Page 54 of Sold to the Alphas

Liora gave me a pointed look. “I don’t make mistakes about these things, Marshall.”

I turned to Elisabed, whose expression had frozen in stunned silence.

“Elisabed...” I started, not knowing how to finish.

She shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks again. “This wasn’t supposed to happen...not yet. Not now,” she said.

I crouched in front of her, resting my hands on her knees. “We’ll figure this out, Elisabed. We all will. It’s a lot, but we can do this together.”

“I don’t know if I can,” she whispered, her eyes filled with uncertainty.

“Of course you can,” I said. “You can do anything you set your mind to, Elisabed. You’re strong, and you’re capable—and you’re not alone in this.”

The walk back to the house was silent, the weight of the revelation hanging heavy between us. I brought her to my room, unable to bear the thought of leaving her alone tonight.

She sat on the edge of the bed, her shoulders slumped and her head bowed. “Why did he take her?” she whispered, her voice cracking.

The question twisted something deep inside me.

“Because he’s a monster,” I said, my jaw tightening. “To him, she’s a commodity. A tool to hurt you. He won’t harm her badly, not if he wants to maintain her...value.”

Elisabed flinched at the word, her tears spilling over.

“That’s why we’re doing this,” I continued, my voice quieter now. “Me, August, Finn—we’re fighting to end this. The selling, the slavery, the exploitation of omegas. It’s why we turned on the council. It’s the reason we’re willing to risk everything.”

“Then fight now,” she pleaded, her voice rising in desperation. “Declare war and end it now!”

I exhaled slowly, my frustration simmering beneath the surface. “It’s not that simple,” I said. “We don’t have the numbers or the resources. If we move too soon, we’ll lose—and no one will be left to stop them.”

Her shoulders slumped, the weight of my words crushing her hope. “Who made you so detached?” she whispered into her hands, and the statement pierced through my heart like a killing blow.

How could I begin to explain to her the strict household I grew up in, the expectations to be the alpha my people needed, the lessons my father taught me that I still held onto. I couldn’t find the words to answer her question. I didn’t use humor to deflect like Finn or shut off and isolate myself like August. I wanted to be clear and direct with her, but for the first time in my life, I had no idea how to do that.

Elisabed looked up from her hands after my prolonged silence. “I’m sorry, Marshall. That wasn’t fair of me to say,” she said, dejected and exhausted.

“No,” I answered immediately. I couldn’t let her blame herself when she didn’t do anything wrong. “You’re right. Someone did make me like this.”

Her eyes widened at my honesty.

“My father, he came from a long line of pack alphas. He taught me everything I know to become the alpha our people needed. That cold logic was the only way to deal with things. That emotional attachments only cloud your judgment. He didn’t have bad intentions, but I’m starting to realize he was wrong about a lot of things.”

“Not everyone is 100% right or 100% wrong. I’m sure he’s proud of what you’ve accomplished here,” she said, only taking a moment to process my words. She was quick like that, taking in information and analyzing it in seconds.

I spoke before I convinced myself to keep the truth hidden. “I wouldn’t know. He forced me to challenge him for the alpha position. A challenge to the death.”

This time she gasped, her hands coming up to cover her mouth. I didn’t know if I did the right thing, revealing such upsetting details about my past when she was already distressed, but something told me she deserved to know. She was carrying our pup. She deserved to know who I really was.

“Oh, Marshall,” She breathed out and gently pressed a warm hand to my cheek. Her touch was different from what I expected – soft, careful, like she was handling something fragile, not a detached alpha who killed his own father for power.

“No one should have to do that, but you carried out his final wishes. Maybe it’s time to let go of that and be more than what your father expected of you.”

I let her words settle over me, each one like a slow, steady breath that loosened the tightness in my chest.

“I don’t think I know how to be more than that,” I muttered, more to myself than her.

She didn’t hesitate. “You already are, and I need that side of you, the side that’s protected and cared for me, right now. Not the powerful alpha, but my mate.”

Her confidence in me hit me harder than any challenge I’d ever faced. I cleared my throat, unsure if I was going to say the right thing, but knowing I had to try. “I swear to you, we’ll get her back, Elisabed.”

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