Caged

Madam Tigress

Stiles' confusion was only made worse when, amongst the footsteps, he heard the distinct clack of sharp heels striking the floor in confident, measured strides. A few beats later, the group circled them at a wide berth and stopped before them. Stiles looked up through his lashes and had no idea what to make of the strangers that had been led in by a grinning Commander.

Eight women stood before them. From aura alone, Stiles could tell that they were all tiger-shifters and the aura surrounding each of them felt like the crushing weight of an Alpha wolf's presence. They all seemed to be in their late twenties to early thirties and they all wore what looked to be quite expensive luxury clothes.

However, while all of them appeared to be very wealthy and put-together, one stood out from the rest. She stood tall in gleaming cherry-red stilettos, with a tight black dress hugging her curves and a large, crisp black suit-jacket draped over her slim shoulders. Her hair was a glossy auburn, her lips painted the same bright red of her shoes, and her eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses that probably cost more than Stiles' childhood home.

Everything about her dripped with power and money, and her long sharp nails looked deadly under the shining black paint. She was undoubtedly the strongest amongst them and likely the reason his hackles had been up long before they'd even been in the same room together. Even right then, with several yards between them, Stiles felt like he was being suffocated under the weight of her presence. It had sweat forming on the back of his neck.

"There are more than I was expecting." One of the other women said absently as they all scrutinized the kneeling line of boys. The Commander was quick to jump in.

"We only lost two in the initial turning, and we were lucky enough to have brought in an extra just in case. Though he's younger than anyone's tried before, we were all surprised he survived." The Commander's meaty hand gestured his way dismissively and all of their sharp, heavy eyes landed on him, making the tension in his shoulders clench tighter. Most of them lost interest almost immediately and focused back on the others. However, she didn't look away. He could feel her gaze even from behind the black glass of her sunglasses.

"How old is he?" She directed her question at the Commander without tearing her gaze away. Stiles' nerves prickled at being talked about like he wasn't there.

"Fifteen. Lots of potential, but he can be a bit lippy. I wouldn't suggest him, he's a slippery one and has tried to escape more times than I can count." The Commander sent him a glare and Stiles quickly dropped his gaze before the Commander noticed that he'd been watching them instead of looking at the ground like the others.

"Is he strong?" Her low, sultry voice had lost absolutely none of its intrigue and Stiles could still feel her gaze. Stiles was distracted from listening to the rest of the conversation when he saw movement in the corner of his eye.

Some of the other women decided to get a closer look at the others and began to closely scrutinize them as if they were . . . browsing. Oh god. Stiles' stomach roiled and he felt sick as it fully registered what exactly was happening. They were being sold! Stiles tilted his head to look at the others down the line and had to choke down a growl when he noticed some of the women were bold enough to reach out and lift their heads to inspect their faces, or leaned in to inhale their scent.

They seemed most interested in 01—who was the biggest and oldest of their group—and 04—who was also quite strong, as well as quite handsome. But the longer the inspection went on, and the more questions they asked the Commander about each of them, the more the two groups began to spread out and look at the others. They can't all buy the same one I suppose, Stiles thought morbidly, glaring under his lashes any time one of them dared to touch one of the boys.