Page 5 of Mated By the Pack
“I’ll walk with you,” he offers. “We’re both going the same way.”
“I’m going further than you,” I reply, trudging ahead on unsteady legs. “I’m fine.”
“Then you can walk me home,” he chuckles.
Clyde falls in step beside me, and I don’t argue. At least he’s being nice for a change. I don’t say much. He rambles on. An apartment in the Middle District. Shopping in the Upper District. All tied to becoming a nurse at Haven North General Hospital, and all the lavishness it promises. He exaggerates, of course, but I don’t have the energy to correct him. I just need to keep it together until I get home.
We turn down a darker street. My stomach is getting worse. It actually feels like I may throw up. Am I sensing… danger? But why? There’s absolutely nothing to worry about in Haven North.
“Is that Director Reynolds?” Clyde asks, astonishment in his voice.
“Huh?” I look up. Director Reynolds is in charge of the entire nursing path. I’ve only seen him at meetings. “Where?”
Then Clyde grabs my arm hard enough for me to cry out and I feel something cold against my neck. A prick. That’s a needle! I try to twist away, but Clyde tightens his grip.
“Shh,” he whispers.
I open my mouth to scream, but nothing comes out.
Then the darkness takes me.
CHAPTER 2
Calla
My consciousness returns before my vision. No, it’s because my eyelids won’t open. My muscles are paralyzed. Clyde must have given me some sort of sedative. But why? I try to speak, but my lips are like lead against my teeth. They won’t even move.
“She’s in here,” Clyde’s voice echoes. “Gave her enough to knock out a fucking hybrid, so she should be asleep for hours.”
Footsteps approach. Clyde, I’m sure, but he’s not alone. The others are a mystery. All I can do is remain motionless and listen. One set of footsteps are much heavier than the rest. Hard enough for me to hear wood creaking beneath them.
“The buyers like them younger, but we’ve already got one around her age, so that shouldn’t be a problem. Beggars can’t be choosers. Show me her tits,” a thick voice demands.
Fingers drag against my stomach. My shirt is yanked up over my face. My arms flop with the fabric. A click echoes and then I feelsomething sharp against my sternum. It moves to my bra and cuts through it. My breasts are exposed, and I feel a sensation of shame. But the supplements wearing off seem like the least of my worries right now.
“Oh, yeah, look at those,” the thick voice chuckles. “And you said she’s a virgin? You sure about that? Lots of infertile bitches still get fucked.”
“Calla? No, the only thing she has time for is books,” Clyde laughs.
“Give you forty silvers for her,” the thick voice says.
“Can’t you do forty-five?” Clyde replies. “Ah, fuck it. I’m not here to negotiate. I just want her gone.”
I’m being… sold? Clyde doesn’t have the right to sell me. Nobody does. I’m notproperty. I want to scream my protests, but I barely manage a whimper. I lie there, shirt over my face, chest bare, body burning with shame while they haggle over me like I’m a sack of flour or a goat at the market in the Upper District.
The sound of silver changing hands rattles near my face. I’m starting to feel something in my arms. I try to move them, but they don’t fully respond. They feel like they’re full of Green Syrup. I strain, willing them to move while I fight against whatever drug Clyde injected me with.
Finally, I budge my shirt past my right eye and force it open. I immediately wish I hadn’t. Clyde’s back is to me and standing in front of him are four figures: three men and one monstrous thing with a thick, corded frame, shoulders like a beast, and a mane of sandy hair that spills around his face in wild waves. His eyes are bright emerald, slitted like a cat, and glowing faintly inthe dim light. Even from a distance, I can see the way his jaw shifts, revealing what appear to be fangs.
A hybrid? That’s the only thing that makes sense. A mutated creature that is neither man nor beast. That’s part of why Haven North has a wall. To keep hybrids, and things worse than hybrids, outside of the city. I’ve never actually seen a real hybrid before—just pictures in books.
“Thanks,” Clyde says, grinning as he looks back at me. He jumps when he sees me staring right back at him. “Fuck, she’s already awake?”
“Tough bitch,” the thick voice says, and a man steps forward. He’s dressed in leather that looks more like armor than clothing. He raises a fist and I’m powerless to stop the blow that nearly knocks me unconscious.
“Wait, Carl,” a voice snarls. “Don’t mess up her pretty face. Have the boy give her another shot.”
“Good call,” Carl says, stepping to the side.
