Page 4 of Sold to the Alphas

This was why I came back. He needed to understand what was at stake—needed to know what a fucking piece of shit our alpha was. God help him if he doesn’t protect her.

My father’s face paled. His mouth opened and closed as though he wanted to argue but couldn’t find the words, his hand trembling in the air. My mother froze, clutching my sister to her side as if my anger had physically pushed them back.

I held his gaze, daring him to strike me again, but he didn’t move.

Our little standoff was broken when the door opened behind me. I turned to see August standing there, his sharp green eyes scanning the scene.

His gaze landed on the red mark blooming on my cheek, and his expression darkened. “Who touched you?” he asked, his voice cold enough to freeze the room. I thought I heard worry in his voice for a moment, but I must have imagined it. I was his property now, and no one liked damaged property. Raol always liked to remind me of that.

I didn’t answer. I may be his omega by law now, but this was between me and my family. He stepped inside anyway, his commanding presence filling the space. His eyes locked on my father. “I asked a question,” he stated threateningly.

No one spoke. My father’s lips pressed into a thin line, and his shoulders slumped slightly under the weight of August’s glare. His previously raised hand was clenched into a fist at his side.

“Let me make something very clear,” August said, his voice low but laced with steel. “She belongs to me now. If anyone lays ahand on her again, I will chop off their fingers one at a time and flay their remaining limbs until they’re screaming for mercy.” He let the words hang in the air, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

I drew a sharp breath. I hadn’t expected the violence behind his words. My father said nothing, but the flicker of fear in his eyes was answer enough.

Shame he didn’t have the same look on his face whenIthreatened him.

August turned back to me, his hand brushing against my arm before settling firmly on it. “We’re leaving.”

I waved at my sister, whose face was marred with endless tears, before stepping out of the house. I hope she understood I didn’t want to leave. I knew my parents wouldn’t let me get near her again, not now, not after what I did. I mouthed my last goodbye at her, and the door shut in my face with a finality that sent a shiver down my spine.

***

The walk to the alphas’ house was quieter than I expected. August moved beside me, his steps measured and deliberate. I kept my pace slower, my legs trembling from the waning adrenaline rush after the confrontation with my father. My cheek stung, a bitter reminder of what I was leaving behind, but the ache in my chest felt far worse.

I’d thought I knew what sadness felt like. I’d been wrong.

Every step carried me farther from the only life I’d ever known, the only person I’d ever cared for, yet closer to something I couldn’t quite define. My gaze darted to August when I thought he wasn’t looking. He radiated authority in a way that felt magnetic. His presence wasn’t loud or overbearing, but it commanded attention nonetheless.

“Are you always this silent?” I finally asked, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

His green eyes flicked toward me, sharp and assessing. “Are you always this defiant?”

My lips pressed into a thin line, and I looked away. I don’t know why I spoke, knowing he was a part of the council. They all were. They may have saved my life, but I couldn’t assume it was out of the goodness of their hearts.

The air between us grew heavier, and I didn’t dare breach the silence again.

The neutral territory that housed the council stretched around us, vast and unwelcoming. Even the land itself seemed to reflect the growing fractures between the packs.

It had been decades since the council pact was created to end the violence between wolf packs. It had forced the strongest alphas to bond, ensuring none of them would attack the other. Together, they could keep all the smaller packs in line.

It may have ended the violence back then, but it wasn’t doing anything to stop the growing instability now.

From what I understood, we were headed to the alphas’ neutral territory home—a temporary dwelling that accommodated them while council was in session. They shared it, but other council members had their own, so there were three other homes nearby. I supposed these alphas preferred living together than living separately.

As August led me toward one of the homes, my stomach twisted into a knot. This wasn’t a safe haven; it was a gilded cage.

“You’re quiet now,” he remarked, his tone cutting through my spiraling thoughts.

“I was thinking,” I muttered, glancing up at the massive house in front of us.

By all accounts, it was a beautiful building. Tall, imposing, and slightly Gothic in style while still remaining modern, it stood out from the landscape around it, even more so than the other council houses. It was all sharp edges and dark stone, the kind of place that didn’t welcome visitors, and I gulped as we approached.

“And what were you thinking?” August asked.

“That this doesn’t feel like salvation,” I answered.

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