Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes - Chapter 36: Chapter 36
You are reading Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes, Chapter 36: Chapter 36. Read more chapters of Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes.
My uncle sits across from me, his stoic stare doing nothing to make me comfortable as he steeples his hands in front of his face and finally exhales deeply. I have seen this face from him before, the many times I have disappointed him by choosing what I feel is morally right over what he asks of me. It seems since my last incident with Paxton I can do no right by him.
“I am waiting, Devereaux” He says, his words measured as he watches me with a sneer in his lip.
“For what, exactly?” I ask, adjusting how I sit, taking my stance against what I know he wants from me. It’s always this weighted stare where he tries to remind me he is the king, not just my uncle, and he demands my respect.
“Your apology.” He exhales, disappointment written all over his face as he drops his hands. “Have I not stepped in to not only raise you, but help you through your guilt and grief? Do I not, at least as an uncle or father figure, deserve your utmost respect and loyalty?”
“Uncle Cedric, this incident had nothing to do with—”
He slams his hand on the desk, his lips curling in anger. “Listen here boy, when I say they are connected, they are fucking connected. You have been growing more obstinate, more of a solo thinker rather than a collective for the good of all thinker. This is just one of many incidents in the last five years where I can see you aren’t committed. Do you even want this crown, this responsibility?”
I glare at him, trying to fight the fire that wants to unleash itself from my soul and burn his bullshit words to ash. This is my family’s legacy, the one I am trying to protect, but he seems to think there is only one way of getting there. To him, there is no mercy, no forgiveness or understanding that who we are today can drastically change depending on tomorrow’s occurrences.
“Of course I want it.” I tell him, my heart resolved to do the things my father talked about with so much passion. “Have I not proved enough times that I do?”
“In the past, yes. As of late? You are rebellious and sneaky, always trying to do things that undercut me and my authority.” He shoots the words with anger and I find myself licking my teeth as I fight a chuckle.
“Name one incident other than this.” I bite out and he scowls, his dark eyes burning a hole through me.
“The last mission you worked with Paxton.” He doesn’t hesitate when he says the words and I wince, looking down. Fuck. Paxton snitched like a little bitch about that, too.
“What about it?” I ask, holding my ground, even though I know he has a solid point with this one.
“You were given direct orders.” He reminds me, his eyes now assessing to see how I react to his knowledge of what happened the day I ruined my life for the fucking crown.
“And those orders were carried out.” I stand, my hands shaking in anger. “Was it not carried out as you planned, regardless of what I tried to do to interfere?”
“And yet you interfered.” He smirks now, content knowing I admit to this so-called crime in his eyes. But to me, to me now, mercy isn’t a crime. It can be the difference between being a tyrant and a real leader.
“I followed what I felt was right, and it ended how you had ordered, anyway.” I remind him and he seems to think for a moment.
“I am choosing to ask the elder council to weigh in and consider Nate as the next in line for the throne.” He says the words and I snort, my smirk growing.
“Nate has to want that, Uncle. You and I both know he wants nothing to do with it.” I shrug, “But, please. Be my guest, see how Jamie and Rose respond to you switching out—”
“I am the king!” He roars, the room shakes, but I just roll my eyes at his attempt to make me cower. “Do you think my dead brother’s friends will scare me into choosing a disobedient little shit like you over my own son? They are nothing, just higher ups with the illusion of status in the kingdom.”
I chuckle dryly. “I see. Well, then, best of luck with that uncle.”
His eyes grow wide, as if he is waking up to what he is saying, and he rubs his face in his hands as I move to the door.
“Devereaux, wait.” His voice is soft, defeated. “Please, just…I have spent days in the dungeon trying to get information out of Paxton. He does not paint a pleasant picture of you.”
“And yet you believe him? A warrior who admits he tried to blackmail a grieving mate into having sex with him and then fighting with her when she changed her mind? That is the type of person you are choosing to believe. Not me, your own blood, the kid you took responsibility for when your own beloved brother died.”
“He was convincing at the time.” He frowns before he drops into his chair. “Fuck. Forgive me, please?”
It sounds sincere, hell he even looks sincere, but there is a stabbing in my gut that is telling me to forgive but not forget. So I press my tongue to my cheek and let my eyes fall closed and nod in agreement at his request for forgiveness.
“Can I have time to speak with Paxton? Before you decide what to do with him?” I ask, and my uncle, though unhappy with the thought, huffs aloud.
“Yes.”
“Thank you, Uncle Cedric.” I say sincerely and he sneaks out a smile.
“I know you are not a bad kiddo.” He says as I scratch the back of my neck, looking out the window at the woman running in the barely there sunrise.
“Thank you for saying that.” I say, “And if it feels like I’m giving pushback, it is only because I don’t want to disappoint you.”
He smiles, a gentle, genuine smile.
