The Unwanted: Strays of Lunar One, #2

By C.M. Simpson

Exiled by their pack—and on the run from one justice system, two vindictive companies, and a vigilante cruise-line company bent on bringing them in, Oliver and Lewis take a contract to get them off-planet and away from their pursuers. But all is not what it appears, and they do something they regret. Can they prove they were tricked into a grave mistake, and, more importantly, can they make it right?

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.M. Simpson Publishing
• Release date: Feb 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201457723

C.M. Simpson

I spent the first twenty years of my life living in different parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory. My father was a teacher who liked to travel, so he took teaching appointments in all kinds of places. I don’t think I stayed in one place for more than four years at a stretch. I wrote stories for most of that time, drawing on the different landscapes we encountered and giving a hyper-active imagination somewhere to run. Seeing so many different places gave me a lot of food for thought as I stepped into the world of adulthood and took my first full-time job, and I never stopped writing and exploring the worlds in my head. So far, I have written four collections of short stories and poetry, and a number of novels, with many more to come. I hope you have enjoyed this part of my journey.

Book preview

The Unwanted

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Strays of Lunar One #2

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C.M. SIMPSON

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Exiled by his pack—and on the run from one justice system, two vindictive companies, and a vigilante cruise-line company bent on bringing them in, Oliver and Lewis take a contract to get them off-planet and away from their pursuers. But all is not what it appears, and they do something they regret. Can they prove they were tricked into a grave mistake, and, more importantly, can they make it right?

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1st Edition

Copyright © February 1, 2022 C.M. Simpson

Cover Art & Design © September 24, 2021, Jake at JCaleb Design

All rights reserved.

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License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. That’s what feeds the author while they write you the next one.

Dedication

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This is for all those who believed in me enough that, eventually, I had the courage to believe in myself.

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Thank you.

CONTENTS

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1—Exiled

2—Entrapped

3—A Hard Bargain

4—A Difficult Undertaking

5—Finding a Lead

6—A Rough Start

7—On Board the Booster

8—Transfer Point

9—Ravelin Boards

10—Arrival on Axis 58

11—Kidnap and Flight

12—Repentance

13—Shanghaied

14—Hunted

15—Rohim

16—Baby-Sitters

17—Puppies!

18—Dog Food

19—Flight and Pursuit

20—Privacy and Pre-Teens

21—Bath-Time

22—From Wolf to Man

23—Apple Pie

24—Dressing Up

25—In Disguise

26—Two’s Company

27—Korazon’s Domain

28—Into the Interwebs

29—Melerom Joins the Dance

30—After Effects

31—Septu

32—Courier Class

33—Party Crashers

34—Change of Contract

Author’s Notes

Other Work by C.M. Simpson

About C.M. Simpson

1—Exiled

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Oliver hung his head, a cold dead weight settling in his gut. So it had come to this. Five months of hard training, a home and a pack...all lost because Odyssey didn’t want to take no for an answer.

Exile them both, Hunt Master Realgar ordered, and turned away.

With effect immediately, he added, throwing the order over his shoulder as he reached the door.

Oliver felt Lewis start forward, and laid a hand on his friend’s arm. Lewis stilled. Together, they watched the Hunt Master leave, and waited for Agerek to speak.

The standard procedure is to give you a meal and send you on your way, Agerek, told them, laying a hand on each of their shoulders, but not this time.

He lifted his head, regarding the rest of the team. Dismissed!

The order rang through the hunt pack, and they left, each one circling past to lay a hand on Oliver and Lewis’s shoulders or back before leaving. Their touches held grief and farewell, and Oliver felt an overwhelming urge to howl.

The sound that crawled out of Lewis’s lips was closer than either of them wanted, and Oliver clamped down on the urge to join him. When the hall was quiet, Agerek laid a hand under each of their chins, lifting their heads to study their faces, his amber eyes dark with concern.

