Chapter 19

Lachlan

For two more days we sat around the suite, hanging out in the hot tub, and generally doing nothing productive as far as I was concerned.

I hadn't seen anyone from my team in that time, and I had so far refrained from calling home to talk to Tilly or even check on her. I had to believe she was safe. But I had worn a path in the carpet.

I knew that if I spoke to Tilly I would need to go to her. With each passing day it was getting harder to stay away.

"Stop pacing," Grant said. "You're starting to put me on edge."

Taylor's phone dinged with an incoming message.

"Grab my laptop, this is it," she said.

Grant jumped into action to do as she asked.

"We have a location," she cheered once she checked her email. "And it's this afternoon. We're moving fast."

I pulled out my already encrypted phone and sent a text to everyone with the information.

It was showtime.

*****

I felt stupid in the monkey suit they made me wear, but with sense of superiority, no one batted an eye my way. I looked the part of someone who belonged. It was disgusting.

While I'd seen footage of these auctions, I'd never attended one myself. I knew the last was an outdoor version. This time they had taken care to set-up inside a giant warehouse. There would be no fly away escapes like Lindsey had pulled off. From what Taylor had prepped me for, the security was also amped up.

Archie had come through for us though, and my background check cleared with flying colors.

Inside there were rows and rows of cages all containing people.

I wanted to throw up as we wound through the aisles as if we were shopping for a new toy.

"Relax," Grant warned me in a whisper too low for human ears.

They even had children being held like prisoners.

My blood was boiling and I wanted to slaughter every last one of them. My dingo was seeing red. It would be so easy to rid ourselves of these disgusting vermin.

Some people, like us, were out in the open dressed without hiding ourselves. Then there were others disguised in the classic Collector garb—all in black: black cape, black pants, black work boots, black shirt, black mask, and a black hat obscuring their faces.

It gave me the creeps.

A man stopped by to say hello to Taylor, or rather Tayla.

"How are you, love?"

"I'm holding up okay. It's been difficult."

"I'm sure. Perhaps a new addition to your Collection will help."

She batted her eyes and smiled appropriately. "Perhaps. That is if I see something that catches my eye."

"Of course."

"Have you met my brother? This is Graham, and our dear friend Logan, who is interested in starting his own Collection. Boys, this is Bartholomew."

"It's nice to make your acquaintance," I managed in my best British accent.

"Yours as well,"

In truth I just wanted to punch his face in. As I listened to them chat before he moved on, I was struck by how disturbing it all was. They spoke of these poor prisoners as if they were things to be displayed and looked at.

Each cage was listed with a skill and a number.

"What do the numbers mean?" I asked.

"That's the level of obscurity. And over in that tent at the end of this row are a few number ones. I could hardly believe it. There are even a few rare animal shifters as they are quite extinct, you know? I don't normally dabble in shifters myself, but for a rare one on the cusp of extinction? Yes, please. You must take a peek."

I bit my tongue and nodded to Taylor, not trusting myself to speak.

"Oh, I'm so excited. Shall we go there straight away?" she asked me and Grant.

"If you'd like, sister," he said, with an air of disinterest.

"Sounds fascinating. I would love to see them," I managed to say, feeling like an actor on a stage.

No one else stopped us and we didn't speak further as we headed for the tent at the back of the warehouse. The closer we got, the bigger I realized it was.

Inside was a little darker, but the cages were lit up to showcase each person.

It took me no time at all to find Michelle King. She looked just enough like Tilly to anger me even further.

Keep it together. Keep your cool, I chanted to myself as a reminder.

I could not afford to lose it in here. To do so would only bring attention to my mate's sister.

My whole body shuddered unexpectedly.

I looked down, expecting to find my hands and arms broken out in fur, but somehow, I was managing to keep my cool.

Each of us had been allocated spending money for rescues. But how the hell would we decide who gets to go and who must stay? Plus, my portion was only a mere $500,000 AUD. The Australian Dollar wasn't even as valuable as USD. Would I even be able to save Michelle?

I had a sick feeling in my gut that just maybe this wasn't meant to be. Yet, someway, somehow, I had to make it happen.

"I like this one tremendously," I said, stopping Taylor and Grant to admire her. "Wouldn't she make a splendid first piece to start off my Collection? A level 1 and virtually unique. How exciting. How much is she going for?"

"Four hundred and fifty thousand. It's practically a steal. So much so that might you even consider buying a male. Who knows the mysteries of these beautiful creatures. You could get lucky and breed them." Bartholomew said. He'd rejoined us while I was pretending to look over Michelle.

"Why would I do that?" I asked dryly. "They are practically extinct. Why would I want to breed them. Would that not take the rarity away from them?"

"So true, Logan," Tayla said.

"I suppose I hadn't considered that," Bartholomew hummed, eyeing me appraisingly.

I knew damned well which girl I wanted, no needed. . . the one I could trade for my own mate. It had to be her. Only her.

I didn't want to stop and consider what that made me, but I couldn't think about that right now.

"I wish to purchase her," I said, excitedly.

Tayla jumped up and down clapping her hands.

"This is so exciting. You first Collection has begun."

"Not so fast. I wish to buy her. I'll give you twice as much as he's offering." another man who'd been hovering nearby, piped up.

"Well sir, he's offering full price," the salesman said.

