Chapter Forty-Three: Briar

“Briar. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”

Briar felt the blood rise into her cheeks at the dragon shifter’s words. She wished that Caelan had been able to come with her into the room with his cousin, but Brielle had explained that her meeting with Mr. Rose would be private. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Rose.”

“The pleasure is all mine. And please, Briar, call me Hudson.” Hudson Rose, the head of the Dragon Shifter clan that dominated North America, was younger than Briar had imagined he would be in the moments before she met him. His office was enormous and ornate, with a huge polished desk sitting between them, and giant floor to ceiling windows giving them a view of the Las Vegas Strip far below.

Brielle had walked her to the door, giving the blonde beauty sitting at the desk outside the office doors a scathing look that surprised Briar, before knocking and ushering her quickly inside. Briar had been so overwhelmed by her surroundings that she’d hardly heard the low, quick words that the other She-Wolf had whispered to Mr. Rose, but as she turned back, away from the windows she’d noticed that he’d been frowning as Brielle turned and hurried from the room without saying another word to her.

“Now, Brielle told me that she explained what a contract with our company, working out of The Dragon’s Lair entails.” Briar felt the dragon shifter’s dark eyes on her as he spoke and a chill climbed up her spine.

“Yes, Sir, she did.” He had told her to call him by his first name, but Briar couldn’t bring herself to do it. Still, she noticed his face light up, when she called him Sir, his eyes even flickering for a moment, the way Caelan’s had when they’d turned orange and bright back in the hotel room, before he’d told her what he was.

“And you feel up for the job? You think you can cut it here, working with the best of the best? My girls serve distinguished guests, who often travel to the city for the very purpose of visiting our establishment. Our auctions are broadcast all over the world.”

“I can do it.” Briar’s tongue darted out, licking her lips, and Hudson’s smile widened.

“I like your confidence. But you need to understand. Once you sign this contract, there’s no getting out of it. It’s binding. Legally and magically. You need to be certain.”

“I am. At least I think I am.” Briar watched as Hudson’s smile vanished, his eyes turning serious for the first time since she’d walked into his office. She rushed on before he could open his mouth to speak. “I just wanted to ask for one addendum to the contract.”

Now the dragon shifter’s face relaxed and Briar thought he looked marginally curious. She was surprised that a man as powerful as he was let his emotions show so clearly on his face. Or maybe he was only letting her see what he wanted her to see. It didn’t really matter either way. She rushed on, trying to get the words out before she lost her courage.

“I will only do this if I have a guarantee that you will get my mother and sister out of their current pack and into another pack where they won’t be Omegas. I have no problem paying for their living expenses. I fully expect to do that anyways. That’s part of why I’m here, taking this job. But I know I can’t get them out of that pack into another one and I don’t want my sister growing up and going through what I went through.” Briar’s hands began to tremble, so she shoved them under her legs, hoping Hudson hadn’t noticed.

“That is a very unusual request, Briar.” Hudson stood up and walked across the room to stare out at the buildings and the people below, turning his back to her. Briar couldn’t help but admire how tall and muscular he was, just like every other dragon shifter she had seen since she’d arrived in Rose Industries buildings. And of course he was handsome. Most shifters were.

“I know it is, Sir.” She said the words quietly, folding her hands and placing them in her lap as she waited for his response.

“You might not understand how difficult it is, even for someone like me to remove a pack member from a Wolfpack. It isn’t an easy task.”

“Oh.” Briar’s brow wrinkled as she looked up at Hudson. He’d turned back around to face her, his hands shoved into his pockets. “I thought-” her voice trailed off and she shook her head. “Nevermind. I guess that doesn’t matter. If you can’t do it-” she started to move to get up but he moved quickly across the room, the movement startling her so much that she sat back in her chair.

“I didn’t say that I couldn’t do it, Briar. Only that it was difficult. It would take time and effort. And time is expensive around here. I would need to make sure that it was absolutely worth it for me to make that effort.” He sat down in front of her, on the edge of his desk, and she suddenly felt very small.

She nodded, the chill she’d felt earlier was back, only it seemed to be creeping through her entire body now as she sat in front of him, waiting to hear what else he decided to share with her. She wasn’t sure what she would do if he said no. The amount of money that Brielle had indicated that she could make would go a long way towards helping her mother and sister, and towards setting her up for a new life. But she really desperately wanted to make sure that her sister didn’t grow up the same way she had and the only way to guarantee that was to set her free of that pack.

“How about we make a deal between the two of us?” Briar frowned as she nodded, waiting for him to go on and when she didn’t speak, Hudson continued. “You’re a beautiful girl, Briar. If I didn’t know just how much money I was going to make, I’d bend you over my desk and take you here and now and let you make it worth my while right this very moment. But the truth is, you are going to make both of us a lot of money, Princess. And I can wait. For a little while.”

“I’m going to set your auction for tomorrow night at six o’clock in the evening. The man who takes possession of you will have you for a full 24 hours. Are you going to ask to have any restrictions on roughness put into the contract?”

Briar shook her head, but didn’t make a sound.

“Good Girl. We’ll both make a lot more without any restrictions. Even guys who don’t like to be rough don’t like to be told they can’t be, in my experience. At least that’s true of the guys we get around here. Back to our deal though, Princess. Here’s what I’ll offer you. I will not only have your sister and mother moved, I will pay to have them moved, and even get them put into a nice new home in their new pack. And they definitely won’t be Omegas. At the end of your first month of work here, you can even go visit them for three days. How does that sound?”

“Good.” Briar’s voice was hardly more than a whisper. She felt like she was walking forward into a trap that was about to slam shut behind her. A small voice in her head tried to remind her how dangerous this man was. For all that he was handsome and could obviously be charming, he was well known as one of the most dangerous crime bosses, and one of the most dangerous shifters, on the continent, and probably in the world.

“But you’ve piqued my interest. I want a taste of you for myself. In fact, I want more than a taste. Once a week, let’s make it on Mondays, you will meet with me, either here or at my apartment, or wherever I’ve told you to go, and for that night, you will be mine to do with as I please. This will last for the entire time you work here.” Briar visibly shivered and Hudson laughed.

“Don’t worry, Princess. I promise. I’ll make sure you enjoy yourself during our time together too. You just have to promise me that you won’t fall in love.”

“I don’t think there’s any danger of-” the look he gave her told Briar that she’d said the wrong thing and she slammed her mouth shut, taking a deep breath before she gathered her thoughts to speak again. “I mean, yes Sir. Of course. It will be a business arrangement. Right?”

“Exactly. A pleasurable, pleasing, business arrangement. Now you wait here. I’m going to call my lawyer and my spellcaster and I’ll get the changes to the contract made and then you can sign it and be on your way.” Briar nodded, letting out a slow breath as he turned and went around his desk to make the call.

She had done it. Her sister and mother would no longer be Omegas. She wouldn’t have to worry that they were part of that awful pack. And what had it cost her? Briar wasn’t even sure. She almost felt as if she had lost everything, first running from Theon and then leaving Torin.

She thought that perhaps she should feel some sort of way about the deal she was making with Hudson, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel anything beyond dread that she was getting close to someone who she knew was dangerous. But it was only for a year. And she couldn’t help wondering if it could really be any worse than what she’d already faced so far.