“Emmet!” Kadin shouted, lurching forward and snagging his friend from the mud. “Are you ok?” He demanded, his arm wrapped around the man’s waist as he slashed at a slaver that dared try to lurch towards them. Emmet was lucky that he wasn’t any larger than he was, Kadin wasn’t a particularly large man, but despite being small and slender, he was still strong.
“I’m fine, just focus on getting us out,” Emmet hissed, cradling his chest and trailing his fingers over the nasty dent in his armor. Sweat plastering his copper-colored hair to his face, Kadin nodded, urging his horse to rear back as he tried to gauge their situation.
The slavers easily had thirty men in their control, and though they had made a serious dent in their numbers, the four of them stood no chance of escaping. They had to run, to make a break for it. It might be their only hope.
“Daire! Aislinn! Get out of here!” Kadin roared, wheeling his horse around and urging the frantic beast into a sprint. Breaking through the slaver’s line, he took off down the path with a battle cry, Emmet’s larger form holding onto him from behind.
Diving around the corner at a breakneck speed, Kadin swore when the slavers started to tear after him, the sound of howls, snarls, and bestial bellows filling the air in a hellish song.
“Emmet you need to fly,” He growled back at the man over his shoulder, earning a startled look from his friend.
“You can’t be serious! I’m not leaving you!” Emmet snapped, his grip tightening when Kadin’s horse lurched over a log blocking the pathway.
“Damn it, Emmet, if we both get captured what is that going to fix?” He demanded, “We both know that I’m not getting out of here, so go!” He roared, looking over his shoulder and grimacing when he saw the men tearing down the path behind him.
“I’d rather us both get captured! I don’t want to…” Emmet cut off with a curse when Kadin glared at him, lowering his gaze with a shudder. “Damn it. Don’t you dare get yourself killed! I will come find you!” he declared, swinging around Kadin until he was on the back of the frantic horse.
With a rush of wind, Emmet disappeared into a blur of blue-grey feathers. Shooting up into the air like an arrow loosed from a bow, a Peregrine Falcon tore through the air with a snap of powerful wings.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kadin spotted a pair of the slavers attempted to follow after his friend, a crow and a sea eagle tore through the air after the falcon. Neither would have the speed necessary to catch up with Emmet. Relieved, Kadin turned his attention onto the dwindling path in front of him.
There was still a chance that he could escape as well, but his attempt would have to be well timed. Kicking the horse into a canter, he drove it around a final corner, and just before the slavers could turn the corner, dove off of his horse. His body shifted as he went, tiny black paws hitting the ground running as a red fox disappeared into the trees.
It was mere seconds after he started tearing through the trees that he heard the sound of something tearing through the trees after him. He barely had time to look over his shoulder before a warm body slammed into his own with a hiss.
Powerful jaws locking onto the scruff of his neck, he let out a pained yip as he jerked backward painfully. The beast holding him, a cheetah if the brief glimpse he caught was correct, snarled as a few other slavers approached.
Kadin couldn’t do much more than surrender, his body shifting back to normal slowly. Cursing when his hands were bound, he let out a yelp when he was thrown bodily into the back of the cages that the slavers were hauling.
“You put up quite the struggle, but you weren’t a match for my men,” A distinctly feminine voice laughed, one of the slavers removed their helmet to reveal a cascade of ebony hair falling around her shoulders. A pair of steel grey eyes stared back at Kadin through the bars as she reached through to ruffle his sweaty auburn locks. “Luckily you’re pretty enough to get a pretty penny for.” She grinned, waving the rest of her men off. “Let’s get to the capital, boys! I can already smell the gold waiting for us!”
The group of burly men let out a roar of approval, following behind the woman as she took off down the road.
The woman who ran the gang was called Lilja. According to the man sent to guard him at night, she was the Crimson Queen of the slaver’s guild in the capital. She was more powerful than most nobles, and at only thirty years old, controlled a network of hundreds of slave traders who all reported back to her.
