3. Finley
Finley
The whole house reminded me of something you would see in a rustic magazine.
Vaulted ceilings, warm-toned wood floors and trim, and a giant stone fireplace with a bear-skin rug.
I couldn’t help but wonder if the rug was one of her kills or from a real bear.
Shaking my head to get that thought out of my mind, I kept my eyes open for anything that might not have been on the blueprints that I’d memorized.
Delilah took me to the second floor and stopped in front of a row of men and women all dressed in what looked like private school uniforms. The jackets were red, and the pants and skirts were red and black plaid. I had no idea what to make of this when she turned to me and swept her arm out.
“Pick one. They’ll be your pet for the weekend,” Delilah announced.
Even with all my training, I had a hard time hiding my shock. Luckily, it was the expected response. The average newcomer wouldn’t be accustomed to Delilah’s idea of fun. “What do you mean? Who are they?”
“They’re all different types of supers that I keep to do my bidding,” she answered triumphantly. “Go on, check them out. If you want to know anything, just ask, and they’ll tell you.”
I walked up to the row of twenty people, feeling nauseous, unable to imagine what these poor supers had endured at the hands of guests.
It was moments like this that I was glad I did what I did.
There were people in this world that shouldn’t be allowed to live, and Delilah was one of them.
No one had the right to force people into this kind of life, to take everything from them and expect them to serve others.
The idea of adding a few more names to that list was becoming an attractive idea as well.
My instructors at the Organization had always told me I had a natural talent for reading people, so when I stopped in front of an attractive young man, I knew he was the one I had to pick.
He screamed ‘submissive’ to me; he couldn’t even look me in the eye, keeping his head bowed.
His long mop of curly hair had fallen over, shadowing his face, and he picked at the cuticle on his thumbnail.
“What’s your name?” I asked gently.
“Cory, ma’am,” he whispered.
“Do you mind if I ask what you are?”
“I’m a werewolf.”
Out of everything he could have said, I was not expecting that.
In my time doing this job, I’d had many run-ins with werewolves, as they were a favorite choice for bodyguards, but this man standing in front of me couldn’t defend himself against a bee.
An odd urge to protect Cory took over me, causing me to turn back to Delilah.
“He will be perfect. I like my men to take orders well,” I declared with a smirk.
Delilah walked up to Cory and removed a bracelet from him, putting it on my wrist. “He’s yours.
This is connected to a matching bracelet that he’s wearing.
With it, you’ll be able to summon him to wherever you are on the property at any time.
Now, Cory, be a good pet and show Alexia to the Rose Room. ”
Cory bowed at the waist and gestured to my overnight bag. “May I take that for you, Mistress?”
“Which direction is my room?” I demanded.
Once he pointed, I tossed my bag to him and started heading down the hall, noting that each of the rooms had the name of a different flower on its door.
Cory caught up to me in an instant, staying right behind me at my elbow.
When I reached the Rose Room, I waited while he opened the door then stepped in, trying not to grimace at the floral explosion before me.
“Is there anything I can do for you at the moment, Mistress?” Cory asked.
Gingerly, I sat on the bed and looked him over. “What is your rank?”
Cory looked me in the eye for the first time, letting me see their amber hue along with the feeling he was reading more about me than I wanted him to. “I’m sorry. What was your question?”
“What is your rank in the pack order?” I asked again, tilting my head to the side, my brows knitting together.
He gaped. “You’ve met other werewolves before?”
“Is that so uncommon? There are many shifters out in society. Pack order is something they teach in school these days,” I said, trying to figure out what I had done wrong. He shouldn’t have been reacting this way.
Cory seemed to shake himself out of his shock, but he still looked at me differently. “The simple fact that you asked is odd in this environment. Most of the guests here couldn’t care less about knowing anything about us. They just see us as toys to play with, not real people.”
This time, I didn’t hide my disgust. I might kill people for a living, which of course demanded a certain kind of moral gray area, but I’d never seen the appeal of torturing people for fun. The kind of person who found enjoyment in the suffering of others was the worst kind of living creature.
Time and time again, I’d been told that I wasn’t detached enough for this job, but I was good enough in situations like this that they needed me in spite of that flaw.
So far, I’d never let it affect my work, but I was starting to get a weird feeling in my gut.
This job might just push me over the edge.
“Look, I don’t belong here any more than you do.
I got roped into coming by Maxwell, and I can’t afford to upset people of his status.
My family is lower on the totem pole, so having an association with any of these people will help my family’s business.
” I sighed and looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes.
“I could use an inside man to help me navigate through this weekend. I’ll do whatever I can to help you out, too. ”
“Omega. I’m an omega,” Cory whispered as he dropped his eyes back to his hands.