This is not an easy thing, but when it comes to choosing between the welfare of clan or member, we have no choice.

Clan, Oliver murmured, not willing to let go of the connection.

Clan, Lewis echoed, his voice conveying the same. Agerek nodded.

We will not hand you over to Odyssey, Agerek told them, but we cannot give you shelter. All we can do is start you on your way.

He walked over to the desk at the end of the assembly hall and unlocked the drawer, pulling out two large envelopes. Crossing back, he handed one to each of them.

Your new identities, he told them. Make sure you get to know them well. Also, credit and new accounts. Your current accounts no longer exist.

Oliver and Lewis looked up in shock, and Agerek shrugged.

Standard pack procedure for exiles, he explained. We remove all evidence of your existence as one of us, take back our finances, and pretend you never were.

Oliver’s heart sank, but Agerek continued.

In reality, we move the funds through several other accounts, and have one of our very distant subsidiaries take you on as employees with a solid working history in one of the human sectors.

So, we’re not... Lewis began, hope rippling through his voice.

Agerek cut him off.

Oh, no. You are very much exiled and no longer lupar in any more than DNA. That, at least, can’t be taken from you.

And since it’s his DNA, Oliver thought, he feels the loss keenly, like a sire losing his cubs.

He didn’t voice that out loud, but sighed. What happens then?

You either turn up for work or you do not, Agerek replied. Once we escort you from the clan compound, you’ll have five days to leave lupar territory. If you are still on Alpha Nine, or anywhere within lupar only boundaries, you will be hunted.

And if we’re caught? Lewis asked.

Agerek gave him a forbidding stare. Don’t be.

Fear joined the sadness in Oliver’s chest.

Death or slavery, he thought, but did not say, and he didn’t want to ask and have either one confirmed. The lupar were not a forgiving race, not even to their own.

So much for finding a home. Lewis said resentfully.

Agerek shrugged, his face carefully void of emotion. "It is Odyssey. Our clan and family owe them much...and they are too powerful to cross. We will not give you up, but neither can we keep you, and they will not compromise."

Oliver knew it was the closest thing to an apology they’d get, but Agerek gestured to the packages they held in their hands. We have one more stop to make before you leave.

Oliver regarded him warily, and Lewis shot him an uncertain look.

Not like we’ve got a choice, Oliver reminded him. This is as hard for our pack as it is for us.

Not really, Lewis disagreed. They don’t lose the only home and family they’ve got.

The man had a point, and Oliver didn’t blame him for the sharp resentment in his voice. Neither did Agerek, if the way the pack leader ignored him was anything to go by.

He led them to the Hunt’s supply store, where two back packs had been set on the counter, alongside two Blazer 57s, and two Glazers.

Your gear, he said, then indicated two piles of clothes next to the packs, as soon as you’ve changed.

Oliver glanced at the clothes, and then picked them up, and picked out a corner of the room to get changed in.

You’ll be leaving in human form, Agerek informed him as he shook out the clothes and saw they would not fit his hybrid self, and you’ll not be leaving by the front gate. We want you to keep your new identities a secret for as long as possible.

Oliver nodded, bone and tendon snapping and grinding as he moved to his human form. It had been a long time since he’d worn it, and the shift was slow, his body taking a moment to remember.

Makes it easier to disassociate? Oliver suggested.

Agerek nodded.

Oliver shucked his Sky Strider uniform and slid into the non-descript civilian clothes he’d been handed. Now, he’d look like any other human on the street. His pack and clan affiliations were gone. A knot formed in his chest.

That...hurt.

He tried to keep the emotion from his face as he looked to see what Lewis was doing. To his relief, his beta was getting changed, the stormy look on the man’s face letting them know exactly what he thought of it.

Oliver said nothing. Lewis would handle it, but he’d do that better if no one pushed him while he adjusted. Instead, he picked up one of the packs, opening it and going through what was inside.

