Efrain had handed me off in the hallway to Celeste, an Omega in the pack. I didn't even have the time to reflect on what I just learned. That man, Efrain, was my mate?! Surely, not. It was a mistake. Maybe my heart was just confused, overwhelmed.I shook my head of my thoughts, trying to cast aside any of the horrific realities that would arise if Efrain was indeed my mate. The whole thought was impossible to begin with. The Moon Goddess wouldn't be so cruel to me, and my wolf may have been led astray in her thoughts due to the distressing situation.After a few minutes of conversation and introductions on my way out of the underground bunker through a maze of disorienting narrow alleyways, I realized Celeste didn't seem to belong with these men. She was far too kind compared to the other beasts I'd encountered so far, specifically Agustin and his son."Where are you taking me?" I asked the young woman. She looked to be around the same age as myself, yet not as mat
A chandelier made of solid gold hung in the middle of the large square room, emitting dim rays of light. Velvet carpets lined the floor, and dark wood paneling outfitted the walls. A dozen sections of the room were walled off with sheer curtains. I could briefly see outlines behind one of the curtains of a person on their knees and the other standing up straight. Scattered moans bounced off the walls."This is where you'll be staying, dear." Celeste turned to face me, her amber eyes flashing a bright red as if she was aroused by something—maybe the moans.That odor of chlorine and sulfur that I smelt on the way down was just semen."No way in h*ll, Celeste. This is a prostitution ring, not a packhouse," I stated firmly. I rotated my head around to see if there were any exits other than the one we came in, but there weren't."You'll get used to it soon enough. The moans actually help me fall asleep." Her eyelashes fluttered as she confessed it. Instead of a wav
"Once you open this door, never look back." Celeste's face looked worried, and her tone was foreboding. I knew with the look in her eyes that if I was caught, there'd be no second chances.After running up a few flights of stairs, I was already bracing my arms on my knees, trying to regain my breath. That didn't bode well if I had to keep running to ensure my freedom. Not that I was out of shape either. Just, I didn't have time to actively work out. My papa always told me to focus on my studies, that my education would lead me to greater places he never could have reached himself. So, my life was mostly spent in libraries or cafes reading books or typing away on my laptop."Why are you helping me, Celeste?" I asked knowing she was risking so much for me."You remind me of someone who was special to me, someone that I lost to this type of life… I don't want to sit back this time and see the same thing happen," she confessed, her eyes blank as if they were lost in a
"Gentlemen," he clapped his hands together and summoned the group of men who just walked in. "Why don't we show this young lady around the place?"It felt like less of a request and more of a command.Immediately, my stomach dropped as four men surrounded me. I had nowhere to escape to this time. I could shift, but if they weren't shifters themselves, that might cause them to resort to using guns—something I wasn't prepared to take on. And regardless, I was drastically outnumbered, and I had no head start to help me. It wouldn't have done any good."Go easy on her," El Lobo, as they called him, instructed. His command didn't reassure me as 'go easy' usually implied that whatever they were going to do to me was the exact opposite of that.I kept calm and didn't make a run for it because I knew that would only lead to more aggression. Luckily, the men, all four, who were quite scruffy and unkempt, didn't put their hands on me, except one who was a bit heavy set with a
"Take her back gentlemen," Oscar instructed his men.I was going back to the cantina. I didn't know if this was any better, or even worse. Surely, not having to see Efrain, El Cuchillo as his groupies called him, was a positive. However, the moment I looked up at George and the others, my stomach felt unsettled."You heard the boss," George slithered, spit coming out from his mouth. The three other men gripped my arms tightly and started pulling me away. My thighs dragged against the concrete as they forcibly guided me towards the van. My eyes remained on the puddle of morphine in the distance. This time I didn't even bother looking out of the window on the ride back. It felt like I'd never see the real world again.I'd never be the first one in my family to graduate college, I'd never get the chance to see my best friend Miriam again, I'd never even get the chance to confront my papa to get answers. Hopelessness was seeping into me. Not because I'd been capt
I had so many questions I wanted to ask Ginger, but I thought it would be insensitive to start our conversation with that. Instead, I decided I would let her take the lead and see what she had on her mind.While she had no problem smiling at me, she didn't seem interested in opening up, and understandably so. Compared to all the girls I had seen here so far, she seemed the most malnourished and mistreated. In fact, I couldn't see how any man would buy her in this condition. It made me wonder if she'd end up dying here like an abandoned animal.All she said was, "You're beautiful, Catalina."I put my lips together and nodded. I wanted to say, 'you are too,' but then I felt it would seem disingenuous by giving the same compliment back. Ginger was beautiful, but I knew she wouldn't see herself that way given her current appearance: bruised, scraggly hair, dirty.Given that I was still a fully functioning human being just a few days ago, able to eat whatever I wanted an
