I recognized the omega who entered. It was the tall, plump guy who had brought me dinner my first night there, the same one who’d tried to protect Tosca from me when I’d gone to choose an omega for the night. I didn’t know how far the omegas here could be trusted – there was such a thing as Stockhold Syndrome, after all - but he was Tosca’s friend. I hoped he’d be a friend to Irian.
The hum of conversation stilled outside the shed, and several betas poked their heads around the doorway, heads tilted, eyes roaming between the occupants. They seemed reluctant to come in any further, but curious about what was going on. The sleazy guy was still inside after delivering the bottle of water. I flicked a quick glance over my shoulder at him. He was staring at Irian speculatively. He seemed unaffected by the heat, no signs of sweat on his shirt, or on his face, though he was scruffy and disheveled. A narrow tongue wet his lips as he kept his gaze lazer-sharp on the omega. I didn’t trust him. I wasn’t even sure he could be trusted to obey his Alpha. He was standing behind us, a situation I was sure was deliberate, since Zarbius seemed to have forgotten about him.
“One of you lot take this guy to an empty cabin and guard the door so he doesn’t try to escape. And you,” here he paused and pointed a finger at the newly arrived omega, “look after him.He’s not well. It’s your responsibility to make sure he gets well. Or else.”
The omega stood there blinking his big brown eyes as Zarbius spoke. He didn’t react to the implied threat. After a beat, he bowed his head submissively.
“Yes, Alpha.”
He ambled forward and gently linked his arm through Irian’s, speaking softly to him, and began leading the stumbling omega towards the exit. Irian’s reproachful eyes narrowed on me as he passed. I could feel thewhy?in his weighted gaze. I ignored him, keeping my expression harsh and disinterested, aware that Zarbius was watching.
But Zarbius’ attention wasn’t on me. He sneered. “You can scowl at him all you like, omega, but you oughta be thanking him for keeping you safe. If it wasn’t for him, these betas woulda been all over you already. Lucky for you this guy knows your Alpha’s a fucking princess or you’d be going back to him covered in cum and bruises.”
Irian looked confused. Of course, he had no idea what Zarbius was talking about. Talius would have flown to the moon to get him back in any condition. I pressed my lips together and moved my head sideways very subtly, hoping he would pick up on the silent message to stay quiet. Something passed through Irian’s eyes, and they flicked between Zarbius and myself, but he said nothing.
As the two omegas shuffled slowly towards the door, the sly-faced beta moved to follow them. I didn’t miss how he his hand slid over Irian’s hip as he ushered him towards the door.
“That guy there,” I tipped my head in the direction of the beta. “That’s who I want to have come with me.”
Zarbius shrugged. Maybe he didn’t care who came with me, as long as someone did. Someone who was loyal to him. It was a kind of insurance policy, in case I wasn’t what I claimed to be. He wasn’t totally stupid. But the choice of this guy was a good one, from his point of view. He was a disgusting leech, the sort of guy who’d be fully onboard with the kinds of plans Zarbius made, not likely to be convinced to betray him as long as there was something in it for him, and since Zarbius kept a ready supply of omegas for his crew, that much could be assumed.
As much as I didn’t want the guy anywhere near Irian, it would at least keep him where I could see him, and for the immediate future, kept him away from the omega.
“Whatever. Sharkey, come back here. Bruce can do the babysitting. You’re gonna visit the Leongatha pack with Agelius. We need to talk this out.”
As the omegas disappeared out the door, Sharkey shot me a look of loathing through narrowed eyes. Yeah, I’d been right. He’d had plans I was almost certainly sabotaging. The least respectful of the betas, bordering on insolent, it would not have surprised me if he’d been planning on going behind his Alpha’s back and messing with Irian. He’d probably have gotten away with it too – Zarbius wasn’t the most observant of leaders. It confirmed what I’d suspected - Irian was safer with this guy kept close to my side.
Talius wouldn’t appreciate me bringing this piece of shit to his property, but then, I wasn’t sure what sort of a reception I was going to get anyway. For all appearances, Irian and I had disappeared on the same day. Under the circumstances, just that fact would be enough to raise suspicion, especially when I turnedup with a ransom demand. Somehow, I would have to ditch Sharkey and get Talius on his own for a few minutes. Try and explain. Goddess help me if he wouldn’t listen and decided to take justice into his own hands.
