Alpha Katsuki Bakugo

Katsuki had never liked omega auctions.

He understood why they existed. Contracts, debts, voluntary placements, old-fashioned pack arrangements. There were a dozen legal excuses people used to dress the whole thing up and make it look respectable.

Didn't mean he had to like it.

The only reason Katsuki was inside the ridiculously expensive auction house tonight was because Kirishima had convinced him to come. Apparently, being one of Japan's most successful unmated alphas meant Katsuki needed to "get out more," and Kirishima's definition of getting out more apparently included watching rich alphas throw money around.

Katsuki had lasted twenty minutes before deciding he'd rather chew glass.

Then your scent reached him.

He stopped.

There were dozens of scents in the room, layered beneath expensive perfume, alcohol, suppressants, and the heavy pheromones of alphas trying to intimidate each other.

Yours cut through all of them.

Omega.

Sweet.

Distressed.

And absolutely drenched in another alpha.

Katsuki's lip curled.

At first, he'd assumed you were claimed. That made no damn sense because a claimed omega couldn't legally be sold through an establishment like this without their alpha being involved in the transfer.

But the longer Katsuki stood there, the more something bothered him.

There wasn't a bond scent underneath it.

No permanent claim.

Just weeks upon weeks of one alpha's pheromones soaked into your skin, clothes, and hair until the smell clung to you like someone had deliberately tried to mark you without actually claiming you.

Then the curtain opened.

Katsuki's attention snapped toward the stage.

You walked out beside one of the auction attendants.

And every alpha instinct Katsuki possessed went rigid.

You looked healthy.

Suspiciously healthy.

Your hair had been cleaned and styled. Your skin looked moisturized. You wore beautiful clothing chosen specifically to make you appealing beneath the lights. Someone had obviously spent the last week feeding you properly, giving you vitamins, making sure you slept, and getting rid of any outward signs that something had happened before you arrived.

The auction house knew how to present merchandise.

But Katsuki had spent too many years as a hero looking at people who were pretending they weren't scared.

He saw your hands.

The way your fingers remained tightly curled.

The slight stiffness in your shoulders.

The way your eyes moved across the crowd without lingering on anyone.

Then you shifted your hand.

The sleeve around your wrist pulled back.

Katsuki's eyes narrowed.

Marks.

There were fading red and purple bands around your wrist. Some were already yellowing around the edges, but the shape was unmistakable. Too even to be fingerprints. Too narrow and consistent to be accidental bruising.

Restraints.

His attention immediately dropped to your other wrist.

Same thing.

Someone had cuffed you.

Recently.

And judging by the darker marks along one side, either the restraints had been painfully tight or you'd fought against them hard enough to bruise yourself.

Katsuki's jaw clenched.

You hadn't just been pressured into this.

At some point, someone had restrained you.

Held you somewhere.

Kept you from leaving.

Whatever pretty bullshit story was written in the auction paperwork, Katsuki suddenly didn't believe a damn word of it.

"Lot seventy-three," the auctioneer announced. "Unclaimed omega. Previously engaged under an alpha partnership contract. All paperwork has been reviewed and approved."

Previously engaged?

Katsuki's eyes narrowed.

The alpha's scent covering you suddenly made sense.

Some bastard had been practically bathing you in his pheromones.

The bidding began.

"Five million."

"Six."

"Eight million."

"Ten."

Numbers jumped almost immediately.

Apparently Katsuki wasn't the only alpha interested.

An ugly growl vibrated somewhere deep in his chest.

Beside him, Kirishima slowly turned his head. "Oh no."

Katsuki didn't even look at him. "What?"

"I know that face."

"Shut up."

"Bakubro."

"Fifteen million!"

Someone across the room immediately countered. "Eighteen!"

Katsuki's jaw tightened.

Then another alpha raised his paddle. "Twenty-two."

Your eyes lowered.

Something about that did it.

Katsuki raised his paddle. "One hundred million."

