by Marcy Jacks
Well, yeah, kind of old, and that feeling of wanting to rub up against someone's legs like a cat…that was totally gone. Dex felt none of that for this man who was watching him right now, for the man who looked at him with those red eyes.
He licked his lips, checkbook in hand, and that terrible shiver rushed back up Dex's spine.
This guy wanted to buy him? Seriously? Why the hell was he dealing with this shit?
"Ten thousand," said the handsome, younger slave trader.
Dex was relieved. He shouldn't be relieved. He didn't want to be bought by anyone. He didn't want anyone looking at him as though he could solve all of their problems with a fuck and a blow job.
But if he was going to be bought by anyone, then he wanted it to be done by the one who looked good.
At least Dex was getting a hard-on for him. He could work with someone who was good-looking, who he was attracted to.
Fuck, he was thinking about putting the man's dick into his mouth. He didn't need to be thinking about that. He didn't need to be thinking about any of this stuff.
"Fifteen thousand dollars," said the older shifter. The man glared at the guy bidding on Dex, as though daring him to do anything else.
Dex whimpered. He looked up at the other man, hoping he would bid again. That he would say something.
"Twenty-five thousand."
Nathan chuckled, a nervous, excited sound. "Gentlemen, if I had known the both of you were into redheads, then I would have done a better job to procure more of them."
"Fifty thousand dollars."
Dex's spine stiffened. Every cell in his body froze like the Antarctic, and he swore he was going to drop dead right then and there from the shame of this.
Someone wanted to pay fifty grand to fuck him, and he was so desperate to get out of that, that he wanted someone who looked nicer to bid on him.
Dex wanted this other guy with the dark hair, square jaw, and smell of Irish Spring to bid on him because at least it might be pleasant to be fucked by this guy.
He was so fucked.
"Brad? Do you have any other bids to make?" Nathan was such a fucking snake. He looked eager, excited, as though he wanted Brad to bid more money because he was loving this bidding war just a little too damned much.
Brad looked down at Dex.
Dex stared up at him, and he knew it was pathetic, but he reached out for the man, grabbing onto his leg, a sense of desperation and terror unlike anything he'd ever felt coming over him. "I want to go with you. I want you to bid on me. Don't let him take me, please!"
Nathan hooted. "Well, I'll be damned! The little foul-mouthed pest actually can be scared of something."
"He will have no reason to fear me when I take him. I can be gentle with humans and omegas until the end," said the other buyer.
Dex did not want to know what he meant by “until the end.” Did he not plan on keeping Dex around long term? Or was be planning on offing Dex when he finished with him?
Dex didn't want to die. He wanted to go home. He wanted to leave here with the one person who didn't talk about him as though he were planning on killing him when he finished with him.
"I want to go with you. I'll be your wolf soul! I can make you extra powerful! I promise!"
He had no idea if that was true, but he didn't care either. He was willing to promise anything and everything so long as it got him away from that other guy.
"Brad?"
Brad sighed. "I don't have those kinds of funds on me for a wolf soul."
Nathan shrugged. "Oh well then. Next time. William, come this way. I can sign your new wolf soul over to you. Try to make this one last longer than the previous one, yes?"
"Of course."
Brad looked down at Dex as though he was sorry. That helpless sensation Dex suffered with before got him good and hard this time around, and he couldn't get control of his body. He held on to Brad's clothes and tried to not let him go even when the other two shifters came and grabbed him, trying to drag him away from Brad.
"Please, I can be a good wolf soul to you. I don't want to go with them. I want to stay with you! Please!"
It didn't matter. Brad didn't reach down to help him. He didn't say a damned word as Dex was dragged away from him, screaming out for someone to help him.
He'd hidden his fear pretty well since he’d been brought here, but now he was utterly pants-pissing terrified, and Dex knew there was nothing he could do about it.
* * * *
Bodolf watched as his mate was taken away from him, crying out for him to help him, yelling for someone to save him. The picture of that brave, foul-mouthed human was gone. Instinct to survive, to do and say anything that would get him out of the situation he'd found himself in was in full effect, and it took everything Bodolf had within him to stop his inner wolf from coming out and ripping his mate away from those wolves who wished to do him harm.
Especially the older man.
Bodolf didn't know him, but the comment Nathan had made about making Dexter last longer?
Not going to fly.
He just had to bide his time. He waited for Nathan to come back. The man smiled and shrugged, as though asking what could be done.
"I'm very sorry for the trouble, but he was the highest bidder."
"Sure. Do you want to show me anyone else you might have in that tent, or is this the last of them?"
"This would be all of them," Nathan said. "Are you interested in anyone else? I can still offer you a nice discount to ease the wound of losing the redhead."
"No need. I'll speak with that wolf. William you said his name was? I'll see if he can't be persuaded to give me the wolf soul."
"Ah, well, that might pose something of a problem. He does indeed enjoy young redheads. I didn't think he would want that one because of his foul mouth, but perhaps he enjoys breaking them in."
"I also enjoy breaking them in. I'll make him an offer he can't refuse."