"Then I'll pay double for the girl." he looked at me smugly.

"No!" I barked out, startling those around us with my outburst. "I was here first, and I wish to buy her."

"But I have more money," the man said.

The salesman looked confused as his head whipped back and forth between us.

"We do have another female. These are the last two in existence. They both come with certificates of authenticity."

There was no way for them to know that for sure unless they had controlled the narrative and murdered all the remaining dingo shifters in Australia.

The hair on the back of my neck raised.

We didn't have our cell phones inside. They confiscated any possible way to capture footage of the event. Even our earpieces weren't safe due to the high level of screening they were doing at the door.

We were alone in this with no way to call out for help.

I sucked in a deep breath and screamed. "I don't want just some female dingo. I want this one!"

I channeled my inner-most diva to project an appropriate aristocratic hissy fit that was drawing attention everywhere. But the other man just laughed.

"I don't know where you found this fool, but he's not even educated enough to know what to call her. Females of this breed are not called dingoes. They are tingoes ."

I cringed. While some did assign this name to female dingoes, shifters, especially of the female variety, took great exception to the word, something about feminine rights and equality. They preferred to just be called female dingoes.

Clearly this arsehole didn't know that.

I just laughed in his face and dismissed him as I continued pleading my case with the seller.

"I have witnesses that I inquired first and I'm willing to pay your asking price."

"I'll be sure to spread the word that you are not an honest tradesmen." Bartholomew came to my rescue, and he spoke loud enough for all to hear.

Soon there were whispers and grumbles all throughout the tent.

"Are you the one selling all the dingoes?" someone asked him.

"I am," he confirmed. "What may I do for you?"

"Absolutely nothing. I don't trade or buy from greedy, dishonorable men."

He put up his hands in dispute.

"I am an honest man."

"Bugger!" someone yelled.

For a minute I thought complete chaos was going to rain down on us, but the salesman took control of the situation quickly, halting people at the door from leaving.

"What is the meaning of this?" someone else demanded.

"Wait! The girl is yours," he told me. "First offer takes it. If the rest of you want any of these others, claim yours quickly."

He glared at me as he handed over a buy slip for me to go and pay.

It worked to his benefit though because others began quickly grabbing for the rest of them.

I thought I was going to be sick as Taylor guided me away from it all and over to pay my bill.

"You spent almost all your money on her. Do you know how many you could have saved with that?" she asked.

"I know it sounds bad, but right this second, she's the only one I care about."

"It's her, isn't it? Your mate's sister?"

I nodded, before stepping up and paying my slip.

"You can claim her now and they'll release her to you on a leash or you can wait and have her transferred in the crate."

I gave Taylor a horrified look.

"I know," she said with a sigh. "I can't exactly say you ever get used to it, but the shock of it does wear off eventually."

I opted to take her immediately. Much to my horror, Taylor hadn't been kidding about the leash.

Chelle was furious and looked a little wild as she pulled and tried to run away.

"She's a real beaut. Congratulations. She'll need a bit of breaking, but I don't think you'll be disappointed once that's done."

Chelle stilled in disgust and for a second, I thought she just might throw up.

"Thanks for the advice. First timer and all."

"I gathered as much."

Somehow, I managed to avoid everyone else as I led her by the leash out of the warehouse, over to the hotel, and up to the penthouse.

Once safely inside, I used the special key they gave me to unlock the collar around her neck and free her.

The second I did, she lunged at me, wrapping her hands around my throat.

"I am going to kill you. I'm no animal to be tossed into a cage and treated as a prisoner.

"I know. It's going to be okay now."

"Once you and the others pay for what you've done, only then will it be okay."

She cursed, promising revenge on me.

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Please, Chelle, just hear me out."

She froze.

"What did you say?

"Just hear me out. Please," I added this time.

"No before that. What did you call me?"

"Chelle?"

"Why? I never gave them my name."

"Take a deep sniff. I'm not human. I was trying to get you out of there. It was a rescue mission. Nothing else."

She started to relax and tears streaked her cheeks as all the fight within her faded away.

"Who sent you? Was it Aiden?"

"What? No. Your sister."

"Tilly arranged all of this?"

I shrugged. "Sorta. It's complicated."

"How long have I been gone? We have to merge the Tribes. They didn't pawn that job off on Tilly, did they?"

"As a matter of fact, they did."

She growled. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I just hate that Aiden agreed to it. We'd just worked everything out."

"And then you vanished."

"It's not like I had a choice. They sedated me and took me while I was still in my fur and then they forced me to take a serum that made me shift back to my skin as proof that I was a shifter and not just an animal. They are monsters. And who the hell are you? Why are you here? How did you know about all of this or where to find me?"

I shrugged. "It's what I do. But I do feel your pain. I had a similar incident recently."

"Yet you're still free."

"As are you now. Well, mostly."

"What do you mean mostly?"

"There's a threat to the Tribes. I don't want you caught up in it. You're safe with me and my team. In a few days I may even be able to get you back to Tilly."

"Where is she?"

"Somewhere safe."

"Are you one of Aiden's men?"

I couldn't stop the growl that escaped me. "No."

She eyed me suspiciously.

"If Tilly really arranged all of this, can I at least speak to her?"

"I need to ensure we have a secure line, but otherwise, yes. I can arrange that."