Page 46 of Dark Auctioned Mate

They were smaller now and also quicker. By

late afternoon, they arrived at the village near Shadowridge land. They lodged at a small inn and were to meet with the Shadowridge Alpha the next day.

Alanis was unpacking in her room when Rael knocked on the door.

“We have a problem,” he said.

“What is it?”

“August got a message from one of his contacts. Apparently, one of the organizers of the auction we were following is here. Just an inn away.”

Alanis’s pulse quickened. “Are you sure?”

“Three of my other contacts confirmed it,” August appeared by the door. “Which is either incredible luck or a very obvious trap.”

“What’s the plan?”

“Well, August is putting cameras in place, spying on him, watching whoever he communicates with. We must be careful about this and collect as much intelligence as we can.”

“And then? Do we watch him leave? Wait until he holds another auction? Just how long are you going to watch him?”

“As long as it is necessary to do this right,” Rael said sternly. “We cannot simply kidnap him off the streets since he would be obviously heavily guarded and most likely has contacts with local police. If we go too quick—”

“We lose him,” Alanis finished. “Like you all have lost all the other leads as well, because you are so cautious.”

Rael’s jaw tightened. “Caution keeps us alive and prevents missions from failing. I understand you want some action, but—”

“Results.” She glared at Rael and August. “I want results. I want to simply put a stop to these people and not just watch.”

“And we will. But we need to be strategic.”

“For how long? Until more women get sold? Until the network continues to run and your pack continues to have crimes attributed to it?”

Rael sighed, exchanging brief glances with August. “Give me two days to gather intelligence, figure out how tight his security is, and his habits. Then we will figure out how to get to him. Together.”

Alanis would have liked to make an argument and insisted on taking immediate action. But she could see Rael was tired from the burden of responsibility that he bore.

“Fine,” she agreed. “Two days.”

***

Alanis couldn’t sleep. She tossed and tossed until she settled for staring at the ceiling.

The Lumen would already have taken action. Deva taught them to be daring, to take calculated risks, to believe in their abilities and instincts. Waiting was not on the list.

And here was this man who had made a fortune off the pain of so many women. Within reach.

She thought about the women she met at the auction and wondered if they’d found safety or if they’d ended up back in the same hell they’d escaped from.

Rael’s plan was methodical and safe. But safe didn’t save people. Action did.

Alanis got out of bed. Her mind was made up. She would allow Rael his time of observation during the day. But tonight she would do her best.

She would approach the target and get the information in the best way she knew how.

Thirty minutes later, Alanis stood outside the fancier inn. She looked down at her outfit, silently thanking the stars. She had accidentally packed some…skimpy outfits—courtesy of Sara. It was a tight red dress that revealed more than she was used to. She also coincidentally had a bit of makeup in her bag. She should probably take Sara out for lunch or something when she gets back. The makeup she did turned her face into a coquettish and seductive one.

She had done this previously. Many times. The Lumen had trained her how to seduce a target, how to get them to talk, and how to go about wringing information out of them when they were so consumed with lust that they forgot what exactly they were telling you.