The Pack of the Rejects

Chapter :7 The Trader And The Ghost

Thorn Market. Dawn.

The place smelled like wet dirt, iron, and lies.

I pulled my hood lower. The bag Ryder gave me felt heavy against my hip. Inside: money, a dagger, and a note with 3 questions.

Find out who feeds Blackwood.

Who hates Carter.

Who’s scared.

Simple.

The trader’s caravan was already set up. 4 wagons. Blackwood crest on the side.

My stomach twisted.

I forced myself to walk normal. Head down. Shoulders hunched. Like an Omega who knew her place.

"Spices!" a man shouted. "Pelts! Weapons! Come see!"

That was him. The trader.

He was fat, sweating, with greedy eyes. Two guards stood behind him. Both wearing Blackwood colors.

I waited until the crowd was thick. Then I approached.

"Looking for work," I said, voice rough. I’d practiced this with Ryder. "Strong back. Don’t talk much."

The trader looked me up and down. "Omega?"

"Used to be." I kept my eyes down. "Got kicked out. Need coin."

He laughed. "Aren’t you all." He tossed me a crate. "Unload the wagons. 5 silver."

I nodded and got to work.

For 3 hours I listened.

The guards talked while they drank.

"...Carter’s pissed. That Omega got away."

"Which one?"

"The Grey girl. Should’ve killed her on the wedding night."

My hands shook. I dropped a box.

"Clumsy b***h," one guard snapped. "Carter says if anyone sees her, bring her in. Alive. He wants to do it himself."

Bingo.

I kept unloading. Kept my face blank.

Then I heard it. A whisper from the second wagon.

"Please... water."

I glanced over. A girl. Maybe 16. Chained. Blackwood brand on her neck.

Omega. Like me.

The guard saw me looking. "Eyes forward."

I turned back. But my chest was burning.

Carter was still doing it. Still breaking them.

When my shift ended, the trader paid me. 5 silver.

"Come back tomorrow," he said. "Need more hands."

I took the coin and walked away.

Halfway through the market, someone grabbed my arm.

I spun. Dagger out.

It was her. The girl from the wagon. Somehow free. Bruised, bleeding, but free.

"You dropped this," she whispered, pressing the 5 silver back into my hand. "And... thank you. For looking."

Before I could answer, shouts. The guards.

"RUN!" she hissed.

We ran.

Through stalls. Over crates. My heart in my throat.

We ducked into an alley. Pressed against the wall, breathing hard.

"I’m Kira," she panted. "He took me last month. From a small pack."

"I’m..." I almost said Luna. "Ghost."

Kira stared at me. "You fight like you’ve been trained."

Ryder’s voice in my head: `Omegas are underestimated.`

"Come with me," I said. "I know people. People who fight back."

She hesitated. Then nodded.

We made it back to the warehouse just before sunset.

Ryder was waiting. And when he saw Kira, his jaw tightened.

"Another one," he said quietly. "Carter’s getting worse."

I told him everything. The words. The brand. The girl.

Ryder listened. Then he looked at me.

"You did good, Ghost."

For the first time, it didn’t sound like an insult.

That night, Kira slept by the fire with the others. 13 now.

I sat outside. The moon was high.

Ryder came and sat next to me. Didn’t speak for a while.

"The Council is in 6 weeks," he said finally. "We have 2 witnesses now. You, and her."

"What if it’s not enough?" I asked.

"Then we find more." He glanced at me. "You’re not the broken girl I rejected anymore, are you?"

I met his eyes. "No."

"Good." He stood up. "Because tomorrow, we train harder. And in 6 weeks, we end him."

He walked away.

I looked down at the 5 silver in my hand. Kira had given it back.

Not charity. Solidarity.

My wolf stirred. Not scared.

Ready.

2 months had become 6 weeks.

And the Ghost of Blackwood was just getting started.