Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes - Chapter 20: Chapter 20

*Dev*
I drag my hands down my face, trying to wipe away the exhaustion festering in my eyes. Uncle Cedric has me so busy I barely have time to do anything but train the warriors and attend meetings that are useless to me. Granted, one day I will have to attend these meetings as the alpha, but still, I have more pressing matters.
Like the documents in front of me that seem to feed me no new information about the breeder’s contract or how to break it. The door opens behind me and I look over my shoulder to see Nate sauntering in. He takes a seat across from me, a frown on his face as he leans back.
“Why are you hanging out in this dusty old place?” He asks, scanning the wooden shelves with disdain.
“Research,” I grunt. “Is there something you want?”
“Can’t I just check in on my little cousin?” He asks, a smirk on his lip before he leans forward and lifts the cover of the book I am reading. “Breeder laws…? Interesting. Are you thinking of taking a breeder already?”
I snort, slamming the book shut and stacking it with the others.
“No, Nate. There are a lot of woman still out there stuck in these bonds they didn’t choose to be in. If there is a way to break it for them, to free them from being forced to carry someone’s child for their freedom, then I want to find it.” I glare at him and watch as his brows pull together.
“I hadn’t thought of it that way before.” He mutters, “Did my dad ask you to keep working on this?”
I lick my teeth and look away from him, and he tuts, exhaling deeply before he sits back and slouches into the creaky wooden chair. Then he shakes his head and closes his eyes for a moment.
“He told me to forget it.” I tell him. “But looking during my free time does no harm. I assume you plan to go tell daddy on me?”
He snaps his eyes at me, annoyed.
“Don’t be a dick, Dev. I have a mind aside from what my father says and dictates. I think what you are doing is noble and I want to help. If you will let me.”
I laugh dryly.
“You want to help me?” I ask him, skeptical of any offer of help that comes from him.
“Is that so hard to believe I think you are on to something?” He asks, his lips turned down and his brows high.
“Since when have you ever agreed with me?” I scoff.
“What you are saying makes sense.” He says, pinning me with an annoyed glare, his face tight. “After listening to what Leoni said the other day, how the women were treated, where they came from and the way they were auctioned like cattle…”
His voice breaks off and he exhales.
“It’s truly as bad as she said.” I tell him and he nods.
“They need to be freed. What kind of life can they be living? What good man buys an unwilling woman?” He says. The sincerity on his face matches the tone in his words.
“There are only two ways out of the bond that I can find.” I tell him, shaving a book toward him.
“And what are they?” He asks, dragging the book closer as he opens it and thumbs through the pages.
“One of them dies, or the woman bears him a child.” I tell him, watching him closely for his reaction.
“So why don’t we just kill the men?” He asks, looking up. “It would end the bond and free the women. It’s not a terrible plan.”
I chuckle low in my chest before I shake my head.
“They aren’t just ordinary wolves.” I tell him. “Many are Alpha’s or the likes in rank.”
“But…these auctions are illegal.” He says, blinking at me like he just solved the whole problem. I snort a laugh.
“Yes, they are. And yet somehow the bonds are real.” I remind him, and he frowns again.
“So…someone in the pack is supplying the legal documents already signed?” He asks, looking concerned.
I grin, sitting back in my chair and nodding.
“Exactly. And your dad refuses to believe me.” I add.
“He believes you, but he can’t figure out how it is happening. If he would give me back the case, I would figure it out for him, but he refuses to let me continue with it. Any time I bring him information, he gets upset.”
“Because he has other things that need your attention.” Nate sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.
“Like what?” I scoff. “What could be more important than this? There are still auctions out there, ones I couldn’t dismantle, and yet I am reassigned and forced to stay here.”
“You lost your best friend,” Nate reminds me and I roll my eyes.
“My friend who fought off the fucking alphas who are upset about the illegal auctions getting shut down. I should be out there hunting them down, for Hastings, and yet here I am doing fucking paper work like I’m his damn secretary!” I roar, standing as I hammer my fist into the table.
