Page 64 of Bait Wolf
Wasn’t that what I’d always told myself?
I had always had dreams of finding somewhere better, not just better to stay but better for my whole life.
But... one small thinghadchanged that I could possibly take advantage of. I had been mated. I was in fresh, clean clothes. Maybe I didn’t look like a street rat anymore. Maybe someone would give me a job.
My heart raced a little at the thought. It would be nice to have some sort of purpose or goal now that I was not going to be a family omega.
My heart squeezed.
I hadn’t allowed myself to even imagine having pups with Coal. I’d never thought of raising any children, but we would have had Asha right away. We would have had a real family.
That’s why you’re doingthis, I told myself,so that Coal can have that, at least. Even if its without you.
“Hey, what are you doing sitting here? You get sick of the psycho already?”
My stomach dropped as I looked up. I hadn’t noticed the man standing in front of me. My gaze met his narrow eyes and the guy smiled. My skin crawled at the familiar face.
“What do you want, Lambert?” I asked, keeping my voice steady. “I thought Coal already taught you a lesson.”
He glanced around at the mention of Coal’s name, but seemed satisfied that he wasn’t nearby.
Still, he pulled the collar of his jacket up to hide his face.
“He’s insane,” he said, voice low. “You would have done so much better with me. I mean, who the fuck leaves their new mate alone on these streets? Did you decide to chuck him already?”
He laughed at the idea.
I opened my mouth, ready to defend Coal, but an idea struck me.
Lambert was in on the whole scheme, wasn’t he? Maybe he knew something about Asha’s whereabouts.
He was cowering slightly and kept looking around like he expected Coal to jump out from behind a garbage can or bush.
“How did you get roped up in all of that, anyway?” I asked, trying to keep cool even though my heart was racing.
Lambert grit his teeth.
“My family… they didn’t approve when I joined the fight league. Thought it was too low class.”
I arched a brow, surprised that he of all people could come from high stock.
“The guys saw that I had potential. They wanted to hone my skills. Get me on top. Of course. It helped that I sweetened the pot with a payout.”
I held in my disgust. The fact that he had to buy his way into good fights meant that he probably didn’t have much potential at all, but I kept that opinion to myself.
“Still have plenty of it,” he said, leering. “Money, I mean. You want me to give you some company?”
I frowned, surprised that he was trying for this right in the middle of the day and in the open. He must have been desperate, I realized.
Was that why he was here? To find an omega to get through an oncoming heat with?
Shit. Did I still look like I belonged out here, selling myself for chump change? Or was he asking because he knew where I had started? All bait wolves were taken off the streets, it was a badly kept secret, after all.
“Come on,” he said, voice low. “You look cold. I’ll warm you up at least. I just need a couple hours. I’ll get us a room. You can keep it for the night.”
His scent spiked, hitting my nostrils. He didn’t smell bad or anything. All alphas had a slightly intoxicating note to their scents, especially when they were in rut—and he was fast approaching that. It was already starting and unless I went along with him, he was probably going to spend it alone, which could often be unbearable.
I didn’t give a fuck of course, but if I didn’t do something soon, he might leave without telling me anything useful.
