Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes - Chapter 10: Chapter 10

*Dev*
My uncle waits for us at the gates, as promised. The healers prepared to cart Hastings away to the hospital that will hopefully be able to provide him better care than Topher could administer on the go with the few herbs he had. I open the door before we come to a full stop, rushing around to the trunk and motioning for the healers to come to me.
They wheel a gurney over, as Topher crawls out of the back, Leoni not far behind him as he gingerly slides Hastings out on the stretcher and they load him onto the bed. I want to go with them, to stick by his side, but when the side door nearest my uncle opens and Eden slips out, I remember I have obligations that will keep me from being at my best friend’s side.
“Keep me updated on everything,” I say, gripping Topher’s elbow. He gives me a grim look, nodding his acknowledgement of the command before he rushes along with the healers, filling them in on anything they might need.
“Eden,” I say her name softly, motioning for her to come over to me with two fingers. Her hair swirls as she looks at me, moving in my direction, stopping a foot away before she stares up at me. “I want you to wait here until someone comes to fetch you. There are things I have to discuss with the king before I can do anything else.”
Her lips press together and I can see her closing in on herself, but she nods like an obedient servant she was turned into. It pisses me off, making me hate that it was something that is now just a habit for her.
“I see,” she whispers, her thin shoulders rolling back as if she is trying to show me she is fine with the arrangement.
“Look, I don’t mean to command you…” I start before my uncle clears his throat, drawing all of my attention to him. He shoves his hands in his deep red suit pockets, his head tilted to the side, showing me his impatience. “Just, someone will be here to take you to Leoni’s soon.”
I place my hand on her shoulder, moving past her as I stride toward my uncle, hiding the limp in my leg as he wears his usual face of annoyance. The second I am close to him, he juts his chin, calling for me to walk with him as we leave Eden standing on the steps alone. The vehicle drives away as she refuses to move, her eyes forward and determined.
“What’s with the meek little skeleton of a woman?” He asks, not bothering to keep his voice down. I suck on my teeth, biting back the retort on my lips at his rude comment.
“She was a victim, uncle, of the most recent auction.” I tell him simply.
“And you thought she was cute, so you brought her home? For what reason? If you want a plaything, I can find you one with more meat. There are many better looking options in this city.” He scoffs, pulling out his hands and looking down at the ring on his left ring finger, the one that my father wore before passing away.
“Uncle, she is a victim, and she had no place to go. I figured we could help place her in a new pack.” My words come out flat and unimpressed with his assessment.
He grins widely, waiting for the doors to open leading into the mansion.
“You and that bleeding heart of yours, Devereaux.” He exhales. “It is one of the many things that reminds me of my beloved brother.” His eyes are soft when he looks over at me, a gentle smile of understanding before he breaks into a chuckle. “If only your cousin were as caring as you.”
“He has a bigger heart than he lets on.” I remind him and he shrugs.
“If you mean in the sense of his revolving bedroom door for any mopey, sad girl who needs a night to feel important, then yes, his heart is quite large.” He teases and I chuckle.
“One day he will meet his match,” I offer and he sighs heavily.
“I can only hope,” He mutters. “Now, rumor has it you have pressing issues you would like to discuss with me, something to do with the most recent auction?”
I nod as we make it to his office; the door opening as we get closer.
“This auction was different from the others.” I offer, frowning. “The documents are legitimate.”
He barks out a laugh, his graying dirty blond hair shuffling as his head falls back and his laughter grows louder.
“Uncle, I am not joking.” I say my words matter of fact as I place my hands on my hips.
“That is not possible,” he tells me, walking around his desk and standing next to his chair.
“Breeder documents are drawn up only after I have given it the green light to let a breeder relationship happen. Then it is signed with either myself or one of my ranking lycans to witness it. Where would they find said documents? They are not stored, typed, and ready to go. It takes a full day to draft a contract as they are all unique, with different rules and obligations to be filled.”
I exhale and drag both hands through my hair, holding the back of my neck.
“All I know is that the documents that were used for this particular auction are legitimate, it initiates the bond and binds the unwilling woman to her new master. Blood is used instead of an oath and signature.”
He rolls his eyes, then pulls out his chair, plopping down.
“I am going to be blunt with you, Devereaux, it’s not possible, so whoever told you such shit is lying their ass off to cover for themselves. So instead of insisting I am incorrect and that either me or my beta or gamma are corrupt, why don’t you provide me with the name of this person you trust over your own blood and I have a chat with him, hmmm? Perhaps an evening in the dungeons will loosen their tongue for the truth.”
I throw my blank face up, hiding the emotions rising in my chest from him. This isn’t some lying alpha who purchased a breeder. There is no person who I am choosing to believe over him and the rules he has in place.
This is my personal experience, but saying that sets me up to be removed from the title of heir. Admitting I bought a breeder at an illegal sale that I was in charge of taking down? It’s suicide.
“Fuuuck,” I grumble, dropping into the wooden chair across from him. “It comes from a few of the women who were purchased. None of them speaking with each other between being bought and the contract becoming valid. They each say they felt a charge roll through them and a connection to the person who purchased them.”
