Page 10 of Brutal Alpha (Nightfire Islands Alphas #2)

We’d all heard the rumors about Arbor: pushed to desperation following their defeat on Lapine, they’d started selling their females off to rich humans.

It was horrific on its own, but few of us had ever really thought they’d be stupid enough to try taking females from other islands.

They weren’t in any condition for another inter-Pack conflict, and maybe some Packs wouldn’t start shit over one or two missing females, but a member of an Alpha’s family was another matter entirely.

Had they not known who Julia was when they took her?

Had they simply seen a lone female on her way home from the Solstice and thought no one would miss her? That was going to be a costly mistake.

I had lost Julia’s scent soon after the bridge and had no luck picking it back up once I arrived on Arbor.

Instead, I took a gamble and made my way to the north beach.

As far as I knew, it was the only place on Arbor where you could land a boat from the mainland, and if I could catch the scent of the humans who were trying to buy shifter women, I could follow them to the site of the sale.

Fortunately, my gamble paid off: the beach was littered with boats of various sizes, and feet churned up the sand, creating a narrow path through the woods and up into the mountains.

Humans didn’t possess scents as strong as shifters, but they often wore synthetic fragrances, which were extremely easy to track.

My nose wrinkled at the harsh, artificial odor.

The back of my throat burned, but if that scent led me to Julia, I could easily endure the discomfort.

The humans would be slow as they made their way up the mountain, and in my current form, I would easily catch up to them.

I barely stopped to catch my breath, pushing on across the beach and plunging into the forest in pursuit of the men who believed a woman like Julia could be bought.

They were not difficult to track. There was a group of them, to start with; it was difficult to tell exactly how many from where I was skulking in the underbrush, keeping out of sight as far enough away that the shifters in the group wouldn’t catch my scent, but I guessed there were about twelve humans and three shifter escorts.

None of them were bothering to keep quiet, either, and I heard them long before I got close enough to catch sight of the party.

As soon as I did, my hackles rose. I wanted nothing more than to charge at them, to rip them limb from limb for thinking themselves above us, treating our women as if they could be bought like objects.

Even against twelve of them and three shifters, I might still have a chance.

I was big enough. If I did that, though, I might never find Julia.

Finding Julia was what mattered, if only to bring her home to Caleb and her family.

The path through the forest was winding, and the humans bitched and moaned with every step.

They were all dressed in outfits I’d only ever seen in movies or on the covers of books: dress pants and starched white shirts with jackets over the top.

Their shoes were shiny and hard-looking, filling me with irritation and impatience.

I needed them to get where they were going, needed them to lead me to where Julia was.

Once they arrived, they were fair game, I reminded myself.

I could spring forward and take out as many as I could, hoping that there weren’t more hunters inside.

It was far from a perfect plan, but I didn’t have time to think of a better one, because it wasn’t long before the party stopped in front of a narrow cave opening.

One of the shifters led the way inside, while the humans began to file in behind him.

The other two shifters were clearly waiting to bring up the rear, and I was about to spring forward and take my chances against them when one of the humans spoke up.

“You guys go in,” he said. “I’ve gotta use the little boys’ room. Say, buddy—where is the little boy’s room?”

The shifter he’d addressed only laughed.

“It’s all around you. Go wild.”

The guy looked a bit put out, but he waved the others in and headed into the forest alone.

Suddenly, I had a better plan. I followed him a few yards into the forest, where he set down the expensive-looking briefcase he’d been carrying and unzipped his fly to relieve himself against one of the trees.

I let him finish—I wasn’t a monster—before I shifted back to human form and made my presence known.

It was easy work to grab the human from behind, slapping a hand over his mouth. Their senses were so dull, how did they even function?

“When I take my hand off your mouth, you aren’t going to make a sound, got it?

” I growled into his ear, and the human nodded frantically.

I cautiously removed my hand from his mouth, and true to his word, he didn’t make a sound.

That was a good start. When I released his hands, he immediately put space between us but didn’t attempt to run.

His eyes were wide with fear, darting around for escape routes that were all equally useless to him.

“Take your clothes off,” I demanded, and the human’s eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline. He scrambled a few feet further back.

“Hey, man, you’re uh—you’re a fine specimen and all, but I’m really not into—” he garbled, clearly not understanding that this was not a request. Alpha authority might not work on humans, but I didn’t need it.

Humans, as a rule, were terrified of shifters—even the ones who had come to Arbor to buy themselves a bride would no doubt drug or cage the females once they returned to the mainland.

I only needed to throw my weight around, growl a little, and he’d be putty in my hands.

“Your clothes, I need them. Take them off,” I repeated. He made no move to try to get away this time, but nor did he begin to strip.

“Oh. Right, yeah,” he said. “I mean I’d prefer to—”

“Now,” I growled, flashing elongated fangs, and he finally jumped to attention.

“You got it, buddy,” he yelped as he shucked off his jacket and began undoing the buttons of his shirt with trembling fingers.

I took the garments as he handed them to me, pulling them over my nakedness.

The fit wasn’t good—the guy was tall for a human, but still a couple of inches shorter than me, and I strained out of his no-doubt expensive suit.

The shoes were definitely too small—it hurt to squeeze my feet into them—but I reminded myself that I wouldn’t be wearing this ridiculous get-up for long.

“Where’s your false scent?” I asked, once I was dressed, and the human stared back at me, naked and confused.

“My what?”

“Whatever stuff you have that makes you smell different,” I snapped. “Artificial.”

“Oh, my cologne?”

“Sure.”

“In my bag,” the human said, pointing to the leather briefcase he’d left propped up against a rock.

“You like it? You can take it, man, be my guest.” He scuttled over to the briefcase, rifling through it and picking out a glass bottle with a spray top.

He handed it to me, eager to please, and my nose wrinkled.

