LOAN SHARKS

NOREEN'S POV

They caught me before I could run off or hide. They were not going to be merciful, not this time.

"What the hell is going on here?" Lady Jill came into the scene the second they were about bundling me up.

I was beyond scared. For the first time, I was happy to have Lady Jill intrude in my personal affairs.

"Nothing, it's fine." I let out a nervous laugh, regardless of how badly I wanted her to save me from these snarling men.

"You can't take her, she has work here to do!" Lady Jill wasn't about saving me but herself.

She needed the job to be done on time to save herself from the Alpha's wrath considering the wedding.

"Well then, pay us," the man with a scorpion tattoo on his neck glowered at her with his hand stretched out at Lady Jill.

"She got a loan from us and she can't pay it up. We'll take her or you pay us, now!" The burly one said, flex his muscles.

Lady Jill's confused expression left their faces to settle on mine.

"You got a loan?"

It was strange and unacceptable for an Omega to have a huge amount in their possession. It was unacceptable for Omegas to request for loans but I had broken the rules, I requested and received the loans two months ago in the quest for my freedom.

I had paid so they could put me on a ferry. I could have been freed, I could have been gone from this pack if things worked out the way we had envisaged. But it didn't. We were all scammed, there was no freedom anywhere. We paid only to get duped now these loan sharks were here for their money.

"Give me a little more time, I am going to pay, please." I begged.

"Could we have these talks another time? She has work to do." Lady Jill refuted.

"She's either coming or we will bring down this kitchen starting with that..." The scorpion tattoo man cocked his head towards the well cured salmon waiting to get into the oven.

The sound of the stilettos drifted our gazes to the kitchen door to see Heather and her assistant waltzed into the kitchen.

Was she not supposed to be relaxing for her wedding this evening? She was living the life the goddess had ordained for me. She was marrying my mate. She won, she could let the hate simmer now.

She waltzed into the kitchen, her eyes roved the bustling area before they landed on me and then to the loan sharks.

"Bring her." She commanded them as though they worked for her.

Or did they?

She turned right back out of the kitchen with her assistant in tow. I struggled to be freed as these hefty men bundled me up, taking me away from the kitchen. I fought to get my feet on the floor, at least gain control of myself but they were too strong.

The pain on my arm and thighs from how tight they grabbed me made it hard to struggle and it was until they got to the waiting car did they use silver chains to tie me up.

They tossed me in the trunk of the waiting Rover. I was unsure of where they were taking me but my hope and trust was on the goddess to keep me safe.

They didn't drive for as long as I had imagined they would when the car came to a halt. They yanked me out of the trunk, tossing me to the floor like I was a sack of potatoes.

"Bring the whore!" Heather commanded moving towards the only building before my eyes

It was an antiquated building rumored to be the temple of the goddess infested by the ancestral witches who turned the temple to their coven.

It was a curse to get inside the temple, at least, it was believed by everyone in the Pack so why was Heather bringing me here?

"I want to make sure you don't ruin my fairytale wedding tonight." She clamped my chin with her fingers in a manner that hurt so badly.

"I won't, I promise!" I managed to say when she released me.

"I don't trust that, a slut is capable of anything.”

"I am never going to cause any trouble, please don't..."

"Shut up!" She struck me hard in the face. "Shut the fuck up! Ryder's mine and tonight's going to make that clear." She turned to the gruff loan sharks, "Keep her bound and after midnight, she's yours to do as pleased."

Heather snapped her fingers, her assistant came forward with her purse. She took out bundles of money stashed in her purse. The greed in their eyes as Heather shared the money to them sickened me.

"There'll be more after I get pronounced the Luna of the DarkenVille Pack tonight."

She turned and headed towards her car. I watched as she gave me one last smirk in the scorching morning sun before she got into the car.

As the car sped off, my fears kicked in. I was alone with these fiery looking men. There were three of them, I stood no chance against them.

"You're going to love it here with us baby!" The burly one ran lusty eyes on my exposed thighs, "Midnight is a long time to wait right?"

"Let's get her in first, then we can return to wait on that rock." The scorpion-tattoo man suggested with a sneer that sent shivers feathering down my spine.

His team mate obliged, lifting me like I weighed nothing inside the temple. They were not afraid of this curse, they found a spot by the altar where the scented candles burned brightly. The candles are rumored to never burn out.

They confirmed my shackles and were satisfied to know escape was not in the cards for me that night

"After midnight tonight darling, we're going to have a lotta fun."

I didn't know which one of them said it, all I could focus on was the pain my body was going through. I still had some hours to think of an escape plan.

But there was no way I was going to escape. Heather was going to be Luna anyway. First thing she was going to do was to command my death.

Now was the time to escape. If I could get my shackles off then escaping was certain.

I started abrading the shackles, if I was persistent then I could be free before midnight.

This was a chance from the goddess and I couldn't fail Her so I worked unrelentingly with the adrenaline rush coursing through me and the fear of how these vicious men would feast on my body brought a sheer sense of urgency through me. It was now or never.