More clothes, some rations, toiletries...the usual stuff a traveling merc might carry. He noted a hacker’s kit, void of clan markings and nodded.

Everything we need to set up as civilians or join another company, he noted.

I’d advise taking the civilian option, Agerek told him. Most merc companies insist on a DNA profile and you’ll be blown within hours.

Back to running, Lewis noted sourly. I’d rather not.

You know where the recruiting centers are, Agerek said.

We do, Oliver confirmed, going over the Blazer and Glazer as they talked.

Lewis joined him, his hands moving in the same confident manner as he checked charges and loading, before stowing the Glazer in his pack and slinging the Blazer over his shoulder. Oliver wasn’t sure that was a good idea, but he didn’t say anything. Lewis knew what he was doing.

His friend had learned a lot since they’d arrived. He was no longer the tech-for-hire-without-a-clue, he’d been on Lunar One.

You know we’ll have to send Odyssey an answer. Agerek interrupted his thoughts, and Oliver looked up from his Blazer.

When? he asked, since there was no point asking them not to.

They wanted it yesterday...preferably with a delivery date, the pack leader told them.

Lewis drew a sharp breath, but Oliver just waited. And?

We can probably put them off another day...maybe two, but that’s all the lead time the Master of Hunts is going to be able to buy. Agerek paused. Believe me, he’s done all he can to get them to let us keep you.

But they won’t come to the party? Lewis asked.

Agerek shook his head. They’re adamant. Something about loose ends, a hijacked agent, and protocol.

Oliver sighed. Protocol... That, more than Odyssey’s hijacked agent, pretty much sealed their fate. Odyssey were sticklers for protocol...mostly when it came to their own protocols, and only when it suited them. For them to be standing fast on this one meant there were politics involved.

Maybe later he’d try to work out which and see if they could be circumvented. In the meantime...

So, we’ve got what? Eighteen hours?

Eighteen hours until the reply goes back—guaranteed, Agerek told him, Maybe twenty before they’re on-world and tearing the place apart to find you.

Is that why you had us issued with new implants? Lewis wanted to know.

Agerek shook his head. New implants are standard procedure for new recruits.

And they won’t be able to track them?

Agerek cocked his head. "We could change out the pack implants for something more standard, he replied, but then you’d be out of time and we’d have no choice but to send you over to Odyssey in a stasis box."

Well, that explains why we haven’t hit the surgery, Oliver thought. He stowed the Glazer in its holster and slung the Blazer.

I’m a merc tech, he explained, meeting Lewis’s curious look.

And we come as a pair, Lewis added, showing he’d already started to assimilate the data in their intro packs. He paused. You know they’re going to think we’re a couple, right?

Who? Oliver asked, puzzled.

Anyone who sees you, Agerek confirmed. The way you two work together, that closeness? Most humans have a relationship before they get like that.

But not wolves, Lewis added.

Nor lupar, Agerek agreed, the hint of a growl in his words.

Lewis flushed. Since we’re neither, it’s best we’re a couple if we want to avoid telling anyone exactly what we are until we have to.

Oliver shrugged. If it means we don’t have to deal with curious females, I’m fine with that.

Agerek gave an amused snort. Nope, you’ll only have to deal with curious males.

Oliver laid an arm around Lewis’s shoulders, But I’m taken, he explained, and very much not interested.

Lewis rolled his eyes, shrugging clear of the arm. Whatever floats your boat, he muttered, and Oliver chuckled.

If you were a female, I’d be doing the exact same thing, he said. It’s one less threat vector.

Agreed, Agerek confirmed. It makes you less approachable from a romantic angle, and gives you a reason to refuse company. I’m not saying it’s a great idea, but it’ll do for a start.

Right up until we’re rumbled, Lewis added gloomily.

Oliver frowned, but chose to leave the comment alone. He turned to Agerek.

We were leaving?

The wolf dipped his chin, and headed for the back of the supply center. This way.

