Page 72 of Dark Auctioned Mate

“North exit. They had vehicles staged—fuck, they planned for this. They knew we might raid them.”

Of course they did. These people had been evading law enforcement for years. Of course they’d have escape protocols.

Rael was already running before Javi finished speaking, his wolf surging forward, demanding he find her, save her, and kill anyone who stood in his way.

Behind him, he heard Javi calling for backup, but Rael couldn’t wait.

Alanis was missing, and this Derek Hester had her.

Everything else could wait.

Chapter 22 - Alanis

The chaos was perfect.

Alanis had been waiting for this moment—the signal that would indicate Rael was moving. When the lights cut out and the shouting started, she knew it was time.

However, Derek grabbed her, handing her off to her buyer—a rich shifter who had paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for her, and had other plans.

“Stay with me,” he commanded, gripping her arm tight. “I paid a huge sum of money for you, and I am not losing my investment because of a raid.”

Alanis allowed him to pull her through a side passage, away from all the Rael. She needed to be alone with him so that her plan could work.

Because this man wasn’t just a buyer. She had been spying on him at the auction and had caught him chatting with some important-looking people. He knew things. He had information she needed.

“Where are we going?” she asked, making her voice tremble a bit.

“We have a vehicle outside, somewhere safe. We will be long gone before they can catch up.” He pushed her into a tiny office and shut the door behind them. “Fucking raid. Somebody must have tipped them off.”

“Who would do that?” Alanis asked, pretending to be ignorant, her mind taking a mental inventory of everything that was in the room. Table, chair, window. Potential exits, potential weapons.

“Someone with a death wish,” the buyer snarled. He reached into his pockets, pulling out his phone and typing fast. I need to communicate with my people, prepare for an extraction.”

This was her chance. “There is something I must tell you.”

He looked up from his phone, glaring at her and looking irritated. “What?”

“I am not really a virgin.”

His face contorted in confusion. “What?”

“And I am not really submissive.” She moved fast, took the heavy desk lamp, and swung it at his head.

He was a shifter and quicker and stronger than a human, so it did little damage. But it did enough to have him stumbling back, giving Alanis a chance to hit him in the throat and then to the forehead. He fell onto his back, choking.

Alanis' zip-tied his hands behind his back—she’d lifted the ties from one of the guards earlier—and crouched beside him.

“Who really runs this operation?” she demanded. “I know there are other important members who are not from the Caldwell pack. So, give me names.”

He looked at her, with blood streaming down his head. “Go to hell.”

“I’ve been there. It’s not as scary as you think.” She pressed her thumb on the wound in his head, and he hissed. “Names. Now. Or I make this worse.”

He held out for another half minute and spilled. He told her about the Blackwood Pack and how they framed the Weston Pack using the Caldwell pack. They acted largely in the background, Caldwell being a cover. Alanis listened carefully and gave him a second blow to the head, which knocked him unconscious.

She was walking to the door when it suddenly flew open.

Derek stood in the doorway with a murderous expression. “I knew it. I fucking knew you were lying.”