Page 18 of Sold to the Alphas

August reached it first, ducking inside and scanning the space quickly before gesturing for the rest of us to follow. I was next,practically collapsing against the wall the moment I was out of the rain. The cave was damp and cold but a thousand times better than being out in the storm.

Finn was the last to enter, shaking water from his hair and brushing past me with a low chuckle. “Hell of a wake-up call, huh?”

I glared at him, but my teeth were chattering too much to say anything in response.

“Fire,” August commanded, his voice calm despite the chaos around us.

Marshall grunted in acknowledgment, already moving to gather what little dry wood he could find near the cave’s entrance. I sat down slowly, my back against the cold stone wall, and pulled my knees to my chest, trying to stop the shaking.

The storm continued to rage outside, thunder and wind echoing off the cave walls. The fire took longer to start than usual—everything was damp—but Marshall finally coaxed it to life, and the warmth spread quickly through the small space.

“Better,” Finn said, stretching out near the fire with a lazy grin. He looked far too comfortable for someone who had just been nearly buried under a burning house and then swept away by a storm.

“Make yourself useful,” Marshall growled, shoving a pack toward him.

Finn raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue, digging through the bag for food while Marshall worked on drying out the woodpile.August stood near the entrance, his eyes fixed on the storm outside. He hadn’t said much since we arrived, but the tension in his shoulders was obvious.

I stayed where I was, close to the fire but not too close to any of them. My mind was still racing, trying to make sense of everything. The storm had been bad, but something about their urgency, the way they moved and spoke, felt...off, like there was something they weren’t telling me.

“You still haven’t told me where we’re going,” I said. “Or why.”

Finn looked up from the bread he was tearing into, his sharp blue eyes flicking to me with interest. “You’ve got a knack for asking big questions at inconvenient times, you know that?”

I ignored him, turning my attention to August instead.

“We’re heading north,” August said.

No shit.

“Yes, August, I know ‘we’re heading north.’ But where to?” I pressed. Why were they keeping the exact location such a secret?

“To safety,” Marshall said, his voice low but firm.

“That’s not an answer,” I said, my frustration rising. “Safety from what? Raol? Is he the only reason we’re running? You knew what he was like when you decided to take me. Why did you even bother?”

The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the fire crackling and the thunder rumbling.

“We’re heading to a settlement,” August said eventually, his voice quieter now. “A place where all three of our packs can come together. Where we can prepare for what’s coming.”

Three packs together? That’s unheard of.

My stomach twisted at his words. “Prepare for what? What’s coming?”

He didn’t answer, and neither did the others.

“That’s ominous,” I muttered, leaning back against the wall. “Why can’t you just tell me the truth? I know I’m a weak, defective omega, but I can handle—”

“You’re not weak, and you’re not defective. Don’t call yourself that again,” Marshall growled, shocking me into silence.

Finn chuckled, though there was no humor in it. He ignored Marshall’s outburst completely. “Trust us, sweetheart. The truth is a lot harder to swallow than you think.”

I wanted to argue and demand answers, but Marshall’s comment and the look on August’s face stopped me. Whatever they were hiding, it wasn’t just about me. It was bigger. Darker.

And for now, they were right. Maybe they didn’t see me as weak or defective, but that didn’t mean I was ready to face it—not when I was still mourning my past life.

Instead of asking all the questions I still had, I felt a call to action somewhere deep inside me. I began gathering the blankets and supplies the alphas had stuffed into packs before vacating thehouse and arranging them into something that felt familiar and safe.

A nest.

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