“At times you have, but so has Nate, if it makes you feel any better. Now, go back home and rest. In fact, have a large breakfast and hydrate. I have heard you obeyed my command even while no one was there to enforce it, and even so for an extra day.” He looks proud as he stands again and pats me on the back.
“Yeah, food does sound amazing right now.” I admit as I move to the door and wave before closing it.
I sprint out the back door, making my way to the trail where I know Eden is running. It has been her early morning routine as of late in order to hide away from me, embarrassed to look me in the eye since our towel cuddling incident.
She doesn’t even notice me as I come closer, a smirk on my lips as I appreciate the way her body moves and her continually growing curves are highlighted in the tight black yoga pants and purple long sleeve top.
“So, when will you stop avoiding me?” I ask Eden as I jog to catch up to her on the trail in the woods.
She jumps, spinning around like I might attack her from behind. She scoffs, but it’s not a real one. It’s fake, forced to make it seem like she is being nonchalant. But those clenching fists and nervous lip biting tell me a different story.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” She shrugs, reaching up to push her ponytail over her shoulder and to her back.
“No?” I ask, arching a brow as I move closer to her. I can see the way she swallows hard and scans the area around us. “So the past few days, you just happen to go to bed at five in the afternoon and wake up before four in the morning for runs?”
She snorts, rolling her eyes. “I’d say it sounds like you are stalking me, but we sleep in the same room, which, by the way, I think it is safe for you to go back to your place now.”
“Oh, you think that huh?” I ask, watching her close, taking in the early morning sun filtering through the tree branches and the way she can’t look at me for more than a moment at a time.
“Yeah, I do.” She mutters, kicking at a rock embedded in the ground at her feet.
“Can I ask why my presence bothers you so much?” I tilt my head, narrowing my eyes.
“No, it’s not that. It doesn’t bother me, it’s just that…Well I already explained it the other day.” She whispers, looking through her eyelashes up at me.
“You like me.” I nearly choke on the words as her cheeks tinge pink and she coughs, caught off guard by the candid answer.
“It’s not that…” she whispers.
“So you don’t like me?” I ask, hating the tastes of the words. Four days ago, I was ready to walk away if she needed me too. But then she took care of me, she comforted me and didn’t pay any attention to anything other than my comfort. My feelings for Eden had always been there, growing daily under the false guise of the breeder’s bond. But that solidified it for me.
If Eden told me she was a wanted criminal, it wouldn’t put me off or send me running. Shit, I’d hide that and break every law necessary to make it so she could be my chosen mate. But she needs to want me back, deep down I swear I can feel it on her end too. The flushing cheeks, the pounding of her heart when it syncs up with mine.
It’s not just that I want Eden. I don’t think I can survive her leaving, especially since the last few days of radio silence have made me near rabid when anyone has tried to talk to me.
She hesitates, not answering before she sighs deep and pinches the bridge of her nose.
“That is not what I am saying.” She murmurs.
“Then speak clearly so I can understand.” I demand, crossing my arms over my chest. “I told you very plainly how I felt. What I feel, and you have ignored me since that time.”
“Do we have to do this now?” She frowns.
“When else would you like to do it?” I chuckle and she groans, looking away.
“Preferably never?” She admits.
“Not a chance in hell, Eden. This needs to be discussed, either now or at home where I can corner you.” I say, stepping into her as she stumbles away, her back pressing against the trunk of a large tree.
“Dev, someone could see us,” she complains.
“Not sure I give a shit.” I admit.
“You should.” She hisses, lashing out at me verbally as she shoves forward.
“Is it so wrong for me to want you?” I ask, hurt by how offended she seems at the idea of my affection for her.
“Yes!” she huffs, her hands on her head before she removes them as if showing her brain exploding. “Dev, you don’t even know me.”
“And whose fault is that?” I growl at her. “You speak to Leoni and not me. Eden, you had a panic attack or episode and nightmares that rock you awake and reactions to people you shouldn’t know, and yet you tell me nothing.”
“Because you wouldn’t like me if you knew. If you truly understood and knew who I am, Dev, you would despise me.” She yells. Her body shakes and her eyes plead with me to drop it, but I can’t. The other morning has lived rent free in my head since the second we separated. Fuck, I have resorted to numerous cold showers a day just to get by.
“Can you let me be the judge of that?” I demand, cupping her face, needing to just touch her. “Let me know you so I can love you for more than just who I know you to be. Let me in, please?”
“You want to love me?” She nibbles her lip, her eyes filled with agony as she tries to feebly pull away.
“Not to be too forward, but I think I might already.” I admit, I’m taking a huge risk here. But my uncle’s confrontation jarred something in me. He says I never choose the pack, but yet I always have. Not once have I done something solely for myself. This is for me. Eden is for me and only me.