Oliver and Lewis exchanged glances and followed. It wasn’t really surprising they didn’t know everything about the clan training facility. They’d only been there five months. Stifling another sigh, Oliver kept moving.

Agerek took them through a reinforced door tucked away in a corner of a storage room. Emergency exit, he explained, handy for getting our exiles out without them being tagged by anyone watching the front entrance.

What about anyone watching the back? Lewis asked.

We have several exits, Agerek assured him. Odyssey don’t know them all.

"So, they are watching the base," Oliver concluded, and Agerek smiled.

Do you blame them? he asked. Bounty that’s on your heads? They want to be sure they’re the ones who pick you up if you make a break for it.

I thought you said we were grounded for a year, Lewis muttered.

That would have been ideal, Agerek admitted. In the meantime, here’s a list of companies that’ll take you on and keep you out of sight.

For a fee... Lewis grumbled.

Sure, most’ll take a cut of your wage, until they cover the bounty they could have gotten by selling you out—

And they’ll charge interest, Lewis added.

That they will, Agerek confirmed, but they won’t beat twenty kinds of crap out of you, and they won’t experiment on you.

Or let us go, Lewis continued, and the pack leader stopped and glared at him.

"Would you rather I just hand you over?" he demanded, and Lewis took a step back, his lips starting to curl in defiance.

Oliver intervened. "I’d rather you didn’t, he said, and I appreciate the chance to try and stay free."

Even if it cost you your family? Agerek asked.

It was gonna cost me that anyway, wasn’t it?

Lupar do not hand their own to humans, Agerek told him, nor do we abandon them.

Not sure what the difference is, Lewis argued. I pretty much feel like you’ve stuffed me in a cardboard box and left me by the roadside.

Agerek snarled, and rounded on the beta. "I could make that a reality..." he threatened.

Oliver grabbed Lewis by the arm and pulled him behind his back. I’d like to keep him.

Agerek snorted and did an abrupt about face. We’re almost there, he told them. Once you’re out of the compound, you have twenty-four hours to be off-world before your status is given to the lupari council.

I thought you said we had twenty-four hours before Odyssey knew, Oliver protested.

"The council needs to be informed before any notification we send to a non-lupar organization."

So, we have closer to sixteen hours, then, Oliver concluded, and Agerek shook his head.

Ten, he corrected, but at least one of the recruiting centers will take you.

2—Entrapped

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Agerek was wrong. None of the recruiting centers would take them. They took one look at Oliver and Lewis as they entered and ushered them straight to a private room.

We’re sorry, Messers... the recruiting officer looked at the identification Oliver and Lewis had handed over. ...uh, Messers Revalus and Crombie, but we cannot consider your applications.

Why not? Oliver asked, struggling to keep his tone mild.

This was the sixth and final recruiting center to refuse them, and they had nowhere to go next...nowhere legal, anyway.

Because your faces scan as someone else, the officer told them, and those someone else’s are too hot a commodity for us to keep secure. We have neither the facilities, nor the personnel that would guarantee those individuals’ safety...and your own safety would be compromised as a result. You would have two, maybe three, hours of freedom at best. I’m sorry. Your skills would have been invaluable.

Invaluable, Oliver noted, but not within the price range the company is willing to pay.

If you would come with me, the recruiting officer continued, I will show you to a secure exit.

Oliver glanced at Lewis and frowned. Lewis made a helpless gesture with his hands. He supposed they shouldn’t have expected much better.

"I do not wish to be a slave, Lewis told him in the privacy of their implants’ communications link, or dead."

"Me neither," Oliver replied "If it comes to that, I’ll turn us in to Odyssey, first. Deal?"

Deal, Lewis replied, his eyes flicking to the man who was escorting them out.

Oliver dipped his chin. They weren’t out of the woods, yet, and one of them should be keeping an eye on what the guy was doing in his implant. It was a good thing neither of them were either too trusting, or stunned by what had happened, to forget being cautious.

