Crossing Paths With The White Wolf

Helios

POV

"We're already late," I hissed as Theo maneuvered my lambo towards the location of the black-market auction. "If we missed her slot, we're going to have to do this by force and I'm not going to be happy."

"How was I supposed to know that there was a traffic accident?" Theo protested as we made the last turn before the warehouse came into view.

"I told you to avoid the highway. You were too f*****g excited to speed to consider anything else." I grumbled.

"It is still not my fault. There's never traffic at 8pm. You have been pissy for days now. What's going on?" He asked.

"Nothing," I lied, "Do you have them on standby? I want to get her out of here tonight," I asked for the 10th time today. I had been having bad dreams all week. The white wolf in every single one. Each night, I had failed her, my sister and Celeste in a different way. "Yes, Sebastian and two warriors are waiting at the ready. He's going to be the driver in case we need him. Gonzalo and another 3 will wait for us around the corner in case anything goes south. Did you remember the special business cards?"

"Yes. I want to take no chances." I said, pulling the cards out of my pocket to double check. We arrived at the warehouse and were met by a valet who requested our invitation and scanned an area of the black front. Something beeped as we stepped out. There must have been some sort of hidden authentication code.

We walked in as they were in the middle of concluding an auction for one of the leopard cats. They were wheeling out the cage. We sat down and waited for the next auction. Another cat was wheeled out. I wasn't really paying attention as the auction began, my mind on the wolf, until Theo elbowed me.

"Helios, that's not a cat," he hissed in my ear. My eyes went to the cat, who seemed to be pressing itself to the back of the cage, as far from the auctioneer as it could. Its eyes were going everywhere. It was very aware of everything that was happening. Instantly, I raised my paddle.

"We need to figure out who bought the other one. If this is a shifter, the other ones probably are too," I whispered back as I raised my paddle again to counter bid. We managed to get the other two cats for almost a million together. It was always me and one other gentleman bidding at the end. He didn't look very happy that I had won them both and I was betting he was the buyer of the other cat.

They went through a few more auctions of some valuable antiques from East Asia. The dholes were bought by the mystery bidder while the Siberian Musk Deer, the weird animal we had not been able to name that first night, went to another bidder. We couldn't see any awareness from them, so we were convinced they were not shifters. Not that I've ever seen shifters of anything else but bears, wolves and big cats.

"Our final item for tonight is as rare as it gets. We've never before seen something as big, beautiful and deadly." The auctioneer said and motioned to one of the staff, who pulled the curtain to the back warehouse. Everyone stood straighter as they heard the low growl. She was brought in and instantly everyone started whispering to each other, but all I could see were her amber eyes looking around for something. I could see the moment she realized whatever it was, wasn't there. A look of anguish crossed her magnificent features.

She lifted her nose in the air and then her amber eyes met mine and held them. It was like the room stopped moving and I got lost in her eyes. Theo elbowed me again and I realized that the bidding had begun. I instantly raised my paddle and looked back to her. She was still looking at me, but there was a look of betrayal and anger in her features. It surprised and confused me.

The bidding continued and reached the 6-million-dollar mark. I could see the mystery bidder becoming angrier and more frustrated until finally, at $6.5 million, he broke his paddle without a glance at me. There was applause and curious looks thrown my way but all I could see was the wolf being wheeled out the other door.

"Make sure Sebastian is aware we're going to have more than one to transport." I turned to Theo as we got up from our chair. From my periphery, I could see the mystery bidder coming towards me. When he was getting close, Theo motioned slightly to my left and I turned to see him standing behind me.

"Successful night of bidding for you Mr..."

"De la Luz. Thank you, Mr...?" I asked back at him.

"Dreiker," he said.

"I would say pleasure to meet you but you did drive up the cost of my new toys quite a bit," I smirked.

"Yes, about that. I saw you bought the other two leopard cats. Any chance I can buy the white wolf for your cost plus the third cat? You can have the complete set."

"I'm afraid not, but if you're not interested in the cat, I can take it off your hands," I said lazily.

"Hmm, I'd part with a dhole for the right price, but the leopard cat will only be exchanged for the wolf," he told me, pretending to feel bad about his decision. Internally, I rolled my eyes, but instead, I pulled out one of the special business cards.

"If you change your mind, I'm willing to pay double your cost." I handed him a card and held my breath as he looked down on it. He finally nodded, took the card and put it in his suit pocket.

"I will be sure to contact you in a week to see if you've changed your mind on the wolf," he said. He nodded at Theo and excused himself.

"You think he knows?" Theo asked when he was sure we were not being overheard. I shook my head as we reached the accountant.

"You've got the information for the wire transfer?" I asked him. We had spent more than I thought we would and I wasn't sure if the old accounts still had enough money for this. Usually, I kept the previous identity open for at least a decade before closing them with about 5 million, but after the initial auction, I asked Theo to transfer over more money, but I am not sure how much he transferred.

"Yes, we should have no issues," he answered.

"Yes, we should have no issues," he answered.

"Make sure the driver is near by. I would like to get home at a decent hour." I said a little louder for others to hear.

"He'll be ready," He said.

We transferred over the money and asked where we could send our driver to pick up our purchases and then requested we be taken to them. I was anxious about getting them out of here. They were underfed, and I have no idea what kind of medical condition they were in. We waited for one of their staff members to lead us to the warehouse. We were near the loading docks of the warehouse. Two tables with today's auctioned items and the animal cages a few hundred yards away from it. The man led us to the cages and checked the tags. He called over two more staff members and had the cages moved to the last bay on the platform.

He came back and told us to tell our driver to go to Bay 8. I heard whining from the other cat and growling from the she-wolf behind me as Sebastian backed into the bay. I went up to the window as he maneuvered and jumped on.

"Are you wearing a comm?" I asked him as an idea popped into my head. He nodded.

"I need the comm and I need a tracker." I told him. He pulled a tiny tracker we'd just acquired that came recommended by Evergreen. It was supposed to be waterproof, long ranged, and impossible to turn off. Then he looked to make sure no one saw him and pulled out his comm and handed it to me as he opened his door to get out.

I walked toward the remaining cage and pretended to be inspecting the cat while I whispered, trying to make sure my lips never moved. "Do you speak English?" I asked her. Her eyes went wide and she gave me the tiniest of nods. "I'll get you home. Just make sure they don't find this tracker," I said as I dropped the tracker by her paw. Her knowing eyes met mine and I could see the smallest twitch of the head bob at me as I saw her paw step on the tracker. I saw Mr. Drieker coming my way.

"Are you sure I can't persuade you to let me buy her?" I asked him. "She's got some unique markings" I said, pointing to the pattern on her face.

"I can't let you have all the fun, can I?" He smirked.

"I had to give it a shot. It was nice to meet you Mr. Drieker. Remember to give me a call if you change your mind," I said and stretched my hand out. He shook it back and I began moving towards their driver. I pretended to trip on the ramp and slipped the comm into his jacket pocket. I made my way to where the other two cats were already being loaded. I approached the white wolf and she snarled at me, making one of the handlers with the stun guns move forward and give her a jolt. Fury filled me.

"What the f**k are you doing? You dare attack her?" I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. I was trying to calm myself because all I wanted to do was break his neck.