Chapter 1

1

Tavi

T he wolves came for me in the night.

Mutt. Dace. And Zero. The muscle of the pack. Along with our alpha leader, Agato. It was a show of power.

I trembled non-stop but took deep breaths to still my body. I was ready, my bag packed, wearing my best clothes.

Papa didn't even try to hide his tears.

I held up my cell phone to him. "I've got this, Papa. I'll call. When I can."

My words were little comfort. Too many set-omegas had gone to the dragons never to be heard from again.

Set-omega was the word for an omega who could not shift. We could still bear children, but our animal was missing from our psyche. In the old days, it weakened the pack to have set-omegas. Even in the modern world, old traditions still existed. Set-omegas were sold as breeders to other species where omegas were rare. Such as the dragon shifters who bore so few omegas their kind would have died out if they didn't interbreed.

But who would willingly go to a dragon? Their reputations were harsh, cruel, even criminal. I'd heard of flights where omegas were fought over to the death, then claimed and fucked publicly by the winner for all to see.

I shuddered at the thought.

My pack—the Agato pack—had standing contracts with several different flights. The highest bidding flight got any set-omegas produced in Agato when we came of age. This year there was only one.

Me.

I was told I was going to the Disidro Flight over a thousand miles away. After that, I had no idea what would happen. I had only read stories of accounts, many very old. I could be taken by the flight's alpha leader, who had first choice of all omegas according to dragon lore. Or I could be auctioned within the flight. Or maybe become chattel for a whole group of alphas as breeding stock to pass around.

Flanked by his thugs, Agato stood in our family living room, placed his heavy hand on my shoulder, and said, "You should be proud, boy. You have done your duty and brought our pack much needed funds which will go to the hospital and school."

I kept my head down. I knew set-omega funds also landed in all the pockets of the high council, including Agato, who lived on a huge estate with a pool, tennis courts, and his own private forest for his wolf. Maybe we weakened the pack, but we sure were worth a lot.

I shrugged away from his hand and went to Papa, putting my arms around him, both for his comfort and my own. I was terrified. But I had only let myself cry once, the night after I failed my shifter test. My pillow held all my tears. Now, well, fuck them all if I ever let them see my tears again.

"Let's go. The dragons are waiting." Agato's smile was fake. "Waiting to give you a better life."

Right. He didn't care about that, nor did he truly know what would happen to me. All he wanted was to take out the trash that brought down his pack and made them all look weak. The sooner I was gone, the better. Pack standing would rise. They would all be richer.

Papa gave me one final hug. "I love you, Tavi."

"I love you, too. I'll be fine." I took a deep breath, trying to believe in my own words.

I might've looked fine on the outside, holding my chin up as I was escorted outside and into the darkness by Agato and his thugs.

But I wasn't brave. I wasn't a brave boy at all.