Page 40 of Auctioned to the Alpha

CHAPTER16

Dmitri

“I-I didn’t know w-what to d-do! I… oh God, hisscreams!” The woman was perhaps one of the most pitiable sights he’d ever laid eyes on.

Curled up against the front tire of Knox’s truck, her bare feet caked in dirt, her arms wrapped about her chest in a futile, almost child-like self-protective gesture, brake dust the color of blackened rust staining her shirt at the left shoulder and contrasting against the bright crimson of splatters of blood across the shredded remnants of her tank top.

More blood, in crazed spray patterns dried to crustiness upon her forehead marked her like a macabre zebra, her green eyes red and swollen and leaking endless tears as she sobbed.

Dmitri and Knox, their backs turned to the carnage fifty yards further down the road, still stood over her. Dmitri was, unaccountably, nearly speechless, the implications of the scene behind them still dawning in full and horrible certitude in his mind as he listened to the poor girl’s tale of woe, the warm afternoon breeze not offering even the slightest comfort.

Nothing could assuage the true horror of what he’d come upon shortly after he’d left his omega in her bedroom, the woman sleeping peacefully, ignorant to the terrifying reality just a few miles away.

The woman continued to weep, knees curled up before her, the dirt coating them too, the smooth skin of her legs marred in numerous places by dried blood. Her clothes were half torn from her body. She’d been battered, as well as terrorized, bruises already darkening in several places upon her face, her upper arms, even her thighs.

Worse than that, she was absolutelypetrified, the existential dread clear in her eyes, the sort of fear one only exhibits when they’ve had a close encounter with the fathomless void that is the prospect of immediate, agonizing death.

“She was near hysterical when the men found her.” Knox ran a palm across his mouth, still staring down at her, while the murmured words were for Dmitri. “She was pleading with them, screaming that she didn’t want to die, that she knew the ‘bad ones’ would be back any minute. Fuck, this isbad. Real bad.”

The girl—Katrina was her name, at least according to her driver’s license—covered her face in her hands, two of her pink nails broken and bleeding, more blood, though it didn’t appear to be hers, staining her fingertips.

“Katrina, you’ve got to tell us what happened. Give us something.”

“No!They… I told you what they told me to say. If I say anything else… I don’t know. They’ll comebackfor me. They’ll hurt me.” She began to sob once more, cradling her forehead against her knees. “They’ll kill me too…”

Dmitri dropped to one knee, letting his voice soften. He touched her hair, combing back a strand of it behind her ear. She must have had dazzling blonde locks before… whatever it was that has just gone down.

She shuddered, but finally looked up at him, trying to wipe away her tears with the heel of her hand.

Dmitri reached out to Knox. “Give me your bandana.”

Knox grimaced but extracted the black and white patterned fabric from his back pocket, handing it to him.

Dmitri took her hand, wiping away the gore, then used the edge of the cloth to clean up her cheeks, despite the slick, continuous tracks of her tears. “There, that’s a little better, right? I promise you, sweetheart, nobody—and nothing—is going to harm you. Not while I’m here.” He let the hint of a growl enter his tone. “Caleb told you who we are. Whathewas. Did he not?”

She gave him a miserable nod, closing her eyes.

“Then you know who I am. You’resafewith us.”

For a minute she said nothing, continuing to sniffle. Then she shuddered, taking a deep breath, and another, and finally lifting her head, meeting his gaze.

“They… they came upon us… so fast.” She swiped a sodden strand of hair away from her face. “Like,silent. Haven’t ever… seen anybody move like that.”

He met Knox’s gaze, the same disgust and alarm suddenly gnawing at his insides reflected in his lieutenant’s dark eyes.

Thatwasn’t good news. Not at all.

“What else?” Dmitri asked softly, stroking her arm. “Did they tell you anything? Who they were?”

She shook her head. “They… I don’t think they were—” she swallowed “—from here.”

“That’s one way of puttin’ it,” Knox muttered, bitterly.

A breath of breeze—carrying the clear note of freshly spilled blood on it—kicked up a tiny swirl of dust at her feet.

“Then they…” She began sniffling again, tears welling anew. “Attacked us. Dragged h-him out of the truck, threw me across the road.” She pointed toward the shoulder, on the opposite side of the blacktop from Caleb’s pick-up. “Landed over there, in the gravel. I-I don’t know what happened those next few seconds—I’d hit my head, I think.”

“Just take your time.” Dmitri forced a quick smile, hoping it didn’t resemble a rictus. “It’ll come back. Tell us what you do remember. Anything helps.”

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