The entire room went silent.

Kirishima nearly inhaled his drink.

The auctioneer stared.

Someone actually laughed because they apparently thought Katsuki was joking.

Katsuki wasn't.

"One hundred million yen," the auctioneer repeated carefully. "Do I have that correctly, sir?"

"Did I fuckin' stutter?"

A murmur swept through the room.

Katsuki finally noticed an alpha near the front suddenly sitting bolt upright.

The man's scent matched yours.

There.

That bastard.

The alpha looked horrified.

Not heartbroken.

Not furious because his omega was being sold.

Horrified by the amount.

"One hundred and five million!" he shouted.

A woman beside him immediately grabbed his arm.

Katsuki's eyes flicked toward her.

Pretty little thing. Beta, judging by the scent. She leaned close to the alpha and whispered urgently. "Renji, you can't. You don't have that kind of money."

"But they're..."

"This was the point, remember? They needed to learn."

Katsuki heard it.

Enhanced hero hearing had its benefits.

His expression went completely blank.

Learn.

His gaze returned to you.

Your fiancé had put you here.

Katsuki raised his paddle again. "Two hundred million."

The room erupted.

Even the auctioneer took several seconds to recover.

"Two hundred million! Do I hear two hundred and ten?"

Silence.

Renji looked sick.

Mika whispered something again.

Katsuki couldn't hear this time.

Didn't matter.

The idiot didn't raise his paddle.

"Going once!"

Katsuki watched you.

"Going twice!"

Your eyes finally lifted.

For the briefest second, they found his.

"Sold!"

The gavel cracked.

"To Ground Zero for two hundred million yen."

Kirishima leaned toward him. "Please tell me you know what you're doing."

"Nope."

"Fantastic."

Katsuki was already walking.

He didn't care about the money. He had more than he knew what to do with anyway. Hero rankings, endorsements, agency profits, merchandise. His accountant was constantly telling him to invest in something.

There.

He'd invested.

In ruining some asshole's night.

The auction staff escorted you from the stage while Katsuki finished the paperwork. He barely listened as they explained the transfer conditions. He read every damn page himself instead.

That was when he found something interesting.

The original contract.

Your signature was there.

But so were the dates.

And attached medical intake notes.

Dehydration.

Low blood sugar.

Signs of prolonged food deprivation upon arrival.

Bruising around both wrists consistent with recent restraint.

Katsuki went frighteningly still. "When did they sign this?"

The employee hesitated. "Sir?"

"The contract. What fuckin' day?"

The date was given.

Three days before your intake.

Katsuki stared at the paper.

Three days without food.

And judging from your wrists, those three days hadn't simply been spent locked behind a bedroom door.

His jaw flexed.

He signed the final transfer document.

He'd deal with the legality of that contract tomorrow.

Tonight, he was getting you out.

When you were finally brought to him, Katsuki deliberately kept several feet between you.

Up close, Renji's scent was overwhelming.

Weeks of alpha pheromones.

Possessive without commitment.

Marking without claiming.

Making everyone believe you belonged to him while apparently being perfectly willing to sell you when his feelings got hurt.

Pathetic.

Katsuki's eyes drifted down again.

Without the bright stage lights hiding them, the marks around your wrists looked worse.

He could see tiny healing abrasions now.

You'd pulled against whatever had been around them.

His alpha instincts screamed at him.

Find whoever did it.

Find out exactly what happened.

Make sure they could never put their hands on you again.

Instead, Katsuki forced himself to remain still.

You didn't need another alpha deciding what happened next.

Katsuki shrugged off his jacket.

"Here." He held it toward you instead of putting it around you himself.

Your eyes moved from the jacket to him.

"Take it if you want. His scent's pissin' me off."

Before you could decide, footsteps thundered toward them.

"Wait!"

Katsuki turned.

Renji.

Mika followed several steps behind him.

"Wait, wait, you can't leave with them."

Katsuki stared at him. "Pretty sure I can."