He would kill him if he didn't hand Dexter over to him immediately, but Bodolf couldn't do anything here. Not right now. He was supposed to get in and out. He’d had no one come with him from his own pack. He wore no wires, and he didn't have anyone following him.
He was supposed to be here for only two hours. If he stayed any longer, his second- and third-in-command were meant to come looking for him. That was it.
Otherwise, it was too much of a risk to have his own men tailing him when there were too many other wolves around here who could sniff them out, who were actively looking for any smells that were out of place.
Nathan was now looking at Bodolf as though he were getting annoyed. "William is a good customer, and no, that is not his real name, as I am sure Brad is not yours. He purchased the foul-mouthed ginger fairly. You can either choose someone else, or you can leave here. I am here to do business, not to coddle the feelings of some pervert who can't handle that he lost."
Bodolf felt the little muscle beneath his eye twitch. "Did you just call me a pervert? When you're the one kidnapping and selling these people?"
"Oh shut the fuck up. These people are nobodies. Nobody noticed they were missing, and no one cared. You don't even care. You're just getting pissy because you can't stick your dick in that redhead. Well, too damned bad for you. Find someone else to fuck. It's got nothing to do with me."
The wolf would not be contained anymore. It was feral, wild, and vicious, and fuck it, Bodolf was not at all interested in holding back anymore.
So he let it loose on the stupid bastard in front of him. He attacked. He relished the sound of Nathan's scream, and then, as other wolves and humans stepped in to pull him back, to shock him with their tasers, Bodolf gave all control over to the wolf inside him, protecting himself against the pain.
It was time to go hunting.
He needed to get through these idiots right here first, and then he was going after that son of a bitch who’d stolen his mate away.
Chapter Three
Dex stared at the werewolf who’d just b
ought him, the werewolf who kept looking at him as though he were something to eat.
Maybe he actually thought this was the case. Dex didn't know, and he didn't care. The only thing he could focus on was the pain in his chest, the cold heavy feeling that came with being taken away from that other shifter.
He had no reason to want that shifter. There was nothing about any of this that should have made any remote amount of sense, but there it was.
He wanted that other shifter for no reason, and being forced to go along with this guy gutted Dex in a way he hadn’t thought possible.
He was ready to cry as a collar was snapped around his neck. An actual leash was clipped to him, and he was yanked closer to the older shifter.
"Don't worry, sweet. I promise if you just give me what you have, I can be very gentle. I have a nice house and a pool. Would you like that?"
This guy spoke to Dex as though he were a child.
That didn't sit well with him at all. This guy probably had some kind of weird fetish that Dex didn't even want to think about.
He also smelled like waaaaay too much aftershave. Maybe he was trying to hide away the scent of his own species from other shifters. Did he really think that was going to work? Did he think anyone bought into that?
And this guy wanted to fuck him. Dex shivered.
The shifter pressed his clawed fingers into the back of Dex's neck. Dex clenched his teeth, grunting at the sudden pain that hit him. His first instinct was to get as far away from this guy as he possibly could, but the grip was so tight he worried there was the chance he would tear off some skin if he tried to go anywhere.
"Answer me when I speak to you."
Dex hissed. "Uh, yeah, that sounds great."
His voice broke. He had to get away from this pervert. He had to do something for those other people, but what the hell was he supposed to do when he was stuck here? He doubted he would be given access to a phone.
The sudden sound of screaming, and then yelling, from outside the tent took away from the pain in the back of Dex's neck. It also distracted the older alpha enough to let go of him as he turned to look through the flap. Someone ran by. Then another someone. Then a wolf.
It sounded like they were getting ready to go to war out there.
William looked to the shifters who had let him sign the papers and accepted his payment, a scowl on his face. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Uh, I'm not sure," said one of them, either an omega or a beta but definitely not someone in charge of doing any of the fighting.
"Well! Go see what's going on!" William snapped. He tugged on Dex's leash next.
"You, come on, we're leaving."
The only reason Dex didn't give him any trouble was because there was the very real chance that this was something to do with pack fighting. One of the wolves might be trying to take one of the wolf souls without permission. Or it could be a rival pack fight. Dex had overheard some of the shifters talking about that, as though there was a real chance another pack could find out about this place, and instead of helping, they would try to take the wolf souls for themselves.
Since Dex didn't want to be passed around, or killed in the crosshairs of any fight, he ran along with the wolf who’d purchased him.
They ran toward a nice-looking SUV. A car that probably cost double what Dex made in a year.
"Get in," William snapped, and by now, the fighting sounded so much more vicious. And wet. As though people, and wolves, were being torn open.
Dex did as he was told, getting in the passenger seat. He opened the glove compartment, checking for a weapon or a phone, but he found nothing and was forced to snap the glove compartment shut when William got into the driver's seat. He pressed the engine button and started the vehicle. It rumbled to life beneath Dex's body, and then the vehicle started to move.
Dex glanced back through the window. He thought he should probably duck down in case there were bullets being fired off, but he couldn't look away. He had to see him one more time.
The alpha who had been bidding for him.