She was cruel, motivated, and kept the men and women in her guild firmly under her control. She was quick to use a whip, not only on misbehaving captives but on her own men as well. She spoke with a silver tongue and had on more than one occasion taken slaves to her tent for entertainment. She was dangerous, and not afraid to kill those who disobeyed her. Kadin didn’t think he’d ever been more afraid of a person than he was of the Crimson Queen and she was the one holding the key to his freedom.
“Keep an eye on our little pets. We’re almost inside the city and I don’t want any of the little shits to think that they’re going to get a chance to escape once they’re inside the city.” Lilja hummed, patting one of the other captives on the cheek sharply before moving up to the front of the line, leaving her captives to cower in their cages.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Kadin whispered, reaching up to pull at the slender silver collar that one of Lilja’s men had attached to his neck shortly after his capture. “How the hell do we get these off?”
“You don’t,” A burly beast of a man growled beside him, tapping at the silver ring around his own neck. “This thing is meant to keep ya from changing shape and escaping in the night. Lilja has the keys hangin’ from her belt. Unless you can snag it off her without losin’ a finger you ain’t getting out.”
Swearing, Kadin slumped against the steel bars confining them and looked up towards the encroaching walls of the city. He had never been to the capital. It was hard enough to get to the next town over, the idea of traveling to the city was suicide for everyone save the very rich who could afford their own security.
“My name’s Kadin, by the way,” Kadin explained softly, glancing over at the burly man again. “How did they capture you, friend?” Kadin asked, glancing over at his cellmate and earning a soft laugh from the man.
“Name’s Pol,” The man grunted, leaning back against the icy bars with a glare. “I got caught the same way they catch most their slaves. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” The man explained, leaning back against the bars and glaring when they rolled past the massive city gates.
Kadin looked sympathetically over at the man, flinching when he saw the sheer number of people moving through the streets around them. He had never seen so many people before in his life. Men, women, and children wandered past them, their voices mingling together into a dull roar.
The building that they approached was one of the largest in the area. The massive stone building moved up towards the sky, standing almost as high as the imposing walls that surrounded the capital city. Inside, the screams, moans, and wails of captured people filled the air. A thick coating of grime covering everything that Kadin could see. Mud, blood, and other liquids that he didn’t want to identify ran through the street just in front, creating a stream of horror like nothing he’d ever seen.
“Get out, stand in line,” One of the guards growled once they rolled to a stop. Snagging onto Kadin’s collar, he hauled him forward, his eyes filled with amusement when Kadin stumbled and landed on his knees. “Clumsy little brat.” He rumbled, smacking the back of Kadin’s head before turning to force the rest of the slaves out of their cages.
“Everyone line up!” Lilja barked, slapping one woman on the cheek when she tried to lurch back. “Try to look your best! Some of you might wind up bed warmers instead of laborers, and that’s a much easier life!” She smirked, waving a few men and women wearing regal looking clothes forward. “These are the best that we’ve found, strong, beautiful, and healthy. The best of the best.” She explained, grabbing onto a sobbin
g woman’s cheek and forcing her to look up at the men.
The auction block that they were forced to stand on let the nobles stream around them like ants. The cruel humans studying each of them slowly, they poked, prodded, and pinched every inch of skin they could get their hands on. Kadin felt fury boiling up in his stomach each time another slave was pulled forward and manhandled like a sack of flower. He couldn’t just stand by and watch this happen.
Kadin felt a shudder of rage roll through him when the woman let out a terrified sob. Gritting his teeth together, he struggled to break free from the bindings around his wrist. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do when he got his hands free, he wasn’t able to shape change with the collar on, and he wasn’t going to get far with all the guards around him, but he could at least try. He would rather die free than live as a slave.
One of the rich women was starting to make her way down the line, her eyes moving over the bodies of the men standing in line. When her gaze landed on Kadin, he allowed a glare to form on his face his hands straining behind him as he finally managed to slide his thumbs out of the ropes.
