55
Lucy
I followed Yvonne out of the smaller room and looked across the room at the tall, broad man. He was taller than Matt and Tony, broader too. He reminded me of a football player, but he was dressed in combat gear like he was from the army. He didn’t carry a gun, but there was a belt of something slung across his chest that looked like crystals.
He also looked really upset.
“’Vonne, what the hell?” His voice was gruff.
I frowned and tilted my head at the name. Yvonne tutted.
“You’re going to make a bad impression on the little one. Put the dragon away. This is Lucy.”
He looked at me. For a moment, he seemed frozen. His eyes softened even as he set his jaw.
“You’re practically a baby.”
My face heated, and I ducked my head. Yvonne laughed. He gestured to the couch and let Yvonne and I sit before he took a seat.
“The two furry idiots are upstairs getting their wounds stitched as you’ve refused to give them silver antidotes?” He cocked an eyebrow.
Yvonne picked her nails. “Morri’ cursed my dagger. Silver antidote would only make it worse.”
He groaned. “What am I going to do with you two?”
He turned his gaze on me. “Hello, Lucy. Officially, I’m the Blue Moon Liaison to the Supernatural Concealment Forces, but call me Dagon.”
He offered me his hand. “My apologies for not meeting you sooner.”
I swallowed. “Were we supposed to meet?”
His lips twitched as I took his hand timidly. He shook it gently and pulled back his hand.
“Under the circumstances of how you got here, yes. Much earlier than now. I trust Dr. Bluescale has been taking care of you?”
I frowned. “Bluescale…” I looked at Yvonne, who smiled brilliantly before looking at him. “Are you two…married?”
Dagon pulled a face, and Yvonne cackled.
“You didn’t tell her?”
“I have to get my kicks somewhere,” Yvonne said. “Seeing you make that face is the highlight of my day.”
He glowered at her. “No, Lucy. This troublesome woman is one of my elder sisters.”
“I’m… sorry.”
He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. It entertains her and Morrigan, her twin, more than anyone can say.”
I looked between them. “I… always wondered what it would be like to have siblings.”
“Lovely,” he said. “When they’re decent. Otherwise, it’s a pain in the ass.”
He pulled out a large clear rectangle that looked like it was made of glass before an image appeared above it like a hologram.
“I’m officially here to talk to you about your… integration into the supernatural community,” he said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“As I was told,” his eyebrow twitched. “You are the mate of the Alphas of the Blue Moon Pack. And as I told them, that anything you say to me will remain between us no matter how they gripe about it.”
I sank in relief. “Okay.”
His eyes narrowed. “Are you afraid of them?”
I looked down. “I… I’m not sure. I’m… I just feel like they have a lot of… investment in me, but they don’t really see me as a person.”
He took a note. “How did you get here, Lucy?”
“They bought me from an auction.”
He took another note. “Have you been able to leave on your own since you’ve been here?”
“I… haven’t tried,” I said. “So, I don’t know.”
“Do you feel like you could have?”
I bit my lip and shook my head.
“Imagine if you tried. What do you think would happen?”
“One of them would want to come with me,” I said. “They’d probably take me to the mall.”
“To do what?”
“To buy me things.”
He took another note.
“Have you shifted before?”
I nodded. “Just once… when they took me outside the last full moon.”
“Can you describe what happened?”
I frowned and shrugged. “They made me try a few times before. I only managed to do it on the full moon. It just… happened.” I shuddered. “I almost killed something, I think.”
He nodded. “That was the first and last time you shifted.”
I nodded. He took another note. The more questions he asked, the more I thought of Tina. My stomach churned nervously.
“C-Could I ask what you’re writing?”
“A report,” he said. “Do you remember anything about the men who sold you? Not your adoptive parents, but the people who took you from the house.”
“They were wearing crests on their ties. I recognized it from a coworker. A group that’s known for having agreements with towns, but I don’t know much more than that.”
He turned the glass sheet toward me. “Any of these look familiar?”
I scanned over the crests before I picked the one that the men had been wearing. Yvonne let out a low hiss.
“Just when I thought they couldn’t get any dumber,” Yvonne said.
“Never said werewolves were the brightest,” Dagon said. “They have to keep themselves standing somehow.”
“Is the crest important?”
“The SCF, in addition to keeping the supernatural world hidden from humanity, has long since stated that human auctions like the one you were sold at are prohibited. The crest belongs to a group of supernaturals who specialize in trafficking humans into the supernatural world… especially to the werewolf community.”
“Why would…” I frowned and looked at Yvonne. “Is it… because that’s the easiest way to increase werewolf numbers?”
He smiled. “If you ever want a job as an investigator, ring me up, and I’ll put in a good word for you.”
I swallowed. “What… were they doing there?”
“The same thing everyone else was,” Dagon said. “Preying on innocent people. It’s not that people don’t cross the border between the two worlds. It’s just highly regulated. Most people who end up in auctions like that end up… dead or worse.”
My stomach turned as I remembered what that woman said.
“You look haunted,” he said. “What is it?”
“The clerk… when they were taking me from the building said something about the price only being for something. I didn’t get to hear what else she was going to say.”
“The night,” he said. “More than likely… I can only hope that they have at least treated you well since then?”
I lifted a shoulder. “I eat and sleep regularly. I’m bored most of the time. They… want a lot of sex, but it’s okay now that Yvonne gave me that potion.”
Smoke billowed out of Dagon’s nostrils, and scales rippled across his neck. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before calming himself.
“How old are you, Lucy?”
“Eighteen… I just turned eighteen a little while ago.” I frowned. “I’m not even sure how long ago.”
“You’ve had no way to check the time?”
“I do, but the phone they gave me didn’t have a calendar or anything,” I shrugged. “I… actually don’t know how to use a smartphone at all.”
Dagon paused before taking a few more notes. “That would explain some things. I’ll make a note of it.”
I fiddled with my thumbs. “So… what happens next?”
He grinned. It felt vicious. “Now, I lay down the law in accordance with your wishes. Due to a bunch of backward ass laws still on the books with the Supernatural Council, I cannot forcibly take you from the premises. I’m sure they have… a bill of sale and all that bullshit. They’ll get little more than a slap on the wrists for fucked up reasons, but I can force them to treat you better.”
I swallowed. “Better, like how?”
“Well, Lucy, that all depends on what’s making you unhappy. On top of making sure you know how to use a phone and other devices. Officially, you’re a trafficked person in the care of the Blue Moon Pack.”
“They… keep calling me luna.”
He snorted. “You’re not even old enough for that, even if you wanted it…. Do you want it?”
I shook my head.
“What do you want?”
I looked at him. “I… I wanted to be free of my adoptive parents, but I hadn’t really thought beyond that.”
He nodded. “Then, it’s time to start thinking about it.”
He took another note. “Now, I was also told that you’ve gone through a mating ceremony?”
I nodded. He eyed my neck. “The marks… seem to be staying.”
I shook my head. “T-They keep biting me.”
He shook his head and took another note. “Sometimes, I really fucking hate my job.”
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