My lips pressed hard and it was all I could do to keep from snarling. “Is something wrong with him?”
“No. He’s fine.”
“Then I want him brought here.”
“Sir, that’s not how things work. You make appointments. Things are then prepared. In advance.”
“What if I don’t want to wait.”
Jonah met my gaze and didn’t look away. He had a darkness in his eyes he hid with his fake smiles. Right now, that smile was fading, nostrils readying themselves to flare. “That is not done.”
I pushed back. “Not without extra fees, right?”
His demeanor immediately changed. “We could possibly discuss that.”
Knowing I had the upper hand this second, I said, “I want to see him first.”
Jonah huffed, lashes slowly lowering. It wasn’t submissiveness but hiding a more heightened simmer. Good. I wanted him to hate me. I wanted to make things unpleasant, not pretty, ugly as they should be.
Jonah picked up his phone and began to text. While he did that, he spoke. “Klonis will bring him by in a minute.”
“A minute? I thought he was incommunicado.”
“All omegas here are until we give our permission.”
“I guessed that. They don’t even have access to the Internet.”
He blinked at me, silent.
“They are things to be used, I know.” My words tasted heavy on my tongue, sour like milk gone bad.
“Ostracized from their packs, they have purpose here.”
“How many do you have?” I’d looked it up so I already knew the answer.
“159.”
A smallish school or, rather, herd, yet enough to make a lot of alphas rich. I forced myself to remain calm. Malinekan wanted to show his claws.
“Well, maybe 158 is a better number.”
His lashes flicked. “The omegas here are for rent, sir. None are for sale. You’d go to an auction event for that.”
“Not even for the right price?”
“No.”
My teeth gritted. “Everyone has their price.”
Jonah sat back in his chair, lips parting just enough to show his teeth. He repeated his last statement. “No.”
“But isn’t he useless? I was told he might be barren. What happens then? If he can’t produce children for you, that puts an added weight on your business.”
“Who told you that?”
“He did.”
Jonah let out a forced laugh. “You believed him?”
