But this? Being sold to an alpha not of my choosing? The idea certainly hadn’t ever come up in any discussion. At least now I had an inkling what happened to my lost brothers. However, I really had no memory of One and Two had been taken when we were too young to even know our letters yet, so hopefully he’d been part of another kind of auction. I didn’t want to consider otherwise, for him or the other two removed from our small, cloistered family.
"Thirteen, you still awake?" Another, newer voice in my head startled me out of my thoughts. My first and only friend outside the walls. We'd never met in person but had shared many long conversations over the past year.
"Unfortunately. Why aren't you sleeping, Alex? Do I need to scold you again about the importance of getting enough rest?"
Alex's nocturnal activities had brought us together in the first place. One night, I’d heard the howl of an unfamiliar wolf, closer than anyone had ever come to our hidden residence. I hadn't expected him to hear me when the random thought "Who are you?" flitted through my mind.
But then he’d answered, reasonably wondering why my voice was in his head. Somewhere in the explanation, he'd gotten the entire story out of me. Since then, Alex had one agenda—helping me and my brothers find freedom.
"Dude. Lay off the lectures. I love you like a brother, but I get enough shit from my mom. I'm a twenty-one-year-old man. It's normal for me to want to get out when I can. Which you'd know if we could ever free you."
Chewing my lip, I squeezed my eyes shut, as if it mattered in an already dark room, and considered how to respond. He'd be on board with the plan. The problem was keeping him from overreacting and trying to bust in too soon. His chivalrous tendencies would not help either of us, which was why I never let him come close enough to see our guards. Or, more importantly, for them to see him.
"About my freedom… I have good news and bad news. It's time to put our big escape plan into place. But I need your word you won't leave the hilltop or come within view until it's time."
"Seriously? Hell yeah. Hit me with the good, and the bad won't matter. Just wait until I get you free. We're going to have so much fun. I've been stashing cash for months, and my folks bought me a new car for my birthday. I figure we'll put some mileage between us before getting one of the local packs to come free your brothers. It's gonna be great. If everything goes as planned, I'll be introducing you to the bright lights of the big cities before you know it."
I smiled at the cocky assurance in his tone. "Focus, Alex. The bad matters because I now understand why they won't let us leave."
His wolf growled, the sound reverberating through my head. "You only now understand? Clearly, you're worth money. Look, I've never asked the obvious because I didn't want to put you on the spot or make you feel weird. It's rare, but it's the single sensible explanation. Thirteen, are you an omega?"
Huffing a breath, I sat up quickly, hugging my knees as I rocked back and forth. "Y-yes? I didn't know it was rare, though. My brothers and I are each omegas, according to Teacher. He explained it during our health classes when we were younger. I'm not awfully different from anyone else, am I?"
"Umm… I literally just told you. I mean, you're not so different, I guess. Except for being a guy who can have babies. That's where the rare part comes in. And, unfortunately, why you’re worth money to the wrong people. Think about it—how much would someone pay for a unique male who can carry his own young?"
Huh. I would've thought it was our powers. Although maybe Alex didn’t know all omegas had the powers we did—or at least the ones I knew. Was it possible he thought I was unique? If so, we’d definitely been smart to keep it hidden around here.
"You're getting lost in thought again, dude. We've been over this—think on your own time. Not when your awesome friend Alex has made his appearance."
"Again with the cockiness." Honestly, it was one of my favorite things about him, though I would
never admit it. His head was plenty big enough already. Laughing, I made myself focus like I'd asked him to do. "Sorry, the idea caught me off guard. Where were we?"
"You're stalling. Knock it off. I promise not to freak out and go charging into your little compound. Just tell me what you don't think I want to hear so we can get into the good part where we plan how to get you out of there. Omegas are supposed to be protected. I can protect you. I’m not an alpha, but I am your friend.”
His sweet words warming my heart, I breathed in deep and nodded to myself for encouragement. "So, if I'm as rare as you say, things make a little more sense. Teacher told me I'm leaving on Monday for a Mate Auction. Apparently, auctions are the traditional way for someone like me to get the worthiest alpha."
"Tradition, my ass." Alex's voice exploded in my skull. "No. While I wasn't raised in a pack, I have plenty of friends who were. For most wolves, we pick someone we like and get our parent's approval if we're too young. Unless we're lucky enough to meet our true mate, but fate’s a crapshoot."
“True mate? What? Let me guess, they love you truly? No… I know. They’re true blue and faithful forever?” I played like I was joking, but I adored the idea of finding someone who would love me for me and never leave. Protect me from ever being hurt again? Um, yes please.
“Yeah, you get the idea. Imagine someone who’s your perfect match, who loves you from the moment they see you and catch your scent, and who will never hurt you because it would cause you too much pain. And you feel the same because your wolf recognizes their scent as mate. Bing-bada-boop, instalove and happily ever after.”
“Seriously, Alex? So easy? My nose knows and I’m living a fairytale?” I was ready to believe, but I needed to clarify the details so I could share the fantasy with my brothers later.
Alex’s warm chuckle made me smile. “Seriously. If you can wrap your brain around it, there’s the myth. Except it’s not really mythical so much as hard to find.” Alex sounded wistful, as if the idea wasn’t so bad to him either.
“Huh. Well, if I absolutely have to have a mate, then I’d want one of those. Not some rich alpha who would bid for me in an auction. Do you think the fates were nice enough to make one of those mates for me?” I hated how needy I sounded, but this talk of true mates was making me feel lost and lonelier than ever. Voices in my head, or even the company of my brothers, didn’t keep me warm every night I spent on a hard cot in this tiny, cold room.
“I don’t know, Thirteen. I hope so… but while the fates might be nice enough to create your perfect mate, they don't usually go out of their way to bring you together. And as for you getting a mate who buys you? Not on my watch. We’re getting you out of there before you’re taken. Fuck me, I bet the whole reason you guys were kept in there was to sell you off one by one. I’m glad I met you and can help make sure it doesn’t happen. Yeah… they can go fuck themselves with a fully loaded bag of dicks if they think they're auctioning you off like a damn cow. ”
His righteous indignation settled and soothed both my heart and my wolf. Neither of us had liked thinking of ourselves as a commodity, let alone how the practice might be considered a tradition among our kind. As for the true mate stuff, I’d save the idea to ponder after I’d tasted freedom.