Part Zero

The overwhelming stink of arousal matched the roar of alphas ready to bid on the night's prey. I stood at the back, scanning the crowd, until I finally saw him. Snake. Blond hair combed back and a megawatt smile that could melt hearts if his eyes weren't black pits of evil.

Or that was what I saw, knowing his dealings of the last five years.

My watch vibrated with a message.

Got eyes on him? My work partner, Yola, was in a car outside, waiting for my updates, aware that they'd stop coming once I got to the lower levels of the building. Even my sat-watch wouldn't reach that far. During this night of sexual carnage, no one wanted footage to leak out, so the place blocked all signals in and out.

I tapped my watch twice to send her a thumbs up without drawing attention to the gadget.

That was all she needed to know. We'd discussed in advance that I was to stay until dawn. I had to spend the night locked in a room with some poor omega so I could catch Snake on my way out the next morning.

To do that, I had to place a bid, even if I didn't plan on going through with claiming the prize.

The room thrummed with lust and bodies ready to pounce. I shouldered my way closer to the iron bars holding alphas away from the omegas inside.

According to my intel, Snake had brought some of the bound and gagged omegas in lieu of his buy-in to take part in the games. No one knew his real name, but if he'd chosen a nickname like that, his given name was probably Chad. Or Henry. If he had to change it to instill fear in people, it told me a lot about him. Sort of like having a big-ass truck. A dead giveaway about the size of his junk.

For this one night, the government turned off the aggressor suppressant implant in all alphas. I hadn't felt anything special when it stopped working, but I got a notification on my phone that I wouldn't feel the zappy zappy when I showed aggression. I looked around the growling alphas, some flexing their muscles, others grabbing their crotch, every single one of them ready to go all out.

Snake stood with angelic stoicism, only lifting a finger now and again to up his bid. The current omega for sale was a tiny female in a red dress too small for her.

It could have been Reena.

I closed my eyes to banish the thought. She was gone.

In the morning, I'd have to be able to follow Snake out and bring him to the families of the omegas he'd kidnapped. For this to happen, I needed an omega of my own and a room as close as possible to where Snake was. Hopefully, the conniving bastard would be vulnerable and not expecting me. He wasn't the only omega-trafficking scum out there, not by a long shot. But he was the one who'd kidnapped my sister.

Get your head back in the game, Eldin.

I forced myself to scan the omegas to pick one I'd bid on. A dozen were lined up, with more joining their ranks once the ones already sold left the cage. Some stood pliantly with their wrists bound with a rope or handcuffs, while others glared at the bidders. Those who smiled had probably been lured under the promise of earning money without knowing what awaited them. Hopefully, they'd be able to start a new life or pay off family debts. Unfortunately, they might get robbed soon after and be back to square one, having sold their bodies and their dignity with nothing to show for it but the welts and bruises.

For most of my life, I hadn't cared what happened to them. I was raised that way. My privilege as an alpha was the freedom to get away with anything—just so long as I didn't trigger my aggressor implant. I had fucked freely and bent the law when it served me. Until Reena was born. As an omega, she was doomed from the start, and my fear for her safety had driven me to change my ways. Then my worst nightmare came true, and she'd been kidnapped, sold, and killed. Today was my chance to catch the alpha behind it.

I squared my shoulders, and my eyes landed on a peculiar sight. An omega strapped by his wrists, waist, and feet to an oversized dolly. He must have been rolled in on it.

"Why is that one wearing a Hannibal muzzle?" I elbowed a guy next to me, but he was in the middle of bidding and ignored me.

"Cause he bites." A voice from behind me answered.

I turned around to see an enormous male in a security uniform with a patch that spelled Dave.

"Really?" I didn't hide the surprise in my voice. Omegas were known for their pliancy.

"The little fucker opened a vein of the beta who brought him here. Nearly bled out. Then bit the ear off of the nurse." Dave smirked.

"Whoa." I whistled low. That was new.

"He refused to be bred. Doesn't know what's good for him." Dave shook his head and leaned closer to me. "They say he's been going crazy for a week."

"A week? Well, shit."

"Yup." Dave crossed his arms and returned to scanning the crowd.

I considered his words. The rumor was that if an Omega wasn't bred during heat, they'd go insane from lust. After ten days, their brain would sustain permanent damage, longer than that meant paralysis or even death. Whether that was true or not, I wouldn't know as only mated alphas had access to details about omegas cycles. The presence of this omega confirmed the information I'd received about Snake's dealings. He'd keep an omega unserviced during heat until they went crazy enough to be a vegetable, then sell them off to be a breeding vessel who wouldn't complain. I shuddered at the thought.

Through the bars, I met the frenzied gaze of the bound omega. The most intense green I'd ever seen reflected the overhead lamps, then his eyes left mine to continue bouncing around the room. He was shirtless and barefoot, wearing only a pair of battered shorts. His greasy hair fell over his eyes, and droplets of sweat trickled down ripped abs, which flexed as he strained in his bonds. If he'd been in the clutches of the slave trade for long, he'd be skinnier. His mass suggested he'd been used for physical labor, but he wasn't burly. Instead, his muscles were defined—almost as if he'd been in sexual service and was sculpted for viewing pleasure.

If he was serviced properly tonight, he might still make it. One glance told me no one was bidding on him.

Fuck it.

I fished the bidding cards out of my back pocket, lifted the middle one, and pointed to the Hannibal boy. Work wouldn't cover this high a bid, but I didn't care. I had to do this.

"Well, well, well—someone finally decided to take the challenge," the announcer boomed. Suddenly, every eye in the room was on me.

Shit. I was not supposed to draw attention to myself.

I nodded, keeping my expression neutral.

"Will anyone up the bid? Going once… going twice… sold!"

I heaved a sigh of relief.

A security male gripped the back of the standing trap and wheeled my omega through the open gate and between the horny alphas. Hannibal boy thrashed to the utter amusement of the gathered, his frantic growling muffled. Was there a gag underneath the mask? Fuck.

I had to keep my head in the game.

"Room eleven," I said to the male escorting my purchase.

I had it booked in hopes that Snake would use his regular room ten, making it easier for me to get to him when I had the chance.

"The room stays closed until seven in the morning." The male wheeled my omega into a spacious suite with a king size bed in the middle. "Unless you need medical attention, these doors won't open. If you need a doctor, pull the red string next to the bed. It will initiate cameras in the room for assessment, and someone will be sent to you, if necessary. You will not leave this room unless you need to go to the hospital. Understood?"

"What about the omega?" I glanced at the scratches all over his body and the open scabs on his knees.

"He's yours to deal with and do as you please. You bought him. You take care of him," the male said in a deadpan voice. "Medical emergencies apply to alphas only."

Three males barged into the room and lined up with military precision. "Mr. Zex sent us to secure the omega to the bed."

I opened my mouth to protest, then remembered that I shouldn't defy directions from the organizer of the event and owner of this building. Instead, I nodded and tried not to flinch with horror as one of the males stabbed the omega with a syringe until the boy passed out.

"Quick. It only lasts five minutes." The male worked the thick straps open, and his colleagues helped him.

The three of them hoisted the omega onto the bed, face first, ogling his pert, round ass as they did it. "How do you want him?"

"Get out, I'll strap him myself." I inhaled deeply and nodded. "Thank you. I'll take it from here."

The rowdy bunch's sniggering cut off as they slammed the soundproofed door closed. The click of locks being engaged echoed through the room before it fell eerily silent.

I had minutes to spare.