Chapter 26 #2
“How about this,” she said. “We’ll compensate you fairly for your troubles.
Your time is precious, how about we skip the auction entirely.
You’ve been checking out the available product.
Is there something that you like? If so, it’s yours, free of charge.
I can have them wrapped and delivered to your car within ten minutes. ”
Was she trying to rush him out of the building? Made sense. But it was too soon.
They would both know when it was time for him to leave.
His gaze swept over the stage once more. “Are any of them a dominant omega?”
“Of course.” She stood with a flourish and moved to the balcony railing. “I carefully curated the selection myself when I sent you the invitation. The pink haired male, the third blonde female from the left, and the male at the end are all dominant omegas.”
“Tell me about that.” He made a big show of settling more comfortably in his seat.
“The auction is about to start. Should I pause it for you?”
“No need,” he waved her off. “You’ll already be losing coin tonight. I won’t interrupt business fully. We have time anyway, since the first omega you mentioned won’t be the starting product.”
“The pink haired male is called Lynx. He’s been in our care for the least amount of time. Fairly new.”
“How new?”
“Less than three years,” she said. “But I can guarantee he’ll satisfy you.”
“Yes, well, that’s what you told me about the last one, isn’t it?”
“Oh, but I’m sure, despite his many flaws, Fenrir Snow satisfied you just fine, did he not?” She smirked at him knowingly.
Good. She had been listening in on his call with Fiora right before appearing. He hated wasting his efforts.
“The female has been with us the longest. She was a favorite at Eye Candy but requested something permanent going forward. That’s why we’ve added her. Unless that bothers you?”
“It doesn’t.” Before Fenrir, Oberon had never cared about how many bedpartners a person took. “People who judge that sort of thing have pathetically low self-esteem. But we can skip her anyway. I’ll sleep with women occasionally, but I prefer male partners.”
“Then that leaves Raffiel.” She pointed to the man at the end, leaning in closer to Oberon to be heard over the auctioneer below as he rattled off information about the first in line, a male alpha, to the crowd.
“He’s a bit shy, quiet. Not anything like Fenrir.
If you’re looking for someone to make you feel better, he would be my suggestion. ”
“Why is that?” O noted the man on stage had a blank expression on his face. Almost like he was zoning out to avoid acknowledging where he was or why. It was obvious he was one of the unlucky ones who’d been sold into this life. The kind of person Fenrir hoped to rescue, for lack of a better word.
Michelle grinned at him viciously. “He’s pretty when he cries.”
“I do have a thing for tears.” When they were Fenrir’s, and when it was brought on by sheer ecstasy while the omega writhed beneath him. “How old—”
Michelle’s multi-slate chimed, interrupting them, and she hit the accept button without bothering to switch to the earbud attachment, which would have made the call private. “Yes, Trick?”
“We have a problem,” Trick’s gruff voice came through the speaker.
“Oh?” Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
“It’s under control, but you should get here.”
“Later. I’m with Mr. King discussing his compensation.”
“Mitch.”
The use of the odd nickname instantly had Michelle bristling, and Oberon was reminded of what Fenrir had told him about how the two of them hooked up.
“I’ll be right there,” she replied.
Oberon grabbed onto her wrist when she ended the call and moved to leave. “Is this how you treat all your important clients?”
“I apologize, Mr. King, but it appears there’s an emergency that requires my immediate attention. I’ll tell you what, how about you take both male omegas. How does that sound?”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re desperate to get rid of me?”
“I assure you, it’s nothing of the sort.” She cleared her throat. “I’m needed elsewhere. Surely as a business owner yourself, you understand. If we have an agreement, I can have both omegas pulled from the stage immediately and brought to you.”
“Have them delivered to the same room I used last time I was here,” Oberon instructed.
“Is that really necessary?”
“Forgive me, but the trust has already been broken. I’d like to fully test the products before I even entertain the idea of bringing them to my home.
” Since this was also a permanent sale, his request wasn’t that outside of the norm, meaning she wouldn’t be able to come up with a good enough excuse to reject him.
Oberon couldn’t leave now, not when Trick had sounded so cryptic on the call.
Was there a chance they’d…No.
No. Fenrir was clever. He’d never get caught by the likes of them.
…Right?
The problem was, the two of them had been apart too long. If Oberon felt this antsy, that must mean Fenrir was feeling it too. If his anxiety affected his Shout side…
He got to his feet and buttoned his jacket, staring her down all the while, silently daring her to put up a fight.
