Chapter 3; Cornered

POPPY’S POV

I should have kept my mouth shut. That was the thought running on a loop in my head as I stood in the doorway of my father's study.

But I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. 

I stepped inside without asking and sucked in a deep breath. 

"Dad." My voice came out smaller than I wanted it to. "Please, reconsider your decision.”

He didn't look up.

"The arrangement with the Rockwell family has already been confirmed," he said, turning a page. "Jude called this morning and we gave our word."

My body trembled. "You gave your word about my life without asking me-"

"You forfeited the right to be asked." Now he looked up and his eyes were cold in a way that was somehow worse than the anger from earlier. "What's on that video, Poppy, is enough to disgrace this entire family. Do you understand what people are saying?” 

He snarled, slamming his fist against the table. “The Beta's daughter, sneaking into a stranger's hotel room the same night her mate rejected her." He shook his head slowly. "You're lucky the Rockwell’s are still willing."

"Lucky," I repeated.

He huffed. "Jude has agreed to overlook it. He was gracious about the situation." 

I could almost see my father framing it as a selling point. ‘Our daughter is already humbled, so she'll be grateful and she won't cause trouble.”

I felt sick to my stomach. “You used it to bargain me off."

He shrugged but my grief was slowly turning into anger again. 

"You sold me." My voice cracked on the last word, which I hated. "You took the worst night of my life and you used it to make a deal?"

My father set his pen down. "You'll be moved to the east room tonight," he said, like I hadn't spoken at all. "Until the formal meeting with the Rockwell’s next week, we think it's better if you're… kept close."

No. No. No!

"You won't be attending pack gatherings. You won't be leaving the property unaccompanied and we'll need to make certain you're-" He paused, choosing his words carefully, “presentable to their family.” 

I stared at him in disbelief. "You're going to lock me up," I said slowly.

He picked up his pen again."You're dismissed, Poppy."

I stood there for a moment but he didn’t look up. The only acknowledgement was a dismissive wave of his hand. 

I sucked in another deep breath, then turned around and walked out.

My mother was in the hallway, which told me she was listening. She didn't even pretend otherwise. 

She just looked at me with those dark eyes and said, "It's for your own good. You've always been too much trouble on your own."

I walked past her without answering and in my room, I sat on the edge of the bed and pressed my palms flat on my knees and made myself breathe. 

They were going to lock me in the east room and then next week some stranger old enough to be my father was going to come and look me over, and they were going to hand me to him like something wrapped in paper with an apology note attached.

I looked at my window and I thought very carefully.

“I can’t do this.” I decided and I got up, pulled my bag from under the bed, and started packing.

I didn't take much. Just a change of clothes, my phone, and the small amount of cash I kept tucked in my journal.

I locked my door from inside, slow enough so the click wouldn’t echo. Then I sighed and walked toward the window, easing it open.

My room was on the second floor, but the oak tree my father had always threatened to cut down grew close enough to the wall that it wasn't a terrible drop to the first branch. 

I climbed it often so it wasn’t much of a hassle. The only trick was doing it during the day with a backpack.

“Alright, Poppy.” I muttered to myself. “You can do this.” 

I swung my bag over one shoulder and climbed out. The air was cold and the sound of music echoing from the living room was a relief. 

I dropped from the last branch, landed in a crouch in the damp grass, and stayed still for a moment, listening.

There was nothing. 

So I stood up and raced like my life depended on it. I shrugged on the baseball cap I took and kept my face fixed on the floor. 

I couldn’t afford anyone seeing me. I just had to make it to the pack’s border and find a way into the neighboring village. 

I was twenty metres from the border when I heard footsteps behind me. 

I didn't stop walking even as my heartbeat was climbing in a way I was trying very hard to ignore.

The footsteps got closer and I held my bag tighter, preprared to launch into a sprint when something hit my head from behind.

I yelped, tripping over my foot as the ground rushed up to meet my face. Suddenly, a strong arm wrapped around my waist and there was a sharp smell of something chemical pressed against my face.

I grabbed at the arm above me and tried to scream and it came out muffled and small until I finally went under.

********

I woke up feeling cold, it was seeping up through whatever I was lying on, and settling into my joints. My cheek was pressed against a hard surface, and for a strange, half-conscious moment I thought I was on the floor of my own room.

Then I heard the whispering of unfamilar voices and I opened my eyes.

The room was lit by a single bulb hanging from a low ceiling. I noticed the concrete walls, and lack of windows, even the metal door at the far end.

The floor was bare and I was not alone. There were other girls, maybe six of them, scattered around the room in various states.

Some were slumped against the wall, others curled on their sides, and there was one with her knees pulled to her chest, staring at nothing. 

What the hell? I remembered being attacked while running away from home but… 

I sat up quickly, instantly regretting it as I grabbed my head, a pained grunt leaving my throat.

"Don't stand too fast," said a voice near my left and I turned to see a girl my age with dark circles under her eyes and dried cut above her eyebrow. "They drugged us. It takes a while to clear."

"Where are we?" I asked. 

She looked at me for a moment. "An auction house," she said slowly. "You know what that means."

I did.

Every pack had whispered about it. The underground trade and girls who disappeared from border towns with no news of them after. 

The realization that I was now one of those girls hit me like I truck and I sank further into the floor. 

I’d been kidnapped, and now I was going to get sold like a cattle… the same thing I was running from still caught up to me. 

I really did have the shittiest luck.