Was he alive? He was he out there fighting? Or had he found someone else to bid on and he no longer cared about Dex?
And why did Dex's heart ache as they drove away from the compound? He'd wanted to get out of that place the second he’d woken up. Even if he didn't want to be anywhere near this guy, getting out of that place meant he had a chance to escape. He had a chance to get away at a later time and bring the police, or anyone else who might listen to him, back here, where he could help save those poor bastards.
Meanwhile, all he could think about was that shifter he was leaving behind.
"Holy shit!"
The old man screamed, turning hard on the wheel, and Dex found his face pressed up hard against the glass as the vehicle suddenly turned onto its side.
The glass didn't shatter. That was a miracle, but it didn't feel fun to have his face slammed into the glass as the SUV slammed onto its side either.
Dex saw stars. He couldn't think for a terrible moment, and his head ached.
Somewhere in the distance, he could hear a terrible screaming noise. Screams for help, for mercy, and a horrifying growling and howling noise.
When Dex managed to get his eyes open, and keep them open, his body was twisted at an odd angle. He looked out the window. The window? No, the sunroof. He was looking out the sunroof, and something big was looking back at him with golden eyes the size of soccer balls.
Dex suddenly woke up fast. He pushed himself up. Tried to. He didn't have the chance to put his seatbelt on, and he was twisted around in a strange position. The fact that the SUV was on its side made things a little awkward for his eyes. He was thrown off with the way the world looked outside the windows and the way the SUV looked inside.
His equilibrium was fucked, but he couldn't think about that right now because the giant wolf put its paws on top of the vehicle, or on the side, he supposed, and now it was looking down at him through the open doorway.
Where was the man who’d bought Dex? Was he dead?
Dex's heart hammered. He looked back outside then spotted what looked to be a white wolf in the middle of the road.
Bright red seeped through the white fur, making it ugly with the knowledge of what had just happened to it.
He must have tried to shift to defend himself, but it had been too late. The other wolf was bigger, stronger, and now it stared at Dex.
Dex looked back, terrified, waiting for the wolf to do something, to kill him like it had done to the man who’d purchased him.
Or to kill the other wolves back at the camp. He assumed that was what he'd done.
Dex shook his head. He didn't want to die, but before he could commence with begging for his life, something snapped inside his brain.
Something important and instinctual.
This…this wolf…it looked at him with such an expression that Dex couldn't possibly begin to describe it. He wanted to go to it. He wanted to press his face into that dark fur and stay there, as though he would be sheltered from all the horrible things happening outside of this vehicle.
As if he'd been hypnotized by those eyes.
Someone spoke somewhere. Dex didn't know where because he didn't dare take his eyes away from the wolf, but he heard the voice. It sounded almost like Brad.
Come on out of there, sweetheart. I'll take you home. Come on now. Hurry.
That voice. Dex moved immediately to do as he was told, pulling himself up, climbing out of the shattered driver's side window of the SUV. It was a struggle. His body was so weak, but he wanted to obey that voice. He wanted to give it anything and everything he had.
When he was standing on the side of the road, he looked back and noticed all of the claw marks on the SUV. The engine steamed, as though it had been well and truly fucked.
Huh, well, he supposed that made sense. A vehicle like this didn't seem like it should easily tip over unless there was something big there to help it along.
&
nbsp; And this looked as though the wolf had slammed both of his paws down on the hood when William, or whatever his name was, slammed his foot on the brake and turned the wheel as hard as he had.
The new wolf stepped between Dex and the vehicle, cutting off his view of the damage. Come on, we need to get out of here.
"Leave?"
Dex blinked, shook his head, and tried to snap out of his stupor. He could hear the other wolves behind him, barking and shouting.
It was getting closer.
The wolf knelt down, and that was an invitation to climb up onto his back if Dex had ever seen one.
So that was exactly what he did.
He grabbed onto the fur, pulling himself up onto the wolf's back.
Part of him screamed that this was insane. This was crazy, and what the hell was he thinking letting something like this happen? He needed to get out of here.
But that part of his brain seemed very far away. As though it were screaming at him from beneath a pillow.
The only thing Dex wanted to do was touch this animal. To let himself feel the coarse wolf hair beneath his hands.
He sighed when he did, letting his face rest between the shoulder blades of the wolf. It looked black, but with his face up close, he could see the hints of white and gray beneath the fur.
Dex sighed, and he’d never felt more comfortable or safe in his entire life.
The wolf rumbled, and then it started to run. Dex hung on for the ride, hoping he never had to get off.
Chapter Four
Dex finally snapped out of it after a long while of running. It was hard to say how much time had passed because he'd spent so little time paying attention. He seemed to fade in and out of consciousness, though he never actually fell asleep.
He just seemed to doze. To doze as he inhaled the wonderful Irish Spring scent of the fur.
It was harsh fur, a little itchy to touch, but Dex couldn't get enough of it. He wanted more of the smell, more to touch. He thought of that man and his voice, the voice he'd heard, and at some point, long after the barking and yipping behind him stopped, Dex realized that voice belonged to the man who had been bidding on him.
