My eyes narrowed. There was something in her voice—she was pissed.
Information was power, and at the moment, I sadly needed it. So I pushed. “If it wasn’t for my trust in Haki, you still wouldn’t have me. Coming after me on council turf was brazen, even for you.”
Xumi was far too cunning to give anything away for free, but she had all the power in this situation, and she knew it. Her eyes gleamed with triumph as she peeled her lips back from her sharp teeth. “You couldn’t hide there forever,” she said. “When my furry little mole reported your presence, I folded you into my other caper. It was such a perfect opportunity.”
My heart beat faster as my brain ticked over. The facts lined up with perfect symmetry. A wealthy donor paying for an alpha recruit—everyone had assumed it was his pack alpha, but few Dire packs had that kind of currency to contribute... “Darius.”
Her smile broadened. “Yes. The council is run by greedy fools. And my little alpha—and I do mean little”—she leaned close to me, running her talons along my rigid length—“was a useful little toy while he lasted.”
I gritted my teeth. With those damned pheromones, she owned my body. It was up to me whether she also claimed my spirit and soul. I struggled to focus. While he lasted? What had she been up to with Darius?
Her fingers played with me. I closed my eyes against the surge of lust and continued my train of thought. “The twins.”
When she didn’t immediately respond, I opened them to see a brief burst of anger twist her expression. I pounced upon it. “Things not go entirely to plan?”
Her eyes flashed at me as her talons closed around something very personal. Andsqueezed.
I expected retaliation for my impertinence, but fortunately, it was worth it. Because it also goaded her to an answer. “My plan was perfect,” she snarled. “Buyer was lined up. Supplied my cohort some Dragons for transportation.” She added a twist to her ministrations, and I couldn’t stop the hiss of pain. “And with you disappearing at the same time, I was sure they knew whom to blame.”
No.Somehow that they—thatAnna—would think I had taken them was almost more than I could bear. Despite the fact that I’d seriously thought about what they were worth,I couldn’t do it.
Moot point now. They’d all think I was involved. And any chance of anyone coming looking for me was basically nil.
Her eyes glittered with anger, though, and so I pushed for more. “Something went wrong?”
Her teeth lengthened and grew sharper. “I should have known better than to trust shardingDires. They ruined everything. A damned Bellati showed up with a bitch human. Held up the exchange until the Legion arrived. Grievan and the idiot alpha Dire are both dead. Fortunately, I had already been paid for my part in it.”
A bitch human?Anna.Somehow, I just knew it was her. And Sebastian. They’d stopped the buy.
My relief was nearly overpowering, and it gave me pause for thought. When had I ceased to be a mercenary underworld Dragon?
The answer was obvious.Anna.She’d done something to me. Reached deep, and pulled out someone I no longer recognized. But all that was over now. Now, I had to decide whether to live like this, or to escape it.
And there was only one way out.
The room reeked of pheromones, and as I glanced to the table in the corner, it became apparent as to why. An unconscious female form lay strapped to it, with tubes running from veins in her arms and legs. Her scent gave her away as a Dragon on cycle, and the collar around her neck proclaimed her a slave.
A humanoid figure leaned over her, replacing the containers when they filled. Xumi stalked over to him.
He shot her a nervous glance. “She’s at peak cycle. Pheromones will be prime.”
Xumi’s eyes held an unhealthy glow as she perused the prone Dragona, and she licked her lips. “Make sure you get as much as you can.”
The distiller swallowed nervously. “Do you want her to live?”
Xumi tilted her head as she considered. “How soon can you bring her back into cycle on the new drugs?”
“Two months,” the man said. “We’ve killed two in the last few weeks. At this rate, your slave ranks will need to be replenished if you wish to meet production rates.”
“Keep her alive,” Xumi decided. “The pheromone market value is expected to triple over the next quarter. Your new drug will make me very rich. You will be granted your pick at the slave market.”
The distiller grimaced. “The last one did not please me.”
“This month’s list is more extensive.”
The man’s expression lightened as he adjusted the flow on one of the tubes. My gut twisted as Xumi stalked her way back over to me. To be harvesting pheromones at such a rate—
“Sex has become big business for Dragons?” I asked, feigning a calmness I didn’t feel.