"This wasn't supposed to happen!" Renji looked at you desperately.

"It was a joke! Okay? It was just supposed to teach you a lesson!"

Katsuki's face hardened.

"A joke."

"They know what they did." Mika finally caught up. "They were constantly bullying me. I told Renji I couldn't take it anymore."

Immediately, Renji turned protective.

"Exactly! They wouldn't leave Mika alone. They were jealous of our friendship. They kept starting fights and making her cry."

Katsuki looked between them.

Then toward you.

You hadn't moved closer to Renji.

Interesting.

Renji reached for your wrist.

Katsuki caught his hand before he touched you.

The growl that left him made several people nearby retreat.

Especially after Katsuki's eyes flicked pointedly toward the bruises already circling the wrist Renji had attempted to grab.

"Don't."

"They're my fiancée!"

"Was."

"I didn't actually want to sell them!"

"Should've thought about that before putting them on a stage."

"I want them back."

Katsuki released his wrist with a shove. "Then you should've fuckin' bid higher."

"I don't have two hundred million yen!"

"Sounds like a personal problem."

"This isn't funny!"

"No. It ain't."

That shut him up.

Katsuki stepped closer.

"You locked an omega in a room without food."

Renji's face changed.

Mika beside him went pale.

Katsuki smiled.

There wasn't anything pleasant about it.

"Yeah. I read the intake report."

"It wasn't like that."

"Three days."

"They wouldn't sign!"

Katsuki's pupils narrowed.

There it was.

The idiot realized his mistake approximately two seconds too late.

"You starved them until they signed."

"No! I..."

Katsuki pointed toward you. "And those?"

Renji's eyes followed.

?Straight to your wrists.*

The color drained from his face.

Katsuki's voice dropped. "Those cuffs part of the joke too?"

Silence.

Katsuki's expression became lethal. "Thought so."

"It wasn't supposed to hurt them! They kept trying to get out!"

That confession landed even worse than the first.

Katsuki stared at him. "So you restrained them."

Renji's mouth opened.

Nothing came out.

"You kept them somewhere they couldn't leave, didn't feed them, cuffed them when they tried getting out, and waited until they signed whatever you put in front of them."

"I was teaching them a lesson!"

"And then you dumped them here."

"I was going to buy them back!"

"With what money?"

Silence.

Katsuki scoffed. "That's what I thought."

Renji looked around him toward you. "Baby, come on. Tell him. Tell him you want to come home."

Katsuki felt you tense.

That was enough.

He moved sideways.

Giving you a clear view of both men.

Renji seemed confused when Katsuki didn't immediately drag you away.

Katsuki looked down at you.

For the first time since he'd entered this damn place, he deliberately pulled his pheromones back.

He wasn't going to influence you.

Wasn't going to crowd you.

Wasn't going to make himself seem like the safer alpha just because his instincts demanded he get you as far away from that bastard as physically possible.

You had apparently spent long enough having choices made for you.

Katsuki wasn't adding himself to that list.

He nodded toward Renji.

Then toward the exit behind himself.

His voice lost its usual bite. "Look at me, omega."

He waited until your eyes found his. "I bought a contract. I didn't buy you."

Renji immediately protested. "Don't say that! They're confused right now."

Katsuki ignored him. "If you wanna leave with him, say so. I won't stop you."

Renji visibly relaxed.

Mika smiled.

Katsuki wasn't finished. "If you wanna leave with me, we're walking out those doors, getting you something to eat, and tomorrow I'm having my lawyers tear this bullshit contract apart until there ain't a damn thing saying anybody owns you."

The relief disappeared from Renji's face. "Katsuki, you can't do that."

Katsuki finally smiled. "Watch me."

Then his attention returned completely to you.

He held out his hand, palm upward, but kept enough distance that you would have to choose to take it.

"So?" His crimson eyes softened just slightly.

"You wanna leave with him..." Katsuki tilted his head toward himself. "...or me?"