Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes - Chapter 29: Chapter 29

“So what’s the plan?” Leoni asks, walking up on me as I cling to the manilla folder she handed me hours ago.
“For what?” I exhale, feeling defeated the more I think about what the fuck is about to unfold.
“That folder, Paxton,” she shrugs. “For you and Eden. What ever you are willing to talk about.”
“I don’t fucking know.” I admit, my shoulders feeling weighted as I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Is it terrible that I am dreading ending this?”
Leoni frowns, walking closer to me as she places her hand on my shoulder. Her deep brown eyes mirroring the same damn emotion I know my best friend would give me right now if he were here.
Nothing close to pity, but an understanding that I have craved a longing like this for so long. With losing out on the mate bond, I gave up this type of feeling. But with the breeder bond, it feels like I finally have a taste of what I lost and it makes my chest ache at the thought of letting it go.
“It doesn’t mean she is leaving.” She reminds me, but there are things she doesn’t know. Hell, things that I wasn’t even privy to tell Hastings. Eden staying now or after the bond is broken will change nothing. She will leave either way, because I can’t have her. Deep down, I think Leoni knows it, too. She seems as sad about this as I am.
“You know that is does and it shouldn’t bother me. I want her to find someone who can love her and treat her right.” I say with a sigh, lifting the folder as I undo the metal wings, keeping my papers secure.
I slip it out. Staring down at the familiar blood splotches on the page, she was forced to give in lieu of her signature. It looks exactly like I remember, the seal from the royal family, the signatures in ink from the king himself. There is no way this is forged.
“Does this look like a fake to you?” I ask, handing it to Leoni. She takes it, reading it in silence as the bugs bounce off the outdoor light over head. She thumbs through it, a deep line forming on her forehead as she frowns.
“Do you have any others to compare it to?” She asks without lifting her eyes. “This here is the king’s signature. There is no doubt in my mind. The question is, how did it get there if he didn’t sign it himself?”
“Exactly.” I mutter with a sigh. “You once mentioned that you have some reservations about the king?”
“Yes.” She glances up, watching me curiously before she places the contract down on the table and crosses her arms over her chest. “Are you ready to hear them?”
“Is it relevant to any of this?” I ask, pointing to the papers, and she shrugs, her head tilting from side to side.
“Maybe, but I can’t be sure. I have no solid evidence, only a gut feeling about what I have heard and witnessed here and there.”
“Well, don’t hold back on my account.” I tell her, and she gives me a stern look.
“That man raised you after you lost everyone. If you really want to know, I will tell you my opinions, but if you aren’t ready for them yet, then don’t take on more than you need to. Right now you have Paxton and this contract to deal with. Do you really think you can add more without it stressing you?” She asks.
Leoni makes a solid point, even though my interest is more than piqued. There is something that is off about these contracts, about how I am not allowed to do my own investigating for a mission I was leading at some point. But Paxton is a more pressing issue, this bond even more so than him.
“Can you go wake up Eden?” I ask her, not able to bring myself to be alone with her. Not after what happened earlier. There is not much I can’t trust myself with, but being alone with her after that delicious incident is one I need to be wary of.
“Sure.” she says, pointing to the contract. “Might be wise to photograph the sections not including your stamp or signature. So you can have proof.”
I pull out my phone, doing jus that as she fetches Eden. I don’t make it deep into the packet before the two of them come out, Eden wrapped in a blanket, but her eyes don’t have a shred of sleepiness in them. Was she awake all along, too?
“You ready to break this bond?” She asks, her voice soft.
“Are you?” I ask her, and she gives me a snort.
“The last thing we need is something controlling us.” She says, trying to give me an encouraging smile. “It’s not like we are losing anything.”
I look at the ground, my head bobbing up and down in agreement.
“You are right. We aren’t losing anything, just something that isn’t even real.”
“Exactly.” She gives me a genuine smile, and it feels like my chest is being cut open. How can she be feeling nothing over this? What if everything I feel about her disappears completely? What if I end up regretting what happened earlier tonight, even if it was the hottest thing I experienced. EVen if it was just making out and nothing more.
“So, you read enough into this to know how to do it?” I ask her, clearing my throat as I look up.
“Well, we need to find all the pages we signed and from there burn them.” She says. I arch a brow in disbelief.
“It’s that simple? It sounded more complicated when you were reading it last time.” I tell her.
“I mean, we have to both agree that the bond is done, that it served its purpose and we wish for it to be dissolved before we both burn it from opposite ends. You can burn the whole thing or just where it was signed from what I gather.” She says with confidence I don’t feel.
“Well, I guess it’s time then.” I scratch the back of my neck, swinging my hand down before picking up the paperwork yet again, this time thumbing through to grab every document required for burning.
