Page 64 of Sold to the Alphas

Marshall and Finn flanked me, their eyes sharp and wild. They hadn’t spoken much since we started running, their focus singular and unrelenting. I could feel the tension radiating from them, each carrying a storm of emotions barely held in check. I felt the same, but it wasn’t just August that pulled me forward.

It was Mily.

Somewhere in the chaos ahead, my sister was there. Terrified, alone, and waiting for someone to save her. The thought made my chest tighten, and I pushed my legs harder, ignoring the ache in my muscles.

“Stay close,” Marshall growled, his voice low but firm.

I nodded, even as I knew I wouldn’t.

We burst through the treeline and immediately saw the utter carnage and disarray of the Carlisle pack’s camp.

There were bodies all over the ground, some disturbingly still, some groaning in pain. The ground was soaked in blood, smeared on leaves, and trailed through dirt. The fire in the camp’s center had been knocked over, and its embers were scattered across the camp.

August was still fighting.

He was a blur of movement, his claws tearing through his opponents ruthlessly. His wolf was in full control, his golden eyes glowing with an otherworldly light as he moved with deadly grace. He didn’t fight like a man desperate to live—he fought like one who had already accepted death.

“He’s going to get himself killed,” Finn snarled.

“Stay here,” Marshall said, pushing me roughly behind a tree.

Finn and Marshall leaped into the fray, and I watched from behind the tree as the chaos absorbed them. Finn was like a whirlwind, slashing and clawing his way through his opponents,and Marshall was more methodical, each move calculated and deliberate.

I clutched the dagger Marshall had given me earlier, my knuckles white around the hilt. “Stay here,” he’d said. I saw in his eyes what went unsaid.Stay safe.

But I couldn’t just stand there. Not when—

Movement caught my eye.

Across the clearing, a figure dragged a smaller one into the woods. Even in the dim light, I recognized her. Mily.

My breath caught in my throat as I watched her struggle weakly against her captor, her head twisting back toward the chaos as if hoping for rescue. She saw me then, her wide eyes locking onto mine. She shook her head frantically, mouthing something I couldn’t hear over the sounds of the fight.

No.

But I didn’t care.

My body moved before my mind could catch up, my feet carrying me after them, deeper into the woods. My wolf wanted to shift, she howled for it, but my body couldn’t comply. I was too exhausted, physically and mentally, to make the change. But my wolf was fully awake and taking over my mind if she couldn’t take over my body.

I could barely hear anything over the blood rushing in my ears, my focus narrowing to the figure ahead of me. The man holding Mily was larger, his broad shoulders and thick arms making herlook even smaller in comparison. He moved quickly, his strides confident and unhurried, as though he had no reason to fear being followed.

He was wrong.

“Let her go!” I shouted, my voice trembling with fury. I should have snuck up on him. I should have attacked him from behind like I did Raol, but fear had me in an iron grip. I needed him to get his hands off her.

The man stopped abruptly, turning slowly to face me. His face twisted into a sneer, his yellowed teeth bared in a mockery of a smile.

“If it isn’t the little omega,” he said disdainfully. “Have you come to save the day?”

“Let her go,” I said, trying to project authority I didn’t have. I raised the dagger, my hands shaking slightly.

He laughed—a harsh, grating sound that sent shivers down my spine. “What are you going to do with that, little girl? Poke me?”

Before I could respond, he moved.

I barely saw him before he was on me, but my wolf moved my body on instinct. I dodged his hand and stabbed the dagger deep into the side of his right arm. He shrieked in pain, but my victory was short-lived. I didn’t even have time to see Mily again before pain exploded in my cheek as his left fist connected with my face, and I stumbled back, my vision blurring from the force of the blow. I lost my grip on the dagger, and he took advantage of my broken stance to shove me to the ground.

“Pathetic,” he spat, grabbing me by the collar and hauling me up.

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