“Please, Rhett,” Brock adds, voice low.
I stay rooted in place, curious to see if this arrogant, rich alpha is going to give in to the pressure. I hope he does. Not because I’m eager to sit on a plane with him, but because it’ll confirm what I already suspect—he’s not as hard as he pretends.
“Fine.” Rhett growls, and I bow my head to hide my smile. “I’ll add him to the flight manifest, but there had better not be any warrants out for your arrest,” he practically snarls at me. “Because I won’t be smuggling you in.”
It takes everything not to point out that no one smuggles into the Northern Territory—they don’t care who comes in. It’s the assholes down south that monitor everyone coming back.
“Be ready in five minutes,” Rhett barks at me before marching out of the room, and Myrick rushes to follow the alpha.
“Sorry about that,” Brock says as soon as Rhett is gone.
“Don’t worry,” I say, patting Brock on the back. “A few hours with that asshole won’t kill me.”
I hope.
In a Tent
Autry
“There she is.”Dr. Plume smiles widely as he strolls into my room. Well, it’s not really a room. It’s a cot surrounded by a flimsy partition in a big open tent.
I can easily hear the other omegas. There are a few that are excited to find a mate today, but most sound scared. A handful are crying softly. One even screamed at the top of her lungs to be let go. They carried her out of here pretty quickly.
Listening to the poor girl on the cot next to me cry, I wish I hadn’t fought the pressure of finding a mate when I was at Beechworth. It was a good academy with some decent alphas trying to pursue me.
But there's no sense in dwelling on the past.
I made my bed. And now I get to lie in it.
“What time is it?” I ask the doctor, hugging my middle tight. There’s a weird chill in the air despite the stuffy summer weather, or maybe I’m just scared. That makes more sense.
“6 p.m.,” Dr. Plume says, pulling up a rolling stool beside me. “Everything starts in about an hour.” He sits across from me like we’re about to have a pleasant chat. “I’m sorry you had to wait all day. We try to process the more distressed omegas first.” I feel like I am distressed, but apparently not enough. “How are you holding up?”
My training kicks in like muscle memory. Years of being taught to smile, to be pleasant, agreeable. I flash him my best I’m-fine-and-you-don’t-need-to-worry smile. “Great.”
“Good to hear.” He picks up the clipboard at the end of my cot and flips through the paperwork. “Looks like they already filled out your one-sheet.”
From the corner of my eye, I spot someone peeking past the curtain.
My heart jumps. It’s Charlie.
I sit up straighter, breath catching in my throat. Relief floods me so fast it’s dizzying. I was sure he’d left. After the beta with the baton dragged him away to deal with a distressed omega, I figured I’d never get to say goodbye. But here he is, watching me.
“Okay, Autry,” Dr. Plume says, clicking his pen before tucking it away. Charlie vanishes behind the curtain again, probably hiding.Maybe he’s not supposed to be in here.“Let’s talk about your options today.”
I force myself to look at the doctor instead of the spot where Charlie stood. I can feel his presence like a tether holding me together.
“We have two different places where you can find a mate.” Dr. Plume rests my chart on his lap. “We have a display room and a showroom.” He leans in and says, “I think you’ll do very well in the showroom.” There's an excited lift in his voice, telling me this must be thebetter option.
I nod to show him I’m listening.
“You’ll get to mingle with the alphas. Meet their whole pack. Feel their energy.”
This sounds like a sales pitch.
“Do I get to pick who I go home with?” I ask, even though I already know the answer. This is a black market. It’s all about the highest bidder, but I’m hopeful.
“Kind of.” Dr. Plume’s face tightens. “If you connect with a pack, you might be able to persuade them to bid a little higher.”