It had paid off with the second agency they’d visited. Lewis had caught them on the verge of sending an email out to Ravelin, and diverted the message into the ether. It looked like it had been sent. Instead, it had taken a circuitous route through the company’s servers to oblivion...and Ravelin would remain none the wiser.

"We’re clear. He’s on the level," Lewis informed him. All he wants is to get us out of sight and mind before one of his co-workers has the bright idea of making some extra cash on the side.

There you go, the recruiting officer said, after he’d opened the door and taken a look both ways out the door. It’s clear and I’ve diverted the cameras for the next five minutes. I don’t know where you’re going to go, but I wish you luck.

He actually means that, Lewis observed, and Oliver favored the man with a smile...and one of the cred sticks he carried for small expenses.

The guy started to shake his head, but Oliver folded his fingers around it and pushed it towards his chest.

Thank you, he said, putting all the gratitude he could muster into the reply. We will not forget.

The man’s jaw dropped and his face paled. He nodded jerkily several times and stepped hastily back inside, pulling the door closed behind him. His ‘You’re welcome’ echoed hoarsely behind him.

Oliver looked around and headed for a side-street. We need to get under cover and re-think this.

You know we only have one non-Odyssey option left, Lewis reminded him.

Oliver nodded, not liking the lump forming in his throat. I know. I just want...

He sighed, stopping in the shelter of the side street. Lewis slid in beside him, taking a stance that let him cover the end of the street, giving Oliver a moment to pull himself together.

Getting there is going to be difficult, he noted.

Oliver leant against the wall and closed his eyes, using his implant to access the Alpha Nine World Wide Net. His beta had a point.

Any suggestions? he asked.

Lewis shrugged. "Nettles is two blocks away. We might make it."

Two blocks and only a might? Oliver thought.

Lewis picked the thought right out of the implant. Whatever Florey had done to link them was still holding strong.

"Yup... he agreed gloomily. The report’s almost done and Odyssey’s pushing it. It took us eight hours to go through the recruiting sector."

Mostly because we had to try and avoid the cameras, Oliver reminded him.

And the agents, Lewis responded. "Don’t forget the agents."

As if he could. There’d been six of them, all hyper alert. Fortunately, they’d all been looking for wolves...and pairs. Oliver and Lewis had split up, staying within sight, but moving independently on opposite sides of the street.

A quick trip into two different hair stylists had seen them emerge with new haircuts and colors. It hadn’t been a lot, but it had been enough to keep them under the radar. The skin dye now secreted in Oliver’s pack would go further, but it would take longer to apply.

Oliver pushed aside a feeling of foreboding. The pack had given them no time to prepare, just exiled and ejected them. That spoke of more urgency than he wanted to acknowledge. He pushed off the wall.

You got a route?

Lewis nodded. Sure, but you’re not going to like it.

Oliver glanced up, and then around. Sure enough... A fire escape? You’re serious?

Lewis gave him a quick smile and jogged to the base of a set of narrow metal stairs. Pulling them down, he started climbing. Oliver shook his head and followed.

He had no idea what his friend had in mind, but he was pretty sure Lewis could be believed when he said he wasn’t going to like it. Sure enough, the man didn’t stop when he reached the top of the fire escape.

Final floor: drones, birds and low-flying shuttles, Lewis quipped, doing his best to imitate the AI in a department store elevator.

Oliver chuckled, reaching up to heave himself onto the apartment roof.

You forgot screaming children, he said, a few moments later as they belted between the raised beds of a rooftop garden, trying to keep their heads too low for any of the adults to get a good shot of them with their hand-helds.

"Who’da thought there’d be an office party up here?" Lewis replied, hitting the opposite edge and leaping up onto the low wall at the edge.

Or a day-care center...