“You are a pretty secretary,” Nate suggests, resorting to his ill timed humor to calm me down. My fury only burns brighter as I scowl at him until he caves and exhales. “Look, I will talk to him, okay? See what I can do to get him to at least get a team together to hunt down those alphas.”
I freeze, surprised by the offer to actually help me in some regard. Nate is a decent guy, but he has never gone out of his way to help me with anything in the past. He wouldn’t wish any ill on me and I wouldn’t him, but we have never been the kind to be close.
“You will?” I ask him, my eyes narrowed as he stands.
“Yes.” He says. “You have to have faith he is investigating this and doing it his own way. My guess is with you at the helm, those alphas will fight harder because they know you know. Maybe that is why he is keeping you out of it for now? I mean…you are the future king of the lycans and wolves, Devereaux. Try to remember that.”
“I know who I am, which is why I want this done so desperately. It was my father’s orders that made these illegal. It’s for his name that I want them eradicated.” I admit.
“Look, I will take these books and dig into them, okay? Not everything has to be done alone.” He tells me, scooping up the books in his arms.
“Fine.” I sigh, giving up and accepting his offer of help.
“Now, get some sleep. You’ve got bags under your eyes. You don’t want to look like a mess when Jasmine arrives in a couple weeks.” He winks and walks out. My stomach churns and I drop into my chair.
“Shit.” I groan.
How the hell could I forget she was coming for a visit? I have to end this bond with Eden before she arrives. Otherwise, we will end up with a whole new slew of problems, especially with this attraction to Eden I can’t seem to control.
I have avoided her for close to a week now, dropping off photocopied versions of these books and random things I have found online to Leoni to give to Eden. It is getting hard to stay away. The only reason it has been doable has been because of all the shit Uncle Cedric is throwing my way. But I can’t keep avoiding her for much longer.
I gather the items in front of me, walking out the front door, waving to the woman at the desk who doesn’t dare question the future king. The sun is long gone now, the moon bright enough to make my lycan stir with the desire for a run. I haven’t let him out, not even during training yet, though that is entirely due to the warriors not be up to task yet. My watch dings, giving me the alarm that it is time to crawl into bed.
By the time I walk in my bedroom door, my animal is antsy, pacing in my mind, whining. There is no calming him down as I move to the window and exhale. My skin prickles, my muscles tensing as he tries to break free without me calling him forward. Damn, he is persistent tonight.
“Calm down already. Give me a fucking minute to get out of these clothes.” I grumble to the beast in my mind, now dancing around like a pup getting ready to chase a stick. I move to the bathroom, striping down to nothing before I head back to the window and push it open.
I close my eyes and inhale deeply; the transformation taking place as I leap from the window. My body shivers as the moonlight hits me in full lycan form. It’s like scratching an itch I couldn’t reach after days of trying, and my mind finally feels at ease.
I take the back seat in my mind, letting my lycan run free, sprinting through the forest and leaping over downed trees. We race to the border, turning just at the line as we sprint along it.
But something catches my attention, a faint scent, something familiar as I step back into control and force my lycan to stop. He swings his head around, scanning the area, but we see nothing and the scent is gone before I can place it.
All I know is that something feels strange, like there are eyes in the trees. I tilt my head, rising to my full height as a growl breaks from my muzzled face. The forest quiets, not an animal daring to make a peep. That is when I see it, the shuffling in the leaves against the breeze, as a wolf drops from the branches on the other side, rushing away.
I don’t chase after them, instead I watch as they move further away, then I turn to see what they could possibly be looking at, or for. We sprint straight ahead of the tree, moving deftly around bushes and through trees before I come across a house I know all too well. In the window, on the second floor, are lights and the outline of a woman sitting as she looks at something in front of her.
I hide amongst the trees, my chest growing tight as my lycan wants to whimper and move close. Instead, I force him to remain quiet and still; the wind tickling the fabric of the curtains and bringing to me the soft scent I’ve been missing.
No matter what I try to do, there is no moving my lycan who camps out, refusing to allow me back control as we sit, watching the shadow of the women I’ve been trying to avoid. Even my lycan craves her, which only makes all of this that much harder.