Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes - Chapter 40: Chapter 40

*Dev*
Dread washes over me when I see the sincerity and hurt in her eyes. I don’t know what all entirely she witnessed, but after Minnie whispered in my ear, I didn’t have a damn choice but to kiss her. Not just for my sake, but hers. How the fuck am I supposed to protect everyone when desires and needs overlap?
“Leoni, walk Eden home.” I grumble, not taking my eyes off Eden. “I will be there shortly.”
“Better find some blankets for the couch, because you aren’t coming near me.” She bites out before she turns and stomps away. I exhale deeply, Leoni coming up to me, her eyes filled with suspicion as she looks from me to Eden and then frowns at me.
“You left her out here for hours.” She says and the guilt that is already eating away at my stomach grows famished, and I drag my hands over my face, wanting to break down.
“I didn’t have a choice.” I bite out.
“Uh, huh.” She snorts as she rolls her eyes. “Yet you could send Killian out here for her and not me? What the hell is going on with you?”
She doesn’t wait for me to answer as she runs off after Eden, the two disappearing before I turn around and find myself next to Topher. Killian is in rough shape, but he is still conscious, which I take as a good sign.
“Sorry Alpha.” He manages to get out through clattering teeth and shaking lips.
“You did your best.” I say, trying to reassure him as I kneel by his head and reach out, patting his shoulder.
“She wasn’t even here when I came for her. A m-m-massive wolf was wondering, like he was waiting for someone.” He meets my eyes, and I see the hint of panic there. “It felt like they knew where you were supposed to be.”
I give him a gentle smile as his eyes grow heavy and fall closed, the pain too much for him to stay conscious for much longer.
“Rogues often feel like they have the right to linger around and act like they belong.”
“N-n-not a rogue.” My brows wrinkle in question, suddenly not wanting him to sleep as I perk up as I grip his shoulders, giving him a tiny shake.
“What do you mean, it wasn’t a rogue?” I ask, “That dead body is a rogue…”
“Before that one came, another was here. He did this to me when I confronted him, but he was stronger, an alpha…”
Fuck.
Is that who was across the way, stalking Eden all this time? If it’s an alpha, could it be that those fuckers who killed Hayes regrouped and came for their own vengeance under the guise of rogues? I stand, pacing away as I try to process what he is saying and come to terms with what it could mean.
“You don’t think…” Topher breaks off when I look at him, his face grim as he scowls and continues to wrap leaves and bandages around Killian’s abdomen.
“Anything else?” I ask Killian, as he seems to find relief finally.
“There was another wolf who came back and fought with Eden.” He hums, like he is drugged up on some decent medication, and I shake my head, looking at Topher, who shrugs like he has done nothing wrong.
“Fought with Eden? Like she is injured?” The words feel foreign leaving my lips. She didn’t look hurt, other than the literal shattering of her heart I could witness in her eyes.
“No, they fought together. And then Leoni came,” his voice trails off and he waves his hand, sleep taking him over and leaving me with more damn questions than answers.
I pace away, my hands raking through my hair as I try to settle the steadily growing acidic flavor in my throat. Everything is fucked right now, from my future with Eden to my future as the fucking king in this pack.
“Topher,” I sigh and he walks over to me, wiping his hands clean on a wet cloth. “Are you going to be able to get him to the hospital on your own?”
He nods with confidence.
“Yes, that won’t be an issue,” he responds, moving away as if he already knows what my next demand will be, but then he pauses, and clicks his tongue before he turns to look at me. “You should have told her about Minnie before she showed up.”
“How the fuck does one explain Minnie and my relationship with her to someone I want to be with?” I scoff.
For the first time ever, Topher looks at me in a way that Hastings would, a mixture of pity and disappointment.
“Perhaps you should have waited until you resolved things with Minnie before you pursued Eden.” Then he moves over to Killian and prepares to move him.
I sprint back to Eden, ignoring every call of my name from people who call out to me. There is nothing that is more important right now than getting to Eden and revealing the truth and hoping she will listen. As I climb the front steps and twist the knob, I slam into the door, shocked to find it locked.
–Leoni–I growl through the mind link–Do not make me order you to let me in–
The door opens a second later, a red faced, arms crossed, Leoni glaring at me like I killed her damn cat.
“Move,” I tell her, but she arches a brow in response, the only part of her to move.
“What makes you think I want you in my house?” She asks, leaning on the door frame.
“Do you really think you have a fucking option right now? I need to talk to Eden.”