After finally getting a shower and out of the nasty bathing suit, Ginger handed me a pair of cotton sweatpants and a white T-shirt. Nothing spectacular but at least it covered me more than I had been before. Felix didn't seem to be keeping track of Ginger and I, which made me realize that escaping was truly impossible.We made our way back to the cell, and another guard locked us back in. Clearly, all of the workers here trusted Ginger, which was good. I just wondered why she was so beaten up. "They seem to treat you okay here," I stated, but it was more of a question."Well, they're just stuck with me, so they don't have much of a choice," she countered. "Luckily, they've never tried to 'get with me,'" she revealed.I had been wondering if she had been taken advantage of, but apparently, she had not. But then my heart broke when I heard her continue. "Because I'm so ugly." This place had stripped her of her sense of self-worth and individuality. El Lob
I woke up later, unaware of how long I had been operated on or how long I'd been out. All I could see was a foggy vision of a blinding spotlight above me. Then, I saw a few faces come into my distorted view as the chair I was laying in reclined upward. I heard muffled voices, and it took me a while to regain my grip on reality."Earth to 305. Earth to 305," I saw that same female nurse from before waving her hands in front of me. What the hell did she mean by 305?I looked down at my arms but didn't see any incisions. Then I glanced down at my legs and still I couldn't notice any differences. I began running my hands all over my body and froze when I felt some stitches on the back of my neck."What the hell is this?" I screamed. "And why are you calling me 305?" I frantically ran my fingers over more parts of my body to feel for any differences from before."Why dearest, that's your new name," I heard the doctor's squeaky pitch from the corner of the room. He came i
**ArenaI'd never seen a credit card used so fast. From the time I was finally back in Mateo's arms, until we'd gone downstairs to speak to the concierge, to the time we were standing in our own private suite, a mere ten minutes had passed.It was ten minutes too long for Mateo. Even as he stood impatiently at the hotel counter with his arm around my waist, his hand slid lower to cup my ass.I knew what he wanted so desperately. And I was going to give it to him. Because I desperately wanted it, too.The door shut, and Mateo pushed me back against the door, kissing me hungrily while he fought to get my shorts and panties off. He didn't bother to do more than open his fly before lifting me onto his cock.I always forgot how big he was, how deep he went. I arched my back and made a sound of need.Mateo's response was a primal growl. He drilled me hard against the door, his fingers digging into my thighs, denim burning against my skin, the metal teeth of the zipper biting deli
**MateoAgustin fired, and I felt the bullet burn through my shoulder, in the front and out the back. It didn't stop me from slamming my full weight into the fleshy wine sack, the chair toppling over and Agustin hitting the floor with a loud, "Oof!"The silver-plated gun went spinning away, and I roared in the coward's face."Mercy," Agustin wheezed.'Not today,' I answered. 'You mistreated my mate. You threatened my people. There is nothing in me that's going to let you slink off to do it again.'Agustin's bloodshot eyes bulged with the realization that he was going to die."Well then," he said, grabbing the the decanter that had fallen on its side and spilled most of its contents onto the thick, plush carpet. "You won't begrudge a man a final drink."I waited, my eyes narrow.Agustin took a long pull from the crystal decanter, closing his eyes and smacking his lips. "Alright, then. Make Efrain an Alpha, Castillas."'Where is he?' I demanded, pressing my paw down on
**ArenaI woke up in the middle of the night, not quite knowing why. I blinked into the darkness a moment, then groaned and rolled over onto Mateo's side of the bed, breathing in his scent on his pillow.Another sound had me peeling one sleep-sealed eye open. I sat up and stared into the darkness again, sniffing the air.A hand clamped over my mouth, and I let out a muffled scream."Shh," Felix whispered in my ear. "They're here."I stopped screaming and looked up at Felix as he slowly took his hand away. Rochelle was cowering behind him. "Who's here?" I asked."Agustin's men, I think," Felix replied. "We've been found."Shit. I scooted quickly off the bed. "Miriam? Celeste? Lucia?""Came here first," Felix said. "Going there n—"An ear-splitting shriek filled the air."Oh, Goddess," I gasped. The three of us made our way to my door and peeked out into the hall.A shrouded man was hauling Miriam out of her bedroom."Hey!" I yelled, causing Felix and Rochelle to
**Efrain"So, your super bright idea is to let them kill all our men in little, manageable batches while we hide out here with Russo," I said slowly, trying to figure out if it was the alcohol or just the fact that my father was too stupid to live."We're distracting them. Getting Castillas to think he's got the upper hand. Then, when