Page 36 of Sold Wolf Slave

I frowned. The look on his face told me he was dead serious and nothing would change his mind. I decided to prod to figure out exactly why.

“If you think money is an issue, then I can promise you I have more than enough to pay whatever you want. I want the pair, and I’m not stingy when it comes to getting what I want. Name your price.”

He chuckled, then took a long swig of his whiskey. “This isn’t about money. Morgan’s not for sale.”

I frowned. To be honest, I had expected a little bit of skepticism, maybe a modicum of reluctance. But I had assumed that once I uttered the magic words “name your price,” he would have been more than happy to sell her.

“I’m serious. How much do you want for her?”

He shook his head with an amused smirk. “You’re persistent. I’ll give you that,” he said. “But this has nothing to do with price. The two sisters together are far more trouble than they’re worth.”

“How so?”

He frowned, as if debating how open to be. “Your slave is rather protective of her sister. The two of them tried to escape a couple of weeks ago, which was when I separated them in the first place. Both of them are more likely to behave when they aren’t together.”

“I can handle a couple of slaves,” I said. “And it isn’t as though they can do anything against me. Trust me, I’ve dealt with much worse.”

“You can handle your own. Lucas has told me that much,” he conceded. “But that doesn’t change my mind.”

I tilted my head and raised an eyebrow. “Any particular reason why?” I asked, trying to sound more curious than antagonistic.

“Lucas told me about how protective you are of your slave,” Cain said. “Let’s just say I can be just as protective, if not more so. I happen to like keeping my girls close. I grew attached to them. I’m sure you understand.”

The threat beneath his words was plain as day. Back off, or he would make me back off. Part of me wanted to fight him on it, to push for Kendra. I knew how important Morgan was to her, and I hated that I couldn’t find a way to snatch her from Cain. But I knew that if I pushed, any work I had done in this investigation would fall apart.

“Trust me, I’m doing you a favor.” Cain gave an amused grin.

Something about the way he said it set off alarm bells. But I could also tell, based on the way he was looking at me, that pushing on the matter right now would only cause more problems. He was growing suspicious, and I needed him, needed more information on his whole operation. I couldn’t jeopardize this opening by prodding more.

Still, a nugget of guilt formed inside me. I felt bad about disappointing Kendra, but the mission came first. Besides, there were times I might be able to help her in the future. Not pushing things right now was the best course of action for all parties.

“Fair enough.” I took another generous swig. “So, Lucas said you might have some use for me.”

“I might,” Cain conceded, looking me up and down, seemingly more at ease now that the conversation about Morgan had passed. “But this is not a business call. This was to drink and get to know one another.” He scrutinized me. “I like to know the men I’m dealing with before I get into business with them.”

“What do you know?” I said with a grin. “I feel the same way.”

Chapter 13 - Kendra

I bit my nails, wandering around the living room and kitchen as I waited for Will to come back from his meeting. The longer it went without him showing up, the more I started panicking, my mind going immediately to worst-case scenarios. It surprised me that I was worried almost as much about Will as I was about Morgan. Despite everything, and despite how I wanted to keep him at arm’s length, I found myself trusting him, found myself wanting him safe.

It grated on me. I shouldn’t be worried about the guy who won me. And yet, here I was. The more time I spent with him, the harder it was to hate. I knew I was only here because he wanted to keep up the pretext of being interested in getting slaves. But every time I saw him, I found myself softening more to him. And that insatiable attraction I felt toward him the second I caught wind of his scent made that even worse. I wanted to like him, wanted to trust him, wanted him to pull me into his arms as his mouth explored mine. But I knew I shouldn’t feel that way, though my wolf disagreed on that front.

I pushed the thought from my mind. It didn’t matter. What mattered was Will getting Morgan out of there. The instant that happened, we could get out of here.ThenI could worry about the fact that I desperately craved every inch of the man who won me.

When he came back, my stomach plummeted. I had let myself hope that Morgan would come through the door with him. I slowed, heart pounding, not saying anything. His eyes found mine, and the look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know.

“He wouldn’t sell her,” he said.

“What?” Out of everyone in this place, I would have expected Cain to be eager to see off women he didn’t need. They had more money, after all. “That can’t be true…It’s not…” I trailed off, words not coming out.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I tried. But he was adamant.”

I didn’t say anything, though a creeping unease began crawling up my skin. This was Cain we were talking about. He should have been thrilled to sell off another girl, even if it was one of his personal slaves. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t be able to get another one with a snap of his fingers.

“Something is wrong,” I said. I started pacing back and forth, panic overriding all sense. “He’s refusing a sale. More money. Which means he wants Morgan for something. And if he wants her for something…” I trailed off, unable to finish the thought or even breathe properly. I sped up, running my fingers through my head as the dread deepened.

I’d failed Morgan. Again. I hadn’t been able to get her out of there.

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