Page 15 of Alpha's Arranged Mate

With his arm crossed over his eyes, having been trying to sleep even though he could still feel the tug of the full moon even this far beneath ground, he growled, "What do you want?"

"I came to warn you."

The response came in a harsh growl that made Braxton sit up and take note.

"Do you know who I am?" the man asked as he leaned close to the cell door. The lantern held in his hand allowed Braxton to see his face clearly.

He recognized him almost immediately. No wonder his voice had stunned Braxton. He was one of the last wolves Braxton had seen before his escape. Though he didn't know the wolf's name, he knew his face well enough.

"You were there that night," Braxton said quietly, all too aware of his own packmates in the next cell. Reaching out with his hearing, he listened to them all. From the sound of their breathing, he would guess that every last one of them was having a better time sleeping than he was, but he didn't wish to test the theory.

"The name is Ray," the wolf snarled at him.

Braxton pushed himself to his feet and approached the cell door. He was surprised when the man on the other side did not instinctively step back. He would not be the first to have done so. Only Lottie had stood at his cell door without flinching away from him.

"Braxton," he responded, offering his hand through the bars. He was even more surprised when the other man slapped his hand away.

"I didn't come here to make nice," he said through gritted teeth, and Braxton saw the aggression blazing in his eyes. "I told you my name only so you know whose debt you are in."

"Debt?" Braxton repeated. The word tasted bitter upon his tongue. "How could I possibly be in your debt?"

The growl that erupted from the other wolf's throat suggested he wasn't at all pleased with Braxton's utter disregard for anything he might have done for him.

"Forgive me," Braxton said quickly, bile rising in his throat. "But I know not what you have done for me."

All was silent for several seconds. One of his packmates grunted in their sleep and shuffled over onto their side. Braxton held his breath and Ray appeared to do the same before he leaned in close and hissed in a whisper, "I gave you your bride."

"Excuse me?" Braxton gasped, his mouth dropping open in shock. His hands gripped hold of the bars of the cell. "What do you mean?"

"I saw the way she looked at you that night," Ray snarled.

For a moment Braxton was concerned. Was this some twisted lover's game? Had Ray been hoping for Lottie's hand himself only to realize what kept her from him, and in some twisted attempt at punishment had signed her life away for her? It was clear to look into the man's eyes that he despised demon wolves. Why else would he commit her to such a fate?

"Lottie is—" Braxton began, meaning to defend her. If Ray had seen them that night, seen how she had looked at him and likely how he had looked at her, then he held her fate in his hands even more than he knew. What if he took it upon himself to tell Dash all he had seen? Could their alliance come crumbling down?

The terror at the thought of never seeing his children again made him desperate. He opened his mouth to plead, but before he could do so Ray explained, "Lottie is family. I couldn't bear to see my mate's sister hurt, and seeing the way she looked at you, I knew I couldn't stand by and watch you marry another of the pack."

"You…you did this for her?" Braxton asked. Every moment he felt more and more stunned.

"Yes and no. I did this for my mate," Ray snapped, holding up the lantern higher as though he wanted Braxton to see the seriousness on his face, "And I am here now because of her too. If you so much as harm one single hair on the head of her sister, I will come for you. I will kill you and all you hold dear."

The bile in Braxton's throat thickened. His heart hammered in his chest even harder than it had when Lottie's name had been pulled from the box.

"Lottie is a good she-wolf," Ray said, his tone suggesting that it caused him a great deal of pain to even say the words. "She is annoying as fuck, just like all the other Silverdale bitches, but she is a good she-wolf, and I'll see her treated right."

Standing up as straight as humanly possible, Braxton met Ray's gaze and assured him, "You have my word. No harm shall come to her, or any other member of your pack, for that matter."

Ray scoffed at that. "I'll believe that when I see it."

It was clear from the violent glint in his eye that the huge Silverdale wolf would have liked to tear Braxton's throat out. He couldn't exactly blame the wolf after all his own father had done to their community over the years.

Knowing it would do no good to try and reassure the wolf, Braxton instead met his gaze and said, "I thank you for all that you have done, but I fear your actions may have been misguided. Lottie holds no affection for me."

Again, the wolf scoffed. He opened his mouth as if to tell him differently, and Braxton's heart raced to hear what he might say. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to find out, as the sound of more footsteps coming down the cellblock made them both pinch their lips tightly shut.

"You shouldn't be down here," Braxton hissed under his breath.

As though Ray had shared the very same thought, he suddenly blew out the lantern he was holding and disappeared into the darkness.

---