Page 20 of Mated By the Pack
“Stop,” Frank says, rising. “We meet the buyers today. If she’s bloodied, we’ll get less. Get their weapons. Search the cage. Then let’s get moving.”
Frank lifts Carl into the cart. Jed and Jeb grumble, but don’t object.
“You’re a lucky bitch,” Jeb mutters, tearing the rope away and shoving me back into the cage. “All of you are.”
They throw our clothes in after us and slam the door. I scramble to the girls. Nara’s ribs are cracked. Fiona is dazed. Brenna has a fresh bruise forming on her cheek. Tansy seems unharmed, except for minor scrapes. She’s not crying for once.
Frank crouches outside the cage, watching me. His eyes glow faintly.
“I don’t know what you are,” he growls. “But you’ve got the spirit of a warrior. That won’t serve you well where you’re going.”
He slams the cage shut, locks it, and walks away.
CHAPTER 6
Calla
Hope fades as we go further into The Tangle. Closer to The Outpost, where we will be sold.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “We should have stuck with the original plan. I screwed up.”
“We fought,” Nara groans, hoisting herself up to a seated position and holding her ribs. “And we shut Carl up for the rest of the trip. Good job, Tansy.”
“T-thank you,” Tansy whispers, a faint half-smile tugging at her lips, but it instantly fades. “Except he’s probably going to be really angry when he wakes up.”
“All I did was get in the way,” Fiona sniffles. “I’m sorry, Nurse Calla. I tried to fight, I really did. I should have never taken the knife last night.”
“You were brave.” I pat her arm, trying to reassure her. “I’m proud of you. I’m proud of all of you.”
Brenna doesn’t say anything. Her thumb rubs a spot on her hand that is stained with Jed’s blood. She got a lick in and drew blood. That’s more than some of us did.
We’re dressed, but barely. The slavers weren’t gentle when they tore off our clothes, so they’re more like rags we have to drape around ourselves to preserve what little modesty we can. Not that it will matter. Once we get to The Outpost, we’ll be sold as slaves.
“They’ll be careful the next time they open the cage,” Nara groans. “And we lost the key, so we can’t escape on our own.”
I glance at the vine wrapped around my wrist. It’s still pulsing, and I can feel it every time my heart beats. “The vine is still here, but it’s no longer a key,” I say, showing the others. “But maybe if we get it near the lock, it’ll work like before.”
“Frank’s watching us closely,” Brenna whispers, finally speaking up. “Mostly you…”
“I still don’t understand what happened last night,” Nara says.
“Me either,” I admit. “It was so strange.”
I turn away from the others and stare into The Tangle. I don’t regret fighting back, but I hate that we weren’t better prepared. Unfortunately, there’s no going back now. We tried and we failed. If we get another opportunity, we’ll take it. Either way, they’re going to have to do a lot more than whip us if they expect us to be obedient slaves when we get to The Outpost.
“About an hour left,” Frank calls out.
“Thank fuck,” Jed mutters, glancing back at Carl. “Wonder how long he’ll be out?”
“Hard to say,” Jeb says, cracking the reins and urging the oxen to move faster. “But we’ll stick with the plan. Haggard is waiting for us. He gets one of the girls and then we’ll meet the buyers.”
“Do we get to split Carl’s share if he sleeps through the sale?” Jed chuckles.
“No,” Frank growls. “If he’s not awake, the buyers will just have to wait. He’s the one who made the deal. We’re not meeting with the buyers without him.”
“Fine,” Jeb grunts.
The Tangle seems to settle as we get closer to The Outpost. When it appears on the horizon, it doesn’t look like much—just a jagged collection of scrap and ruin rising out of The Tangle.
