Page 169 of The Delta's Rogue
I nod as she explains, remembering the hallways of bedrooms and the large, ballroom-like spaces they held our training sessions in. An abandoned hotel would be the perfect place for them to set up their base of operations and would give them access to most everything they need.
Sebastian comes up behind me, resting his hands on my shoulders. I link my fingers with his and wrap his arms around me, using his embrace and his warmth as a shield against the reality crashing down around us.
I knew it was bound to catch up with us sooner or later, that we wouldn’t be able to exist in our little bubble of love forever, that we’d need to see this through to the end. But it all barrels towards me like a bullet train, and I’m caught on the tracks, bound and gagged with no way to escape.
“What’s going on?” Dominic asks, leaning against the doorframe behind Landon and Steele.
“We found the traffickers,” Rune repeats.
Dominic frowns at her. “How? The locator spell didn’t work when you tried to find Sarina. You said there were protective spells in place that shoved you out.”
“When Brenna visited me in my dream, she said the spells designed to guard the girls didn’t work on her,” Sebastian says. “She gave Sarina and me a ring before we left the auction, so we could find her.”
“A ring?” Dominic asks.
Rune fishes in her pocket, pulling out Brenna’s ring, now blackened from the flames of Rune’s locator spell. “This fire quartz ring is what she gave to Sebastian.”
Dominic takes it from her and pinches it between his fingers, staring at the pinkish-red stone in the center.
“We went to Crescent Lake, so Maya and her mom could lend their magic as well. The ring led us straight to the building they’re using,” Rune says.
“And we’re absolutely certain we can trust Brenna?” Wesley asks. “Are we sure this isn’t a setup? A trap?”
“She led us to Sarina,” Sebastian says. “She created an illusion at the auction to hide our reunion from Amara.”
“She also lied to them for me.” I wrap Sebastian’s arms tighter around me. “She lied for me more times than I can count. And she’s a victim too,” I whisper, fighting the darkness creeping in at the edges of my vision. “She can’t leave and she’s a…prize”—I spit that word out—“for the male behind the entire operation.”
I shiver at the implications of what that means for her. She may not go through the rigorous sex doll training and grooming Amara put the rest of us through, but her path will end with the same fate—becoming the plaything of a male who will use and abuse her however he can.
Dominic crosses his arms, his fists clenched tight. “She didn’t seem to have an issue following Amara around the auction and doing everything she was told.”
“Don’t you dare speak about what you can’t begin to comprehend.” My lip curls into a snarl, and I stand up straighter, stepping out of Sebastian’s embrace with slow, careful steps in Dominic’s direction. “She is the only reason I stayed alive.”
“And now they’re two and a half million dollars richer because of it!”
“She saved me!”
“She manipulated you!” Dominic growls, shoving off the door frame and drawing himself to his full height, fists curled at his sides.
I square my shoulders and lift my chin, mimicking his posture. I may not match him in stature, but he doesn’t intimidate me. He’s a hot-headed former alpha who sometimes needs to be put in his place.
Behind me, I sense Sebastian also putting on a show of dominance. His aura swirls around me like an echo of his embrace, reminding Dominic that he is not the one in charge here. My gut twists with a mix of gratitude and guilt. Sebastian shouldn’t have to do my dirty work for me, but I am beyond grateful that he’s already willing to step up and fulfill his role as my future king.
“She is one of them,” Dominic continues, not deterred in the slightest by our combined show of authority. The words roll off his tongue with an ease that suggests he’s held them in since the night of the auction. “They’re all conniving, sharp, and ruthless. She drew you right into her trap so they could use you to increase their profits.”
“Enough!”
My command echoes off the house’s walls. One second later, Sebastian’s full, newly amplified aura pulses across the deck, making everyone around us lower their heads in submission.
Dominic’s shoulders heave. His eyes shine as he rips his gaze away from me, and he rubs his face with one hand, massaging his temples with his fingertips as he does.
“You’re wrong.” My voice is quiet again but no less authoritative. “You can’t see it because your judgment is clouded by your personal experience with a witch. I don’t blame you for that. None of us do. But if you can’t be level-headed, if you can’t leave your scars out of this, then maybe you shouldn’t be part of this team anymore.”
The wind rustles across the deck and dances through my hair. The ends tease the scarred skin of my neck. I tense and curl my hands into fists.
My words ring through my brain, crashing and clanging like a cymbal. Beyond that, beyond the repetitive warning, there is the whisper of a voice. I can’t make out anything it says or figure out whom it belongs to. But it’s there, trying to reach me.
I close my eyes as Sebastian’s hand reaches for mine, uncurling my fists until our palms press together and our fingers entwine.
