Bariloche Sector by Lexi C. Foss
Kari
Scandinavian Air Space
Reality jarred me back to life with a crackle and pop inside my ears. My inner animal stirred in confusion, the air around us foreign and reeking of fish.
Where am I?
Wind roared outside the tin can walls, barely drowning out the two male voices nearby.
Am I alive?
Something soft and warm encircled my shoulders, but I was strapped down with a belt buckle across my hips.
An Alpha said something before glancing back at me with dark, lethal eyes. I blinked at him, not having caught whatever he’d said. Satisfaction glimmered in his expression as he refocused on his blond-haired companion.
They were seated in two executive-style chairs, surrounded by electronics and gadgets. A sprawling window of sky sat before them, the starry night highlighted by the moon overhead.
Flying, I finally determined. We’re flying.
I’d just taken my first plane ride recently, having been transported from Bariloche Sector to Winter Sector. The Alpha of Bariloche Sector had forced me to turn into a wolf before locking me inside a cage and leaving me in a cargo hold for what had felt like days.
These Alphas had instead wrapped me in a blanket… and strapped me into a chair similar to their own.
I studied them, wondering where they intended to take me.
They were alike in stature and size, their dominance a palpable air around them that confirmed these two had been the ones I’d feared in my cage.
But from what I could tell, they hadn’t really touched me yet. Only removed the sensors, swathed me in soft fabric, and buckled me into a chair. My arms and wrists were free, as were my legs. And the belt at my hip wasn’t locked, just a snap I could easily undo myself.
I frowned. What’s going on?
I peered out the window beside me, noting the dark sky. There weren’t any answers lurking beyond the glass.
My nose twitched as I searched out the scents, noting the fishy stench and metallic undertones.
I scanned the space for a moment, sensing someone else back here with me. Someone familiar.
Snow.
Enrique’s betrothed.
Her scent radiated from the cargo area near the back of the plane. Did they have her locked up in a box or something? Similar to how I’d been taken to Winter Sector?
My frown deepened. Why would they take Snow? She was a Beta princess and therefore revered. Did they intend to hold her for ransom?
Or maybe she wasn’t here at all and her scent was just in my head.
I’d only met the female in passing when Alpha Vanessa had flaunted me as a gift for Alpha Enrique. The Beta princess hadn’t reacted, but I imagined she wasn’t thrilled by the idea of her betrothed receiving an Omega as a present. My existence could only be used for one purpose—satisfaction. Because Betas couldn’t take the Alpha knot. At least not without risk.
Minutes passed by in silence as the two Alphas at the front of the plane relaxed.
I waited for one of them to make a move, knowing full well they wouldn’t just keep me in this small area and not use me to their hearts’ content.
But those minutes lengthened until the plane began to descend through the sky.
It was still dark, indicating we hadn’t gone very far or for very long. Maybe an hour flight in total? I couldn’t really say, nor did I care. I was more interested in where we were going. The ocean took up the view from one side of the plane as we landed. A small village area appeared on the other side, with modernized buildings in the distance.
Lots of snow, just like Winter Sector.
Norse Sector, I guessed, aware of the various X-Clan sectors throughout the world. My mother had taught them to me as a young girl, telling me where to go should I ever escape Bariloche Sector. Norse Sector had been on her list, but who knew if I could trust that old information? I also didn’t even know if I’d estimated my location correctly.
The two Alphas spoke to each other in low tones, their words vibrating through the small space.
I tried not to listen to them, preferring my thoughts to their debate. But it was hard not to pick up on the nuance of their conversation. Me. The blond wanted to know if the dark-haired one intended to fight him for me.
“You wouldn’t win,” the dark-haired one said flatly.
“I know,” the other replied without missing a beat, surprising me. Alphas rarely conceded so easily. And looking between them, I wasn’t so sure either of them was right. They seemed pretty evenly matched to me.
“So why are you challenging me?” the one with lethal black eyes demanded.
“I’m not. I just want to know if I need to prepare to issue the challenge.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
The blond merely stared the other male down. “Answer me, Kazek. Are you going to fight me for her?”
Testosterone radiated around the plane, calling to my inner wolf. She longed to submit and fulfill the ache between my thighs. The sensors had left me unsatisfied. But at least they weren’t still buzzing all over my body.
“You always were a cocky son of a bitch,” the one called Kazek muttered.
The other Alpha didn’t reply, just continued to stare at him.
“Shit, you’ve got it bad, man. You don’t even know the girl.” Alpha Kazek paused. “Your funeral, Mickelson. I won’t challenge you for her. However, others likely will.”
Mickelson, I repeated to myself, recognizing the last name. Alpha Ludvig Mickelson of Norse Sector. He’d definitely been on my mother’s list as an Alpha worth trusting.
But in my experience, there were no Alphas worth trusting. Not in this new world, or in my life.
The two males continued talking, but I stopped listening, instead thinking of my mother and sister.
The former had died over a decade ago at my father’s hands. She’d refused to satisfy one of his generals. And she’d paid the ultimate price… after my father had made her watch his generals play with my already broken sister.