“What strange hair color,” The woman mused, lifting up a strand of Kadin’s copper hair and studying it slowly. “I’ve never seen hair this color before, it’s very beautiful.” She hummed, glancing over at Lilja and smiling. “How much do you want for a pretty little omega thing like this?” She asked.
“That one has experience as a fighter, and is quite healthy if you’re hoping to use him for breeding, but since you’re such a good customer I think I can manage a discount,” The Crimson Queen hummed, moving up towards them and patting Kadin on the cheeks. “How does fifty gold coins sound?”
Kadin had never even seen fifty gold coins in one place, and he didn’t like the way that the woman was eyeing him at all. Even if he were straight, he doubted that he’d want anything to do with whatever this noblewoman had planned for him.
He wasn’t going to stick around and find out, that was for sure. Just as the woman reached for her purse, Kadin was able to get his hands free. Snarling furiously, he lunged forward before Lilja or the noblewoman could react. Snagging onto the keys hanging from the woman’s belt, he rolled out of her grasp and started to fumble with the keys in a desperate attempt to find the one for the ring around his neck.
The small silver key was easy enough to find, but before he could unlock it he heard a bloodcurdling snarl fill the air. A massive wolf with ebony fur crashed into him with enough force to send him crashing back to the ground.
The keys slid out of his grasp, landing on the ground with a clatter as he desperately fought to kick the wolf off him. Yelping in pain when powerful jaws sank into his shoulder, he let out a scream as he was viciously thrown to the side.
Gasping and panting, he clutched at his wounded shoulder desperately looking up as a familiar pair of icy blue eyes stared back at him.
Lilja growled as she let her lip curl back over her fangs, slowly changing back to normal as she loomed over Kadin. Blood dripping from her lips, she grabbed onto him by the hair and lifted him up.
“You idiot,” She growled, throwing him back and gracefully moving forward. “I should kill you right here. Make you an example for the others.” She hissed murderously, sliding a knife from the belt at her side.
His heart pounding in his chest, Kadin attempted to crawl backward, blood pooling over his fingertips while the menacing woman moved closer, the icy steel of her blade glinting in the fading sun.
At least he would die a free man.
Closing his eyes to brace for the pain of the blade, Kadin silently prayed that his death would at least be painless.
The pain never came.
Instead, the sound of Lilja letting out a pained roar filled the air, and suddenly Kadin was being shoved backward.
Yelping in confusion, Kadin’s eyes flew open, and he found himself watching a massive jaguar easily toss Lilja to the side with its powerful jaws. Before Kadin could so much as blink, the jaguar turned and transformed into a massive masked man. In an instant, he was being lifted up into the man’s powerful arms. Held against the larger man’s chest, he realized quickly that the man was carrying him away from a sudden explosion of violence.
Screams of fear and pain were filling the air. People in masks, much like the one his rescuer was wearing, leaped from the rooftops onto the slavers below. His eyes wide, Kadin realized that they were there to save the slaves. Cutting free their bound hands and dragging them away from the confused disorientated slavers.
They were being rescued, but by who?
Kadin wasn’t sure how long that he was being carried through the streets. The man holding him in his arms moved quickly over rooftops and through alleyways with a grace that Kadin had never seen before. He didn’t seem bothered at all by Kadin’s weight and only seemed to slow once the slavers were a good distance away.
His rescuer had yet to say a word to him. His emotions unreadable through the thick cotton of the mask. He wanted to ask why the other was saving him, but at the same time feared that the man would take offense to the question.
Stumbling to a halt suddenly in an alley somewhere deep within the city, the man suddenly settled Kadin on his feet.
“Don’t try to run, we’re going to get that necklace off you,” The man muttered, his low powerful voice muffled by the fabric over his face.
“I don’t think I can run,” Kadin grumbled, his hand still pressed against his wounded shoulder. The Crimson Queen had nearly ripped his arm off with the force of her bite, he doubted that he would get very far before bleeding out.
