I shove my worries about Raquel aside as Doyle approaches the cage, his lips curled in a self-satisfied smile and a malicious glint in his eyes. “You didn’t really think you’d get away from me that easily, did you?”
Rage flares in my chest at his mocking tone and my lips pull away from my teeth. I let out a low, rumbling growl, my gaze fixed on the Vegas Alpha’s face. If there was a way to kill someone with the power of a glare, Doyle would be keeling over about now.
Doyle chuckles and shakes his head. “You did, didn’t you?” He smirks. “It was a valiant effort, but a lost cause all the same when you’re nothing but a dumb animal, a brute who isn’t good for anything but fighting.” He pauses, cocking his head to the side. “I’m curious though, what did you do with the human?”
I force myself not to react, giving him nothing but a blank stare. If he doesn’t already know where Raquel is, then that means she managed to escape somehow, and I don’t want to give Doyle any excuse to look for her.
After a few seconds of studying my lupine features, Doyle glances back at his two triumvirate henchmen. “Where’s the human?”
The taller, brown-haired shifter shrugs. “We didn’t see a human during the retrieval, boss. Only this one andthe other.”
Doyle frowns, his gaze returning to me. “That’s fine,” he says. “She’ll be back, and if she isn’t, I’m sure she can be drawn out when she realizes we have her friend.” He stares at me for a beat, then grins. “Granted, I might not have him at this precise moment, but it’s only a matter of time before my other praetorians catch up with him, and then even the triumvirate officers I’mnotpaying will be happy to hand him over.”
He must pick up on my skepticism because he lets out a laugh and crouches, leaning closer to the cage. “I’m not particularly fond of the triumvirate, too many procedures and restrictions, but they were easily convinced to do my dirty work when I told them there’s a feral shifter on the loose.” His expression morphs into one of exaggerated worry and concern. “One of my pack members was kidnapped by a feral, and I have reason to believe they’re heading your way. Please notify me if they show up so I can come retrieve my pack member.”
Neil isn’t yours. I snarl and lunge at the bars.
Doyle doesn’t even twitch. “They didn’t even bother to question the circumstances or why I thought you’d be heading here. That’s what’s so great about the fact the humans were the middleman. The triumvirate may have taken down Wanda’s little side business and the humans she was selling to, but there’s absolutely no connection back to me.”
He pushes to his feet and turns to face the other shifters. “Make sure everything is ready for transport,” he says. “As soon as we’ve got the omega, we’ll be heading out.”
I can’t hold back my sharp inhale at the word “omega.”How does he know?
“Didn’t think I’d catch that?” Doyle chuckles. “He was quite talkative with his little friend at the casino, and I have cameraseverywhere.” Again, he crouches and leans closer. “But don’t you worry, I won’t be using him for fighting, not after what I’ve learned about male omegas.”
What he’s learned…?
My body goes cold. The secrets of male omegas aren’t widely known, not even among shifters. How the hell did Doyle find out about any of it when he had no clue how truly special male omegas were only a few months ago?
Maybe he didn’t. Maybe he onlythinkshe knows something. Maybe—
“I won’t have to purchase any more alpha fighters when I have a male omega who can breed them.” He smirks. “Of course, that’s a time-consuming process, so in the meantime, I’ll expect you to put on a good show. Who knows, perhaps if you survive long enough, you’ll get to meet one of your mate’s children in the ring.”
I lunge at the bars again, a protective rage swirling in my chest as I snarl and bite at the metal. One paw slips between the bars and I swipe at him, but my claws meet only open air, Doyle just millimeters outside of my reach.
He throws his head back and laughs, the sound harsh and mocking. He pulls himself together after a couple seconds, swiping at his eyes, and slips a small rectangle made of black plastic from his pocket.
A remote. For the collar.
“You really need to learn how to behave,” he says as he meets my eyes and presses the button on the remote with his thumb.
The zap of electricity from the collar is uncomfortable, but nothing at all like it used to be. I do little more than twitch in place. He frowns and presses the button again, getting the exact same reaction from me. And obviously not the one he wanted or expected.
He glances at the other shifters, narrowing his eyes. “Are you sure you got the right kind of collar?”
“We grabbed one of the ones hanging on the wall in the building where we picked him up,” says the fair-haired shifter. “They all looked the same.”
Doyle scowls and his nostrils flare. “Well, that damn woman better have stored at least one of the heavy-duty ones somewhere else. When we go back, you’ll need to find one.”
The two shifters share a look and the dark-haired one says, “Sure thing, Alpha.” He pauses. “Any idea where we might find one?”
Doyle jumps to his feet, spinning on the dark-haired shifter with a snarl, hand raised. The shifter covers his head with his arms and cowers backward.
“We’ll handle it,” he blurts out frantically.
Doyle lowers his hand. “You’d better or you might make a good bait dog while I wait for the first batch of fighters to be ready.”
A cheery ringtone plays, and Doyle smiles. He fishes his cell phone from his pocket, barely glancing at the screen before answering it. The conversation is short and the person on the other end speaks too low for me to hear, but I get the gist of it.
