#Chapter 43: A Favor

Elara The world around me swam as the man carried me out of the buzzing auction room and into another private room. Before I could say or do anything, he practically tossed me down like a sack of potatoes, and I collapsed onto a large, unfamiliar bed. A moment later, he reached down and roughly unhooked the leash from my collar, and I slumped against the silken sheets. As I lay there, the room spinning nauseatingly, I looked around wildly for some kind of exit, a weapon, anything. But my wrists were still tied and even if they hadn’t been, my body wasn’t cooperating. Whatever those bastards had injected me with still lingered in my veins, muddying my thoughts and weighing me down like I had been submerged underwater. All I could do was lay there, limp and helpless. The man turned, his hand reaching for the mask over his face. When he pulled it off, I froze. It was Asher. Suddenly, the haze clouding my conscience ebbed, if only a little. Just enough for me to r