Her eyes narrow and her lip twitches into a sneer.
“What do you want to see her for?” She asks, her voice melding with her lycan’s, letting me know just how ticked off she is with me.
“I have a right to explain things.” I scoff.
“What part would you like to explain?” She asks. “The part where you abandoned her on a date you planned in the middle of the woods during a rogue attack. Or the part where she saw you making out with some naked chick rubbing up on you?”
“She had just shifted. It wasn’t like anything nefarious or sexual was happening to make her naked.” I plead and Leoni snorts.
“So, you admit you were making out with her?” She asks, pushing off the door frame and leaning into me.
“No, we were not making out.” I look around her for Eden before I level her with my fiery eyes. “Shit has gone sideways with my uncle and passed the throne on to me. I informed him I want the throne but that I have changes. I want to establish off the bat…He offered her Nate instead.”
She blinks at me; her face unreadable as I groan and turn, walking away before I stride back, trying to fight back my anger.
“Minnie had the insane idea that if we prove we care for each other, neither side can protest it. She was promised to the next king as a mate, a family honor that happened when we were little.”
“You need to go back to your room at the pack house.” Leoni says softly, shaking her head.
“No, I need to see Eden. I have to talk to her and explain it.”
Leoni growls in frustration.
“Explain how you have been lying to her all this time about who you really are? That you not only are supposed to be the damn next king but the promises of loving her and hoping to take her as a mate are complete bullshit?” She asks, her tone serious as she stares through me.
She is right. There is so much to explain. Too much for me to lie on the table in front of her for her to truly understand what is happening. An apology for what she witnessed isn’t enough. It’s me admitting I deceived her in not just one way but multiple.
It’s utter selfishness and hoping that ignoring the pact I have with my father’s best friend for his daughter will just somehow work itself away. In my stupidity, my blindness to reality, I had hoped I could become king and surprise her with my title and make everything disappear with a simple order. But nothing is simple, not anymore.
“Fuck, Leoni,” I whisper, her name guilt mixing with emptiness growing in my gut. “How the hell did this get so fucked? Why the hell does loving someone have to make it so hard to choose them?”
“Maybe that’s the point of being forced to give up your mate if you are royalty. The choice to put your heart to the side and do what is best for your kingdom.” I can tell she is torn between Eden and me, wanting to console me because I have no one else yet trying to remain loyal to Eden, who needs her more.
“I will be back in the morning, whether she will listen to me or not.” I mumble, turning away in defeat, exhaustion and despair weighing heavy on my shoulders.
Leoni says nothing as I walk away, making it back to my fancy, oversized room and massive bed. It feels lonely here now without Eden’s presence or sleeping near her on the floor. That is until I see the silhouette standing in my window turning to look at me.
“I have to ask you a question and I need you to tell me everything you know,” Minnie says, stepping to the small table and clicking on the light.
“Now is not a good time.” I grumble. Seeing her makes me feel worse, and her in my room makes me want to vomit. “Please leave.”
“Not until you tell me about Eden.” She says, striding across the room to stop just before me. Her eyes search me, looking maybe for the answer before I answer. Instead, I exhale through my nose and close my eyes.
“How do you know about Eden?” I ask and she scoffs, drawing my attention.
“Are you seriously fucking kidding me? I have been searching for her for two years!” She nearly screams the news at me and I frown.
“What the hell are you talking about? How could you possibly know who Eden is?” I pinch the bridge of my nose between my eyes.
“When you ran off you chased a girl who was too familiar to me, then you called out her name… The same name I begged you to save two years ago from a death sentence.”
“Jasmine, what the fuck are you saying?” I ask, the room spinning as I feel my way to the bed, dropping on to it.
“I am saying that two years ago you sentenced and carried out my best friend’s family’s execution by fire and that somehow you have her here, and she is safe.” I hate how grateful she sounds, how elated she is by this revelation as each fucking second just makes me sink lower, hating myself more and more.
In a fantasy world, I could have explained to Eden who I was and who Minnie is and maybe made things work in our favor, being both king and with the woman I have fallen so damn hard for. But in reality, in this hell of a fucking life I live, I will never be able to have her now, not knowing I am the one that killed them, her family.
She was so afraid of telling me who she was, and I was ready to accept her, regardless. There is no way Eden could forgive this, even if she wanted too…
I killed her family, sentenced her to life in a pack where she was destroyed physically and emotionally. How the hell can I ever face her again?