way to go. Who would’ve known I'd get five million for the first one? And that was twenty years ago. Think what I'd get now."
In books and movies when the bad guy wanted to spill his secrets in the crux moment, I always thought it was crazy, like he couldn't resist bragging. And yet, here we were. Not only was the bad guy bragging—he was helping me buy time. Playing for effect, I went with a wobbly, weak voice. "It was about a payday? I don't understand, Master. Why did you keep us, if we were worth so much money?"
"Simply put, a much larger payday. After I sold the first one, I found out how much more he would've been worth if I'd waited until he was a little older. At least potty-trained, if not school-age. So I invested my earnings into hiring staff and had my old barn remodeled to keep you all. Thanks to the formation of the hills, nobody had a clue any of this was back here. The wife knew because she started out as my nurse. We retired after we collected our fifteenth pup."
"Is that why we don't have names? Were we called the order in which we were taken?"
Frowning, Master shook his head, looking annoyed at something he was remembering. "I learned the hard way about names, and you can thank the missus. I was fine with letting you have names, only would've personalized y’all for the buyers. But as soon as I let her start calling the second one Joshua, I ended up an omega short and with another mouth to feed at home. She insisted on the limited visits, said it wasn't okay for a kid not to at least have Christmas and birthdays. So we compromised. She didn't ask for any more of my stock, and I let her visit so long as the rest of you didn't get named."
"What about Twelve? He left young while the rest of us have stayed until, well, now."
"Twelve? Oh, yeah. I did have to let another one of you go, didn't I? He got auctioned to someone in Texas, if I recall. Had a bad year and needed to recoup some profits when the crops died during a drought while the state was fighting with us over water rights. Then the oldest boy got cancer, if you can believe it. Medical bills damn near killed me, but he survived. Take what you get when you go shopping for kids, I guess. Alex started it. The missus was depressed when she couldn't conceive. So I grabbed her a baby from a mother who already had seven pups. Probably helped her and the mate out, if I’m being honest. They had enough mouths to feed. Never would've expected it to be so easy. Only have to be in the right delivery room at the right time, is all."
When the leaves rustled in a nearby bush, his voice trailed off. We waited in pregnant silence to hear another sound, but a rush of wind blew through, rustling more leaves and branches. Master looked back at me, motioning with his gun for me to move. "Speaking of Alex, you're lucky he didn't die during your great escape. Oh, he denied having any part in it, but I can see in your eyes he was lying through his teeth, the way I thought. Swore he was out for a run, decided to break the rules and see why I'd always forbidden him and his brother from visiting this part of the property. What I can't figure is where the group of dogs came from. Don't know whose they were, don't know where they went, couldn't even find a hint of scent or so much as a pawprint. The only thing we discovered, when all was said and done, was you missing."
"I don't know what you mean. I've never met your son. I wouldn't recognize him if we met on the street. I got scared by the dogs and ran off. Then I got lost, and the Alpha from the pack I was born into saved me. It's almost like fate had a hand in it. I don’t know anything else."
"Bullshit. Try again. As the saying goes, never kid a kidder. Now tell me the truth, and maybe I won't put a bullet in your head. But start moving. I have a secret bunker not too far from here. We'll hide out until the wolves are gone. Then I'll get