“You’ll find we’re a mixed bunch here,” Shane said brightly as he led Roan into what could only be described as a mansion. “There’s me and Dimitri; then Peter, he’s Dimitri’s brother, and he’s mated to Kalel who’s a little cat shifter. Then there’s Ben, who’s Peter’s friend. All three of them were from the same home pack. He also lives here with his two bear mates, Sin and Gabriel.”
“You’re all mated?” Fuck what was he doing here then? If they’re all true mates, then what use….
“We are.” Shane interrupted his thoughts and Roan stared as they walked into a huge kitchen. “Kalel’s out at the moment and he does the cooking, but he always leaves something extra for us when we’re working shifts. Aha, here it is. Do you like lasagna? I can heat it up for you.” Shane turned, holding a large casserole in his hand and a smile on his face but Roan couldn’t find it in him to smile back. What the heck had he walked into? But he had to say something; Shane would expect him to speak up, wouldn’t he?
“I’m confused,” he said haltingly. “I don’t know what to do…I don’t understand…who will be my Master? Who did my mate sell me to?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Oh shit. Shane wasn’t smiling anymore. Roan forced himself not to flinch. Masters hated it when he did that. But it was hard not to when the casserole hit the countertop with a clang and Shane grabbed his arm and pulled him into the living room.
“Sit,” Shane snapped. Roan looked around and sank to his knees on the floor. There was no way his dirty body was going to be allowed on the furniture. But he was shocked again when Shane dragged him up and pushed him so he was sitting on the couch.
“Sit on the furniture, you won’t hurt it. Now, I’m going to ask you some questions, and I want you to answer honestly,” Shane said. Roan nodded. Wolves could smell a lie, so he didn’t know why the Alpha Mate said something like that.
“Hey babe, is there any food around?” Dimitri walked into the living room, sniffed and immediately scowled. “What’s going on?”
“I’m just about to find out,” Shane said not taking his eyes away from Roan. “I told you, you’re safe here. That hasn’t changed. Now who’s your mate?”
Roan frowned. He thought Shane and Dimitri knew about Mace. “The man back there, at the jail. The one who caught me in the first place. I knew we were mates the moment he got close to me. I assumed he did too. I don’t know why he shoved me in the cell and left me, but when he came back with you, I assumed he’d already decided he didn’t want me and sold me to you guys.”
“Roan,” Dimitri’s voice was gentle, and that was a shock in itself. “Why would you think for a moment that a true mate, and I’m guessing that’s what you’re talking about, would sell you to someone else and not keep you?”
“My mate is human and straight. I know he doesn’t want me even when his cock gets hard and he smells so good. He prefers women. It’s not my place to say what he does with me. I just don’t understand why he sold me to your pack. If you’re all true mated, who am I meant to service?”
“No one,” Shane said, rubbing a hand over his face. “Roan, Mace doesn’t know you two are mates, that much is obvious and we can deal with that tomorrow. He also didn’t sell you. There’s a room here for you, one you don’t have to share with anyone and I’ll take you to it as soon as we’ve finished here. No one will molest you, or force you to do anything you don’t want to here. But this selling business has me concerned. You do know that’s illegal, don’t you?”
“Sure, for humans, betas, alphas and mated gammas,” Roan said. He ticked the different types off in his head as he mentioned them. He was fairly sure he’d got them all. “They all follow human laws regarding slavery. But unmated gammas and all omegas, mated or not are considered property – pack slaves; everyone knows that. My mom told me all about it as soon as she realized I was an omega.”
“Have you been sold before?” Dimitri asked.
Roan nodded. He couldn’t believe that an Alpha like Dimitri didn’t know these things. Mace said Dimitri and Shane were detectives and Shane mentioned the men in the pack all came from somewhere else. “My parents sold me when I was fifteen to my first Master. He was a friend of the Alpha and he didn’t like me very much. He said I was too quiet for his tastes, so he sold me to a guy in another pack after six months.” Roan shivered. “That Master wasn’t very nice, said I was too timid, and he sold me to another man here in Stockton. He wasn’t pack, he was human. But he was good to me and even let me sleep in his bed sometimes.”
“What happened to him?” Shane and Dimitri were holding hands and Roan felt a pang that his own mate didn’t want him that way. Sleeping for that brief time on Mace’s chest was the happiest moment of his life. Roan wished he could’ve stayed with Mace, but clearly if the man preferred women, then someone like him would just be in the way. He wished that thought didn’t hurt his heart as much as it did though.
