Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes - Chapter 38: Chapter 38

My shoulders fall and I deflate, looking at the dress in the mirror. Since being here I haven’t worn a dress once, hell since leaving my original pack I can count on one finger the times I wore a dress. Literally once and it was more of a sheer tease of fabric for creeps to gawk at me.
“What is wrong?” Leoni groans, leaning back on the bed behind me. “This one looks great on you.”
I chew on the inside of my cheek, sighing as I turn and check out my angles. It’s not that she is wrong or that the dress isn’t great, it’s that I don’t feel like me. Not that I really know who I am anymore. I’ve changed so much in just the few weeks I have been here. I still deal with trauma and shut down at times, but…
“Dev just mind linked me,” Leoni breaks my self criticism up and I look behind me using the mirror.
“Is he canceling?” I ask, my stomach twisting as I watch her, wincing in anticipation.
“Nope, but he wants me to take you there. The King needs to see him first.” She looks up at me wearing an encouraging smile. “It’s going to be such an amazing date.”
“So, where are we going? Is a dress the right choice?” I ask, spinning to look at her, smoothing the dress down on the front, my nerves twitching through me. There is no hiding the smile of anticipation.
“The dress is a perfect choice.” She grins, “But your hair, that needs some work.”
“My hair is fine,” I scoff, running my fingers through it once more.
“You don’t want to, maybe, put some curl in it, or do a cute little half up look?” She asks and I can see she is fighting the urge to be pushy.
“I want to go as me, Leoni, and going in a dress already feels like a step away from that.”
Her face softens, and she smiles before she stands and places her hands on either side of my arms.
“Then your hair is perfect the way it is,”
I wrinkle my nose, trying to fight the excited grin I know is peeking out. A date with the most attractive guy I have ever met, and he doesn’t care about my being a labeled traitor. In fact, he wants to protect me and, for once, it feels like someone might actually do just that.
“Okay, so when do we leave?” I ask her and she jumps up.
“So he said to just take you there now and that you should wait for him there until he arrives.” Leoni rushes out of the room with me hot on her tail.
“Is it far? Will people laugh at me while I wait for him to show up?” I ask, wringing my hands together as I come to a stop in the kitchen doorway. Leoni shakes her head, her curly hair bouncing from side to side.
“No one will laugh at you because he arranged something special and I highly doubt he will keep you waiting long if he can help it.”
Now my interest is incredibly piqued. I had it in my head that he would take me to a restaurant or out to a movie or something…more run of the mill, but then again, most people don’t date. They find their mate, and they take that back home relatively quickly to seal the deal. No, dating is often the second step in a courtship, per se. At least in werewolf world.
Leoni and I walk in silence, the two of us looking at each other and occasionally getting giddy with a fit of giggles before we calm back down. Her genuine happiness over this date helps calm me.
If Leoni can find joy in my budding relationship, then I should allow myself to open up to it, too. Dev has done nothing but protect me at all costs and even up until he finally caved to this chemistry between us, he has been there for me in so many ways.
Though I can vividly remember the last time someone cared for me, it was never anything like this. My family loved me and I knew it, felt it always. But they are meant to love me. Even a mate would have been meant to want me, despite my faults. And then there is Dev. Choosing me after everything, seeing me cry, watching me break further, only to help me search for the pieces. He isn’t fixing me, but rather supporting me while I fix myself, ensuring I miss nothing.
“Thank you,” I mutter to Leoni, shouldering her slightly as she smirks over at me.
“For taking you in?” She asks.
“Yes, and everything else. It’s hard to find people to trust when trust has been out of order for so long. And you just…have been honest and open with me about everything from the start. I’m not sure where I would be without your friendship.”
She snorts and shakes her head.
“You sound like you are planning to die. It’s a date, Eden, not a freaking battle in a war.” She says, giving me her all knowing face.
“I know, but I guess…” I shrug, smiling to myself. “It’s just that I am happy, and it makes me want to share that feeling.”
“Well, I am happy for you.” She says, her lips stretching across her face in a bright smile.
Then she lifts her hands as we walk into the center of a lit up circle. Fairy lights glitter the trees, providing enough light in the shade for a romantic ambience. Tea lights flicker around a small waterfall trickling down a shale rock wall and leading into a tiny little creek rushing by.
My hands fly to my chest, my eyes watering with just how pretty it all is. So perfect, like a movie come true. How the hell did he pull this off? I know he is high in the rankings, but for him to pull out something this extensive seems very generous of the king to agree to.
Flames in a forest, even in the wet season, are never an incredibly wise or approved idea. And yet here I stand in a glittering sea of low yellow ambiance and the stunning sound of water rushing by to soothe me. Then I see it, the picnic blanket and a mound of pillows to sit on, sitting next to a basket and three bottles of the type of alcohol that actually does something to our kind.
