Page 74 of Sold to the Alphas

And then I heard it—another growl, lower, more guttural, a roar that shakes the ground beneath me. Marcus’ beta, a massive brute named Lars, charged at me, his claws extended, his eyes wild. I didn’t hesitate. I dived at him, slamming into his chest with the force of a freight train. We tumbled to the ground, and I felt the sharp sting of his claws slicing through my shoulder, but I didn’t care.

I didn’t feel the pain. I didn’t feel anything but the overwhelming desire to destroy him.

I twisted beneath him, managing to sink my teeth into his throat. I ripped through the flesh with a brutal force, hearing the gurgling sound of his death rattle before I felt his body go limp beneath mine.

And still, the blood flowed.

More alphas were on me now—too many to count, too many to keep track of. They weren’t feral like the council members, but the frenzy of a broken bond could affect the wolves in proximity, a fact we hadn’t considered fully in our plans to break the pact.

My wolf was in charge, and all I wanted was to rip through every one of these alphas, to leave them broken and bloodied on the floor.

But then, through the fog of bloodlust, I heard something.

A familiar voice.

“Finn!” It was August, his voice strained, fighting to stay conscious but still strong, still familiar. “Stop!”

But it was too late. There was no turning back now.

42

Elisabed

The pain was constant, searing through my body as Raol’s fingers dug into the raw flesh he’d already tortured. I focused on the pain, forcing my mind away from Mily and her quiet crawl toward Raol. I couldn’t do anything to give her away.

“You should have stayed in your place, Elisabed.” Raol’s voice was low and filled with venom as his hand slid across my skin. His touch was still deliberate and cruel. “But you couldn’t stay quiet, could you? You couldn’t just be the good little omega you were supposed to be.”

The cool air hit my exposed skin, and I shivered involuntarily.

Raol’s laughter was cold and empty. “You think you’re strong?” His fingers dug into my shoulder, pushing me roughly into the stone wall. “You’re nothing. You’ll always be nothing.”

His breath hissed through his teeth as he lifted the blade, and I braced myself. His cold eyes were trained on me, unblinking, the madness clear in them.

As long as he was looking at me, he wasn’t looking at Mily.

But then, something changed. It happened so fast I couldn’t even react in time. Raol’s eyes glazed over and a low growl rumbled from his chest. I saw the bloodlust take over completely. It was like a switch flipped in his mind. The Raol I once knew—however cruel he had been—was gone.

His face twisted, contorting with something dark, something unhinged. He didn’t say anything anymore; he just snarled, his body tense with the strain of holding back the madness.

I didn’t have time to think—only to react. My survival instinct kicked in, and my muscles tensed as I threw myself backward, trying to scramble away from his reach. But he was too quick. His hands—clawed and brutal—were upon me in an instant, and before I could even take a breath, I was on the ground, my back slamming against the cold stone floor.

Raol’s weight pinned me down, his breath hot and ragged against my skin, the stench of his madness clouding my senses. I tried to shove him off me, but my bound hands were useless against the force of his body pressing me down. His eyes—those wild, unseeing eyes—were locked onto me now, and I could feel the hunger in him. It wasn’t just the need to dominate. It was the need to rip, tear, and destroy.

I tried to scream, but no sound came. My heart was in my throat, beating so fast I couldn’t keep up. His hands moved to my neck, and for a second, everything went black. My body was on firewith pain, and I felt the pressure against my throat, his fingers cutting off my air. I kicked and thrashed beneath him, trying to force him off, but he was too strong, too heavy.

I knew what was coming.

I could feel his teeth—sharp and brutal—graze against my skin as his mouth moved closer. His grip tightened, and it was all I could do to not let panic consume me. But then, Raol froze.

His body shook with tension as the bloodlust faded from his eyes for one brief moment.

Then I heard the sound as Mily struck—the unmistakable sound of a knife digging through flesh. Raol growled as the knife sunk deep into his back...and then he was dead, and his body was pinning me to the cold, sticky floor.

My chest heaved as I struggled to wriggle free, my fingers slick with his blood as I pushed against his bulk. Each movement sent a sharp reminder of my battered body, every bruise and cut screaming in protest, but I didn’t care. I needed to move. I needed to get to Mily.

With one last desperate push, I managed to slide out from under him, my limbs trembling as I collapsed onto the floor. The world spun for a moment, and the sharp, metallic scent of blood threatened to overwhelm me, but I forced myself to focus.

“Mily,” I rasped, my voice raw.

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