Page 44 of Claimed By the Sinful Dragon
“That you?” a voice called back. It took me a moment to spot the cave entrance, covered as it was by vines, and shrouded in darkness.
“Who the fuck else would be out here whistling?” Landon demanded. He dragged me through the cave entrance, and when my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I found four more sets of eyes staring at me.
“The omega?” one of them—Beta Merric, I recognized with a jolt of surprise—said, running his eyes over me in clear disgust that even the dimness of the cave’s interior couldn’t mask. “You’ve been gone for hours, and you come back with another mouth to feed?”
“Watch your tone,” Landon snapped. “I’m still your alpha.”
“We thought you were going for food,” one of the other three men said, his arms folded across his chest, but his eyes not quite meeting Landon’s. No-one else was looking him in the eye, either. None of them wanted to challenge him, despite whatever had led to them being kicked out of the pack and camping out in a cave. I couldn’t count on any of them for support. I recognized all of the men here, Beta Merric and three of Landon’s favored, and highest ranking enforcers. In fact, pretty much everyone I’d have suspected of usurping him was standing right here. Which begged the question: who was running the pack now?
“I was,” Landon said. “Count yourself lucky I found something better.”
“I’m not breeding with that cur,” one of the enforcers said, lip curling as he raked his eyes over me—which made two of us who shared that sentiment.
“None of us is breeding with her,” Landon said. “She’s too valuable to be wasted on your cock, Jake.”
“Valuable?” Jake snorted. “She’s a worthless omega. Thought we’d seen the last of her when you sent her to R— To him.”
Guess they’d all had the same ‘don’t say his name in front of me’ speech I’d had.
“You don’t need to know everything that’s going to on follow orders. Now are you done questioning me, or do you intend to challenge me?”
Jake ducked his head immediately. “You have my unwavering support, as always, Alpha.”
Landon grunted. “Good. This is your chance to prove it. Shift, and go to these co-ordinates.” He pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket and handed it to the enforcer. “Run fast, and don’t fuck it up. You tell him we’ve got something he’ll want—something no one else in this godforsaken territory can give him. You tell him to meet us at the border at dawn.”
“Who am I meeting?”
Landon’s mouth twisted into a sneer. “You’ll know when you see him.”
“And ifhedoesn’t show?” Jake grumbled.
“He’ll show. He’s a collector, and he never passes up a chance to take something he wants.”
Jake nodded, scanned the co-ordinates one more time, then shucked his clothing and shifted before darting from the cave.
Landon turned to the others. “Organize watches over the prisoner, and then get some rest. We’ve got a long hike tomorrow, and a new territory to claim. Trust me, boys, our fortunes just took a turn for the better.”
Why did I get the feeling the exact opposite applied to mine?
Chapter 23
Kaylee
The shivers hadlong since stopped coming sporadically, and were now a near-constant stream of tremors. Landon, Merric, and one of his enforcers had shifted and were sleeping soundly, while the other remained in his human form and kept a resentful watch over me. I was beyond exhausted, but the cold, hunger, and discomfort of my bound wrists kept me awake.
That, and the terror. This ‘collector’ Landon had sent Jake to meet sounded like bad news, and if he was powerful enough that the old alpha was desperate to impress him, then I sure as shit didn’t want to find myself in his hands. Though why Landon thought he would be interested inmewas mystery. I was just a null, and—as Rook had discovered—one who couldn’t even cook and wasn’t much good at cleaning, either. But it didn’t matter what he wanted with me, I’d already been traded like some kind of prize once, and I couldn’t—wouldn’t—let it happen again. I had to find a way to save myself.
I shifted my weight, testing the ropes again. My wrists screamed in protest, the skin rubbed raw hours ago, and I bit down on my lip to keep from crying out. There was no way I was getting the ropes off by myself.
The enforcer rolled out his shoulders as he held out his hands, warming them by the small fire that I hadn’t been allowed close to. He was loyal to Landon, I could see it in the way he watched me, in the faint sneer pulling at his mouth every time I so much as twitched. But there was something else in his expression, too. Exhaustion. Frustration. Maybe even doubt.
“You don’t have to do this, you know,” I said, my voice scratchy from thirst. His gaze snapped to me, his sneer sharpening into a scowl.
“Shut up,” he barked, but I pressed on.
“Landon doesn’t care about you, you know that, right? He’s just using you. The same way he’s using me.”
“There isnothingthe same about us,” he snarled. “Alpha Landon trusts me. Respects me. You’re just some filthy omega.”
