by J. L. Wilder
And there was another facet of the auction the Driscolls had discussed—the prices they’d seen the omegas going for. Jamie had wondered, at the time, if his brothers knew just how meager their savings was compared to those auction prices. He had done his best to increase the amount they put away with each paycheck, to better prepare. But at this rate, they wouldn’t be competitive in the auction for another three years at least.
That was too long to wait.
He tucked the money into a manila envelope and slammed the safe shut, spinning the lock to protect the emptiness that remained inside. They would just have to hope, he supposed. Maybe there would be a girl who had some kind of physical deformity that didn’t affect her health, something that would keep the bidding low on her without ruining her prospects as a good mate.
He tucked the envelope full of cash into the backpack he liked to wear while riding. It was dark green canvas and held up well against the elements, and he knew their money would be well protected while they made the trek to Oregon.
But it seemed highly unlikely that it would be enough.
Mark wasn’t going to be happy about this when Jamie told him. His brother could be difficult at the best of times—his temper was easily set off, and he was difficult to reason with when he was angry. But when he heard that the money they’d been saving all this time wasn’t going to be enough, when he heard that they’d been taking food out of their family’s mouths for nothing...
He has nobody to blame but himself, Jamie thought. This whole thing was his idea, wasn’t it?
But that wasn’t quite fair, he knew. He and Harley had been equally on board when Mark had come to them with the idea of saving up for an omega. They had all recognized the need. And they had all known that this was the only way to get a girl of reliable breeding and health, someone they knew would be capable of carrying a pregnancy from multiple fathers to term.
Jamie zipped up his bag and got to his feet. He would have to tell his brothers. They were going to have to think of something. They couldn’t allow their strong, proud lineage to end here.
“NO LEAVING THE HOUSE while we’re gone,” Mark said. “Except in case of an emergency.”
“Not even to tend the garden?” Piper asked.
“You can go out for an hour to work in the garden. Make sure it’s light out when you do.”
Piper nodded. In truth, she was the one Mark was least worried about. He probably would have given her the run of the backyard if he hadn’t had to take the other two into account. But he couldn’t make different rules for each of them and not expect any backlash.
“Your meals are prepared in the refrigerator,” he continued. “You can heat them up in the microwave. No using the stove or the oven.”
“That’s bullshit,” Amy said. “We’re not going to burn the place down.”
“I’m not worried about you burning the place down. I’m worried about someone getting hurt. Remember when Reese fell out of that tree and broke his arm? The pain made him shift, so we couldn’t take him to the hospital. What if something like that happened?”
“We’re not seven anymore,” Amy said. “We’re not going to start shifting because of a little pain.”
“And anyway, we could always take Reese to the vet if he does that again,” Piper said, giggling. Reese gave her a playful shove.
“No stove,” Mark said again, leaning into the words. “No oven. It’s a command.”
Amy rolled her eyes dramatically but didn’t argue.
“We’ll be back the day after tomorrow,” Mark said. “Take care of each other, will you?”
“We’ll be all right,” Amy said, her voice softening somewhat. She was a good kid, really, Mark thought. Seventeen was just a difficult age. He had been seventeen himself when they’d brought Amy into the pack, and he could easily remember what a confusing time that had been. And he’d had a lot more control over his own life than she had now. He’d been an alpha, leading his own pack.
He caught Amy’s eye and jerked his head toward the door, indicating that she should follow him outside. She did so, looking a bit wary, as if she was afraid she might be about to get into trouble.
Once they were alone, he turned to her. “I’m counting on you,” he said. “You’re the oldest. Take care of the others while we’re away.”
She nodded solemnly. “I will,” she said. “You don’t have to worry.”
“Things will be different around here once we have our omega,” he said.
She shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “We’ll have another mouth to feed. And once she has babies...it’s still a year before I can get a job. You’ll probably have pups before that, right? How are we going to afford it?”
“Do you trust me?” Mark asked her.
“Yeah.”
“Well, I have a plan. When we get back, when we have our omega, I am going to send you to the grocery store and you’re going to be able to buy everything you want. Then you and Reese and Piper can go shopping online for new clothes, clothes that fit.”
“I don’t get it. Where’s the money for that coming from?”
He shook his head, not ready to tell her. “Amy,” he said, “you’re a part of our family. We’d all be really upset if you decided to leave us.”
She sighed and gathered her hair in her hand.
“I know it’s been hard for you, wearing out your clothes and not getting enough to eat.”
She darted a look up at him. “I wouldn’t leave because of that,” she said. “Are you serious?”
“We’ve worried about it.”
“You really think I’d run out on the family because we eat broth for dinner sometimes?”
“You wouldn’t?”
She shook her head. “Mark...if I leave...”
“What?” he pressed.
“I want a family of my own someday,” she said. “I want to meet someone. I want to have kids of my own. And... well, this family can hardly sustain itself. How can I add to it?”
Mark didn’t know what to say.
