“We aren’t some used car salesmen here,” Trent explained. “She isn’t a compact entry-level car you can go over to the dealership to test drive for fun. Think of her as a one-of-a-kind, specially made luxury item. We don’t let just anyone touch her.”
He narrowed his eyes for a moment, then let out a soft snort. “You sure think a lot of yourself.”
Daniel gestured toward the couch and chairs in the living room, all situated with Alison in the center.
Galen took the chair opposite her, which allowed Trent to breathe a little easier. He couldn’t reach her from there, and while he rarely took his gaze from her, the distance helped. “We don’t normally accept new scouts.”
“We aren’t new. We’ve been working on the east coast for years.”
“So I’ve heard.” Galen took out a cigarette, lighting it without asking if anyone cared. “But that doesn’t change thatwedon’t know you. What are you doing out here?”
Daniel sat on the couch. “As you know, your organization has taken a few hits lately. There’s a chance this will be the last public auction for a while. We thought it worth branching out, finding new clients.”
“You don’t have enough product for many clients.”
“We don’t have repeats, though. Just word of mouth. So when we bring her to the auction, only one person can purchase her, but we’ll likely have others who want to go on a wait list. It seems like the best way to handle it.”
“Any client you find from our auction better end with us getting a cut.”
Daniel nodded. “Naturally.”
Kyle reached for a set of files on the side table, then held them out for Galen.
“What’s this?” Galen opened them, flipping through the pages.
“History. Medical record. Tests. We don’t sell anything that isn’t healthy. She has been thoroughly examined and found with no defects.”
Galen closed the paperwork as if it didn’t matter, snorting. “You are crazy, you know that? Our best sellers are the wild omegas, the ones clients want to break. How the fuck do you think having all of this helps? Who would pay a bundle when one hole is as good as another? I mean, yeah, she’s pretty, but they don’t typically stay pretty that long with our customers.”
Trent cracked his knuckles, but when the other two didn’t speak up, he jumped in. He had to hold it together. “Thosearen’t the clients we’re looking for. Anyone can beat a woman, can break one. That’s easy. Why spend money on a slave if you could get the same thing picking up a girl anywhere? We don’t just sell omegas.”
“So what do you sell?”
“Mates.”
Galen snorted. “Who the fuck wants a mate?”
Trent reached over and toyed with Alison’s hair, using it as a way to keep himself focused on his goal. “Our training program is second to none. We fetch a high price, but in exchange for that, our clients get a fully trained submissive omega who can be trusted without chains or threats. Our clients can take our products out with them anywhere, and they obey without question. We even file the paperwork to ensure our merchandise is on the delinquent omega registry,which means they have additional legal protections and autonomy when dealing with them. Who wants to spend so much on something they have to keep chained up in a room? That limits the usefulness. Picture an omega who is entirely devoted to you, who will do anything you say at any time. It’s all the benefits of a slave without the downsides or risks.”
Galen pursed his lips, then stared at Alison as if trying to picture it. “Well, that’s new, I’ll give you that. I didn’t want to let you in, honestly. I don’t like new people, and this whole training thing? Not my bag. Management sees things differently.”
“Then management understands how lucrative this is. Our products typically start the bidding at five times the next highest at any auction. By the time bidding is over? We often make more than people who sold six or seven different omegas.”
“Yeah, well, management has a different idea of what’s best than I do. I think he’s more interested in seeing your product than he is in the money. Let’s just say he’s got a similar idea as you.”
Trent moved his fingers to the nape of Alison’s neck, rubbing over where the collar sat. Tense muscles stood out, and while he doubted he’d be able to relax her, he offered what little reassurance he could. For her, being still was likely the hardest thing.
“So, explain to me the training. How does it work?”
“It isn’t that much different from how you train a dog. It isn’t about fear—a fearful beast is one that’s likely to eventually bite you. Instead, you use positive reinforcement. We don’t hit our products, we don’t scar them. That gives unreliable results.”
“So what do you do?”
“We take everything away from them, break them down with that, then offer them little bits of kindness. They start to rely on us for everything good. This leads them to associating their masters with good things. Eventually, they end up entirely reliant on their masters for everything, and that gives the loyalty and trust people get from our products. It isn’t an easy process, but our work speaks for itself.”
Galen’s expression said he didn’t believe it—or, rather, didn’t believe it to be worth it. “And they’re happy when they go off to someone else?”
“We do the handover, and we’re available to come for additional adjustments when needed. However, we also offer complete guarantees. If a product doesn’t live up to what we promise, we will replace it.”
