Chapter Two
“What makes you so sure we’ll find the mutt?” Lucas asked.
The trio scanned the horizon outside of the train car windows, assault rifles held at the ready. A splash of orange sun seeped through the smoke-filled landscape.
They were Ouroboros breeders, high in the ranks. While that granted them immunity to search and seize, it didn’t stop the sour glances from the passengers on the train. They were hated but feared by all.
Lucas relaxed against the grimy chair. “We could be with Cassian right now,” he said. “We could ride away from this unscathed.”
Vash leaned against the bar of the door and bit into a red apple, allowing the acidic juices to linger against his palette. Keeping his head down, he wondered if she even existed. His brother had been the source of so much chaos, but it was hard to imagine he had developed a breeding program worth a damn.
“We’ll find her,” he said, tossing the core on the floor. Squashing it underneath his tactical boots, he added, “And then we will make our case to the new ruler.”
Killian grunted and shook his head. Vash understood neither of the others believed he could win at negotiating a bigger spread of power, especially as the illegitimate child of the family. Their father, a ruthless breeder himself, was the one responsible for finding Vash as a baby in one of the war-torn villages. Saving the child from harm, he was seen as a charitable man. But this world wasn’t fit for saints.
“After we kill him, we will all be equals. Hell, we can leave this continent and find something better,” Vash said.
A better world… was it possible?
The rushing winds invaded the train car as the doors glided open. Stepping outside, Killian grabbed Vash’s shoulder and forced him to pause before the staircase. “And the girl? Is she merely a bargaining chip?”
Vash chuckled. “If the stories are true, she is everything that you’d want in a woman. Curvy thighs. An ass to die for. Ready to spread and fill,” he said.
The men eagerly licked their lips at the thought. Vash hoped he’d not misled them since he had no idea what the bitch looked like or whether the stories his brother told him weren’t simple boasts of dominance.
“Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Does it?” Vash asked as they walked through the station.
“I’m not following your logic,” Lucas replied. “Right now, they’re traumatizing the poor bitch, and our likeness will be all over the reports tomorrow. Everything matters right now.”
Vash laughed arrogantly as he propped the exit open with his shoulder. “All I’m getting at is that you are both wanted in two provinces for acting against the chain of command. How will that shape up now that Cassian’s the big boss?”
The warm air outside stank like a decaying beast. Lucas ran his hands through his slicked jet-black hair. While taking a breath, he then adjusted the sleeves that curled over his darkened forearm of ink. A sharpened, metal toothpick rocked against his lips. “We’re fucking breeders—we do what we can to survive.”
“You’re talking about minor offenses, Vash,” Killian grunted.
“Not to mention, you have more at stake than we do,” Lucas added.
Vash stroked the edge of his unkempt facial hair. His sandy mop wavered against his eyes, and, for a brief moment, he let it hang like a curled thorn. He wasn’t a devil like Cassian, but, sometimes, he wished he could be. “Leave me if you must, for I will suffer my losses alone easier.”
The two alphas stopped walking and shared a glance, but Vash moved through the
damp alleyway that led through to the heart of the massive dome. Already, he could see the faint outline of electricity that ran across the glass edges and rose above the buildings. It was, of course, one of the most heavily guarded areas within the province. That didn’t mean shit to them.
“Vash.” Lucas ran toward his old pack-brother in arms. “How many chips you got?”
Vash hesitantly searched his jacket pocket. Feeling the loose coins roll across his fingers, he roughly counted the circular edges. “Too many to count,” he said.
Lucas arched a brow. “Think the guards will take the bribe?”
This time, they could laugh and breathe a little easier, despite the polluted air that swirled into their lungs. Vash didn’t have to answer that one. The guards, police, soldiers, and breeders loved a sweet kickback, especially if it meant getting more than a pack-brother.
Voice terribly clinging to a cacophonous note, Killian sang, “It’s a dog-eat-dog world.”
“It’s a god-eat-dog world. We’re the dogs.” Lucas grinned foolishly.
“Quit with the jokes. They’ll take the fuckin’ bribe,” Vash said.
Continuing forward, they kept their eyes on the trail until a voice shouted down from a tower. “Hands!”