“I’m a convicted rebel. A traitor to the crown, the crown you serve,” she whispers, and I bark out a laugh.
“Is that all?” I whisper, pressing my body to hers. “I’ve always kind of had a thing for rebels.”
“I am waiting, Devereaux” He says, his words measured as he watches me with a sneer in his lip.
“For what, exactly?” I ask, adjusting how I sit, taking my stance against what I know he wants from me. It’s always this weighted stare where he tries to remind me he is the king, not just my uncle, and he demands my respect.
“Your apology.” He exhales, disappointment written all over his face as he drops his hands. “Have I not stepped in to not only raise you, but help you through your guilt and grief? Do I not, at least as an uncle or father figure, deserve your utmost respect and loyalty?”
“Uncle Cedric, this incident had nothing to do with—”
He slams his hand on the desk, his lips curling in anger. “Listen here boy, when I say they are connected, they are fucking connected. You have been growing more obstinate, more of a solo thinker rather than a collective for the good of all thinker. This is just one of many incidents in the last five years where I can see you aren’t committed. Do you even want this crown, this responsibility?”
I glare at him, trying to fight the fire that wants to unleash itself from my soul and burn his bullshit words to ash. This is my family’s legacy, the one I am trying to protect, but he seems to think there is only one way of getting there. To him, there is no mercy, no forgiveness or understanding that who we are today can drastically change depending on tomorrow’s occurrences.
“Of course I want it.” I tell him, my heart resolved to do the things my father talked about with so much passion. “Have I not proved enough times that I do?”
“In the past, yes. As of late? You are rebellious and sneaky, always trying to do things that undercut me and my authority.” He shoots the words with anger and I find myself licking my teeth as I fight a chuckle.
“Name one incident other than this.” I bite out and he scowls, his dark eyes burning a hole through me.
“The last mission you worked with Paxton.” He doesn’t hesitate when he says the words and I wince, looking down. Fuck. Paxton snitched like a little bitch about that, too.
“What about it?” I ask, holding my ground, even though I know he has a solid point with this one.
“You were given direct orders.” He reminds me, his eyes now assessing to see how I react to his knowledge of what happened the day I ruined my life for the fucking crown.
“And those orders were carried out.” I stand, my hands shaking in anger. “Was it not carried out as you planned, regardless of what I tried to do to interfere?”
“And yet you interfered.” He smirks now, content knowing I admit to this so-called crime in his eyes. But to me, to me now, mercy isn’t a crime. It can be the difference between being a tyrant and a real leader.
“I followed what I felt was right, and it ended how you had ordered, anyway.” I remind him and he seems to think for a moment.
“I am choosing to ask the elder council to weigh in and consider Nate as the next in line for the throne.” He says the words and I snort, my smirk growing.
“Nate has to want that, Uncle. You and I both know he wants nothing to do with it.” I shrug, “But, please. Be my guest, see how Jamie and Rose respond to you switching out—”
“I am the king!” He roars, the room shakes, but I just roll my eyes at his attempt to make me cower. “Do you think my dead brother’s friends will scare me into choosing a disobedient little shit like you over my own son? They are nothing, just higher ups with the illusion of status in the kingdom.”
I chuckle dryly. “I see. Well, then, best of luck with that uncle.”
His eyes grow wide, as if he is waking up to what he is saying, and he rubs his face in his hands as I move to the door.
“Devereaux, wait.” His voice is soft, defeated. “Please, just…I have spent days in the dungeon trying to get information out of Paxton. He does not paint a pleasant picture of you.”
“And yet you believe him? A warrior who admits he tried to blackmail a grieving mate into having sex with him and then fighting with her when she changed her mind? That is the type of person you are choosing to believe. Not me, your own blood, the kid you took responsibility for when your own beloved brother died.”
“He was convincing at the time.” He frowns before he drops into his chair. “Fuck. Forgive me, please?”
It sounds sincere, hell he even looks sincere, but there is a stabbing in my gut that is telling me to forgive but not forget. So I press my tongue to my cheek and let my eyes fall closed and nod in agreement at his request for forgiveness.
“Can I have time to speak with Paxton? Before you decide what to do with him?” I ask, and my uncle, though unhappy with the thought, huffs aloud.
“Yes.”
“Thank you, Uncle Cedric.” I say sincerely and he sneaks out a smile.
“I know you are not a bad kiddo.” He says as I scratch the back of my neck, looking out the window at the woman running in the barely there sunrise.
“Thank you for saying that.” I say, “And if it feels like I’m giving pushback, it is only because I don’t want to disappoint you.”
He smiles, a gentle, genuine smile.
“At times you have, but so has Nate, if it makes you feel any better. Now, go back home and rest. In fact, have a large breakfast and hydrate. I have heard you obeyed my command even while no one was there to enforce it, and even so for an extra day.” He looks proud as he stands again and pats me on the back.