“How long will he be?” I ask, turning to look at Leoni, my eyes wide in wonder.
“Not very long, I hope. Why don’t you sit and chill out for a bit?” She says. “I am on border duty tonight, so I will be nearby if you need me.” She gives me a tiny wave and waggles her eyes. “Have fuuuuun!”
“I think I might,” I mutter, moving over to the pillows before I fall back into the with a poof of air and a giggle.
The pillows are in the softest fabric, feeling like a cloud against my skin as I nestle in and take in the scenery. It’s stunning just looking up at the trees. Even with the sun still up, filtering through the massive branches reaching for the sky, it is dark enough below their canopy to need the lights.
It feels like that is half the magic of this spot, the need for light even in the light of day. Shadows linger everywhere, reaching for me, and yet the soft sound of candles burning, the wicks melting with the song of the birds makes me feel sleepy and safe. A yawn breaks free as I tuck my hand under my cheek, changing my focus from trees to candles to the tiny flowers dotting the grass near the blanket.
I hadn’t even noticed I drifted off to sleep until a shiver ran over my body and I sit up, looking around. The area has grown darker; the candles burning low and the sun no longer in the sky. My heart sinks as I reach for the basket and find the food in it untouched. Dev hasn’t even shown up yet? Panic creeps up my throat, making it hard to breathe.
What if the King is angry with him again and he is being punished or worse, what if there was an attack and he and Leoni are injured? Surely Leoni would have reached out to me or come to find me if Dev was going to be this delayed. I mean, it has been three hours at this point.
I scramble to my feet, looking around, disoriented. Which way did we enter this area again? I am not sure I can make my way back, but I have to try. So I move past the creek, and exit where I think we came in.
It’s pitch black. My senses are not what they should be without the use of my nose to help guide me, but I rely on my wolf's instincts to lead me without tripping or running into a tree. My legs ache the further I walk, my hair now a tangled mess as trees seem to reach for me, clawing at my hair and cheeks with dangerously sharp tips, cutting my skin.
It only grows darker, the forest feeling more dense as I focus on remaining calm, refusing to fall into a panic attack. I am stronger than I was just days ago, and I am safe on this pack’s grounds. How could I not be when it’s where the king resides? But despite my best efforts, the shiver up my spine makes me aware I am not alone.
I whip around, narrowing my eyes as I try to see anything other than the darkness and hear the creaking of the trees in the wind. The only thing keeping me sane is the lack of animal noises where they should be. Someone is here, watching me or not, but I am not alone. Animals don’t skitter away for no reason.
“H-hello?” I call out, my hands bouncing off my thighs nervously. “I was told to meet you out here, Leoni. Just meeting a big, badass warrior in the middle of the woods…”
I try to make it seem like I am serious, that I am not showboating about being out here and expecting someone to come save me. Someone with skill and violent desires. My skin prickles when there is a deep growl and I close my eyes, inhaling deeply. This is not going to go in my favor if I don’t haul ass out of here. I jet to the left, pumping my arms as I fall into a quick pace.
There isn’t time to waste looking back. Even a split second is the difference between life and death as I focus on my breathing, making it calm and steady.
Branches break behind me and my skin prickles. I knew it was likely they would follow me but, fuck, fuck, fuck. I cut to the right, no idea where I am heading when I see twinkling lights ahead. Holy shit, when did I make it back here? I feel safety coming closer with each stride I take to the little date spot, only to stop dead in my tracks, noticing wolves sniffing around and tearing everything apart like ravished beasts.
Their signature unkempt fur and tufts of glistening exposed skin tells me they as rogue, who have clearly been injured as they drip blood along the scattered blanket and pillows. But how the heck did they escape Leoni on border duty? Unless…my throat grows tight and a whimper breaks from my lips as I slap my hand over it. All three massive heads swinging to look in my direction before a howl breaks through the night and they respond, rushing off.
I step into the area, my legs compelled to move forward and I see a dead body to my right, or rather, close to dead body. In a second, I am by his side, recognizing him as the warrior who stood up for Dev when he was punished.
“Oh shit,” I mutter, not sure where to press to stop the bleeding first. I touch his stomach, pushing his exposed intestines in as I turn away and gag, fighting the bile back. “Sorry if this hurts.”
But he doesn’t respond, hell he doesn’t even move a muscle which makes me feel my efforts are futile as I look around and freeze, a huge wolf sauntering toward me, teeth bared as I gape at him. Fucking hell, this is how I go out. After everything, after pain and suffering and finally finding happiness, I am about to lose it getting stood up by the guy I wanted nothing more than to spend my life with.
But at least I was happy. Even if it was only for a little while.
“Make it quick,” I wince as I close my eyes and turn my head to the side, waiting for the strike that I hope will be a swift kill.