“I understand,” I nod, fast and eager, pressing a hand over my heart. “I’ll be respectful.”
“My beta runs the house,” he continues. “He doesn’t like you? You’re gone.”
“I’d never try to replace him.” I raise both hands, still holding the bidding slip, as if swearing an oath.
Rhett clenches his jaw. His nostrils flare as he pulls in a slow, frustrated breath. The muscles under his shirt flex, the fabric pulling tight across his chest. For a moment, I’m worried a few buttons might pop off. Finally, he growls, “Fine.” Then he holds out his hand.
Without hesitation, I grab it.
His grip is crushing—hot, rough, and huge. His palm swallows mine completely, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve just handed my life over to something wild.
“I’m warning you now, beta,” Rhett snarls as he leans in close, breath hot against my ear. “Any funny business, and you won’t live to see another day.”
My pulse slams in my throat. “Yes, sir.” But he doesn’t look convinced. His eyes narrowed with a glare that makes me want to disappear.
“This had better not be a trick,” he growls in a deepwarning. “You had better not be some kind of alpha-fucker looking to get knotted, then plan on abandoning an emotionally fragile omega.”
My mouth falls open, horrified he’d think that. “No!” I’m so shocked, I can’t even think of what to say. Does he think I want to have sex with him? Will he expect that if I’m a member of his pack?Do I even want that?
I’m far too overwhelmed to think about any of that right now, so I blurt out the first thing that pops into my head. “I’m not going to leave her. Ever.”
His jaw pushes forward, tense. Angry. But then he releases me and takes a step back. “What’s the plan?” he asks curtly, already shifting into alpha-mode. “I can’t claim her without another alpha.” He looks me up and down. “And you sure as hell wouldn’t pass for one.”
“There are always alphas hanging around the bar looking for work,” I say, gesturing toward that area with a nod. “Most get rejected. You could hire one to say he’s part of your pack.”
Rhett snorts, annoyed. “Should’ve thought of that myself.”
“Once you find someone,” I continue, “I’ll go with you to the claiming booth. You’ll need her number.” He glances at the crumpled slip in my hand. I smooth it out and tap the digits. I tap the 5228 he scribbled in black ink. “You’ll need herrealnumber to claim her.”
A flicker of something passes over his face. Impressed? Maybe. It vanishes too fast to tell. Then his brow lifts slightly. “Let me ask you something…” He hesitates, lips twitching with something like a grim smile. “What’s your name again?”
“Charlie,” I say quickly. “Charlie Pullson.”
“Okay, Charlie.” He looms over me. “What’s to stop mefrom stuffing you in the trunk of my car after we claim her and dumping your body in the river?”
The fear hits fast and hard. My chest locks up, and my hands go clammy, but I force myself not to flinch. “You can do that,” I admit, dropping my gaze. “But you shook my hand. Autry said you were nice. A gentleman. She said you seemed like an honorable alpha. The kind she always dreamed of finding.” Only the first half of that is true, but I’ve got nothing else to convince this alpha not to gut me the second he has Autry’s sales receipt.
Rhett’s expression tightens. His gaze drifts off for a beat, thinking. Then, finally, he says, “Fine.”
My heart leaps.
“Let’s do it.” He stands tall, eyes scanning past me toward the bar. His face is hard. Cold. Reluctant. But I don’t care. Because we’re doing it.
Excitement and relief wash over me, followed by an explosion of nerves. But I can’t get too worked up. Not yet. We still need to find an alpha. I turn, looking at the bar. “We need to find someone who looks trustworthy,” I murmur, scanning the crowd. “Someone who won’t blackmail you later.”
Rhett groans and rolls his eyes. “I actually know someone,” he mutters, already turning.
I scramble after him, instinctively keeping close—not out of trust, but because walking near a large, dangerous alpha like Rhett means fewer eyes on me.
We carve through the crowd. Past the low bleachers at the auction stage, past the makeshift kitchen and its pungent, greasy smell, and out into the warm evening air near the outdoor bar. It’s rowdier out here. The kind of energy that makes my skin prickle with unease. Laughter rings out too loudly, glasses clink like warning bells, and afew alphas wear expressions so hard and bitter they look like they’re hunting something.
“Oli.” Rhett’s voice cuts through the noise, sharp and commanding.
The alpha slowly turns, and my brows shoot up. He’s young. Maybe around my age. He’s handsome, the kind that knows it. Sun-kissed skin, eyes a murky hazel-green, dark waves of hair falling into his lashes. He looks like he’s been punched a few times and probably deserved every one of them.
And then his eyes cut to me.
I step back on instinct.
