Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes - Chapter 11: Chapter 11

*Eden*
I tap my foot against the cement stairs, the inside of my cheek stuck between my teeth as I look around, soaking in the immense estate. Alpha’s like things neat and presentable, but this place, hell, it is a whole new level.
Even the cement beneath my feet is near white, with a hint of glittering rocks in the sunlight. Everything is pristine, not even a leaf dares to blow out of place from the perfectly manicured trees and bushes lining the pebbled driveway.
I feel like a blight out here, lowering the property value with every second I disgrace the stairs with my presence. Dev said to wait until someone comes to collect me, yet I have seen no one but the occasional gardener walking past pretending not to notice me. If I had a little more courage, I might wander off, admiring the landscape. But courage meant lashings and bravery was seen as foolishness that had to be bled out.
“Well, there you are.” A smooth, silky voice says from my right. I spin to see a tall man in tan slacks with a flowy white button down. His green eyes sparkle at me, his lips tilted up on one side as if he is genuinely looking for me.
“M-me?” I ask, my cheeks growing pink with his steady gaze.
“Mmm, not many other people standing around out here, are there?” He teases, his eyes twinkling with mischief as she shoves his hands into his pockets and tilts his head.
Dark blond curls tumble to the side, highlighting his cheekbones as if he is used to having this very effect on women. And though I can see how many women would fumble over words for him, his looks have nothing to do with my hesitation or the stutter I rediscovered after my trauma.
“Did Dev send you to find me?” I ask, cursing the man who convinced me to come here for my own good. Instead of feeling safe here, I feel like a burden, a weakling who inspires pity and not anything else in people.
“Dev?” He snorts, his lips pressing together in thought before he smirks again. “Ah, yes. Dev”
He says the name like it is foreign to him and I pull my brows together, taking a step down one stair, lifting my arms to put something between us. My alarm bells are going off, screaming at me that something is amiss. How can this guy not know who Dev is when everyone else seems to?
“Right,” I mutter, looking around hoping whoever Dev did sent shows up sometime soon.
“I am Prince Nate.” He offers, slipping his hand out for me to take. My nose scrunches in confusion as I look down at his hand, extended in a manner that shows me various golden rings on his fingers. Does he expect me to kiss his hand or shake it?
“Erm,” I swallow roughly. Giving him a very awkward bow “Nice to meet you, Prince Nate.”
He chuckles, his laugh velvety and oddly not filled with malice or anger. He seems amused by me, either by how I am acting or what I have said.
“You must be Eden?” He asks, and I nod. My eyes meet his as he offers me his elbow. He waits, giving it a wag like his arm was a chicken wing, and I can’t help but break a smile at the oddity of his movement.
“Yes, I am Eden.” I whisper, taking his arm as he offers, my fingers just brushing over the fabric, afraid to touch it fully for the fear of dirtying it.
“Well, I have some questions for you and while we talk, I can show you around. How does that sound?” He asks.
“Uh, sure.” I mumble.
He leads me down the stairs, away from the building Dev went to and turning the opposite way of the hospital. I am uneasy with every step we take, putting distance between the only two people I know well enough to have some iota of trust in. If Nate realizes I am uncomfortable, he doesn’t make it obvious as he hums, passing large swirling green bushes cut to perfection.
“So, Eden. Tell me, how did you come to meet…” he pauses, his mouth moving as if he is tasting something in his mouth “Alpha Dev?”
“He and his warriors saved me from an auction,” I shrug.
“And he just scooped you up and brought you back here?” he asks, like it is a strange thing to do.
“I had nowhere else to go.” I admit. “Not only am I an orphan, and my pack was destroyed by the rogues who auctioned me off, so Dev felt I would be able to find a home here.”
He pauses for a moment, then he exhales a deep hum.
“Auctioned?” he asks, finally. “As in, someone bought you?”
My skin prickles and it suddenly grows hard to swallow my spit. Dev’s words come back to mind, the reminder that no one can know about the breeder bond between us. Prince Nate may be nice, but if Dev hasn’t filled him in, then I should keep the information to myself.
“No, no, thankfully I was up and being auctioned, but no one actually paid for me.” I give him a tight-lipped smile.
“Interesting.” He mutters, as if he is taking extensive notes on not just my words but my actions as well. “So, how did your parents die?”
His question catches me off guard and I open my mouth, then snap it shut. My family is traitors to the crown, the very kingdom I am walking around and the father of the man kindly showing me everything. The very last thing I need is for him to easily deduce who I am. My family’s death was not a usual execution, it was one of a kind and awful.
