I slowed down as I pedaled through the town, watching for the shop. The map I’d looked at online had gotten me this far, but I hadn’t looked at the street view to see precisely where itlay. Fortunately the town’s size made it pretty hard to miss, and I soon pulled up in front of the shop. Popping the kickstand down, I took a deep breath and tried to be calm. I’d already done the hard part by leaving the forest, right?
How hard could it be to speak to the shop owner or manager, show them what I had, ask if they were interested…Hi. My name is Bonnie and I wonder if you would like to see some of my handmade items?
Lifting the box, I started for the door. It didn’t look like a fancy store, but the front was neat and clean, the porch swept, and two planter boxes filled with spring blooms flanked the door. It was so much nicer than the hovel I’d grown up in, and I was prepared to really like the omega who ran it.
I stepped inside, the door opening on silent hinges. Also, something that never would have happened at our cabin where the door squealed. As a result, the three alphas at the counter never turned at my entrance. I’d really expected an omega to be working here, having been told it was the type of work an omega did. But the trio were discussing hurrying to get the shop closed so they could head out for their dinner. They were going to a Chinese buffet and it was all you can eat. These big, muscular guys looked like they could shut the place down if they had all they could eat.
I froze, standing there while they talked about their dinner, but I knew the moment they scented me—that I came onto their radar. Suddenly all three were looking at me, asking if I needed any help while I shuffled away until my back came up against the door. My mouth moved, but nothing came out.
Then one of them pointed to the box I’d forgotten I was holding. “Are you interested in consigning something?”
Nodding, I took a few hesitant steps to the counter. They loomed over me, so I should maybe have been scared, but I felt safe…somehow.
Chapter Six
Justice
My bear tracked her every step and breath as though she were prey.
She wasn’t prey. She was ours. Mine.
I soaked up all the information I could. Took long drags of scent through my nose. She smelled like…not a lot. A hint of spring blossoms, maybe jasmine. An omega who didn’t scent powerfully was on suppressants. Maybe scent blockers as well. No, definitely scent blockers.
Dallas cleared his throat and his gaze darted to mine and then Archer’s. We all knew what was going on here. They had to. Even with the lack of scent, there was no denying the pull of her.
And my bear? He thrashed inside me, trying to get out. Trying to get me to throw her over my shoulder and take her back to our homestead, beast that he was.
“What do you have here?” Dallas asked as she barely managed to heft the box onto the counter. Her arms were skinny. Not thin. Skinny. The rest of her was as well. She was out of breath. I moved to the window slowly, as not to spook her, and saw a mangled, barely useful bike outside. She must’ve ridden that in with that box somehow balanced in the basket.
“They are miniatures that I collect, um, used to collect.”
Dallas looked inside the box and took a few of the figurines out. They weren’t worth a ton as far as I knew, but I didn’t really spend my time researching collectibles. He would take pictures of them and compare prices online to give her an expectation of what she could get.
Thousands of questions raced through my mind, beginning with the most obvious. Why was she selling something she once collected? There were common sense answers. She’d outgrownthe collection. She completed it and didn’t want them anymore. Maybe she collected them for resale value, but why bring them to our shop to sell when they could easily be sold online?
Did she need the money?
Honestly, given her slight body, that made sense. Maybe she needed the money for food or housing.
My bear picked up no alpha scent on her.
Her flip-flops were as thick as a piece of paper and that was being generous. The dress she wore was suited more for an older woman than a twenty-year-old, which I assumed was her age.
Something was wrong, and I wanted nothing more than to shake the problems from her and pick them all up, fixing them one by one.
“You’re sure you want to get rid of them?” He took some pictures and cocked his head. “Some of these are quite valuable. You’d get more money at an online auction.”
Fool of a bear. If she sold them here, we’d get her information and a way to see her again. Archer cleared his throat, trying to knock some sense into Dallas, and thankfully he caught on.
“I’d like to consign them here if you think they will sell.”
Oh, they would sell. I’d pay three times what they were worth on pure principle. That way, she would have some money in her pocket and get whatever she needed. And I would have something of hers in our home.
Would she find out we had bought them? One day, I hoped.
“They definitely will. I have a form for you to fill out so we can get in touch with you when they do.”
Dallas had a tablet and while he explained to her how to fill it out, she got squirmy.