My jaw clenched at the memory, my heart aching with the loss.
She’s in a better place, I reminded myself, the mantra one I’d repeated several times over the years. She’s not hurting anymore.
“Do you want the girl or not?” Alpha Kazek snapped, his tone sending a tremor down my spine. Angry Alphas always unnerved me. When their tempers flared, I usually paid the price in the form of physical brutality.
“She’s mine,” Alpha Mickelson replied, his tone stirring another shiver within me.
Strong wolf. Dominant male. Worthy mate.My inner animal practically purred in expectation. But the human part of me knew better than to evaluate him in such a manner.
I would never take a mate.
That wasn’t my purpose in this world.
Alpha Kazek snarled something before finishing with, “You want her, then you fight the Alpha of Norse Sector for her. I won’t do it for you.”
His words gave me pause.
Wait… I thought Alpha Mickelson was the Alpha of Norse Sector?
I didn’t have time to fully consider the question because the blond Alpha was already coming for me. My limbs shook with anticipation and fear, knowing what would come next.
His big hand found the buckle at my waist faster than I could blink, and he scooped me right up into his burly arms like I weighed nothing. A soft whine escaped my throat from the contact, my body innately reacting to the pain to come.
He responded with a rumble from his chest, the sound making me flinch. It wasn’t a growl so much as a soft reverberation.
A sound of annoyance, maybe?
Except, no, that wasn’t quite right.
It… it actually felt kind of nice. The hum continued from his chest, stroking over me and my senses and causing my wolf to settle immediately inside me.
I barely even noticed him carrying me off the plane, my mind and animal too focused on the soothing rhythm coming from his chest.
A purr, I thought, wanting to nuzzle into him. He’s… he’s purring.
My mother had told me about this once, had said it was a sound only Alphas could make. She’d been so dreamy when she’d spoken about it, saying it had been one of the few moments she’d ever truly felt at peace.
Savi had mentioned it, too. Her Alpha mate had occasionally purred for her.
But no Alpha had ever purred for me before.
“What’s your name, little wolf?” the Alpha asked with that rumble in his voice.
I swallowed. “Ka-Kari.” It came out on a choke of sound, my voice cracking as though I’d just spent several days screaming.
Maybe I had.
My body wasn’t mine to control. I reacted as instructed, did everything the Alphas told me, all in hopes to gain a few moments of silence alone.
“Kari,” he repeated, his low voice over my name like a sensual caress. “I’m Sven.”
Not Ludvig Mickelson, then. Maybe a brother? Or a son?
“Welcome to Norse Sector,” he continued. “You’ll be safe here.”
Safe?I nearly snorted. I wasn’t safe anywhere.
His purr intensified as though he sensed my doubt, his hold tightening around me as he carried me with ease past the village-style area—which I now suspected was part of the airport—and down a path toward the taller buildings I’d seen from the plane.
Soft light illuminated our path, the snow elegantly shoveled off the sidewalk and into piles beneath giant trees. The vegetation was different from that of my home, not that I’d spent much time outside. I’d only ever shifted into my wolf when an Alpha had demanded it. Sometimes they’d preferred to rut in animal form.
My stomach twisted with the thought, wondering how this Alpha would choose to mount me.
He responded by purring even louder, the vibration soaking into my skin and demanding I relax. It was almost enchanting. And slightly… annoying… because I knew it was all a false method of coaxing me into a more pliant state to fuck me.
“Shh,” he hushed. “I’m not going to hurt you, Kari.”
This time my snort escaped my mouth before I could swallow it.
He paused midstep to peer down at me with a pair of hypnotically blue eyes. His blond hair fell over his forehead, forcing him to shake his head to knock the locks backward. Only, the strand fell over his face once more, giving him an almost boyish appeal.
Except there was nothing boyish about him.
He was all hard masculine lines, chiseled jaw, and perfect cheekbones. Beautiful, really. But most Alphas were. Although, this one had a hint of wolf to him, too. I could see his animal staring out at me, assessing my appearance and appropriateness as a mate.
His inner beast would soon scoff at the notion, realizing I was too broken to ever accept his knot indefinitely.
I couldn’t provide him with an heir. I couldn’t even go into estrus.
“When I say something, I mean it,” he said, capturing my gaze. “I will not hurt you, Kari. I vow it.”
I knew better than to believe him. So I just looked away. He could try the honorable card all he wanted. He could even pretend to be nice to me. I’d enjoy it for what it was—a distraction until the real him came out to play.
“All right,” he murmured. “I’ll prove it with actions, then.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that.
However, his rumbling purr distracted me from trying to figure it out.
He resumed his pace, and I rested against his chest, absorbing the sound and wondering if it would follow me into my dreams later. I could use a peaceful night of sleep. Perhaps he would rumble for me after he fucked me tonight.
I closed my eyes, allowing myself to be lulled for a few seconds more.
If anything, I would use this memory to survive whatever lay ahead.
Because I’d seen this Alpha in action; I knew violence and murder lurked within his soul. It was only a matter of time before he used me as an outlet.
After all, that was my purpose in this life. Why would he be any different?
