With force, Lucas grabbed her and kissed her cheek. “Darling, we are in the heart of Dagon, where the dream is big.”
Wren’s body ached, but her head throbbed the most. “D-dream?”
Killian walked too close behind her for comfort. “Stop talking to her. She doesn’t understand a word we say,” he said.
They had stopped at a junction where hundreds of people, alphas and betas alike passed through to the other areas of the city. Although it wasn’t unheard of women walking on these streets, it brought a considerable amount of attention from the hungry alphas nearby, and Wren soon found herself latching onto Lucas’s chest.
The thick crowd wound down a steep staircase that led to a bustling courtyard of seedy, rundown buildings. On the corner of the enclosure, hollow-eyed alphas searched every person who passed through. Those who were unlucky were hastily beaten. Others were raped.
Above their heads flashed their insignia, the ouroboros, a feasting black mamba, and it looked ready to explode. Slowly, the image moved. The snake threaded its tongue in its throat until the words Omega Unlimited shone underneath the insignia.
Wren perked up and pointed. She saw the insignia tattoos on their forearms, shining almost as bright as the neon sign. “You’re… you’re—”
Vash grabbed hold of her waist. Coughing, he hoisted her off the ground and quickly carried her, walking fast with the pack.
“Hey!” Wren shouted.
His greasy, weathered palm closed around her mouth, leaving her gasping. “Trust me. You don’t want to know.”
They were going to torture her. She knew they would. All alphas resorted to their instincts, but these men had gone rogue. Their eyes twitched like those of hungry wolves that had just caught dinner. What was their end goal with her? Murder?
Rocking against his chest, Wren had very little doubt she had seen this place before, perhaps in a dream. Was that what Lucas had tried to explain to her minutes before?
The outside world bewildered her. She’d always thought of alphas as meticulous beings, but the fervent men she shared glances with on the street seemed barbaric and inhuman.
After walking for a considerable length of time, Lucas stopped. “Time for a check.”
Running forward, he scanned the forking alleyways before whistling the pack forward. Vash set Wren back onto her feet, but not without a quick shove. Potentially, she had seen too much. Then again, Vash likely thought her a complete fool. It was highly possible she got too swept up in the mundane glitter of lights.
When they reached a small door, Killian punched in a code and thumbprint. The door opened to darkness. They climbed the staircase toward the rooms.
I will jump from the window, Wren thought.
But once upstairs and inside the empty flat, her heart sank yet again. The only window that allowed a view of the superficial hub below was barred, and on the outside, a tapestry of rope spread from building to building, ready to catch anyone who made the mistake of canceling their season.
Lucas lightly tapped her neck. She flinched. “Go ahead. Jump,” Lucas said.
Wren brought her body to the floor, defeated. Lucas adjusted his undershirt against his strained biceps and then wagged a finger. “No sleep. We’re going to inspect you in the other room.”
Killian grabbed her neck and towed her forward. “Come.”
Wren shuffled and bit down on her battered hand as she stained her face more with tears. She was exhausted, and suddenly wished she had never left that horrible facility. Now, it was gone forever. The women would be scattered amongst the rest of the guards.
Just forgotten.
Wren swallowed, but her glands were swollen. Suddenly, her stomach felt dull heavy. Her body started to shake until she retched her liquids onto the floor.
Off-colored bits hung from her mouth. Cheeks burning, she felt completely devoid of any life at all. “Please,” she whispered. “Can I just have one night without any more prodding?”
Killian looked at the other two alphas. “Can we wait until morning, Vash?” Killian asked.
Lucas’s eyes flashed, red and scathing. He grabbed Wren and forced her onto her knees, nearly mounting her right then and there. He tore through her thin and ruined dress, sliding up her legs.
Perching his mouth against the back of her ear, he clapped his teeth together into a snarl. “Not yet ruined, but we will ruin you soon,” he grunted.
Mouth open with striking glee, Killian bucked and huffed, inhaling in rapid succession. “We can take turns bleeding her.”
“Not. Yet,” Vash said.