Then I look at Leoni and realize I need to burn all of these. To protect her and Eden as well, then the entire contract, hell, even the folder, needs to be disposed of. Because the second Paxton comes raging back into the pack, he will be searching.
I grab all the paper, stuffing them back into the folder and offer one side of it to Eden. Leoni produces two lighters, holding them up for us and we take them both, avoiding eye contact.
“Okay, well, here goes.” She whispers, striking up her lighter as I do the same to mine.
“I dissolve this contract, citing that contract has been fulfilled to my liking, and no longer requires the serves of my breeder.” I say the words, my eyes trained on her face.
“I agree to the dissolution of this contract, knowing I have fulfilled the duties to the best of my abilities and my partners’ liking.” She whispers, her gaze drifting up to meet mine before she looks away quickly.
I drop the heavy paper onto the metal table, watching as it catches fire and burns off page after page. I wait for the feeling of it to end, the way it began, but nothing happens. Doubt creeps into the back of my mind and I wonder if we did the right thing or did it the right way. I am doing this for Eden, giving her the freedom she so desperately craves.
Then a heat runs through my body, taking with it all the warmth as it seems to filter through my lips, expelled with a breath of smoke. When I look over at Eden, her eyes are wide in shock, a gasp escaping her as she presses her hand to her stomach, then she falls to her knees.
“Eden!” I rasp out, my throat dry as I dive to catch her before she can fall forward. “What is wrong?”
“It hurts,” she whimpers, “M-my chest, it’s burning. My whole body…AHHH!” Her cry breaks me into pieces as look at Leoni who rushes over to her other side.
“What the hell is wrong with her?” She asks and I just stare at her like a deer in headlights. I don’t care what the fuck is wrong with her. I just want to make it right.
“Fuck,” I growl, scooping her up and into my arms as I race into the house.
I take the stairs two at a time, slamming through the bathroom door as I shove her in the shower, turning the cool water on. She slumps down, her breathing rough as I move in behind her, resting my back on the tiles with her between my legs, my arms around her stomach and head resting back on my shoulder.
“It’s burning all over again.” She whispers, her body shaking as if she is convulsing. I try to touch her cheek, but she feels fine. There is no reason for her feeling of heat. “Please, please, just let me burn.”
Leoni rushes into the bathroom, her eyes red rimmed as she looks at the sight before her. Her mouth agape as she tries to fumble for words, but like me, she comes up with nothing.
“I will make her something to eat.” She says, chewing on her cheek before she seems to bounce nervously. “Do you think it didn’t work? Maybe it thinks you two lied because you didn’t…you know…do the deed?”
I shrug, unsure of how to respond, as I press my face to her wet cheek. Right now I know absolutely nothing other than that I felt something snap, a change in my lycans’ need for sex replaced with an insatiable need to protect and care for her. The bond may be gone, but my feelings for her…they aren’t. And watching her go through whatever this is killing me bit by bit.
“Eden,” I whisper in her ear, my lip brushing over her skin as she shudders and moans in pain. “Hey, I am here, okay? I’ve got you and I just need you to tell me what to do. How can I help you?”
Leoni gives me a tight-lipped smile before she rushes off to do what she said she would and I just hold Eden, reassuring her I am here, that she is safe. No matter how many times I ask her what she needs, she doesn’t respond, but she seems to give into me, her muscles relaxing from their tense state as she lifts her hand and places it over mine.
“You back?” I ask her and she nods, her eyes still closed.
“What happened?” She asks, and I scoff in shock.
“You tell me, one minute the bond is breaking and the next you are screaming about being on fire and wanting me to let you burn.” I tell her and she tenses again. Shit. did I just set her off again?
“Oh,” she whispers, moving out of my hold as she scoots to the other side of the shower. “I... well, I think the bond broke. And it was a weird heat, and it scared me…”
“And made you freak out that bad?” I ask her skeptically. She shrugs.
“I’m prone to panic attacks sometimes, when I get too close to heat.” Eden admits, pushing her wet hair from her face as I reach up and turn off the shower.
“A panic attack.” I repeat her words and she nods.
“I think I am going to take a real shower and crawl into bed. That really wiped me out.” She says, averting my gaze. “If that’s okay?”
“Uh…yeah. Leoni actually went to make you something to eat, and she will stay in the room with you tonight.” I offer and she nods.
“That sounds really nice. Thanks.”
I stand and exit the shower, my clothes dripping as I stride out into the hall and to her room, quickly changing out of my wet clothes and bringing it down to the laundry room.
Then I find myself on the couch as Leoni hums in the kitchen. A panic attack usually comes from a huge trauma and now all I can think about is her past and how much I want to know. No, how much I NEED to know.