“It smells awful,” I said, but I took it from him regardless, spraying myself generously until I was certain no shifter would be able to pick out my natural scent beneath the offensive artificial perfume.

I probably wouldn’t pass in a one-on-one setting, but in a dimly lit area with a mix of humans and shifters?

I’d manage for a little while, and that was all I needed.

The human put up surprisingly little fight as I tied him to a tree with his own necktie, and I might have felt sorry for the guy if he wasn’t here to buy another person. My own search of his briefcase revealed several sizable wads of cash, and a wave of nausea hit me.

“Yeah, that’s all yours, man. Take whatever you want,” the human was babbling.

The idea that such a weak, spineless excuse for a man really thought he could handle a shifter woman was laughable, but I wasn’t in the mood for humor.

I didn’t answer him as I picked up the briefcase and left him there—he’d wiggle out eventually, or one of the Arbor shifters would stumble across him later.

What happened then was his problem, not mine.

His cries followed me all the way to the crevice in the mountainside, but once I slipped through the opening, they faded out of my hearing.

Inside, the narrow path soon expanded into a modest cavern, lit by a few torches hung on the walls.

That worked in my favor—between the humans, the Arbor shifters, and the slightly raised stage taking up about a third of the floor space, the cavern felt crowded, and it was easy to slip in unnoticed at the back.

That was when I saw them. About ten females were consigned to one corner, naked, shackled at the ankles, and trembling with terror.

Among them, Julia stood out like an eagle among pigeons.

Refusing to make herself small or avert her gaze from the males who sought to subjugate her, she held her head high and defiant.

I hoped she’d given the Arbor hunters hell.

A hushed anticipation filled the cavern, deepening as a shifter stepped onto the stage. Although I had never met Lowell Axton, I recognized him. He was clearly an Alpha, and the Arbor shifters stood ready as he raised a hand for silence.

“Good evening, gentlemen. Thank you all for making the journey out to our little island.” His smile showed too many teeth. “As promised, we have an array of potential brides for you tonight, and I’m sure they’ll make several of you very happy husbands.”

Husbands. Brides. It was all a sham. As little as marriage meant to shifters, it was still a bond in its own way, and this sick ritual made it an utter mockery.

I tried to pay as little attention as possible to the first few sales.

They were all the same: a terrified girl was pushed onto the stage, the bidding began, one human emerged victorious, handed over the promised money to Axton, and was “wedded” to his prize on the stage.

The crowd jeered for kisses, and my hands balled into fists at my side as the humans groped the females, pressing slobbery kisses to their unwilling mouths.

I was only here for Julia, I reminded myself.

There was nothing I could do for those women until we were both safe. After that—after that, we’d find a way.

It felt like hours passed in that too-small cavern, surrounded by the scent of acrid cologne and the females’ fear, until finally, the penultimate girl was pushed onto the stage.

She was a small, freckled redhead, no older than twenty at best, but she was brave.

When one of the shifters unlocked her shackles, she made a desperate break for the exit—there was no way she could be fast enough.

A hunter grabbed her around the waist and carried her, kicking and screaming, from the cavern, followed by her dour-looking buyer.

As much as I pitied her, I couldn’t spare her more thought, because we had finally arrived at the last lot: Julia.

“We’ve saved the best for last, gentlemen,” Axton announced. “I hope your pockets are deep this evening because we won’t be letting this one go cheap. Not only is she a beauty, but she has Alpha blood in her.” A ripple of interest ran through the audience, and I felt sick to my stomach.

Julia stepped onto the stage like a queen greeting her subjects, even with her ankles shackled, and there was more than one wolf whistle from the audience.

A pang of regret rushed through me—I should have played along with her little theory that we were mates, should have marked her where the slope of her elegant neck met her shoulder.

I should have marked her as mine, so these pathetic excuses for men wouldn’t even consider touching her.

“I know, I know,” continued Axton, smug and slimy, “she’s very exciting. So what if I told you she was also a witch?”

How the fuck did they know that? Her own family didn’t know. Had they been trailing her all night? My blood boiled, and tamping down the growl that grew in my chest was more effort than it had ever been before.

“Bidding for this beauty starts at fifty thousand,” continued Axton.

It was more than twice as much as any other female had gone for, but that didn’t stop several hands going up.

I didn’t know exactly how much was in my stolen briefcase, but it didn’t matter.

I shoved my hand in the air, feeling dirty as much as determined.

With every price hike, I raised my hand again, barely hearing the numbers anymore.

I was certain it had gone far beyond the wads of cash in the briefcase at my side, but it didn’t matter—I only needed the chance to get close to Julia, just needed them to unlock the shackles around her ankles, and we would make our escape.

My fingers were itching by the time it was down to me and one other person, who was looking more and more irritated with every bid I made.

Axton, by contrast, looked like the cat that got the cream, and it irked me to know I wouldn’t get the chance to rip him limb from limb today. That would have to wait.

“Two-twenty,” Axton called, and the human raised his hand.

“Two-thirty.” I raised mine.

“Two-forty.” The human was starting to look nervous.

“Two-fifty.” I raised my hand, telling myself this was nearly over.

“Two-sixty.” There was a pause. The human looked pained. He shook his head.

Despite my obvious victory, Axton took another several interminable seconds asking the rest of the crowd if they were absolutely certain they were out before he finally announced,

“Then she’s sold to the gentleman at the back. Come up and claim your bride, Sir.”

There was no triumph within me as I made my way through the throng and up to the stage.

This was the riskiest part of the whole plan—there was little chance I would be recognized on sight, but there was still the possibility that the scent-masking cologne would fail me.

If it was discovered I was a shifter before we had the chance to make our escape, Julia and I were both done for.

When I met her wide blue eyes, it was clear she knew that as well as I did.