Auctioned Mates Revenge
Chapter 18

After I finished breakfast, I returned to my room to change. My phone died overnight. As I plugged it up and turned it on, Matt's message appeared in my notifications.

He'd left early that morning to handle some business and warned me about the maid he'd left to look after me, telling me to ask her for anything I needed.

I was glad to hear that he would be out for the day. I needed time away from him to think and plan.

I hummed and considered what to say to reply. I needed to figure out how long he'd be gone. You missed my gourmet breakfast.

It seemed a bit too playful, but I knew most men liked that sort of thing. I expected a reply within a few minutes, but Matt said nothing. It was possible that he had nothing to say or didn't like to text, but something told me that wasn't the case. I scrolled through my messages until I found my thread with Armand. Are you with Matt?

As expected, he replied quickly, Yes. Do you need anything?

No, he just didn't reply, so I was wondering if you two were busy. What are you two up to?

A takeover.

I flinched at the message. What sort of takeover? Was there another pack that was going to fall the way Fluorite did? Was he out with Armand and his father planning the fall of Fluorite or at the table when his father planned it with Jay?

I wanted to ask a bunch of questions, but it would have been too obvious, so I played it easy.

What does that mean?

Boring meetings, paperwork, and more work. And three-piece suits.

That sounded more like a company takeover than a pack takeover.

Like buying out a company?

Exactly that. You'd think it would be a simple sale, but there's so much other stuff to be done. I'm bored to tears and we just got here. T.T

I chuckled at that, If it works out, will there be another party? I didn't get a chance to speak to any of his or your friends.

He sent a grinning emoji, So you're a party animal too? I knew we had something in common!

I'm just trying to fit in as much as possible. You don't mind teaching me the ropes, right?

He sent a thumbs up, Count on me. You'll be swilling champagne with the most prissy of socialites in no time!

I sat back and considered it. At the least, I'd made it clear that I planned to be more active at future parties. With Armand's enthusiasm about getting me up to speed on being a socialite, there would probably be more parties if Matt was telling the truth about most of the attendees being Armand's friends.

So long as Jay's son came and I got a chance to speak to him, everything would be worth it.

I was hoping to manage another party this weekend.

That was good. It meant Matt wouldn't be here, so I wouldn't have to worry about being watched by him and I could use whatever means I needed to get close to Jay's son.

I huffed and went searching through old news, careful to use incognito mode and just the cellular network to find information about Fluorite. I found the news coverage on the massacre and an archived version of Fluorite's pack page.

The sight of my parents smiling proudly from the pack's governing photo made my heart ache. I was standing with them as their eldest and heir. Angelia was there. Uncle Jay and his son were there as well, but their names weren't there.

I remembered the day we took this photo and how unorthodox it was to have the entire family in the photo.

For a moment, I wondered if this photo was what made Dan and his sick guards interested in us. We were a beautiful family. Angelia had our Mom's blonde hair and I had our Dad's dark hair, but I took after our mother the most.

Jay grinned at the camera beside my Dad with his son as if they were best of friends. How long had Jay been plotting against us?

What else did he have planned?

My first step to figuring all of that out was to get close to his son. I couldn't remember his son's name, but I exited the page to think about my next steps. I would have to wait to get to Midnight and see Zoe. In the meantime, I needed to start thinking about how to find Angelia.

I don't remember how long we traveled from Dan's dungeon to Midnight, but there had to be some sort of clue in how I arrived at Midnight. It was at least a few hours, but in a good enough van that could be beyond a state line or just far enough. I was so out of it that I couldn't say if it was just a few hours or a few days.

The only place that would know that would be Larry's as I'm sure that they got some sort of paperwork from Heaven when they purchased me. I would have to talk to Trista, but would she tell me?

I gasped and turned to look at the wallet that Matt had left for me. Inside was a debit card and the pin I was supposed to use for it. I didn't know how much was on it, but I knew that it was my best chance.

Trista wouldn't give me anything, but she would answer my questions if I paid her enough.

I got dressed in a gray pullover and sweatpants, tied my hair up, and ordered an Uber. The driver came to my surprise, I thought they would decide that it was too far from the city, but the Uber driver said nothing about the distance. I guess Matt and Armand threw enough parties that required people to call an Uber home so that it wasn't strange for them to come.

I had the driver drop me off down the street from Larry's where an ATM was to check the balance and withdraw some money. The balance was large enough to take out just about any amount. I could pull it all out and probably escape if I wanted, but that wouldn't help me. I pulled out a few hundred dollars and walked towards Larry's, preparing myself to haggle with that greedy woman for all the information she had on me.

When I arrived, the doors were closed. The neon sign was dim as well as if they weren't opening that night. I checked my cell phone for the time and scoffed.

Larry's opened as soon as people tended to get off of work, around three in the afternoon. Something was going on.

I scrolled through my phone until I found Trista's number and called her for the first time since getting the number. It wasn't her direct number, but it was all I had. The phone rang.

"... Cherry, right?"

I glanced towards the voices. There was a small group of men I recognized from the auction, but I didn't acknowledge them as I waited for Trista to answer the phone.

I huffed as it went to voicemail and tried again as one of them drew closer.

"You are Cherry," the man said with a sleazy grin. "I guess it's true that Matt's not much in the sack if you're back here already..."

I ignored him and turned away to order an Uber. Another man cut me off and my heart lurched in my chest as the first man grabbed my arm.

His grip was so strong that I couldn't get free. He pulled me up against him and groaned into my neck, licking it and making my skin crawl.

"How about you come with me, Cherry?"

I tried to push away. Fear filled me when the other man grabbed my other arm and tried to take my phone.

Before I could scream, tires screeched against the pavement, rushing towards us. One jumped away. The other shoved me away as if to use me like a shield. I stumbled away as the car aimed at the man.

He shrieked, stumbling back towards the building. The car came to a screeching halt, pinning him against the building with just enough force to keep him in place.

He cried out in terror, pale and shaking.

The doors lifted and Matt stepped out of the driver's side, marching towards me.

"Leo, you must have a death wish to touch what's mine!"

Matt marched over to me and pulled me towards the car. I was still dazed and slightly confused as to what was happening, and Matt pulled me, who was standing dumbfounded, into the car.

The door came down with a slam and Matt paused before getting into the car. The man, Leo, yelped in terror and pulled himself from between the car and the wall before taking off down the street. Matt closed his door and hissed, "What the hell were you thinking?"