It is a boldface lie, but as much as I love and trust my uncle, I have dreams and aspirations that die with the admittance of me owning someone. As long as I know what my truth is, what I felt and still feel between me and Eden, I will fight for a more thorough investigation, even if I have to devise a reason other than my experience.
“And you believe them?” he asks, arching his brow, a smirk on his lips. The look on his face unsettles me, a sinking in my gut and the realization that he won’t believe me, not that he doesn’t, believe me hits me in the chest.
“Of course I do, Uncle, they have been treated terribly… Used, and forced into an impossible situation. All they want is their freedom, not anything else.” I say, sitting forward as he frowns and pinches the bridge of his nose.
“Trauma has a way of making people believe anything to make themselves feel less at fault,”
I rear back, his words rubbing me the wrong way. Is he blaming the woman of the auctions? Does he really think that blaming the awful shit they have had to endure is the answer to the lie I made up?
“Less at fault?” I scoff, standing up, the memory of Eden standing before me in that dark room, eyes raping her with every sick, lustful gaze as they took the price for her body up higher with every raise of their paddle. “Uncle, do you even hear yourself sometimes?”
“Your emotions are taking over again, Devereaux.” He says, his words sounding bored with me and this conversation.
“My emotions?” I scoff, pacing away from him. “My emotions? These fuckers STEAL woman, woman that are barely of age and they dress them in near nothing as they march them around on parade. I have spent MONTHS hunting these sick bastards who are obsessed with owning something that no one has the right to own…”
He laughs, stopping me with the lift of his hand.
“What do you think the mate bond is?” He asks, brows up, as he questions me, his temper rising with the flush in his cheeks. “It is a shackle no different from the breeder bond. It is equally unwanted and thrust upon the two parties involved. Why the hell else do you think the royals rarely choose a fated mate over a chosen one?”
I chuckle dryly, “This again? Uncle, you can’t be serious. There is nothing even remotely similar between the mate bond and forcing a woman to sign her body away and breed a child!”
“You are the one who rejected your mate.” He snaps at me and I roll my eyes, dropping my head to face the ground. This is always his way of shutting me down. It’s the knife to my chest, stopping me in my tracks whenever I make an argument he can’t seem to win.
“We are not here to talk about me and rejecting my mate. I am here because these women need…”
“You are accusing someone in my closest rankings of breaking the law and using me?” He bites out, his anger now boiling over as his chair clatters behind him. “You are no better than any of the men you are accusing of being in on this very serious matter.”
“I am not accusing anyone. I am simply giving you new information that can be used to help us shut these auctions down for good. Hell, Uncle Cedric, you assigned me this task force! You fought for this law with my father. Taking anyone’s ability to choose away from them is disgusting and wrong and you also know that a mate is not a shackle on a leg but a gift given from the goddess to fulfill our souls.”
“And yet you rejected your mate on a whim because she wasn’t good enough for you. Don’t act all high and mighty.” He bites back at me and my lips twitch, my nostrils flaring as I try to breathe without blowing up at him again.
“Uncle,” my voice grows soft, my body aching and my resolve broken. “Something’s not right. Perhaps you are right and the women are confused, but what if they aren’t making it up? Can you seriously just push this to the wayside? I know I can’t. This is my task, the order you gave me.”
He licks his lip, a growl rolling through his chest as he nods.
“You are too close to this, so I will ask someone who was not on your task force to help you.” He finally agrees, his face growing soft. “We will start with the woman you brought with you. She is a victim of this strange auction, you say?”
Panic hits me square in the jaw as my mouth grows dry and my muscles tense.
“She was not purchased. We saved her before that unlucky fate. So how about we allow her time to adjust to where she is and perhaps get some meat on her body before we ask her questions? She is not someone who likes to answer questions anyway and Leoni has established a bond with her, so perhaps it is best to let that bond strengthen and have Leoni question her.”
“Mmm,” He hums, “If this is as dire as you say it is, do we truly have time to waste? I have already asked Nate to meet her and bring her in for some questions.”
“When?” I ask, swallowing roughly as he waves his hand dismissively.
“He is with her already. She is a stranger here, so I figured he should show her around, starting with the dungeon.” He looks me in the eye, assessing me, looking for a flinch or weakness he won’t get.
“She just lived through hell and you want her in the dungeon? That is how we treat the victims we save now?” I ask him and he shrugs.
“Give him ten more minutes, then you can go spring her free. Perhaps it will establish a bond with you and you can get the answers you need to realize you are mistaken. Now you may go. I recommend checking on Hastings first. The healers are not feeling all that optimistic.”
I don’t hesitate as I rush out the door, breaking into a sprint when I am far enough away that he can not hear me running. Everything in my bones is telling me to go spring Eden free from Nate and then visit Hastings, but I need to maintain my distance for now. So I rush to Hastings, begging him to hang in there long enough I can see him, then go to Eden and stop any further damage from happening.
Nate may be my cousin, but my uncle is right. His respect for women tends to end at what they can offer him, and that is the last thing Eden needs right now.