Chapter 61

Sarah POV

I closed my eyes for a moment, just telling myself not to panic, then I walked to the door to be certain it was locked. It was, firmly.

I turned back to the people in the room. Instantly, I started recognizing them from the auction. There was the woman who held the canary in a cage. There was the boy who held the guinea pig. There was the little human girl who’d brought our golden retriever puppy.

Oh, goddess. This was the real auction: not for the objects, but for the humans holding them up. No wonder half of them had looked terrified.

I opened my mouth, but what the hell was I supposed to say?

“Hello,” I tried, then winced. “I’m Sarah Astor, goddess-mother to the children of the Alpha Zane Cavendish.”

They all just kept staring at me. The scent of fear blocked my throat and made my tongue roll back in my mouth.

“Look, we have to get you people out of here. I don’t know what the werewolves told you, but this is totally illegal.” It was also horrific, but I doubted they needed me to tell them that.

I went to the woman who had held the canary and looked over her leather collar. “May I touch this?” I asked gently.

She just looked at me, then, the barest of nods.

I felt the sturdy leather around her neck and felt the small, hidden metal padlock. I looked around, but of course there was no knife or pair of scissors to cut through the collar. Next, I looked at her handcuffs. They looked like standard police issue.

“Do you know how long it will be before the guards come back?” I asked the room.

“Are you really Sarah Astor?” a quiet voice asked from behind me.

I turned to find the small woman who held up the photograph of the Moon Wolf and then later that heavy bust.

“Yes. You saw me standing next to Alpha Zane and his children.

She nodded, her human-brown eyes wide with curiosity and fear. “Could you really get us out of here?”

“Quiet, Delia,” the man I’d seen at the auction waving his arms over a Steinway piano.

I looked up into his dead eyes. The piano (and obviously he as well) had gone for several hundred thousand dollars, and I wondered how long he’d been a sex slave and just how much and what sort of skill he had picked up to command so much. It made sense he’d learned to value his security.

“She’s part of Alpha Zane’s family.”

“She’s a human servant, just like the rest of us.”

“I am not, and Alpha Zane will be furious when he finds out what’s going on here.” I winced at a sudden thought. “I should never have left Chloe and Grace.”

“Why did you?” Delia asked, and I looked back into her curious eyes.

I dug into my purse for my phone. I tapped the screen and brought up the video. “I thought Zane was in trouble.”

Delia nodded. “They caught me using a deepfake too. I was at the store, working the register, and I got a call I thought was from my mother. When I went outside, they grabbed me.”

“How long ago was that?” I asked.

She shrugged. “At least a few months. It’s hard to know.”

“This is terrible.” I looked around at them all. Most wouldn’t meet my eyes now. I thought of the shame they must be feeling, in addition to the terror and pain.

“Are you really an orphan?” asked a teenage boy. I didn’t remember what he held up for the auction.

“Yes. I grew up mostly in foster families,” I said. “I have no idea who my parents were.”

“You grew up in the system?” a slightly older woman asked. Her face was scarred, and her eyes were guarded.

I went to answer, but the doors burst open. I whirled around to see four gamma security guards enter, all dressed in black with riot gear, and two of them holding Tasers out like guns. I guessed it wasn’t OK to kill the merchandise.

“Time for the rest of you,” the one who looked to be in charge ordered.

“What is the meaning of this?” I demanded, stepping forward. “This is completely illegal and completely against the wishes of the pack alpha.”

The guards looked at me like I was crazy.

“Everyone here needs to be released to the proper authorities immediately,” I said.

“Shut your fucking mouth,” the one in charge said, green eyes scornful in her weathered face. “Slaves like you don’t get to tell us anything.”

“She’s the goddess-mother to Alpha Zane’s daughters,” Delia said, and I admired the brave tone trying to overcome her still-quivering voice. “You can’t just disappear her like the others.”

The guards laughed. “She’s a whore just like the rest of you whores,” the leader said. “And when I find out why she’s not in her collar and cuffs, there’ll be hell to pay.” She looked at me in disgust and rage to demand, “Where’s your gear?”

“I do not wear gear, and you’re going to regret this!”

“Turn around, hands behind your back.”

“No.”

She looked at the other guard not holding a Taser, and he came at me. I protested and fought, but soon I was on the floor with my hands behind my back and cold, hard metal pressing into my wrists.

“Let me go!” I yelled as he set me back on my feet like a bag of flour. He went to backhand me across the face.

“Watch the goods,” the leader said in a bored tone.

He grunted and hit me in the stomach instead. Pain exploded through me, and I fell to my knees. I think the guards laughed again, but the roaring in my ears drowned things out. I felt meaty hands on my neck, and when I was fully aware again there was a heavy, choking weight around my neck.

“Happy now?” the leader asked before she looked at her watch. “OK, line them up.”

All the guards batted at us with their batons to get us in a single line around the room. Seething, I tried to show the others I wasn’t cowed, but they were all looking at the floor.

My stomach hurt terribly.

A steward wearing a plague mask walked in, and something about the way he moved was familiar. Would he recognize me? I opened my mouth to call to him, but the guard who had punched me waved his baton at me.

“OK, we’ve gotten payment for six more,” the steward said. “Her.” He pointed at the girl who’d held the canary. “Him.” He pointed to the guy with the Steinway piano. “Her and her.” He pointed to two more. “Him.” He pointed to the little boy who’d held the guinea pig. Then he paused and tilted his head before pointing at me.

“And we have first-timer, folks! Let’s give her a round of applause!”

To my horror, several of the humans began to clap, still not looking up from the floor.

Evidently, payment for me had been made.