Page 70 of The Last Ultimatum: Part 1

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.”

---