“We’ll tend to that as well, don’t worry,” The man explained, moving up to one of the doors lining the back alley and producing a key from his breast pocket. Opening the door, he slid inside, gesturing for Kadin to follow him.
Nervous, but not really seeing any other options, Kadin followed slowly after his rescuer. The man was silent as they moved through a hallway and down a flight of stairs into what appeared to be a basement upon first glance. After a few moments, though, he pressed one of the stones just above a desk. Slowly, a stone door swung open, revealing a massive room waiting beyond.
“We’re safe in here, Lilja has never been able to find this place,” The man explained, leading Kadin inside and closing the door behind him. “Sorry for being so secretive, but freeing slaves like this is a dangerous game.” He continued, reaching up and pulling his hood off of his head and finally revealing the face of Kadin’s rescuer.
Just like that, Kadin felt his heart stop.
The man in front of him was gorgeous. Like something straight out of a painting, the man’s gold hair and piercing yellow eyes accented a tan face and strong features. He had known that the man was an alpha before, but being able to see his features, and catch the full intensity of the other’s scent left Kadin’s knees shaking below him.
“My name is Prince Adrian Silveria, and I am the leader of an organization whose goal it is to put an end to slavery in this country,” His rescuer explained, moving forward and lifting up Kadin’s hand gently. “Come here, let me see if I can patch up your shoulder before the other’s get home.” He insisted, leading Kadin down a hallway and into a small bedroom.
Prince?
Kadin couldn’t quite comprehend everything that the man was saying. His head was spinning from exhaustion and blood loss. Still, he recognized the man’s name almost instantly. Adrian Silveria was the crown prince of Colmeon, someone that Kadin would expect should be in the castle instead of lurking in the worst part of the city saving slaves.
“I-I don’t understand,” Kadin stuttered, looking up at the man and flinching when the alpha gently helped him out of his shirt. Unconsciously, he felt himself press back against Adrian’s touch, his entire body relaxing when the man started to clean up his wound.
“What don’t you understand, beautiful?” Adrian smiled, chuckling when Kadin let out a strangled noise and looked away with a dark blush on his freckl
ed cheeks. There was no way that this was real.
“Y-you’re the prince! Why are you doing all this? Your father is one of the biggest supporters of slavery in the government!” Kadin protested, letting out a hiss when the other gently started to stitch one of the particularly jagged wounds on his shoulder.
Adrian let out a soft sigh at this, finishing off the stitches and cutting the thread as he took a moment to think about how to respond to the other’s question. Gently cleaning away, the blood on Kadin’s arm, he glanced up at him with soft amber eyes.
“I grew up watching people mistreat slaves who were the kindest people I know,” Adrian explained, winding a bandage around Kadin’s shoulder slowly. “I saw my father deal with people like that witch, Lilja, and I realized that I was inheriting a kingdom built with blood. I knew there was very little that I could do as the prince without losing my inheritance, so instead I started this group to save as many slaves as I could until I could inherit my father’s kingdom and stop the practice completely.”
Kadin listened to the other with a soft smile on his lips. The determination to do good that was apparent on Adrian’s face was enough to make him smile. He had only just met the prince, and already he could feel his heart flutter in his chest at the kindness in his eyes. The man was beautiful, kind, and perhaps it was the blood loss talking, but his scent was incredibly arousing.
Looking up at the other, Kadin opened his mouth to speak only to cut himself off when the door to the secret rooms swung open. Kadin was ready to run, but when Adrian simply placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, he slowly relaxed.
Watching as the prince moved to his feet, he followed behind him slowly. Peering out into the hall, he was relieved to see two men and a woman in the same masks as Adrian standing with a few of the slaves he had been traveling with.
“How many were we able to save?” Adrian asked, placing his hand on Kadin’s good shoulder reassuringly and eyeing the group of exhausted looking freed slaves.
Omega Wanted: Bad Boy Mpreg Romance Page 5