he gets here, we squash him like a bug. He won't see it coming," Agustin replied, clearly very pleased with himself.I swirled my glass and downed some whiskey. My father was such an idiot. But, Moon Goddess willing, if the exalted bitch even existed, the wasteful, hair-brained scheme would work. Especially now that they had the backing of Russo's men as well."Remember, when we go through the spoils, I'm getting a cut," Russo said. "And that delicious bitch I didn't get to f*ck before.""You're welcome to her," I responded. "Do whatever you want with her. Do her seven ways to Sunday. I don't give a damn."Russo licked his lips. Having seen hi
**MateoI could still smell my sweet Arena on me as we drove back to Miami. I'd left Jeeves in Naples with Arena and the others, of course, so it was Win and me inside Win's souped up Jeep, heading away from our women and straight towards danger."Armando's assembling the troops," Win said, checking his texts on his heads-up display while he drove. "He'll be ready by the time we get there."I nodded, leaning my chin on my fist and staring out the window."You know she'll be there when we get back, right?" Win turned to me after a pause. "They're both going to be there, and we're going to have a hell of a welcome home."I chuckled. "You might. I think Arena might be angry with me, especially if I come home with so much as a scratch on me."Win shrugged. "War is war. We do what is necessary.""I know," I replied. "I just don't think Arena will be so understanding.""I thought you'd already… you know… you smell to high heaven of her," Win said, wrinkling his nose.I lift
**ArenaI laid on a chaise lounge out on the patio, next to an oblong pool. I'd opened up Mateo's shirt to get some sun on my skin, and was now laying topless, in my panties, on top of his shirt. It smelled like him, and that just made me more sad. I thought of tossing it in the water.The sliding of the glass door caught my attention. "Miriam?" I asked, starting to tug Mateo's shirt back over me."No." Mateo's familiar, velvet voice carried over the patio.I stopped putting the shirt back on and laid back down with a sigh. "What do you want?" I asked, not looking at him.The chaise creaked beneath me as Mateo sat down on the edge. "I want to apologize. I went all Alpha on you, and I hurt you. And I want to tell you where we stand.""Oh," I said, turning my face away from him.Mateo ran a knuckle over my cheek. "Baby, look at me."I didn't want him to see the hurt and tears in my eyes, but I didn't resist when he gently tilted my chin towards him."Oh… mi tesora…" Mat
**Mateo"Okay," I said, indicating for Lucia to enter the bedroom.She didn't."Lucia?" I asked, beginning to stand.Lucia waved me back down. She looked at the floor, biting her lip. "I… I guess I'm a little pissed off at you.""Okay," I said again, feeling my temples begin to throb. Was there anyone who wasn't pissed off at me today? "How can I help? Do you… need a hug?"Lucia snorted. "Don't even try it."Her words hurt. When she was a child, a hug would have healed everything. Now, I couldn't even touch her. "Alright, I won't."Lucia was quiet a long time, then she finally bit out, "I guess I'm pissed off at you about a lot of things.""I understand," I replied. "I—""Stop saying that! I already told you, you couldn't possibly understand!" Lucia barked.I mentally counted backwards from twenty. "I just meant I understand you are pissed off at me, and I understand why you would be. And I'm sorry we haven't worked that out yet. But I do have to go soon, and I th
**Efrain"So the bastard is in Naples," I muttered, looking at my tablet screen."Italy?" Jorge asked in confusion.I rolled my eyes. "Florida. Beach. Gulf of Mexico.""Oh. Sorry, Mr. Rodriguez," Jorge said.I couldn't wait for the day when he would call me Alpha. Though I sometimes doubted his smarts, I never doubted his loyalty. "I need you to go get her.""Get her?" Jorge echoed.Maybe I wouldn't make him my Beta after all. Some days, he was too stupid to live. "Yeah, go get her. So we can use her to lure in that bastard Mateo Castillas.""Why don't we just go in with fifty men or so and kill him?" Jorge asked.I shook my head vehemently. "I won't leave our pack fifty warriors short with all the crap going on now. He's got a pack building with mercenaries, and half the packs in the Miami area are still fighting over that f*cking cantina. No, you're going to go up there with five guys and get her for me. Then that f*cker will have no choice but to come here. And the
**Efrain"So… you're saying he just came in and took her," I said, narrowing my eyes on Frank Russo, who was sitting on the other side of his desk.Russo shrugged, examining the items I kept in my office. "I wasn't about to fight him for her. She's your bitch, not mine."Catalina was my bitch. MY bitch, not Mateo's. I thought I'd made that perfectly clear at The Pound. Well, I'd tried to, anyway. Whatever supersoldiers Mateo had brought decimated my guards. It was all I could do to escape. "Thanks for nothing, Russo.""You're welcome," Russo said pleasantly. "Now, to business. I'd like to help you with Castillas. He broke into my home, killed my bodyguards, and ruined a perfectly good sex session. I'm a little put out.""Hmph." I didn't much care about his "sessions." He'd killed more of the girls from The Pound than I could count. But I was interested in an alliance against that f*cker Mateo. "My sources tell me Castillas isn't at home anymore. That asshole Armando is, but n