Chapter 3 : Confused

He dragged me up the stairs by my hair. I tried to keep pace with him to ease the burning pain in my scalp. He threw me to the floor. I heard the cellar door slam shut.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the brightness. I was sprawled on a marble floor, smooth and cool against my skin. Above me stretched an elaborately painted ceiling that looked like something straight out of the Italian Renaissance. It reminded me of pictures I''d seen of the Sistine Chapel. The artwork depicted richly dressed men and women in luxurious settings, often accompanied by massive wolves. I stared in amazement at the craftsmanship. Similar paintings in expensive-looking frames adorned the walls. Wolf sculptures were scattered throughout the enormous room. Floor-to-ceiling windows framed by heavy cream curtains let streams of light pour in. A winding staircase curved up to my far right.

I was in a mansion. The complete contrast from the horror and squalor of the cellar left me stunned.

I''d almost forgotten about my attacker when he yanked me up by my arm. His hand cracked across my face. I screamed, jerking away from his grip and bringing my hand to my throbbing cheek. Now I had both a bruise and a scrape. A few drops of blood stained my fingertips. The man raised his hand again, but this time I was ready to fight back and make a run for it.

"STOP!" A deep voice boomed.

The man froze. I found the source of the voice and gasped. A tall, broad-shouldered man stood at the foot of the staircase. He was impeccably dressed, expensive cologne radiating from him. He was ridiculously handsome—like he''d stepped out of a magazine or some romance novel. His baby blue eyes regarded the gray-eyed man with obvious disgust. Dark blonde hair fell in waves to his shoulders. He was lean but muscled as he strode toward us.

"What the hell do you think you''re doing, Boris?" the well-dressed man demanded.

"Mr. Caro, I was just teaching this one a lesson! She did this!" Boris screamed, pointing to his eye patch.

"No one will notice," Mr. Caro said smoothly, patting Boris on the shoulder.

Boris looked confused. "This one is a special order. She''s not for the auction," Mr. Caro explained.

Boris muttered something under his breath. Mr. Caro''s expression darkened. He approached me, and I scrambled backward instinctively until my back hit the wall with nowhere left to go. Mr. Caro took my chin in his hand, tilting my face up. I avoided his eyes as he examined my face.

"How are we going to explain this bruise to our very important buyer?" Mr. Caro said softly.

His tone sounded innocent enough, but something about him told me he was far more dangerous than Boris. Boris stayed silent.

"The Alpha will be furious," Mr. Caro whispered.

Boris looked worried and mumbled something. Mr. Caro sighed.

"Get her cleaned up!" Mr. Caro ordered. "Make her as pretty as possible for the Alpha. He''s coming tonight to the auction. She''s a private order—the most expensive piece of the night, and you''ve damaged her!"

Boris sighed. "She damaged me," I heard him mutter.

Mr. Caro snarled, reminding me of the guard from earlier. I released a breath I hadn''t realized I''d been holding. Mr. Caro''s blue eyes suddenly looked much darker. Boris trembled.

"Okay, okay," Boris agreed.

"Please," I said softly to Mr. Caro. "Don''t kill me."

Mr. Caro laughed. "Kill you? You''re not worth anything dead. The Alpha wants you very much alive and unharmed, but we''ve already screwed up that second part, haven''t we?"

I didn''t know whether to feel relieved. "Alpha? Like a wolf?" was all I could manage to say.

Mr. Caro''s eyes widened. "Oh right, you''re the human one." He got to his feet and left abruptly.

I swallowed hard. I was alone with my biggest fan, Boris, and more confused than ever. Boris left me there on the floor and exited the room. I scrambled to my feet and ran to the large double doors by the winding staircase. They were locked. I banged on the glass windows, even throwing a wolf statue at one. Neither the glass nor the statue showed even a scratch. I remembered Rose was still in the cellar. Should I try to free her now? Or escape and come back for her with the police? Maybe the two of us could overpower Boris. Before I could decide, Boris entered the room through a side door, flanked by two women.

"Look at her face!" said the pretty blonde woman.

"He''ll be furious," whispered the beautiful dark-haired woman.

Both women were gorgeous, maybe in their forties. They looked like retired supermodels. One had a dark chocolate complexion with almond-shaped brown eyes, high cheekbones, and full lips. Her curly hair was pulled back in a simple bun. The other woman had long, straight blonde hair and large blue eyes with a pouty mouth. They were both wearing red lipstick and sleek red cocktail dresses with wide-brimmed red hats. Lacy black gloves covered their hands, and they wore pointed black stilettos.

"Boss said to fix her up as much as possible. The Alpha is coming for her tonight," Boris said.

"That''s not enough time for that bruise to heal," said the blonde woman. "Maybe if she were a werewolf, but this one is human."

"I know that, Salvia! I''m human!" Boris snapped at the blonde.

Salvia pursed her lips. "Then you should''ve known better than to hit her," she shot back.

"Never mind, Boris," said the other woman. "Perhaps we can delay the Alpha?"

"We can''t delay the Alpha, sister," said Salvia, her blue eyes widening.

"He''ll be angrier if we make him wait, and she would take days to heal, Sylvia," Boris said to the other woman.

Sylvia, the dark-haired woman, frowned, creating a wrinkle in her perfect forehead. She sighed.

Sylvia and Salvia approached me. "Come, come, child, let''s get you ready," Sylvia cooed, as if I were her daughter and she was dressing me up for my sweet sixteen.

Sylvia reminded me a little of my mom with her mocha complexion. The blonde, blue-eyed Salvia resembled my father''s sister. My parents were just as different from each other as these two. I suddenly wondered if I would ever see them again.

I followed the women up the winding staircase, rather than stay with Boris.