“I hope you don’t find this rude, but I’d rather not discuss things that I am still grieving.” I mutter, looking away. His soft hand lands over mine at the crook of his elbow and I look up at him.
“Perhaps you will forgive me for my curious nature.” There is a sad understanding in his eyes before he turns down a trail, taking me off the white walking stones and onto the dirt.
“Is this a walking trail?” I ask, a sinking feeling growing in the pit of my stomach as I stare at the mossy ground where sprigs of weeds poke through the forest floor, only a thin small trail of dirt that looks hardly used revealing itself the further we walk.
“It is. We have a few places that most of those who live here don’t go to very often. The trails are watched by warriors and pretty much reserved for only a certain level of wolves or lycans working for the king.”
I nod, faking interest as I look for a single soul I can try to cling to other than the man who found me standing on the stairs.
“Are you really the prince?” I ask him and he chuckles.
“Yes, I am one of two. I’m the prettier one, to be sure.” He gives me a charming smile and I give him the best fake smile.
“Dev didn’t ask you to come find me then? To have a regular warrior, ask the Prince a favor seems a little unlikely.”
Nate sighs heavily and shakes his head. Then he turns to look at me, a curious look on his face as he presses his lips together.
“Dev did not ask me to come find you and show you around.” He admits. “I hope you can forgive me for taking advantage of your trusting nature, and I hope you can forgive me for this as well.”
My skin prickles, the hairs on my neck standing straight up as I try to tug my hand away from him, and he grips it harder.
“For what?” I rasp out, looking up at him again. The gentleness in his eyes is gone now, replaced with determination and a hint of guilt. The world around me grows smaller, trees that seemed so far away seem to rush closer, my eyes struggling to focus as I freeze, my feet refusing to go any further.
“I’m sorry,” He mutters as I push against him, trying to give myself the space to scream or run, something.
“P-please, I didn’t do anything!” I stammer out, the air thinner as I work harder to keep it in my lungs. I feel my body lift, arms under my knees as I kick out and try to fight.
“Where are you taking me? D-dev promised me everything would be okay.” I rush out, trying to get my eyes to focus, but they refuse, my eyelids squeezing together as I shake my head from side to side.
“Dev is in no position to make you any promises.” Nate mumbles to my back as he breaks into a jog. “Not when my father asks things of me.”
My eyes slip closed, refusing to cry this time. I should have known better than to think maybe my suffering is finally over. No one can help me, not even people who promise to protect me. I was a victim. I lived through the auction, which means there will be questions for me, and with me being the only one to come with them back here, of course, they won’t trust me.
Dev knew this would happen. Is that why he left me on the stairs, waiting for someone to take me and question me so he can be rid of the guilt? Did he really set me up so he can wash his hands of what they do to me?
Nate carries me further, the woods growing more dense as I give in. What the hell is the use of trying when it yields nothing every time? He finally puts me down, a frown on his face, as he reaches up and rubs his shoulder.
“What the hell is wrong with your hips?” He asks, shoving a heavy metal door aside. I turn away, refusing to answer him as he exhales and grabs me back up again, walking me through the door and into the damp darkness.
It feels like it takes forever, taking turn after turn like he is working through a maze. Then a light flickers on and I feel Nate’s body shake under me before his laughter grows louder.
“You were quick.” He mutters, dropping me with a thud as the air rushes from my lungs.
“Well, in my defense, your father did tell me exactly where to find you.” Dev’s voice is calm as I peek around Nate and see him leaning on a metal table bolted to the cement studs in the ground.
“You can have her when I am done with her,” Nate shrugs, looking back at me and tossing a wink in my direction. “We have a connection. Hell, she came with me all on her own.”
“I watched you carry her down,” Dev reminds him.
“Ah, well, she caught on when we hit the trail. She is pretty smart for an orphaned beta.” He says.
“I won’t let you hurt her, Nate. She has been through so much already and she will give us the answers she can when she is settled.” Dev says, his mind made up and his eyes set in stone as he watches the prince, ready to pounce if he needs to. The tension in the air grows and I watch Nate’s shoulders square as he shakes his head and laughs.
“Are you willing to pay the price if you are wrong?” Nate asks and Dev stalks over to the prince, not an ounce of fear on his face, before he tilts his head to the side.
“When have I ever been wrong, Nate?” He asks, his voice hinting at some secret between them before Nate scoffs and drags a hand over his face. Dev walks over to me, dropping to one knee, a wince on his face as he reaches out with his hand. “Ready to go?”
I hesitate, confused and frustrated. Instead of taking his help, I place my hands on the dirt covered ground and push myself up, crossing my arms over my chest. Dev frowns but motions for me to head to the left as he follows behind.