“Anyway,” Amy said, “it’s another year before we have to deal with that, right? And I don’t even know anybody else. So, don’t worry about it right now. Go get your omega. I’ll keep things running here.”
“You’re a good kid, Amy.” He patted her on the shoulder.
Harley and Jamie were waiting outside the garage, already astride their bikes and ready to go. Mark mounted his own bike, revved it up, and rode out to meet them. Piper and Reese had appeared in the doorway to see them off.
“I wish we could bring them,” Harley said sadly. “I hate leaving them on their own.”
Mark shook his head. “It’s no place for children,” he said. “No place for girls, for that matter. The Death Fangs aren’t safe. I wouldn’t even bring you two if I had any choice.”
“Yeah, well, you don’t,” Harley said. “We’re alphas too, unfortunately for you, and we’re not subject to any orders you might give. And you’re crazy if you think we’d ever let you walk into that nest of vipers alone.”
Mark nodded. If he was honest with himself, he was sort of glad his brothers were coming. As much as he hated to put them at risk, it was always best to have someone watching your back when the Death Fangs were involved.
He lifted a hand in farewell to Amy, Reese, and Piper. They waved back. Then he put his bike in gear and rode down the long drive that led to the highway, with Harley and Jamie flanking him on either side.
THERE WAS NOTHING SWEETER, Harley thought, than being on the road. Nothing finer than the wind in your hair, stinging your cheeks as you knifed your way through it. The seven-hour road trip to Oregon, which would have been horrendous cooped up in a car, seemed almost too short.
Harley rode to Mark’s right and slightly behind, flanking his brother. They spread themselves wide on the highway, taking up the whole westbound side of the road, except when they needed to pass someone. On those occasions, Mark would pull into a lead and the others
would fall back, Jamie in the middle and Harley bringing up the rear, until they made it around the other driver and could reestablish their formation.
They stopped just once, around noon, pulling their bikes onto a broad shoulder of the road to eat the sandwiches they’d packed for lunch. They ate standing up, leaning against the seats of their bikes, not talking. Nobody ever felt much like talking during a run. Harley thought it was the closest you could get to accessing your inner animal while still retaining your humanity. But the communication between them was strong, even without words.
Both of his brothers were worried.
And, Harley thought, they were worried about different things.
He wasn’t sure what those things might be. He himself was worried about being on Death Fang turf. The Death Fangs had been known to get violent with people who came to their auctions and wasted their time. He didn’t know if the Hell’s Wolves’ bit would be considered worthwhile or serious—he hadn’t asked Jamie about the money situation yet. Harley was a good fighter, and so were his brothers, but if it came to a brawl, he knew they wouldn’t stand a chance.
They arrived in Portland just after dark. The Death Fangs lived on the outskirts, like the Hell’s Wolves, so as not to attract unwanted attention. Mark, Jamie, and Harley would spend the night in a hotel and head to the auction first thing in the morning.
The hotel was an unusual luxury. Harley had the whole pull-out sofa bed, with its soft mattress and warm blankets, all to himself. He sat on the end of it as his brothers got ready for bed, twisting to relieve the pain in his back from sitting on his bike all day.
Mark came in from the bathroom, shaking water off his hands. “We need to talk,” he said.
“Who, me?” Harley asked.
“Both of you.” He signalled to Jamie, who abandoned the backpack he had been rifling through and came over to sit on his own bed.
“What’s up?” Harley asked.
“We need to talk about the plan for tomorrow,” Mark said. “I’ve been thinking about it for a few days now, and I think we need to change our approach.”
“Had we talked about an approach?”
Jamie spoke up. “We can’t afford to buy an omega,” he said, eyes on Mark. “Not if the going rate is anything like it was last year. We don’t have anywhere near enough money.”
Harley felt a sinking sensation in his gut—it was what they had all been worried about—but Mark only nodded. “I had a feeling that might happen,” he said. “And what money we do have could be put to better use than this, I think.”
“You’re not suggesting we give up on getting an omega?” Harley asked. It had been all they’d been working for, for years now.
“No, I’m not saying that,” Mark said. “But once we have an omega, once she has a litter, we need to think about how we’re going to keep putting food on the table. We need all the money we have. And the kids—they’re growing up. They might be able to get jobs and contribute, but they might also want to start families of their own. If we’re lucky, our pack is going to start growing exponentially pretty soon. We need every dollar we can get our hands on.”
“But what about the auction?” Harley asked.
Mark nodded. “We can’t afford to buy one of these women anyway. I can only see one way forward that will protect our lineage.” He looked from Harley to Jamie and back again. “We’re going to have to take one.”
“You mean kidnap someone?” Harley was aghast. “We can’t do that.”
“It’s no different from what we were already going to do,” Mark said. “The only difference is that we wouldn’t be giving money to the Death Fangs. To the woman, it’s not going to make any difference at all whether we pay. In fact, it’s better for her if we don’t, because we’ll be better able to provide for her and her children.”
