Gigi stepped away, clearly terrified, but hesitated when she saw Jack.
Lucky gave her a gentle shove, then watched Gigi bolt towards the gates.He didn’t breathe easy until she was out of sight.
His heart raced, terrified but relieved that she was out of harm’s way.As the leader’s men moved in to block the exit, he could only hope he lived to regret this.
* * * *
For whatever reason, Scout insisted on ‘taking care’ of Lucky personally, though he wasn’t sure if that meant kill, interrogate or confine.He didn’t even want to consider the alternatives.
Scout’s eyes were alert, intelligent and bright blue, his skin was slightly tanned and he had a hint of pale cream skin from his lower jaw to the base of his collar.Lucky recognised the signs of vitiligo, which an old school friend had.Like her, Scout seemed to hide behind a baggy hoodie and black jeans with high-top trainers.
“In here.”Scout opened a white door into what looked like a living room.Startlingly white, half empty, there was only a sofa at the back of the room, a small coffee table in front, and an oversized rug on the floor.
Confused, Lucky sat on the sofa, wondering why they hadn’t tied him up and he was being given a comfortable room to wait in.He’d been blindfolded for the car ride, but there had been no violence, not even rough handling.He’d shut his eyes just for a minute to focus, counting steps and distance, but if he wasn’t wrong, he could walk to campus within an hour, maybe two.
Scout lifted a bottle of water from the coffee table.“It’s not contaminated.I just don’t want you dying of thirst while we wait.”He unscrewed the cap to take a sip, then set the bottle onto the table, as if Lucky was gullible enough to trust him.
“Wait for what?”Lucky wasn’t touching that bottle.For all he knew, the water was drugged and Scout was resistant or could counteract the effects.He’d heard of drugs that only worked on omegas.
Scout cocked his head but didn’t answer.“He mentioned you were traditional, but not like this.We’ll get twice as much for an omega with sigils if we get the right buyer.”He gestured to encompass everything Lucky was, like he didn’t already know he was a traditionalist in a sea of compliant, modern omegas.He was short, plump, wore his hair to the waist and had Omha Sigils all over his body.In the eyes of the modern world, Lucky was an unwelcome reminder of how omegas used to be, and howhewould always remain loyal to Omha, the omega Goddess.“You’re smart, though.That’ll lower your price.That and your big mouth.Don’t worry.Whoever buys you will break you of that bad habit.”Scout folded his arms over his chest, smirking at the verbal torments and taunts.
If they were meant to upset and scare him, he’d need to try harder.Lucky had spent his entire life hearing about how unusual he was, that his belief in Omha was childish and he’d never find a mate who would accept him.
“Virgins are worth a fortune on the market, especially ones that look like you.”
Lucky clasped the necklace he always wore with Omha’s symbol.“Omha will protect me,” he said, for his own sake, to reaffirm his beliefs and remind this scumbag that he wouldn’t be scared of a bunch of losers who could only get their hands on an omega by kidnapping them.
“You think your precious Goddess cares about you?”Scout raised an eyebrow, as though all omegas had forsaken Her.He’d be surprised how many held Her to their hearts, even if they didn’t outwardly show it.
“Of course She does.”
“The Market will break you of that belief.”
“I wouldn’t bet on it.”
Scout stared at Lucky for what felt like hours, until a knock at the door echoed through the silence.Seconds later, Lincoln burst into the room, sparking the rage that had been simmering under the surface of Lucky’s calm façade.
The bastard rushed towards Lucky with arms outstretched, as though he was a fucking saviour.He’d always known Lincoln was a selfish asshole who would do anything to have Lucky as his omega, but a deep well of betrayal still stabbed him in the heart.He couldn’t believe Lincoln had hired thugs from the Market to kidnap him.Why?To force Lucky into an ultimatum to mate with Lincoln or face the Market?He’d rather take his chances with the Market.
Lucky lifted his leg and planted his foot in Lincoln’s balls, forcing him to stop or have them crushed.“Don’t you fucking touch me.”
“He’s feisty,” Scout said, in obvious approval.
Lincoln spun to glare at him, and the fact that Lucky couldn’t scent his Override at this close distance meant he’d gone off his government-mandated meds.“I paid double what you asked to have you bring him to me.Now hand him over.”
“To you?No.I brought him to a safe place, where he’ll be kept until we find the right buyer.The folk in Sikka will love him.”
The thought of being trafficked outside of Threnul Province made Lucky feel sick.If he was taken to Sikka, his parents would need to battle the Sikka government to find him.Lucky wasn’t even sure if anyone knew he was missing.Gigi might not understand the risk or the connection to the Market and Jack was lucky to still be alive, never mind able to talk.The police could waste precious hours tracking the wrong people because Lucky hadn’t left any clues.
“He’s mine.”Lincoln practically growled at Scout.
“I belong to no one!”Lucky ground the words out through gritted teeth, struggling to contain his emotions now that Lincoln, the cause of all his problems, was in front of him.
Lincoln backhanded him, his ring catching Lucky’s lip.He had the audacity to look stunned, but the fact it had been instinct was more disgusting than if he’d done it on purpose to shut him up.
Lucky’s cheek burned with the pain of the impact, his lip stinging from what he presumed was a cut, but he refused to cry out.
Scout rushed in with a utility knife that materialised from nowhere to press to Lincoln’s throat.“Watch how you talk to me and don’t damage the product!”he said, his low threat more terrifying than Lincoln’s tantrum.He glanced at Lucky, eyebrows furrowed.“You hurt?”
