Prologue
Sebastian
"You know we've enjoyed having you here, Stephen," Leon, the Alpha of the Peaceful River pack, told me with a smile. "Unfortunately, the Council of Packs requires all orphaned Omegas to report as available for claim when they turn eighteen if the fostering Alpha isn't going to claim them." He shrugged apologetically and tilted his head toward the female Omega, Dawn, sitting beside him, a serene smile on her face. I'd known since I was first fostered with their pack – long before I'd presented as Omega – that Leon only had eyes for her and nothing had changed; not that I would have ever tried to interfere in their relationship.
"I..I understand," I agreed, not bothering to correct him. My name is Sebastian, not Stephen, but it didn't really matter either way. "I'll leave immediately."
"Absolutely not!" Dawn gasped in horror. "We'll get your things packed and then Leon will have someone escort you to Council headquarters." She glanced at her mate, her pink lips drawn into a frown. "Won't you, dear?"
"Oh, of course," Leon agreed quickly. "You can't try to make that trip on your own. It isn't safe." He glanced at Dawn, relaxing at the approving set of her lips. "Tomorrow is soon enough," Leon decided. "Tonight, we'll have a going away party!"
***
Trig, the Beta that Leon assigned to escort me into town the next evening, couldn't have seemed less interested in acting as my security detail if he had tried. Peaceful River wasn't a wealthy pack, and Leon's ancient truck was the only vehicle, so we headed off for town on foot, the small burlap sack that carried my extra clothes, toothbrush, and dog-eared books hung over my shoulder. We were an hour, maybe two, into our journey when Trig stopped short, scenting the air with a low growl.
"Hey, why don't you go on ahead?" he suggested, his eyes glazing over as he snorted in gulping breaths of the air laced with the scent of a female wolf in heat. "There's something I want to check out."
Amused, I shook my head as I watched Trig tear off into the woods that flanked the abandoned dirt road. I couldn’t imagine why he thought a bitch in heat would want a Beta, but I continued down the path as he'd suggested. It was a beautiful spring night and I was enjoying the walk, breathing in the thick, earthy smells of the forest. The overgrown brush hid the road as I rounded the bend. If I'd been more alert, I would have smelled the man – the human – hiding just out of sight, waiting to spring out when I least expected it. His forearm crashed suddenly across my throat, immobilizing me and cutting off my air. I began to call my wolf forward when the pressure suddenly released and I reflexively sucked in huge, gulping breaths before the sickly-sweet smell overpowered me. My wolf screamed a warning, but it was too late and the darkness sucked me under.
Waking up was a surreal experience. I was inside a floor to ceiling cage, the cracked, stained concrete cold under my cheek. Three other Omegas were kneeling next to me, trying to soothe me.
"Where am I?" I managed to choke out even though my mouth was Sahara desert dry.
"The backroom of the Blue Moon Bar and Grill," a slender shifter with black hair answered, holding a paper cup with a few ounces of water in it to my lips. He grimaced. "That probably isn't what you meant, right?" He didn't wait for me to agree before he continued. "You're in a cage. We all are. I'm Levi, by the way."
"Sebastian," I answered automatically. "Why are we in a cage?"
"K..kidnappers," Spencer said with a slight stammer similar to my own. "I..I heard Jack, the guy in charge, s..say that they are collecting Omegas t..to sell to Alphas who are under Council of Packs censure."
"Oh, no," I gasped. An Alpha under censure was prohibited from claiming an Omega and there could only be a handful of reasons for it. They had killed or ordered someone else to kill an Omega under their care, taken an Omega against his or her will, or, worse, in my opinion, prostituted an Omega against their will. All of them a good reason not to want to be claimed by that type of Alpha.
The third Omega, a lanky brunette who Levi introduced as Quinn, nodded. "They just got started with their collection as they call us, so I think we're all safe at the moment. He's planning on holding an underground Omega auction once he has enough of us."
"Hell." I eased up to a sitting position, grabbing at my swimming head as my stomach lurched. "We have to get out of here."
"It's not going to be easy," Levi offered, glancing at the partially closed door beyond the iron bars. "Even if we get out of the cage, there is always someone on guard."
I sighed and looked around. "Then I guess it’s a good thing we seem to have a few days, right?"
One day turned into two, and then three. Then, a week had passed. And another. With each passing day, Jack and his group of cronies – a few humans and a group of several weak Alphas – added more Omegas to the cage until finally there were so many of us that there was no room to move about.
The other Omegas and I continued to look for an escape from the increasingly crowded prison. For one brief, shining moment, we thought we'd found someone to help us when two shifters suddenly appeared in front of our cage. Before we could speak, though, they were quickly surrounded by Jack's sentries. Then, things went from bad to worse as the Beta was knocked out and locked in the small broom closet, leaving the Omega outnumbered in a desperate struggle. Unable to help him, all we could do was close our eyes as he was repeatedly violated. Then, as suddenly as he had appeared, he was gone, and we were no closer to escape. Or so we thought.
Five days later, we had yet another unexpected visitor but this time things went differently. A tall, gorgeous shifter strode through the door, Alpha pheromones filled the room, and a honey-smooth control voice washed over us in comforting waves. He introduced himself as Colt and smoothly coordinated our transfer from the crowded cage to a roomy, comfortable box truck parked out back. We were given food and water and told to settle in for a long ride. During it all, we never saw Jack or any of his cronies.
Relieved to be almost free again, I'd swallowed the water that I'd been given but offered my protein bar to Levi when I heard his stomach growl. He'd been one of the first Omegas to be captured and was severely malnourished; there was no doubt he needed it more than I did. He ducked his head in embarrassment but accepted it with a shy smile. Satisfied that I had done all I could for the moment, I stretched out and closed my eyes, opting to try and rest until we arrived at our destination – wherever that might be.
Our rescue ended up being a combined effort of the Blood Valley pack – the pack that the Omega we had been helpless to stop the attack on belonged to – and the Coruscation pack who were, of all things, werewolves. Reality can be so much stranger than fiction!
Anyway, as month after month passed, Clint and Rafael -the Alphas of the two cooperating packs – had managed to restore most of the rescued Omegas to their packs, and those that remained unclaimed had been offered protection under the guardianship of the werewolf Alpha.
Clint and his Omega, Trevor, had gone out of their way to make us comfortable. They'd hosted social events for us – one of which had netted my friend, Spence, an Alpha of his own. They'd also arranged for us to receive job training – which had resulted in another friend, Thane, being claimed as well. They'd even allowed me to travel thousands of miles to Terena de Dragoni – a small kingdom in Canada – to stay with Spence and his new Alpha, Harry. And there, in the ancient royal castle of Terena de Dragoni, is where my story really began.