Page 31 of Betrayed Auctioned Mate

She pauses, looking around the room, her gaze brushing past me but never quite settling. “This is a high-stakes operation. Be smart. Be careful. We’re dealing with dangerous people.”

Her words hang in the air. There’s a heavy silence in the room. Then, Percy breaks it with a nod.

“We’ve got this,” he says quietly, his voice filled with quiet confidence. “We’ll stick to the plan.”

Rafael grins, though it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Let’s go play dress-up and make some scumbags uncomfortable.”

I force a nod, trying to shake off the distraction. “Yeah. Let’s get it done.”

Keira’s eyes flicker to me for the briefest of moments before she turns back to the map, wrapping up the debrief. “Alright. The rest of the team will be following in vans to surround the property.” She gestures across the table to Aris, Bigby, Byron, Olivia, Veronica, Rosa, Maisie, and a reluctant-looking Zane, who only promised to come on the condition that if things went south, he’d be allowed onto the property to wreak havoc. “They’ll be monitoring everything from screens in the vans, and I’ll be at the pack center with access to all feeds, so I’ll be your eyes in the sky.”

I raise an eyebrow. That’s new. She was originally going to come out to the field with us—clearly, something changed.

“Remember, your main objective is intel. Don’t take unnecessary risks.”

The meeting ends, and there’s a flurry of movement as we gather our gear and prepare to leave. The vans are already parked up out front. I feel the smooth, cold metal of my pistol against the small of my back, hidden masterfully with a subtle sheet of padding and rendered completely invisible.

I move toward the door, hoping for a second alone with Keira before we set off. But she’s already surrounded by Byron and Olivia, discussing last-minute details. I don’t want to interrupt. There’s too much at stake, and we’re on a tight timeline.

I linger for a second longer, watching her from the corner of my eye. She looks so composed, so focused. I wonder if she’s as conflicted as I am.

But there’s no time to find out. I grit my teeth and turn away, following Percy and Rafael out of the briefing room.

Aris pats me hard on the shoulder as I pass him. I look up at him, and he nods, eyes saying things he’ll never speak aloud—but I hear it all. I nod, too.

We exit the pack center and move toward the vehicles waiting outside. The night air is cool against my skin, the sky already darkening as the sun dips below the horizon. Our three hired sports cars are parked in a neat row, sleek and inconspicuous. We’ll be taking separate vehicles, arriving at staggered times to avoid suspicion.

I slide into the driver’s seat of my silver Aston Martin, gripping the steering wheel tightly. The secure, heavy weight of the responsibility I have to the mission settles in me, and it’s a comforting burden to carry, I think, as I push all thoughts of Keira aside. There’s no room for distraction now.

As the engine hums to life, I glance in the rearview mirror, catching a glimpse of the pack center fading into the distance. Somewhere in there, Keira is watching our progress, monitoring our every move.

I don’t get a chance to see her before leaving, and it gnaws at me more than I’d like to admit. But for now, I can only focus on the mission ahead.

Chapter 17 - Keira

By the time the final van leaves, driven by Rosa, who waves her arm out of the window at me as she pulls out of the lot out front, I’m already bored stiff.

I park myself in front of the four monitors Byron set up for me in the meeting room and pull on my headset, watching the tiny red tracker dots of the three cars and three vans streaking up the freeway north in staggered formation. Ado was the first to leave and is almost at the ridge already. He’s driving fast, I realize, way over the speed limit. I should say something, but I don’t.

Instead, I focus on the screens, trying to push down the restless energy that thrums through my veins. The hacked internal cameras of the mansion blink in and out on the monitors, showing me brief glimpses of dimly lit hallways, opulent rooms, and the dark, looming exterior of the compound. Everything looks quiet for now. Guests will soon be arriving.

In one room, the largest chamber in the building, I see a round stage looming out of one wall, lit brightly with floodlights like a theater. Long, thick curtains are folded on either side, obscuring the entrances and exits. Beneath the stage, dozens of seats stretch back out of sight.

My stomach flips. Soon, there will be women in chains on that stage, and the ‘brides’ will be sold.

The emptiness of the pack center creeps me out a little. I miss its vibrant activity—people coming and going, strategizing, arguing, laughing—it shouldn’t be only me here, I think, not when I’m an outsider. I thought staying behind would help calm my nerves. But now, sitting alone in the dim light of the meeting room, I’m not so sure.

I didn’t mean to ask Aris to take me out of the field for this infiltration—it just happened.

He was disappointed—I knew it then and know it now. And I know Olivia is worried for me after hearing I pulled out at the last minute, but I don’t have it in me to tell her what happened last night, or Maisie, or Veronica, or any of my new friends. I just can’t.

I can still hear his voice in my head, his look of concern when I asked this morning.

“You sure about this?” he said. “You’ve been prepping for this infiltration for days. You can contribute a lot from the base, but you can also help far more practically if you come to the extraction point with us and stay with Byron and Olivia for observation and coaching. You know that.”

“I’m sure,” I’d replied, trying to sound confident. “It’s just… I’m not feeling one hundred percent. I’ll be more useful here, keeping an eye on things.”

He’d hesitated, but in the end, he agreed. I’m grateful he didn’t push, but now, as I sit here with nothing but the glow of the screens for company, I wonder if I should have gone with them after all.

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