Page 6 of Alpha's Arranged Mate

That was a good question, an infuriating one, and one that Lottie had no way of answering, because in truth, she didn't have a clue why she was there.

Her heart ached as she ignored the question and forced herself to leave.

"That's right, Silverdale bitch, keep on walking!"

The comment from one of the other demon wolves made Lottie shiver. Her jaw clenched painfully. She had been an idiot to let any of them see her approach Braxton's cell. Half of them had likely overheard not only this conversation, but all others before it, and Lottie could only hope that they were more loyal to their own than she had been to hers. If a single one of them mentioned to one of her pack that she had been the one to aid in his escape, she would be done for.

They wouldn't give Braxton's hope away, she thought, her entire body shivering at the thought of what might happen if one of them did.

It didn't bear thinking about, and she tried not to think about anything save focusing on not slipping on those death trap steps on the way back up to the basement.

As she drew closer, she heard the sound of voices and felt a little relieved to know that the shift change had come. At least now she wouldn't be tempted to go back down there for whatever reason she had in the first place. She could head right back upstairs into the night air and slink off for a run in the woods. At least then she could let off a little steam. Maybe then whatever was clawing at her insides would finally cease tormenting her.

Chapter 5 - Braxton

Braxton ought to have known that he could never trust a Silverdale wolf. Even hours after Lottie’s turning up at his cell door, he still couldn’t believe how cold she had been toward him. Every time he closed his eyes, he could still see how her blue gaze had burned with cold fury toward him. He could still feel the sting in his heart as he imagined how she had snatched her hand away from his grip.

Lying on the cold, hard cell floor with his back toward the neighboring cell so not to be disturbed by his packmates, who were still trying on and off to question him about what he was going to do, he tried his hardest not to think about her. And yet, it seemed she was all he could think about.

After the way she had spoken to him, how she had walked away without even a single glance back over her shoulder, he couldn’t believe he had ever imagined she would want to marry him. More than that, he couldn’t believe he had ever imagined wanting to marry her.

Heavy boots coming down the corridor toward him was the only thing that managed to pull him out of his thoughts of Lottie and Dash’s proposal. They grew silent, and though he heard the sound of breathing right outside his cell door, Braxton didn’t move a muscle. He did, however, draw in the scent of the person standing just beyond the bars.

Male. Werewolf. Mangy Silverdale. He growled deep in his throat.

“What’s wrong, dog? Don’t you like being disturbed?” the harsh tone of the werewolf standing outside his cell made Braxton tense up.

He didn’t bother to respond. In fact, he didn’t even turn to look at the man. It wouldn’t do any good. The werewolf would continue to taunt him either way.

“How did you manage to get one of our numbers to help you escape if you aren’t even willing to talk?” he continued when Braxton didn’t speak, and it became abundantly clear why he was there. Dash had likely sent him down in order to try and get some information out of him.

Braxton scoffed. The alpha was out of luck on that front. Even after Lottie had spoken to him so harshly, he wouldn’t betray her. It made no difference to him whether the Silverdale wolves knew who their traitor was or not. He would still be stuck in that dungeon right alongside his packmates. Or worse, he would be stuck in that dungeon right alongside Lottie. And how harshly would she speak to him then?

“Cat got your tongue?” the Silverdale wolf continued, showing no signs of stopping. “Why don’t you come up here, look me in the eye and see if we can talk about all of this like real wolves?”

“For him to do that, you’d actually have to be a real wolf!” scoffed Molly from the next cell.

Braxton cringed. He hadn’t meant for anyone else to rush to his defense. A part of him wanted to snap at Molly in order to stop her from doing so, but he wouldn’t give the Silverdale dog the satisfaction.

Instead, he finally rolled over onto his back and pushed himself to his feet. It took everything he had in him to do so. The last few days with the lack of food and water and sleep had taken their toll on him. He wasn’t at all sure how much more he could take.

Maybe I should just agree to Dash’s terms, he thought grimly, whether Lottie is on the table or not.

A marriage to any Silverdale bitch was surely better than him and the rest of his pack being left down in the dungeons to rot for an eternity, because as demon wolves that was exactly what would happen. They didn’t age like others did, not like humans or even normal werewolves. They could live twice as long, if not four times as long, with the fire of hell burning within them. In some ways it was a blessing, but in this case, it was nothing but a curse—to be trapped in the darkness of the earth for the rest of existence was not something that Braxton enjoyed thinking about.

“Would you be talking up such a big game if not for these bars between us?” Braxton asked calmly, though not without an edge to his voice, as he approached the door of the cell. He recognized the wolf on the other side as one of the guards who had been back and forth to give him his meals and remove him from the cell whenever ordered to, but he couldn’t have said what his name was. Nor did he care; to Braxton, he was just another Silverdale thug.

“Maybe one day you’ll get the chance to find out,” the werewolf growled back at him, and Braxton scoffed. He couldn’t imagine this piece of shit ever being brave enough to unlock the door, even with Braxton unable to release his demon. Even unable to shift, he was still twice as strong as this guy, and from the look in his eye, he knew it.

“You might want to discuss the future with your alpha before you go making threats,” Braxton said, baring his teeth. “I might be out of this cell sooner than you realize.”

“Ha! He might let you out of here, but he’ll always keep you on his leash,” the wolf laughed, shaking his head. “Besides, Dash wouldn’t even consider letting you out if he thought you were a threat. You’re nothing but a puppy compared to Travers and his cronies.”

The hair on the back of Braxton’s neck rose at that, and he could feel his demon clawing at his insides, fighting against the runed cuffs in an attempt to break free.

All he could try to do was calm it, knowing that there was no way it could escape unless he got those damned cuffs removed. Maybe it was time to accept Dash’s proposal for the simple fact his demon wolf needed desperately to stretch its legs. Or maybe it was because even throughout all this torment, he couldn’t help but wish he could speak to Lottie and figure out why the hell she had suddenly turned on him.

“If anyone should be on a leash, it’s you,” Molly put in, and Braxton heard the telltale sound of her slamming herself against the cell door at the Silverdale wolf. “It sounds to me like Dash needs to gag you before you go and ruin all his plans. After all, do you think your alpha would appreciate you jeopardizing his plans for an alliance? Maybe someone should tell him all about your taunting?”

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