“Right, you two,” Zarbius growled, interrupting my thoughts. “Come to my office now and we’ll get the details sorted. You’re gonna leave today. I’ve got a truck coming to pick up a consignment day after tomorrow, and I need to know if I’m putting that omega on the truck or not.”
And fuck, that put paid to the faint hope I’d still been hanging on to of sneaking Irian and Tosca out of here under cover of darkness. Tonight was going to be too late. The sweat trickled down the back of my shirt. Fuck, fuck, fuck… I was going to have to bring Talius here. I couldn’t do this on my own, and I wouldn’t put it past Zarbius to double-cross all of us. The ransom could be paid and Isca returned to him, and Irian might still end up on that truck. There was also no way in the world that Talius would let Isca return here. But that was a problem for later – hopefully when I had spoken to Talius and explained everything. Maybe we could work out a plan together. If I could just ditch that damn beta.
It was a relief to step outside the blazing hot shed. Although the sun was overhead, a breeze moved the air about and even that small movement felt like a cool fan across my flaming cheeks. The contrast and the relief I felt, reminded me that Irian was probably not in great shape. I could see the two omegas halfway across the grass clearing on their way to the cabins in the trees. Irian was leaning heavily on the other omega who had his arm around his waist supporting him. The beta trailed behind them. He didn’t seem to be hassling them, and I couldn’t hear him at all, allowing the pair to take the time they needed. Maybe he wasa decent guy – well, decent was relative in this pack. The bar was low.
We followed after the little group struggling its way across the grass. Taller and more powerful than the two omegas, with longer legs, it wasn’t long before we passed them as we headed for Zarbius’s cabin. The two omegas with their beta guard were still making their way to the cabin furthest from Zarbius’ when we stepped onto his porch.
I entered ahead of Sharkey and as there was only one visitor’s chair, I made sure I sat in it in case Sharkey had any misdirected ideas about where he and I stood in the pack hierarchy. Sharkey stood off to the side, glowering, then moved over to the window. His eyes were little more than slits as he tracked the movement of something outside, probably the omegas.
“Right, this is what you’re gonna do,” began Zarbius, leaning back in his chair, feet comfortably resting up on the desk. The sharp rap of a pen hitting the wood, punctuated his words. “The two of you are gonna go down there and demand to see that Alpha. You tell him I’ve got his omega and I wanna do a deal. Tell him… I’m willing to give him back his omega – unharmed – in exchange for the one he wrongfully took from me, and a million bucks transferred to my account, for my trouble.”
I sighed. “That’s too much. He’s not going to be able to put his hands on that amount of money. I’ve seen the pack accounts ‘cause I do some work on their computer system. If you’re trying to get this deal done quickly, it needs to be an amount that’s feasible for him to get his hands on easily. Half a mil would probably be more realistic, I reckon.”
“And there’s no need to go down there today. We can send him a message and get him to transfer the money tonight and then dothe omega swap once we’re sure the money’s in our account,” I went on. It was worth a try. I only needed one night.
Zarbius shook his head. “Nope. No cell service here. Besides, I don’t wanna give him time to call anyone else in. I want you to go down there, tell him the terms, catch him off balance. Get him to make the transfer and bring my mate back here.”
“And how will we give his mate back to him? Should we take him with us?”
“That’s the first dumb idea you’ve had since you got here,” Zarbius said rudely. “I let you take him down there, that’s the last I see of my money or my mate. Nah, we’ll do it my way. As for the omega, we’ll just let him go, he can find his own way home. He can follow your trail back through the forest. Or…” he grinned toothily, the stains on his teeth as ugly as his next words, “maybe we’ll send him in the consignment anyway. Make money both ways.”
“You, Sharkey,” he pointed a rough-skinned finger at the beta. “You’re the muscle. You make sure nothing goes wrong, okay?”
“Sure, boss,” the beta drawled, from where he was leaning indolently against the windowsill. “You know I don’t mind getting my hands dirty.”
I looked him up and down. He was thin and wiry, all lean muscle and snarl.
“What makes you so dangerous?” I asked him.