“Yeah, food does sound amazing right now.” I admit as I move to the door and wave before closing it.
I sprint out the back door, making my way to the trail where I know Eden is running. It has been her early morning routine as of late in order to hide away from me, embarrassed to look me in the eye since our towel cuddling incident.
She doesn’t even notice me as I come closer, a smirk on my lips as I appreciate the way her body moves and her continually growing curves are highlighted in the tight black yoga pants and purple long sleeve top.
“So, when will you stop avoiding me?” I ask Eden as I jog to catch up to her on the trail in the woods.
She jumps, spinning around like I might attack her from behind. She scoffs, but it’s not a real one. It’s fake, forced to make it seem like she is being nonchalant. But those clenching fists and nervous lip biting tell me a different story.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” She shrugs, reaching up to push her ponytail over her shoulder and to her back.
“No?” I ask, arching a brow as I move closer to her. I can see the way she swallows hard and scans the area around us. “So the past few days, you just happen to go to bed at five in the afternoon and wake up before four in the morning for runs?”
She snorts, rolling her eyes. “I’d say it sounds like you are stalking me, but we sleep in the same room, which, by the way, I think it is safe for you to go back to your place now.”
“Oh, you think that huh?” I ask, watching her close, taking in the early morning sun filtering through the tree branches and the way she can’t look at me for more than a moment at a time.
“Yeah, I do.” She mutters, kicking at a rock embedded in the ground at her feet.
“Can I ask why my presence bothers you so much?” I tilt my head, narrowing my eyes.
“No, it’s not that. It doesn’t bother me, it’s just that…Well I already explained it the other day.” She whispers, looking through her eyelashes up at me.
“You like me.” I nearly choke on the words as her cheeks tinge pink and she coughs, caught off guard by the candid answer.
“It’s not that…” she whispers.
“So you don’t like me?” I ask, hating the tastes of the words. Four days ago, I was ready to walk away if she needed me too. But then she took care of me, she comforted me and didn’t pay any attention to anything other than my comfort. My feelings for Eden had always been there, growing daily under the false guise of the breeder’s bond. But that solidified it for me.
If Eden told me she was a wanted criminal, it wouldn’t put me off or send me running. Shit, I’d hide that and break every law necessary to make it so she could be my chosen mate. But she needs to want me back, deep down I swear I can feel it on her end too. The flushing cheeks, the pounding of her heart when it syncs up with mine.
It’s not just that I want Eden. I don’t think I can survive her leaving, especially since the last few days of radio silence have made me near rabid when anyone has tried to talk to me.
She hesitates, not answering before she sighs deep and pinches the bridge of her nose.
“That is not what I am saying.” She murmurs.
“Then speak clearly so I can understand.” I demand, crossing my arms over my chest. “I told you very plainly how I felt. What I feel, and you have ignored me since that time.”
“Do we have to do this now?” She frowns.
“When else would you like to do it?” I chuckle and she groans, looking away.
“Preferably never?” She admits.
“Not a chance in hell, Eden. This needs to be discussed, either now or at home where I can corner you.” I say, stepping into her as she stumbles away, her back pressing against the trunk of a large tree.
“Dev, someone could see us,” she complains.
“Not sure I give a shit.” I admit.
“You should.” She hisses, lashing out at me verbally as she shoves forward.
“Is it so wrong for me to want you?” I ask, hurt by how offended she seems at the idea of my affection for her.
“Yes!” she huffs, her hands on her head before she removes them as if showing her brain exploding. “Dev, you don’t even know me.”
“And whose fault is that?” I growl at her. “You speak to Leoni and not me. Eden, you had a panic attack or episode and nightmares that rock you awake and reactions to people you shouldn’t know, and yet you tell me nothing.”
“Because you wouldn’t like me if you knew. If you truly understood and knew who I am, Dev, you would despise me.” She yells. Her body shakes and her eyes plead with me to drop it, but I can’t. The other morning has lived rent free in my head since the second we separated. Fuck, I have resorted to numerous cold showers a day just to get by.
“Can you let me be the judge of that?” I demand, cupping her face, needing to just touch her. “Let me know you so I can love you for more than just who I know you to be. Let me in, please?”
“You want to love me?” She nibbles her lip, her eyes filled with agony as she tries to feebly pull away.
“Not to be too forward, but I think I might already.” I admit, I’m taking a huge risk here. But my uncle’s confrontation jarred something in me. He says I never choose the pack, but yet I always have. Not once have I done something solely for myself. This is for me. Eden is for me and only me.
“I’m a convicted rebel. A traitor to the crown, the crown you serve,” she whispers, and I bark out a laugh.
“Is that all?” I whisper, pressing my body to hers. “I’ve always kind of had a thing for rebels.”
End of Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes Chapter 36. Continue reading Chapter 37 or return to Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes book page.