“What happened to the man you were sold to? Did he sell you again? Did he hurt you? Did you run away?” Shane again. Shit. Roan was always getting into trouble for not paying attention. He forced Mace from his head. Mace had wanted him to do as he was told.
“I would never run away, that’s against the rules. My Master died. He was old. Really old and he had something wrong with him. I used to look after him. I found him dead in his bed when I went in with his breakfast one morning. And then his sister came and kicked me out the house and I didn’t know where to go or what to do….” Roan looked down at his own hands in a panic; there was dirt under his nails! No wonder his mate hadn’t wanted him. He needed access to water so he could clean up.
“I know you’re getting tired, Roan. Just a few more questions and then I’ll show you to your room. There’s a bathroom there as well, so you can clean up.” Had Dimitri read his mind? Roan had heard some Alphas could do that, but he’d always thought it was a myth. Maybe Dimitri had special powers. He nodded to show he was listening.
“Firstly, how old are you?”
“Twenty-five.” Roan knew he looked younger but apparently that was part of his appeal. At least that’s what Seth told him. He was sorry Seth was dead. The man had been good to him.
“And you’ve been sold three times since you were fifteen; by your pack, or by your Masters at the time?”
“My parents the first time, but the Alpha told them to. And then Masters after that. The Alpha doesn’t do the selling himself; he just takes a cut of the money. My dad called it highway robbery, whatever that means.”
“Would your parents take you back, if we got in touch with them?”
Roan looked at Shane, his mouth open. Didn’t this pair know anything? “My parents bred me to sell. I had four brothers and sisters sold before me. My parents are gammas. It’s the only way the Alpha allows them to earn a living. If I go back, they’d sell me again in a shot, but this time it would be really hard on them because I’m too old and no one would want me. That’s why I got sold to Seth, my last Master. I’m too old for the usual guys the Alpha knows.”
“When did you get too old, Roan?” Dimitri was growling and Roan couldn’t help shrinking in on himself. He spoke in a rush, hoping to get this weird conversation over and done with as quick as possible.
“It’s usually eighteen, but I look young so my second master changed my documentation to make it look like I was still fifteen. Seth didn’t care how old I was when I told him the truth, and he said he’d keep me forever. But then his sister came, and she was so mean and she locked me out of the house. I couldn’t get my stuff or anything.” Roan ducked his head again to hide his tears. Seth had been a bully at times, but he was the closest thing to family Roan’d had for a long time and he missed his Master. He missed the routine, being told what to do, knowing that if he worked real hard then every now and then Seth would smile at him. Sure Seth had other boys that used to come and go, but Roan was the only one allowed to live in the house.
“How long have you been on the streets little one.” Shane’s voice was sad, and Roan immediately looked up wondering what was wrong.
“Two years,” he said. “Seth died when I was twenty-three and when I got in touch with my pack they said not to bother coming back. My phone got stolen not long after, and I haven’t been able to find work because I don’t have an address. I’ve been trained to please, so I got by as best I could on the streets.” He was sure he didn’t need to spell that out for the detectives. It wasn’t as though he was ashamed of what he’d had to do; selling sex was what he’d been trained for. The flash of anger on Dimitri’s face was a good indication the men knew what he meant.
“One last thing,” Dimitri said. “Mace told us that you’d been accused of shoplifting. Were you stealing food?”
“I’ve never stolen anything in my life,” Roan sat up straighter than he had since he’d arrived. He had some pride after all. “A man offered me a hot pie if I gave him a quick blow job. I was really hungry because I hadn’t eaten in days. So I did what he wanted and then followed him into the shop. I thought he was going to buy the pie, but he didn’t. As soon as I knew he was stealing I took off because I know that’s wrong. That’s when the shopkeeper yelled at me.” His voice might’ve got a little louder at the end of his spiel, but Roan was tired, he was hungry and he really, really, really wanted his mate. Which isn’t going to happen, he reminded himself. Mace might not have sold him, but he hadn’t wanted him either. That wasn’t likely to change.
“Why don’t you get some sleep,” Shane suggested, standing up and offering Roan his hand. “I’ll show you your room and it has a bathroom attached, just for you. I’ll get you some snacks and water, and see if Kalel has sleep pants that might fit. He’s about your size. We can talk more in the morning.”
Roan wasn’t sure what they had to talk about. He’d been honest, he’d told his story. There were hundreds of other people just like him in the same situation. But the thought of finally being clean and being able to curl up in a bed somewhere and dream of the mate who didn’t want him was too enticing to pass up. He followed Shane down a long hallway, wondering what on earth was going to happen to him next.