Chapter One
Nick Long glanced down at his watch for the seventh time within the last ten minutes. He hated being kept waiting. All of his time earned him money, and the fact he’d been waiting for ten minutes meant he’d lost at least a million dollars. No one made him lose money. It pissed him off that this bastard thought he could be different. If it wasn’t for the goods he particularly wanted, Nick would be long gone.
The only pleasure he got in his life was the knowledge of making money, more money than he’d ever need in a lifetime. Still, since being outlawed and forced to leave his pack and to never join another pack, Nick’s life was about making money. There was no greater purpose in life than making money, especially when everything else had been taken from him. Keeping a firm hold on the case by his side, he waited for the sounds and smell of an approaching wolf. He was an alpha wolf, or he would be if he was allowed the right of his rank. Instead, he had it taken away from him, along with everything else.
He bore the mark of an outlawed wolf. Rubbing his chest, he tried not to think of the pain the silver mark had left in his chest. There were nights he jerked awake screaming at the memory of being held down, the flesh above his heart cut open and the silver poured inside to mark him as damaged. The silver still lay in his chest. Being a wolf stopped him from absorbing the silver or forcing it out. Everyone would know the collective had cast him out like a piece of scrap meat. The scar served as a reminder to him and to let others around him know he was dangerous.
Until he died every time he stared into the mirror he’d see the mark and know he wasn’t anything but shameful.
Rubbing the back of his neck, he wondered about this night’s purchase. He shouldn’t be doing it, but his friend, Dean, promised him it was fine. Some wolf members sold the runts of their litters to anyone who would have them. Nick needed to keep it secret as this was the only way he would ever get a woman with wolf blood.
Finding out he could purchase a woman, an outcast from her pack, for the right money had given him hope to finally have something else to look forward to.
Another glance down at his watch and he was ready to leave. He wasn’t going to be treated like an ass**le just because he wanted a woman. Heading back to his car, he stopped at the sound of an approaching vehicle. Tensing, he turned toward the sound and saw the headlights coming nearer. The scent of wolf drifted toward him. Excitement took away all of his anger. This is what he’d been wanting ever since he’d stumbled onto the auction. By the end of the night he’d have a wolf female in his bed to do with as he pleased. No one would take her away or stop him from f**king her. He would possess every inch of her.
Love hadn’t been part of his purchase. He was tired of holding back from f**king human women. Nick knew he needed a wolf to take the hard f**k he really wanted to give. None of the human women could take the length of his c**k without feeling pain. Then there was the problem of them needing time to accommodate him. It was tiresome, and he’d grown tired of the light f**k. He craved a hard, rough f**king, and for a woman to pant and beg as he fed her his dick.
The car came to a stop several feet away from him. He watched the passenger side of the car open and an older man in his late fifties get out. Nick scented the air, inhaling the cruelty of the man. He tensed up in case this was a trap.
“You got the money?” he asked.
Names had been exchanged, and he knew it was Mark he was talking to. The other man was not an alpha, and Nick knew he could take him if things got dangerous.
“You got my prize?”
Mark snapped his fingers. The back door on the driver’s side opened. A woman with long blonde hair stepped out of the back of the car. He sensed the evil within her as well. This couple was awful, what the f**k were they doing. Seconds later he saw the leash the woman was holding, which was attached to someone.
“Get your fat ass out of the car,” the woman growled to someone in the back.
Inhaling the air, Nick smelled something wonderful and fresh like the roses in his garden. He’d never smelled anything quite so beautiful before in his life. Red hair caught his attention first as the woman he’d purchased climbed out of the car. He didn’t see all of her until the woman rounded the car. The leash was tied around the girl’s neck, and clearly it was tight from the red sores already developing. His anger once again started to build. What were these f**kers hoping to achieve by hurting her?
Why were they selling her?
The girl smelled like fear. Fear and pain wafted off her making him feel like a jerk. The whole act took on a whole new meaning, but he couldn’t stop it. His need for her outweighed anything else.
“Here, this is the girl.” Mark stepped forward, tugging her leash out of the blonde’s hand.
“I hate having it around my place. Make sure he takes it,” the blonde said, storming away.
“Come on, Clara,” Mark said, forcing her to move.
“Why are you selling her?”
Clara, the redhead, was covered in large clothes that hid her entire body from view. Her head was downcast, but he saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. He couldn’t begin to imagine the humiliation she would be feeling.
“She’s too fat. Her presence is making us a laughingstock of the pack, but you wouldn’t have a clue about that seeing as you’ve got no pack of your own.”
Striking out, Nick grabbed the man around his neck, squeezing the life out of him. “I suggest you watch your language,” he said.
In the background he heard the blonde screaming for him to release her husband. Ignoring her, Nick glared at the other man wanting to end his life. He was no longer an alpha, but no one was going to treat him with such disrespect without getting his anger directed at them.
“You’re outlawed,” Mark said, saying the words through gritted teeth.
Drawing him closer, Nick made sure he could be heard. “Exactly, so I don’t give a f**k who I kill now. You try to f**k with me and I’ll make sure you regret it.” Removing the leash from the man’s hand, he shoved him away, kicking the briefcase by his side toward the man as he did.
“Mark, baby, what’s he done to you?” the blonde said, running to Mark’s side. They were f**king vultures, and Nick hated them.
“Get the f**k out of my sight.” Nick waited until the two were in the car and leaving before he turned his gaze to the woman at his side.
Clara—such a sweet name for a sweet woman—stared at him, terrified.
They were selling her because of her weight. If he was the alpha of their pack, he’d make sure her parents suffered a fate worse than death. Seeing as he was neither an alpha of a pack nor part of one, their ugliness had given him a woman.