They were very, very rich. I wondered what they had done to become so flush. Inherited probably, I decided as I was led down a richly decorated hallway. I looked at the freshly cut wild flowers, stacked impeccably in gleaming crystal vases that were sat precariously on slender stemmed glass tables. I debated accidentally throwing myself at one of them just so I could enjoy watching the damned thing shatter.
The scent of them was everywhere, making it impossible to distinguish between so many of them. At a guess I would have said more than fifteen lived here, or at least passed frequently through the mansion.
Rachel was shivering beside me, keeping her eyes on her shoes as we were herded forward. I grabbed her hand and offered her a reassuring smile but she couldn't even muster the strength to look at me. I could feel the tension rolling off her waves and I knew that everyone around us could sense it as well. I wondered if they sensed the same from me? I was trying to keep my fear in check but it was difficult to hide anything from weres.
"What do you think of your new home?"A young one asked us, sliding up beside Rachel and slipping her hand through the smaller females arm. Rachel flinched and tried to pull towards me but the girl refused to let her go. "Aren't you glad we found you?"
"We're ecstatic." I answered drolly, moving tightly to my sisters other side. Rachel shot me a thankful look beneath her long lashes.
The girl smiled at me in genuine amusement, causing small crinkles to appear at the corner of her caramel coloured eyes. "My name's Angeni." She said. "You haven't mentioned your names yet?"
The question hung heavily between us but I had no intention of answering her. I suspected she already knew. I'd already told their alpha and even if the information had not been passed on it was unlikely they knew my job and where we lived without knowing something as basic as our names. The girl shrugged, throwing her long shock of black hair over her narrow shoulder before falling back to so speak to one of the others females behind us.
"I've never smelled so many of them in one place before." Rachel whispered, looking a little hysterical as her head whipped back and forth. "They're everywhere. We're never going to get out Nicolas. We're never going to get out!" She shrieked the latter part and our escorts all turned around to look at us.
"What's wrong with her?" The one called Lilith demanded, the look on her face clearly showing her distaste for my sister.
"She's frightened." I said, trying to soothe Rachel as best as I could with so many of them crowding around us.
Lilith marched towards us and grabbed my wrist. She used her other hand to grab Rachel's shoulder and violently pushed us apart. Rachel started crying but when I tried to go to her Lilith refused to let me go. "Stay." She ordered, increasing her hold and she pointed her finger at Rachel. "You will pull yourself together. No one has hurt you so you've no reason to go on like that."
Rachel was really gearing herself up for a total breakdown. I couldn't really blame her. A few hours ago she was sat in the first secure home we'd ever had. It was a lot to process.
"You sort yourself out now girlie." Lilith demanded. Her hand wound in my hair and she gave it a painful yank. "Remember what Daniel said. Either of you misbehave and the other gets punished. You want me to hurt him? It'll be your fault."
Rachel let out one last shuddering breath before getting herself mostly under control. "Don't hurt him." She pleaded.
"Go walk with Angeni." She snapped. "Your brother is going to walk with me. You behave and I might give him back."
I didn't get a chance to see if Rachel was doing what she was told. Lilith pulled me alongside her, her strong fingers digging into my bicep. I resisted the urge to try and pull away. I was frightened she might do something to Rachel if I started to put up a fight. "You'll stay here." She said, opening a door and pushing me inside.
"Wait, what about-" A heavy wooden door slammed in my face. "Rachel?" I finished lamely. I tried the lock but it didn't budge. No real surprise there. The room was pitch back without even a window to light my way. I fumbled for a switch, starting to panic as I imagined the walls closing in on me. My hands pressed against something protruding the wall and I let out a ragged sigh of relief when a light clicked on.
It really was a tiny space. White washed walls with a grey coloured concrete floor. A single bed took priority in the middle of the room with a tiny sink and toilet in the far right corner. It was worrying that had an actual cell in their home. How many people had they held in here? I started to shiver. I could only imagine what Rachel was going through. I hoped they had put her somewhere better and I'd just drawn the short straw.
I took off my shoes and gently sat on the bed. With nothing else to do I lay down and stared at the single light. It was a long time before I finally fell asleep.
*********
When our dad left us he promised he'd be right back. Literally swore to us that he'd come for us as soon as he could. I should have known better when he dropped us off at a motel with enough money to pay for a month's food and board. If he was going to be right back why did he do that? Why not leave us a couple of bucks for lunch at some random cafe?
Rachel had been frantic and I wasn't really much better. I kept us both indoors the entire time, only leaving to get food and drink. It did us both harm being kept indoors like that, our kind weren't supposed to spend too much times indoors. We'd survived it by telling ourselves that it was just temporary. Our dad would come back for us, he always did.
It was about three weeks in that I realised he wasn't coming back. I had no idea what happened to him. Numerous scenarios used to run through my mind. He'd been kidnapped by another pack, or maybe even killed. Some government scientists had captured him and he was fighting to get back to us.
Lately I started to think that he had just plain abandoned us. Trying to look after us had likely become too much for him. He must have reasoned that he better chance of surviving if he went on alone.
I looked at my pale hands and wondered why the others coveted our kind so much. I supposed Rachel was beautiful in a quiet sort of way. Her strong features lent her an almost distant countenance that often drew stares. I'd seen many men approach her just to be rebuked by her cold eyes alone. My sister was not a warm person, at least not physically. I knew that I was the same. My face didn't draw people in. No one at the bar ever tried to unload on me. If anything they went out of their way to avoid me. It suited me fine. I just wished the other wolves felt the same way.
What exactly did they want? Breeding us wouldn't make more of the same, not unless they found someone of the same race, which was incredibly unlikely given the rarity of our breed. So were we simply trophies to them? Were they so self absorbed that they would ruin our lives just so they could put their hands up and declare themselves the best collectors?