Lewis didn’t stop, his foot hit the top of the wall and he launched himself into space, aiming for the rooftop on the other side of the narrow alley dividing the two buildings. Oliver didn’t hesitate, either, although the way his stomach lurched at the sight of the drop below almost put him off his stride.

He landed on the other side, springing from the top of the wall surrounding the next building’s top and landing in the flat area beyond. This one had a shuttlepad...complete with shuttle...and six alert and hostile guards.

Nettles? Oliver asked, as a dapper gentleman in a white suit jacket stepped out of the small craft’s hatch.

He was jerked back inside, as four of the guards closed ranks and jogged to block Oliver and Lewis’s path, raising their blasters as they came.

Oliver skidded to a halt, and glanced over at his friend. Was this part of the plan?

Lewis shook his head. Roof top was supposed to be empty.

Oliver looked at the guards, who’d stopped and now formed a line in front of them. Uh huh.

He glanced over at the door and then back at Lewis. So, is it?

Is it what? Lewis had started to raise his hands, and Oliver was tempted to follow his example.

Nettles?

Not quite. We had one more jump to go.

Had?

Lewis gestured toward the guards. Somehow, I don’t think they’re going to let us go running past the shuttle so we can jump the gap on the other side...

At this one of the guards stepped forward. You’re just passing through?

Lewis nodded. We’ve got to get to Nettles.

Surprise etched one of the guard’s features. He was a solid man, but not big—more compact, with silver in his hair and bright dark eyes.

Not someone to be underestimated, Oliver thought.

You couldn’t just use the sidewalk? the man asked.

Lewis shook his head. Long story.

He gestured toward the other side of the building, his movement causing the guards to tense and shift their aim. Do you mind if we...

The guard leader opened his mouth as if to reply, and then closed it abruptly, his eyes taking on the slightly unfocused look of someone working in their implant. Oliver and Lewis waited, watching as he had a conversation they couldn’t hear. When he was done, he looked back at them, and motioned toward the edge of the roof.

Boss says go ahead... He frowned, and thank you for showing him a vulnerability in his security.

You’re welcome, Oliver replied and looked at Lewis. "You were going to have us jump across two really long drops?"

Was. Is. Am, Lewis replied and picked a place on the far side of the building. You ready for this?

"Oh, sure. Let’s get this afternoon’s next brush with death out of the way. I mean, why not?" Oliver snarked, and the guards behind them chuckled.

Lewis pivoted and then launched himself into run. The guards watched him go, and then watched as Oliver followed.

Well, that was entertaining... floated out behind them, but Oliver ignored it.

The man in the white suit could be as impressed as he liked, but it wasn’t going to change the fact that he hated heights, with leaping out of perfectly good aircraft or off perfectly serviceable buildings coming a close second.

The top of Nettles looked a good deal further away, and this time, Oliver didn’t look down.

Are you sure they don’t have counter-measures for this kind of thing? he asked as he sailed into the air.

Uh... Lewis began, and slammed to an abrupt stop a foot short of the building’s edge.

Light sparked around him and he screamed. Oliver brought his forearms up in front of his face and braced for the impact, his hastily formed barrier blocking out what happened when the light flared and Lewis’s scream was cut short.

That was all Oliver saw before he hit what felt like liquid lightning. No wonder Lewis had screamed. Oliver screamed, too. Light created a tracery of lines over his skin burning where it touched, and then it flared painfully bright and he momentarily ceased to be.

Awareness returned in a rush of sensation and he was aware of his scream continuing, only to echo back off the four solid walls surrounding him as he dropped to an equally solid floor. He bent his knees at the impact, and then dropped into a crouch, waiting for his vision to clear.

Lewis? he called. Lew?

There was no response, and he blinked, looking carefully around.

What kind of shit did you land me in, this time, bro?

Still no reply, and he pushed carefully to his feet.

"Last time I ask you to get me someplace safe..."

This time his words brought a response.

"I wouldn’t say you hadn’t reached somewhere safe, Mr. Landstrom."