Even Jamie, the most practical of the group, looked doubtful. “I don’t know,” he said. “Kidnapping someone and dragging her back to Idaho against her will?”
“We were going to be taking her against her will anyway,” Mark said again.
“I know,” Jamie said. “But this feels different.”
“It’s not a good first impression,” Harley said. “If we bought someone at auction...I mean, these girls are raised by the Death Fangs. They expect to be bought at auction. It’s not a great way to meet someone, but it’s no worse than she would have been expecting for years. But if we take her by force, she’s going to think we’re...violent. Criminals.”
“We are criminals if we kidnap somebody,” Jamie said.
“Are we?” Mark asked. “They kidnapped her in the first place, didn’t they? It’s not as if she actually belongs to them.”
Jamie looked disgusted. “That wasn’t going to stop us from buying someone. Like a piece of property. You can’t just change your view on morality now because it’s convenient. Because it saves us money.”
“It’s more complicated than that,” Mark said. “I’m sorry if you can’t see that, but that’s what we’re doing.”
“No.”
Mark raised his eyebrows. “Excuse me?”
“No. I’m not doing that.” Jamie got to his feet. “You’re not my alpha, Mark. I have all the same power you have. And I’m not going to be a part of this.”
Mark turned to look at Harley. “What do you say?”
This had never happened before. Harley had never found himself in the middle of a disagreement between his brothers. Usually, they all agreed on what was best, and when they couldn’t come to a consensus, it was clear who should be deferred to. But Harley didn’t know who should call the shots here. Mark had been the one to come up with this plan in the first place. He was the one who had encouraged them to save up for an omega, the one who had reminded them, over and over, how important it was to preserve their lineage. And Harley agreed with that. But Jamie was making some good points too. “I don’t know,” he said uneasily.
“How can you not know?” Jamie demanded.
“Because neither one of you is completely wrong,” Harley said.
“He wants to kidnap someone, Harley.”
“Someone who’s already a kidnapping victim.”
“So, you’re fine with being her captor? Just because she already lives in captivity?”
“Maybe she’d rather live with us.”
“You don’t think we should ask?”
“We were never going to ask,” Harley pointed out. “That was never the plan. If Mark can’t change his morals, you can’t either.”
“That’s right,” Mark said.
“I don’t know what you’re gloating about, though,” Harley said to Mark. “All this does is point out the flaws in our initial plan.” It was easier, he supposed, to overlook the fact that they were going to be taking a woman against her will when they weren’t calling it kidnapping. When they were talking about an auction instead of a crime.
But the auction is a crime, Harley thought. It always has been.
“This is what I’m doing,” Mark said shortly. “Our family line has to be preserved. You two can come with me or not, but I’m going.” And having said so, he turned and fell into bed, fully dressed.
Harley looked at Jamie. Jamie shook his head, turned, and got into his own bed.
It was a long time before Harley slept that night.
Chapter Four
Maddy felt naked in the dress she had been given. For all intents and purposes, she was naked. They had dressed her in sheer pink silk, and Maddy thought the dress was the stupidest construction she had ever seen in her life.
For one thing, there was the neck. It had been cut in a deep V shape, plunging almost all the way down to her belly button, and that was ridiculous, because you could see her breasts through the fabric. There was no need for the usual coy faux-revealing tricks clothing designers liked to play. They could have cut the silk in the shape of a poncho and the buyers at the auction would have gotten just as good a look.
Then, there was the length
of the dress. It fell all the way to her ankles. In fact, it fell several inches past her ankles, which made it hard to walk, as she kept stepping on the hem. It also meant that the dress dragged in the dust on the floor of the auction holding room.
They wanted her to keep it clean. Isla had warned her, as she’d been loaded into the truck with the other women, that she would do best to hold her skirt up, and now, the men—she still didn’t know their names—snapped at her every time they saw it dragging on the floor. But a feeling of recklessness had taken over Maddy. What did she care about the stupid dress?
They had arrived at the site of the auction about an hour ago and had been hustled into this holding room to prepare. It looked like a barn to Maddy, or what she imagined a barn might look like—she had never actually seen one. Most of the women who had come over with her were huddled around the walls, looking frightened. Some of them were crying.
Maddy had already made up her mind that she wasn’t going to cry. She wouldn’t give these assholes the satisfaction.
A man came into the room. Maddy watched as the others shrank back into the walls. They looked like they were trying to make themselves invisible. She would have liked to be invisible herself, but she swallowed hard and stepped forward instead, so he would have to look at her. Let him see I’m not afraid of him, she thought. What does it matter now? One way or another, we won’t be seeing each other after today.
“The auction will begin in half an hour,” the man said. “You’ll be brought out onto the stage in two groups.”
Two groups. Maddy’s spirits rose. This could mean an opportunity.
“When you get outside, you’re to mount the stage quietly,” the man said. “At no point are any of you permitted to speak. Stand very still on the stage, with your hands behind your back or at your sides. Do not flinch or move away when the customers come up to examine you. You’ll be punished if you do.”
