settle. Kai knew he was lying. They would make up any excuse they could to put her there.

It was the same as before, as it had always been. She stood on the stage, words were spoken about her, and the bids began. When the gavel slammed down the buyer was revealed and she was taken off to another room.

—

The door opened and Jessamine was dropped into her place on the stone floor. Gull tried to stand her to put all of the cuffs back, but her legs wobbled so viciously, he left her on the floor and only chained the ankle before leaving.

“What did they do to her?!” Kay called after the brute of a man. “Gull, you sow’s ass, what the fuck happened?”

He only glanced at Kay as he closed the door. “I didn’t ask.”

Kay was shaking as she crawled over to her friend. She moved her head to rest in her lap and brushed the hair carefully back, the small amount of security that it brought was enough to send Jessamine to sleep.

Kay took her sleeve and rubbed at Jessamine’s face. “She’s got lipstick kisses all over her skin.”

Kai wrinkled his nose. “It’s not lipstick, it’s her blood.”

“You think they let vampires in here?” Kay gasped. “They hate them almost as much as wolven.”

“Our blood is said to taste like fine aged wine,” Kai proclaimed, “from all the lives our wolves had before us. Bet they’d pay highly for alpha blood.”

Kay thought she would hurl when she saw bite marks, but she just stroked her hair gently. “My grandfather needs to be stopped,” she whispered lowly, kissing the top of her friend’s head gently. “I wouldn’t treat my worst enemies this way.”

“They will come for her,” Kai replied. “Her mates won’t give up until she’s safely back home.”

“I hope you’re right, but they better hurry up.” She wondered about the lock pick stuck up in her bra.

She needed a plan, but there were only three of them, and though she was fine between the state Jessamine was in and Kai getting frequent tranquilizers and wolves bane to numb his wolf and body… they wouldn’t get out of the kennel block let alone the house. Feeling useless wasn’t a feeling either of them enjoyed, but the problems sat like elephants on their chests as they drifted off to restless sleep, woken by every creak or shuffle that passed their door as other people were returned to their kennels.