Oliver hung his head and laid his hand over his eyes. Nettles?

"The very same. You did intend to speak with us, I take it? That wasn’t a very amateur attempt to enter without being noticed?"

We were just hoping to reach you without being picked up by Odyssey, Oliver admitted, and the voice chuckled.

So, Mr. Haversham has said, the voice confirmed, and then took on a wheedling tone. You weren’t contemplating turning yourselves in, were you?

Oliver tensed, dropping his hand away from his eyes and taking a proper look around the cell. No.

The voice sighed. A shame, but since you’re here, why don’t you tell me what you had in mind?

We need to get off world, Oliver informed it, coming right to the point.

And go where? the voice asked. We’ve checked your funds and you don’t appear to have any.

Oliver sighed, and there was a moment of silence before the voice continued.

"Now, why don’t you tell me what you really had in mind?"

Oliver sighed and wondered what Lewis had told them.

As if reading his mind, the voice replied. "Your colleague has been surprisingly unforthcoming on the matter, given the means of your arrival was all his idea."

We have funds, Oliver told it.

Under what names?

Heironomous Revalus and Agustino Crombie, Oliver admitted, and laughter answered.

"My, my, my. What did you do to annoy your pack so much?" Genuine amusement filtered through that response, and Oliver closed his eyes.

At least someone was entertained.

There’s nothing wrong with the names, Oliver protested, but there was no heat in his words.

Silence answered him, and he waited.

These would be recent accounts? the voice asked, and Oliver dipped his chin.

Let me see, the voice continued, and this time the line stayed open and Oliver heard muttering. Standard exile procedure, base start-up, five months’ service...

Oliver wondered where Nettles was getting its information and if the pack knew just how much the company had on them. If it could read his mind, the voice gave no indication—and it was all business when it came back on line.

What you’ve got in credit wouldn’t be enough to clear you from wolf space.

So, they did know the terms of exile... Oliver frowned, and the voice chuckled.

You’re not the first exiles in existence, it told him. We’ve had time to gain an understanding.

And?

"And even if you did have enough credit to clear you from wolf space, we wouldn’t accept it," the voice told him.

Oliver’s spirits plummeted, and he took the two steps back he needed in order to be able to lean against the wall. He swallowed against the apprehension drying his throat and found enough of his voice to ask, "So, what would you accept?"

He was hoping there was something, but he didn’t believe either he or Lewis were going to be that lucky.

3—A Hard Bargain

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What makes you think you have anything to offer? the voice demanded.

Oliver sighed, and waited for the inevitable declaration that he and Lewis were being apprehended, and the voice’s owner certainly seemed to be thinking that way.

With the size of the rewards in play, we could more than make our money back by auctioning you to the highest bidder.

Oliver waited. There was no point protesting. Something in the way the voice was speaking told him that their fate was already a foregone conclusion—although when Nettles had had the time to make the decision was anyone’s guess. He and Lewis had only been cut loose that morning!

After a moment’s silence, the voice continued, You both come with more skills than your incomplete Star Shadow training gives you...and we’ve had a short notice opportunity arise for which you’d be a perfect fit. Are you interested?

We will not move against the pack, Oliver told him shortly.

Funny, that’s what your friend said, too, the voice countered, and nor would we ask you. We already know the usual response for such requests...and your profiles say you’d answer no differently.

Oliver blinked.

They had profiles at Nettles?

Why did they have profiles at Nettles?

He kept his head down while he schooled the surprise from his face and wondered what else their profiles said about them.

As if oblivious to the turmoil it had caused, the voice continued, pressing again for an answer, The task we have in mind does not involve you moving against the pack. Are you interested?

Payment?

The voice chuckled. Well, we’ll refrain from organizing an immediate auction for possession of your persons for a start.

Oliver frowned. "That’s all very well and good, but we require transport to a safe area and confidentiality regarding