Zarbius tapped his fingers on the desk before replying slowly as though he was still thinking it over.
“Icouldsell him along with the others. He’s pretty and young. He’d fetch a good price. But… actually, I was planning on using him as ransom to get my mate back, or just for cash.”
“Your mate?” I asked, as if I didn’t already know.
“Yeah. See, this fucking omega’s no-good Alpha stole my mate. So I figured, I take his mate. Now I just organize a swap to get my mate back. Or I could take a payment for him, but nah, that’s not right, you can’t take another guy’s mate. So I think I’ll ask for moneyandmy mate back. Either way, doesn’t matter what happens to him in the meantime. A swap is a swap. Might not even give him his mate back after I’ve got what I want,” he rambled.
I tried to suppress my shudder and the little voice in my heard that said ‘that’s not how that happened’ and frantically thought of a way to head off any violence towards Talius’ gentle mate.
“Well, looks like I arrived just in time,” I told him, with sudden inspiration, hoping I didn’t arouse his suspicions. “See, I recognized that omega straight away and I assumed you had a… transactional reason for having him here. That’s why I wassurprised your beta was mistreating him. I mean, you know his alpha’s an asshole, right? If you wantanythingfor that omega, you’ll have to send him back in perfect condition or he won’t be interested in getting him back at all.”
“What makes you so sure of that? And how do you know him anyway?” Zarbius growled.
“Your prisoner is the Alpha Mate from my old pack. His alpha’s a dickhead. Got no honor. Well, I told you about that - the way he lets the omegas do whatever they want. He’d rather let his mate go, than have one that’s no longer perfect. Thinks it reflects on him.”
Zarbius’ eyes glinted. His jaw firmed. He looked dangerously close to not believing me. Alphas were notoriously possessive about their mates.
I thought quickly. “He’ll just get one of the virgin omegas from his pack to be his new mate. Your mate – and I apologize for saying this, because I’m sure you’ve got a very fine mate – but well, he’s already been used, so the alpha doesn’t touch him, he’s not that valuable to him. So… picky. That omega you’ve got here will be worthless to you if he’s been raped or injured.”
I lapsed into silence. Had I said enough? Had I said too much?
“So…you’re fromthatpack?” Zarbius said thoughtfully. “We used to be neighbors, you know. I always knew that pack was too soft on their omegas. Their Alpha must be a weak-assed son-of-a-bitch.”
“Oh, yeah,” I agreed with him. “Weak as piss.”
Mentally, I apologized to Talius, but figured he’d forgive anything that helped keep his mate safe.
“But back to your problem with this omega. I suppose you could sell him on the black market but he’d fetch a lot less than if Talius paid a ransom for him. Depends what’s important to you – do you want your betas to have a good time or do you want to make money out of this? It’s your call, obviously, but from a business perspective…”
I let my voice trail away, pulled a bit of a face and shrugged before looking away as if I didn’t personally care but thought he was making a stupid decision. It was a gamble. I wanted Zarbius to make the decision himself, wanted him to think he was making a ‘smart business decision’. I was hoping his pride would make him do it. But if he didn’t, I wasn’t going to leave Irian to his fate. I didn’t know what I’d do – didn’t know what Icoulddo - but I’d find a way to get him out of here. Talius had saved me when I’d been a desperate young shifter with no pack, half-starved for both food and company. I owed it to him to save his mate if I could.
What I really needed was the opportunity to go back to the pack and tell Talius where his mate was, but I had to make sure Irian would be safe here while I did that.
“W-e-l-l,” Zarbius drew out the word. My chest hurt with the breath I was holding; my heart was racing. Things could go either way at this point. “I was planning on having a bit of fun with him myselfbeforedoing a trade.”
I let my shoulders rise and fall indolently, not that bothered. “You’ll just have to decide if the loss is worth it to you then. I’ve heard he’s useless in the sack anyway, not much there to get excited about. And to be honest, he’s pretty uninspiring all round - I don’t think anyone’s going to care too much if he doesn’t go back.”
That was so not true. Irian was a real sweetheart and the pack loved him. And I knew Talius would be devastated if anyone laid a hand on him, and especially if they touched him sexually. But he would never, ever, turn his back on him, that I was sure of. He loved that omega more than he loved life.
Finally, Zarbius cleared his throat with a raspy growl, and when he spoke he sounded thoughtful. “Well, now that I know allthat,” he said, “It’s really not worth the effort or the loss. We’ve got plenty of other omegas to play with here. I’ll make sure nobody lays a hand on him, and I’ll get his alpha to pay a handsome sum to get him back, as well as give me my mate back. And then we’ll see what we do.”
“Sounds like a wise business decision,” I agreed, nodding as if it were his idea all along, and surreptitiously letting out my held breath at the same time. Irian was safe for now. I worried about Isca, Talius’ second mate, who was also Zarbius’ old mate. He was my friend, and it was alarming to think of Zarbius getting his hands on him again, but I was certain Talius wouldn’t allow it. It simply reinforced that I needed to find a way to communicate with Talius.
We talked some more about other things, and a while later Zarbius dismissed me, saying he had things to attend to. As I stood up to leave, he said, “Come to the dining hall this evening. We eat around 6. I’ll make an announcement about your position in the pack then.”
*****
Rat-tat-tat
The soft tapping at my door was hesitant. It felt like if I didn’t answer, the person would run away.
I unfolded myself from where I’d been sitting cross-legged on the bed, trying to think up ways to get the two omegas safely out of here.
“Hey,” I said, opening the door.
An omega I hadn’t met yet, was shifting from foot to foot in front of the door. Her nervous energy was unsettling, but I kept my manner calm and reassuring.
“What’s your name?” I asked her. She looked at me with wide, frightened eyes, maybe wondering if some harm would befall her if she gave me her real name.