Horror slammed into me at his words, distracting me so much that I almost missed when he kept talking.
“I wish I could assist you with that, but I’m practically prey in this house.
If you had picked anyone else, they would have been more helpful. ”
Omegas were rare in the shifter world—so rare they only happened in wolves.
When I first learned about them, I didn’t see what was so important about omegas.
They were the bottom of the pack, a natural submissive that couldn’t take care of themselves; they needed the alpha and betas to look after them.
If they were left on their own, they would starve because they wouldn’t be able to fight for their food.
Omegas were meant to be the soul of a pack, caring for everyone in a way that only someone who didn’t need to prove they were better than anyone else could.
Alphas led the pack while betas protected, but an omega could come alongside someone who was suffering and nurture them, expecting nothing in return.
Packs that had an omega excelled in every way, so omegas were treasured for the stability they provided.
But once people discovered what omegas were capable of, they also became the fastest way to destroy a pack. Remove the stability, and the rest would come crashing down.
Focusing my attention back on Cory, I wondered if Delilah had any idea what she had trapped away in her house.
“Cory, how did you end up here?” I asked, unable to move on until I knew.
“Ten years ago, I was taken from my pack and sold to the highest bidder. I bounced around from place to place, owner to owner, until Delilah bought me on the black market. I’ve been here for six months.” He shrugged. “It isn’t the worst place I’ve been.”
I chewed on my lower lip as I processed that information. “Does Delilah know what you really are?”
“No, she just saw a pretty face and a replacement for the last wolf she lost.”
Sighing, I relaxed a little. I could only imagine what would happen if people in this house figured out they had such a submissive in their clutches. I needed to keep him safe and alive so I could get him back to his pack… if they were even still together after losing their omega.
“Alright, give me the basics of how things work here.” I held up a hand when I saw he was going to dismiss his knowledge and usefulness.
“Look, I’m not asking you to do anything other than share information.
I want to protect you, but I can’t do that if I don’t know the rules of this place.
Something tells me everything is a test and nothing is what it seems—just like bringing me to pick one of you.
She wanted to see how I would react to the fact that she had you all here, to see if I would freak out. Now, take a seat and talk.”
Cory moved over to the fainting couch and took a seat, clutching a pillow to his chest. “Number one rule is never correct her. She’s queen bee, and what she says is law.
Even if it’s illegal, don’t mention it. Just ignore that it’s happening.
If she gives you something or tells you to do something, take it, drink it, eat it—just say yes.
A few weeks ago, there was a girl who was a vegan.
She refused to eat the steak dinner, so Delilah drugged her and fed her to the dogs. ”
“Wait, real dogs?”
“Yes. She said, ‘Nature doesn’t give a fuck if you’re protecting them or not, so why should we?’.”
Knowing these types of entitled people existed in the world and having to spend the weekend with one were two very different experiences.
Being an assassin, I’d studied all kinds of personalities and behaviors, but dealing with psychopaths always seemed challenging because it was harder to tell what was real and what was fake.
“Alright. I’m not a picky eater, so that shouldn’t be a problem. The illegal part I kinda figured since she’s keeping supers as pets. What else?” I pressed.
“The others here are just as dangerous, if not more, because they’re all watching each other to point out when you do something wrong.
It’s like they think it’ll keep it from happening to them someday.
Maxwell and Jemma are the only two that Delilah will think twice about punishing.
They’re special to her for some reason. Oh—then there are the hunts,” Cory whispered, hunching his body as if to make himself smaller.
“Brad mentioned something about that,” I offered, hoping it would help that he didn’t need to explain what that meant.
He peeked up at me through his hair, fear making his eyes glow. “She’ll make you go on one. It’s the one thing that will bind you to her and her secret forever. Even if you betrayed her and went to the Senate, they would punish you along with everyone else.”
I had guessed this would be the case—nothing better to protect you than mutual destruction.
It wasn’t the thought of killing a super that bothered me.
It wasn’t even that they were innocent people.
No, what caused me to hesitate was the Senate.
Yes, they had sent me on this job, but I wasn’t living under the impression that I would get a ‘get out of jail free’ card if I were caught.
The more I looked at the situation, the more it seemed like I would have to take out all the guests to make sure no one shared what happened here.
I could withstand torture, but none of these prissy trust-fund babies would.
“Thank you, Cory. I would like some time alone now,” I said, dismissing him with a wave of my hand.
Without a word, he stood and exited the room, letting the door softly click behind him.
Now I needed a new plan since I was adding four more people to the mission, and I would need to act fast. No way in hell was I going to let any of them get away with this; they were all to blame.
I knew without a doubt that there would be a hunt tomorrow.
With a new person around, Delilah would make sure we all stayed loyal to their secret.