Page 50 of Sold to the Alphas

Important—for theirplans.

They didn’t understand. My sister was out there alone, and I had to find her.

Finn reached for my hand. “Stay here, sweetheart. Please. Let us handle it.”

Their words only fueled my resolve. They might be alphas, but they didn’t know my sister like I did.

I clenched my fists, nodding reluctantly. “Fine.”

Marshall and Finn exchanged relieved glances. “We’ll find August for you and bring him here,” Marshall said. “Please stay here, Elisabed.Please.”

I nodded, keeping my eyes trained on the table before me, and waited until I was sure they were gone before I slipped out the back exit.

27

August

The scent was faint but undeniably familiar in the morning air, and I silently crept closer to the source.

It was her. I’d finally found her. Elisabed’s little sister—crouched behind a thicket of brush, her tiny frame partially obscured by shadows.

I stopped several feet away, watching her with the sharp gaze of a predator assessing prey. She was much smaller than I remembered, and her wide eyes darted around like a cornered rabbit. Her hair was disheveled, and her clothes were worn and patched.

When I stepped forward, her head snapped up, fear flashing in her eyes. “Don’t run,” I said, my voice low but firm.

She froze, her gaze locked on me.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded, keeping my tone measured.

She hesitated, clutching a small, frayed-at-the-edges satchel in her hands. “I—I’m looking for my sister,” she stammered.

I narrowed my eyes. “Why are you sneaking around? Do you know how dangerous it is out here?”

Her lips quivered, and she shook her head. “I had to find her. I didn’t know where else to go.”

Something in her tone—raw, desperate—made me pause. I’d been so focused on uncovering a threat that I hadn’t stopped to consider the fact that she was just achild.

I took a cautious step closer. “Your name is Mily, right?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“You shouldn’t be here,” I said. “It’s not safe.”

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I just want to see Elisabed. Is she okay?”

Before I could answer, a new scent cut through the air—sharp and acrid, laced with malice.

Raol.

“You’ve got some nerve,” he snarled, emerging from the brush nearby. “Stealing what’s mine and thinking I’d let you get away with it.”

“She was never yours,” I growled.

“The omega is mine,” he hissed, his teeth snapping dangerously close to my neck. “I’ll take her back. I’ll torture her foryearsfor what she did to me.”

Raol shifted, and I immediately followed his lead, my wolf surging to the surface and taking over. He crashed into me like a battering ram in his wolf form, the force of the momentum sending us both sprawling to the ground.

Pain shot through my side as his claws raked across my ribs, but I twisted away. He lunged again, aiming for my throat. His claws sank into my shoulder, tearing through muscle, and I bit back a howl of pain. He used the leverage to throw me to the ground, his weight pinning me.

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