Chapter 5

Johnathan

I take out my phone and pull up the listing for Mara. She has been removed from the site, but I screenshot it right before the auction came to an end.

I spent roughly half the money in my bank account on her. It’s way more than I can afford to waste on a she-wolf. I did not need someone like Mara. Technically, I can take any mate and declare her my Luna for my pack to be recognised by the council. But I wanted Mara.

Establishing a new pack takes a lot of money. Money I don’t have. The modern world destroyed a lot of packs. Humans are encroaching on our territories, and to keep the unknowns, as we call them, out, we have to buy the land that has been our homes for centuries. 

The human authorities who are aware of our existence also keep increasing our taxes. They are convinced we’re rich even though most of us don’t even have a pot to piss in.

Douglas used the word heiress in Mara’s listing, knowing that a lot of Alphas are struggling to get by now and would jump at the chance to get their hands on a rich little she-wolf’s money. Insincere fuck. 

It was a stupid move. I could have gotten a much better she-wolf for far cheaper. I shouldn’t have done it. I should have given up on her, but I couldn’t bring myself to stop. Douglas Smith is a multi-billionaire. Only a fool wouldn’t have taken that chance.

I’m getting by for now, but my money is running out. My pack is growing by the day and maintaining it is starting to cost more than I’m earning. 

I own the entire town of Haven’s Crest. I bought it one dilapidated shack at a time, and turned this place into an irresistible tourist attraction. The humans spending their money here are barely keeping me afloat, and if I want to keep growing my pack, I need the land surrounding my town.

Unfortunately, the land belongs to the local government that purposefully inflated the price - they want us out of here. A town of vampires and werewolves on their doorstep makes doesn't sit too well with them. 

I considered threatening or simply killing them, but there are always new, more corrupt humans to take the place of the ones I kill. 

The fact that Douglas disowned Mara is a complication, but not an unexpected one. I already prepared for that contingency when I put in my first bid. I always have a Plan A, B, and C in place before I make any kind of move. I never make hasty decisions, and buying Mara was a calculated risk.

There are other ways to get my hands on BioGen and Douglas Smith’s fortunes.

Preston knocks on my door a minute or so after Mara leaves with Rhoda. I’m not happy that she’ll be seen with the whorehouse’s madam, but Preston thought that Rhoda was a good choice to make Mara feel more welcome here. Rhoda comes from a similar background as Mara, and my Beta figured they’d bond over their shared trauma.

My Beta sighs and slumps in the nearest chair. “So,” he says, getting right to the point. “What do you think of her?” Preston asks.

“Mara? She’s a little skittish. Quiet.”

“Can you blame her?”

“No,” I answer curtly. “But she-wolves like that…Lunas need to be authoritative.”

“She’ll find her way.” Preston replies with a sigh. “You are not going to…harm that poor girl are you?”

Like me, Preston is a rogue, but unlike other Alphas and Betas we did not grow up together, forming a familial trust bond. He has served me faithfully over the years, and I trust him, but I still keep my darkest secrets close to my chest.

He knows why I bought Mara. though He was the one who told me that Douglas listed her on the slave market.

“Johnathan?” Preston asks a little hesitantly. “The girl? You will be kind to her, right?”

“I won’t harm her. You should know better than to even ask me such questions.”

He’s asking because I started with pleasure houses and strip clubs. That’s how I make some of my money, but I have never hurt one of the girls who works for me, and all of my employees are there of their free will. I’ve never forced anyone to work in those places. 

I hate it. I hate what I’ve had to do, but it was the easiest and fastest way to establish myself in Haven’s Crest, and now the income from my various establishments is just barely enought to keep my head above water. I want to stop doing it. Trading in flesh never sat well with me. 

“She asked me about the bank card,” Preston says.

“Mara?”

“Yes. She wanted to know if it’s from you.”

“What did you say?”

“The truth. I know nothing about it.”

“It’s from her father. It’s not a lot. Enough to get her settled with the essentials. Less than I paid for her, actually.”

“How do you know that?”

I pull out a letter addressed to me and hand it to Preston. It doesn’t say much. In it, he simply asks that I’ll keep her safe and treat her better than her previous mate did. 

That is where my Plan B comes in. Douglas cares about his daughter. Maybe not as much as he should, but enough to ask that I treat her well. That could be all I need to get my foot in the door.

“Hm,” Preston grunts when he’s done reading. “That’s interesting. The way he turned his back on her when he disowned her…I didn’t think he cared at all. Maybe Douglas Smith isn’t the cunt I thought he was.”

“Maybe not. Kyson’s a dickhead though. I’ve met him.”

“Yes, he’s not going to win any popularity contests,” Preston says with a chuckle. “Do you think Douglas really disowned Mara?”

“We have to assume that he did.”

“It’s a shame. We really could have used that money.”

I sigh and lean back, staring up at the roof. “What’s done is done, Preston. There’s no use crying over it now.”

“I know,” Preston says. “At least she’s pretty, right? I mean…she will be, once she heals.”

The photo Douglas used in his listing is of a younger Mara. I think she might have been seventeen, maybe eighteen, when it was taken. Clearly still more girl than woman. Her skin was perfect, unmarked by years of abuse, her green eyes sparkled with light, showing all the excitement her bright future held.

A future that was destroyed by her father and their asshole Alpha.

What I haven’t told anyone, what I’ll never tell anyone, is that her image alone called out to me in ways I couldn’t explain. Even if she didn’t come with the promise of a large inheritance, I would have kept bidding on her. There’s just something about her…

The call was even stronger when she sat in my office, rendered almost completely mute by years of abuse. I felt it. A connection that transcends words or understanding.

"Yes, well,” I say. “Pretty doesn't really pay the bills, now does it?”

"You can put her back on the market...see if you can recoup some of your money."

I glare at my Beta. "Have you lost your fucking mind? No!"

"I'm just saying-"

"And I'm saying no. What's wrong with you?"

Preston holds his hands up in a defensive motion. "It was just a suggestion, man. There are rich Alphas out there who will want her."

"I don't care! I will never sell her. Never. Bring it up again and I'll rip your head off your shoulders. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Alpha," Preston mutters under his breath.

"Good. You can go, and we won't talk about this again."

My Beta nods and wordlessly leaves the study.

I get up and pour myself a whiskey. This has been one hell of a long and disappointing day. I can't wait for it to end.

I stand in the window and watch the waterfall while I sip the whiskey. As the burning liquid slides down my throat, I try to convince myself that buying Mara was just a business decision and nothing more.

I almost believe it.

Almost.