Page 5 of The Brooding Alpha's Mate
“And don’t even think of getting away or escaping. I see you move one hair in the wrong direction and you’ll be a dead wolf.”
“I understand.”
Fuck him. I hadn’t been to town in a few months and already, I was planning all the ways I could escape, from memory. The thought of throwing myself from their truck, shifting and taking my chances in the woods had crossed my mind, but I was sure these lions were faster than me, especially given my weakened state and their overfed one.
It would take a miracle for me to get out of this.
Once in town, I watched as we passed right through it instead of stopping by. We kept driving until we got to a large cabin-like house set apart from the road, at least a mile back.
No one would hear you if you screamed here.
Running, even on wolf paws would only get you lost and hunted.
Fuck. There went my hopes of escape.
“Get out and don’t embarrass yourself.”
I got out and followed the alpha felines into the house. Inside, there was activity of all sorts. Gambling, sure. Drinking, always. But there was more. In the corner, huddled together like a shivering group of prey, was a group of omegas. Wide-eyed. Arms wrapped around themselves.
“Go over there with your kind and wait for instructions. Someone will tell you what to do.”
“The fuck?”
“Why are we here?” I asked once I joined the other omegas.
“We don’t know,” one of them said, covering their mouth, feigning a yawn.
The night waned on. The alphas, of all varieties of animal and designations ate, drank, acted rowdy, and laughed, all the while eyeing the bunch of omegas in the corner who didn’t know what would happen next.
A sick feeling settled in my stomach as I watched Dean and the others from the pride I’d been sold into, throw their cards on the table. Dean slammed his hand down and turned to look at me.
“Well, you won again.” They were really lousy gamblers. “I’m good for the money. I’ll bring it tomorrow.” Knowing Dean, he absolutely would not.
“Not good enough,” another shifter said. Pinstripe suit. Expensive cigar. Yeah, Dean had made a bet with the big man. Stupid lion. “I need some collateral.”
Fuck. That didn’t sound good.
“Take the omega. He’s new. No blemishes. Not used up either as far as I can smell. I’ll have to bring him back though. I can let one of my men stay here until then.”
“Why? Leave him here tonight. I can think of more than a few things to do with him.”
Terror streaked like ice water through my veins. I stepped back on instinct, but there was nowhere to go other than farther into the corner.
“Nah. I can’t do that. I’ve got something for him to finish tomorrow. Take one of my men and I’ll be back with the omega and the money. You can trust me.”
The big man laughed. “No one can trust a lion but that’s fine. Leave one of your men. If you’re not back by tomorrow at dusk, he’s dead, then I’m coming to your pride and taking it over. High stakes. High prices.”
“Fine.” Dean slid his chair back and stalked over to me, grabbing my bicep not gently at all. “Let’s go.”
On the way back, I was alone with Dean. He stopped in the town, this time at a gas station. It was late so there were no customers and only one cashier. “Go get me some beef jerky.”
I sucked in a breath. This was it. This was my chance.
“Go on, omega.”
I walked to the next aisle, pretending to look for the jerky even though my wolf nose knew exactly where it was. The mirrors high on the walls told me where Dean was. He was drunk and only halfway paying attention to me. The door opened and the bell jingled, and in with the sound came a scent that nearly knocked me over.
Alpha.
