“I can’t do that, unfortunately.” I shook my head. “You see, I said omegas weren’t coveted byeveryone, but they are certainly coveted. Someone is going to pay a lot of money for you, little pet.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
ARINA
No.
The world felt like it was crashing around me and imploding all at one. My lungs ached from a sudden lack of oxygen, and I couldn’t think.
He wanted to sell me.
No.
My wrists ached from the rope around them, but even that pain was beginning to fade. Everything was slipping out of focus, and all I could do was stare at Zero’s maniacal grin.
No. No. No.
The last thing I wanted to do was beg this fucker for anything, but I was running out of options. The future I’d started to grow attached to, the one with me performing across the country with the Knotty Sideshow, was going up in smoke.
The friendships I’d made, the people I’d met, the freedom I’d tasted…
It will all be gone.
“Zero, please…” My voice barely sounded like my own. It was broken, desperate, and pain filled. “Please, don’t do this.”
“I like it when you beg.” His grin widened. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll change my mind.”
He had to.
He had to change his mind.
Things couldn’t end here, not after everything. I knew our fate was tethered together because of the scent match, but that didn’t mean he had to ruin my goddamn life.
Even now, as I was fighting tears and a panic attack, his scent called to me. The sticky-sweet caramel and salted popcorn overrode the dusty smell of the warehouse, infiltrating my system. I was convinced that without it, I would be an uncontrollable, sobbing mess, but the fucking aroma soothed me in ways it shouldn’t.
“I’m sorry,” I said, grasping at straws. Was there anything I could say to get through to him? “For everything. I had to do what I had to do. I had to get away?—”
“From what?” He arched an eyebrow.
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. What was the hurt in telling the truth now? He already found the suppressants; he knew half the story. If his plan was to sell me off to the highest bidder, what difference did it make?
“A pack of alphas.” The words came out weaker than I intended. “My father sold me to them without telling me, and I ran. I don’t want to be bonded to someone I’ve never met, especially now…”
Especially now that I’ve met my scent match.
It shouldn’t have been my first thought, but it was. Probably because he was glaring daggers through me.
Zero laughed and began to pace again, slipping out of my field of vision. When he replied, his voice was everywhere.“Ironic, isn’t it? You ran from alphas only to find yourself among several more.”
“I’m glad you find my misery amusing,” I grumbled.
He reappeared right next to me and grabbed my chin, lifting my face so I met his eyes. His golden irises nearly glowed in the dark.
“I don’t find it amusing,” he said, deadpan. “I find it exhilarating. Your fear, even more so.”
I shook my chin out of his hold and glared at him; he really was fucking insane.
“Is that why you dragged me here?” I looked around at the shitty, abandoned warehouse. “To intimidate me because your knives didn’t work.”