Fortunately, she seemed to get the message, eventually giving in with a curt nod. The two of them stepped out of the booth and into the hallway, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, a blaring alarm sounded.
Red light orbs dropped from opening ceiling panels, flashing wildly as they zipped up and down the space, some flying up the stairs, others making their way down. The alarm continued to shrill, only disrupted by pounding footsteps as guards swarmed from below, all heading up to the next level.
“What’s going on?” Claudio demanded, clutching his tablet to his chest.
“That’s the fire alarm,” Michelle said. “Please, make your way outside.”
“Your people just went upstairs,” Oberon pointed out, a sick feeling twisting his gut. He took a threatening step closer to her, done with this whole masquerade, but was forced back when a blaster went off and a bullet landed in the ground less than a foot away from him.
They all turned to watch as a bleeding Trick practically tumbled down the steps, blaster clutched tightly in his left hand. The only thing that kept him from falling flat on his face was the man at his side, currently helping to hold him up.
“What happened?” Michelle sounded genuinely concerned when she saw how pale Trick was.
The man had several open wounds, his clothing practically stained red.
His shirt and pants were wet.
When they stopped at the landing, Oberon caught a glimpse of the remains of what appeared to be an icicle protruding from Trick’s left upper thigh.
“Take the gun,” Trick urged, shoving the weapon into the man’s hand before his head lolled and he lost consciousness.
Both the man and Michelle yelped in surprise, and she rushed forward, catching him beneath the chin to press her fingers to his pulse point.
“Get him to safety!” She snatched the blaster from the man’s hand and turned back to Oberon, all pretense gone as she aimed at his chest.
“What about you?” the man asked, but he was already pulling Trick around the stairs and down the opposite end of the hall.
“Go, Jose!” Michelle jolted when an explosion went off above them, followed by a swell of heat.
“The hybrid ambushed us,” Jose called, getting further away with each passing second, though he struggled to pull the hefty weight in his arms. “Trick managed to trap him. The fire was an accident but—”
Michelle’s laughter cut him off, and he didn’t wait around to finish his sentence.
Jose used his back to shove open the exit doors and then both he and Trick disappeared from sight.
Oberon bit his tongue, tempted to send Claudio after them, but unable to dismiss the weapon still pointed their way. Hopefully, the White Frost members they had planted around the streets outside had also been alerted to this disturbance and would catch them before they could make their escape.
“I thought you might have something up your sleeve,” Michelle said through her giggles, “but this is rich, even for you, Mr. King.”
“This place is surrounded,” Oberon told her, only for her to laugh even harder.
“Reinforcements are already on their way,” she replied, “not that you need to worry about that. You’ll be dead by then.”
The tripped alarm must automatically alert the rest of her soldiers.
Out of her many properties, the most important were this auction house and the compound, because that was where the product was kept and where business was conducted.
Her private residence, the estate, would fall last on the list when her livelihood was under direct attack.
Meaning any remaining personnel she’d left there to guard the place would no doubt be on their way here.
Giving Koah’s spy the perfect opportunity to sneak onto the fourth level and look for the hidden Rebirth vials.
Causing a distraction large enough to catch Michelle’s attention had been a part of the plan. But the smoke currently trickling from the top floor…that had decidedly not been. What if Jose’s parting words were true?
Had Fenrir been caught?
Oberon took a step forward, only for pain to explode in his right shoulder as he was shot. He stumbled, Claudio helping to steady him as the Mistress of the Wardrobe cackled like the total bitch she was.
“Seems like you weren’t being entirely truthful with me, Mr. King,” she drawled. “But I do have to thank you for bringing my stolen product back. Too bad he’s so faulty.”
Another wave of heat gusted from behind her, spilling down the stairs and slamming into Oberon. The smell of ash filled his nose, and he coughed, fury and fear gripping him tightly around the heart.
“You may have severed my control over him with that bite, but there’s no way you’ve managed to undo my failsafe.” Michelle fired again, this time hitting Claudio in the stomach when the man tried discreetly reaching for the weapon tucked behind his back.
Claudio dropped to the ground, his tablet smashing. He clutched his midsection, glaring behind his glasses at her.
“You thought you could take him from me?” Michelle continued, ignoring the secretary as he bled out.
“Wrong. Fenrir Snow will always be my creation. Unfortunately, you’ve helped shine a light on a few flaws I’d previously overlooked, and there’s only one thing to be done about damaged goods. ” She grinned. “Melt them down.”