Page 2 of The Wild Hunt (Sold to the Fae Duet #1)

“Dad? What are you doing here?”

We called ourselves Faemenists. Feminists with a twist, the world liked to joke.

But our world was no joke.

They claim humanity escaped slavery. We say differently. They say, what’s a few thousand women every five years? We say our people. They say your name is in the lottery. We say over our dead fucking bodies .

The lottery is due to be drawn in two days, with the portal opening a week after that.

My flatmates, Rihana and Waverly, and I had been enjoying takeout Chinese in the living room, a new rom-com show playing on the TV.

It was the first time in a long time that we hadn’t been plotting and planning.

We were ready. Our camping gear was packed and sitting by the door.

Tomorrow, we will set out in the countryside, leaving our mobile phones and any electronics that could track us behind.

We had fake IDs, and we’d purchased a shitty old Hyundai anonymously through the marketplace.

We were going to outrun the lottery. Consequences be damned.

Then my dad showed up. Apparently, he wasn’t alone.

Waverly had answered the door.

“Delta? It’s your dad.”

I looked up, cheeks filled with noodles that didn’t quite fit inside my mouth. After staring at him for a good thirty seconds in surprise, I slurp up the escaping worm and swallow thickly without chewing. Ugh, I was going to regret that in the morning.

My dad looks awkward as shit as he stands by the door.

He wears worn and dirty clothes. I squint as I take him in.

Yep, that is a coffee stain on his upper left pocket.

His cheeks are sallow, as if he hasn’t been getting enough nutrition lately.

I know he hasn’t. He still lives off beer, canned stews, and toast. He has surprisingly short hair; I’ve never known him to not have a messy mop above his brow.

He also has a rough and patchy beard. Maybe I’d give him money to see a barber before I left.

“Dad? What are you doing here?” I finally ask after my brief appraisal of him.

He shuffles awkwardly, glancing from Rihana to Waverly, then back at me.

“Delta, could we… ah… could we speak for a moment?” he finally stammers.

“Sure,” I say, my brows raised expectantly. He continues to shuffle and glances behind him. Oh ! “Oh! You want to chat outside?”

He nods, relieved .

I get up, snatching the remaining spring roll from my plate as I go, because for sure it wouldn’t be there by the time I got back.

I raise a suspicious eyebrow at Waverly and Rihana.

Rihana smiles guiltily while Waverly just pouts.

Yep, they so had their eyes on it. I grin, take a big bite from the crunchy Asian goodness, send them a wink, then turn and swing my hips as I sashay out the front door.

Dad leads the way to a side alley. He looks tense.

“Dad?”

He nearly jumps out of his skin as I gently touch his shoulder.

“Oh, sorry, Delta,” he smiles abashedly. “I’ve been a bit… jumpy of late.”

I cross my arms and run my eyes over him again.

“You need to take better care of yourself, Dad,” I say. “When was the last time you had a proper meal?”

He blinks, taken aback. Apparently, this wasn’t where the conversation was supposed to be headed.

I roll my eyes.

“Forget about it. So, what’s with the visit, Dad?” When his eyes shift away from mine and he remains silent, I bite the bullet. I mean, it’s obvious why he’s here. He is saying goodbye. Just in case I get Chosen. Just in case I get taken, like Mom did. “It’s because of the lottery, isn’t it?”

His face washes over with multiple conflicting emotions: surprise, worry, desperation, and, oddly, guilt.

His shoulders slump.

“Yes,” he says simply .

I grab his shoulder again, and this time he lets me.

“It’s ok, Dad,” I tell him with a firm smile. “The girls and I have a plan. I’m not worried. I won’t get Chosen. I promise.”

“Delta… I’m in a lot of debt…” he starts. My heart sinks as my smile disappears. He was a broken man. He had been for many years. Since my mother… I thought the gambling had stopped.

I take a step away from him. “You need money,” I say as emotionlessly as possible. He didn’t care about the lottery. He didn’t care if I was Chosen. He just wanted my money before I disappeared.

He shakes his head. “No. No! I wouldn’t ask that of you.”

I roll my eyes.

“I’ll get my purse. It’s fine. I think I have a couple of hundred-dollar bills in there.”

I had more. We were about to disappear for a few weeks after all. But he didn’t need to know that. I needed money too. I could allow myself a moment of selfishness in the name of survival.

Dad puts a hand on my arm.

“No, wait! Let me explain!”

He stops me from turning around so I fold my arms, cock a hip and wait.

He takes a deep breath.

“Like I was saying, I’m in a lot of debt,” he holds his hands up as if begging to let himself explain. “And the people I owe money to… they are dangerous. They’d have killed me if I hadn’t come up with the money!”

I frown, “So… you have the money to pay them off, then? What’s going on, Dad?” I was growing more and more confused .

“You see, I found a way to get the money, and more! So much more. I’ll be able to move to another city and start over afresh! I’m going to turn my life around, Delta. Please understand why I had to do it.”

Ice forms and cracks within my veins. What has he done?

“Dad…” I fight to keep my voice steady. “What?”

Hands grab me from behind. One sweaty, and smelling of even sweatier balls, covers my mouth. I gag and swing my head from side to side. My arms are grabbed, and I’m dragged away from my dad. Guilt and ugly tears now entirely plague his face.

“I had to, baby girl!” he screams as I am dragged further and further away. “This is my chance! Find your mother when you get there. Tell her I love her!”

With sinking clarity and horror, my scrabbling brain lands on the answer I didn’t know I’d been looking for. Somehow, he had sold me… to who? The government? The fae? Whoever it was, my lottery chances were null because I was already number 1 of 5000.

I fight with everything I have. I manage to bite the hand over my mouth, and the owner curses as he hastily pulls it free.

“Help!” I scream at the top of my lungs. “Somebody hel-!”

I’m cut off when the hand returns, harder than before. My lips are smooshed against my teeth so hard I taste blood.

“Delta?”

It’s distant. Too distant. Waverly and Rihana had heard my plea. But they are too late. Without ceremony, I am thrust into a nondescript white van. The door slams before I can gather enough self-control to get up . To run .

The van, already running, takes off immediately. I’m flung into the side of it as it takes a sharp turn, my head hitting the wall so hard that I see stars, and before I know it…

Everything…

Turns…

Black…

…