Page 9 of Omega's Triplets

“Into the tub,” Isla said, pointing.

Maddy hesitated. “Am I supposed to take my clothes off?”

Isla nodded as if this were completely inconsequential.

Maddy had never been naked in front of another person before, but at least it was Isla, who seemed to have no particular interest in her body. She climbed into the tub and sat waiting as it filled with warm water. It was a pleasant sensation, she had to admit. It brought back memories of the warm, relaxing baths of her childhood.

When the tub was full, Isla took up a position behind her and began to wash her hair. Isla’s hands were firm but not unkind, and it felt good. Maddy closed her eyes and relaxed into it.

“Your hair is red,” Isla said. She sounded surprised. “It looked brown under all that dirt.”

“I guess,” Maddy said. She hadn’t really thought about her own appearance in years. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen a mirror, but she knew the reflection must have changed dramatically.

“Red hair is good,” Isla said.

“Is it? Why?”

“People pay more for it.”

“Why would anybody pay more for red hair?” Maddy asked. “It doesn’t make me any better at bearing children. It’s just cosmetic.”

“You’re fooling yourself if you think the cosmetics don’t matter,” Isla said. “The men who come to these auctions want more than one thing from their omegas, you know. Yes, they want someone strong and healthy who can bear them children. But they also want someone attractive to warm their sheets at night. That’s why we pretty you up so much before we sell you.”

“Why do you do this?” Maddy burst out. “Why are you helping them?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re a woman. You must see how screwed up this is. Do you do it every year? Do you always help them get us ready to be sold?”

Isla’s mouth narrowed to a fine line. “Don’t presume to judge me,” she said. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know I’d never do what you’re doing. I’d never help sell someone into—intosex slavery.”

“I have no choice,” Isla said, and for the first time, strain showed in her voice. “William is my alpha,” she said. “I’m subject to his commands.”

Maddy remembered the feeling of being bent against her will to obey the command of an alpha. But her alpha had been a good man. He had never ordered her to do anything she truly hated, anything she thought was wrong. Now, looking at Isla, she could appreciate, for the first time, how lucky she’d been. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I know it isn’t your fault.”

“I do my best to make these last few days comfortable for you girls,” Isla said. “I think that’s all I can do.”

“Don’t you worry they’re going to do the same thing to you?” Maddy asked.

“No.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’m not an omega.”

Of course she wasn’t. That made perfect sense. It explained why Isla—and all those other women—had been sitting around the alpha’s chamber with him instead of locked in cages. It explained why Isla was treated like a human being and Maddy was treated like an animal.She’s not worth as much money as me, she thought, and remembered how, as a child, she had been so proud of her value as an omega.She’s free, because no one would want to buy her.

Maddy would have given anything in the world to take her place.

She sat quietly as Isla rinsed her hair, scrubbed her skin with a brush, and helped her from the tub. Isla led her over to a stool, sat her down, and combed out her hair with slow strokes. After so many years living in a cage, it was hard not to mistake these gentle hands and kind gestures for affection. Maddy had to work hard to keep her mind centered.She’s not trying to help me,she reminded herself over and over as Isla combed.She doesn’t give a damn about me. She’s making me pretty so they can sell me for more money. That’s all.

She sat still as her hair, which must have grown wild over the years, was cut. Her head felt almost weightless as long chunks of it fell to the floor. She remained motionless when the hair dryer came out, blowing hot on her ears and the back of her neck. But as Isla bent to work on the dead skin at the soles of her feet, a question occurred to her. “Isla?”

“Hmm?”

“The men who come to these auctions. Who are they? Where do they come from?”

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