Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes - Chapter 5: Chapter 5

*Eden*
I look down at the oversized shirt; the hem nearing my knees where a pair of loose fitting yoga pants bundle up. A frown tugs at my lips as I realize just how thin I have become over the last two years in that shit hole of a pack. Leoni was sweet enough to loan me the pants, and the shirt I assume came from one of the many massive men wandering around the campfire.
“You look…comfortable,” Dev says from behind me, making me jump. I whip around, blinking at him before I lift my arms and glance at my feet.
“It’s a little big,” I mutter, “But better than what I was wearing.”
“Agreed.” He says, his footsteps growing closer as I keep my eyes cast to the ground, where they belong unless I want a beating. “You are safe with us, Eden. You don’t have to be afraid to look at me.”
He sounds so sincere, and when I finally take a risk and look up at him, his eyes meet mine and my stomach settles for the first time since being freed. Well, loosely freed, clearly there are still some strings attached to me.
“Okay,” I mutter, still trying to reconcile my feelings about him.
He feels safe, like he is a bear, and I am his cub to protect. But a bear is still a bear, and danger lurks wherever they are, so I too must be cautious. Not to mention he owns me. My lips sneer at the thought. This guy promising protection purchased me like I was meat at the butchers. And a feeling of safety or not, that keeps trust at bay.
“Do you want to come over and try to eat something?” He asks, nodding in the direction of the fire. I shake my head no after thinking for a moment. The last thing I want is to get to know him. It makes it easier to hate him if I don’t know him. But my stomach betrays me as it grumbles and I wrap my arms around it, trying to silence it.
“Right,” he chuckles, reaching out to give me a hand. “Come get some food while it’s still warm.”
My lips press together, moving from side to side as I contemplate it. I want food, man I want food so damn desperately, but does this favor come at a price too?
“Eden!” Leoni shouts out, patting a spot in the grass next to her as she shovels food into her mouth. “Got you a spot next to me.”
I move in her direction, brushing past Dev’s outstretched hand. He shakes his head in disbelief, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, I hear him limping softly behind me and by the time I take my seat; he is offering me a plate of steaming hot food. It has been so long since I have had a warm meal, never being allowed to use the microwave and only allowed the scraps after they had gone cold and left unattended at the table.
The plate heats my cold fingers, and I sigh, relishing the warmth of it. My eyes fall closed and I move the plate closer, feeling the steam on my face, a smile making its way across my lips.
“Smell good?” Leoni asks through a mouthful of food.
“I assume so,” I offer her a smile as she tilts her head and her brows pull together.
“What does that mean?” She asks, lowering her plate and fork.
I shrug, switching the plate to one hand as I dig in with the fork in the other.
“I don’t have a sense of smell.”
“You don’t have a sense of smell…how? Were you born that way? Get punched in the nose?” Leoni asks, watching me like I am some oddity.
“I was injured a couple of years ago. It ruined my sense of smell.” I shrug, finally taking a bite of the gravy like meat and a swipe at what I learn is potatoes.
The food fills my mouth with a medley of flavors and my eyes water from the temperature as I shovel more in. My stomach growls and I find myself unable to be dainty about eating, feeling sauce dribbling down my lips and chin with no care in the world.
I eat quickly, near inhaling it as I try to control my chest that seems to move erratically until I finally finish and I look up, sensing eyes on me. My cheeks grow red with embarrassment and I turn to look at Leoni, feeling a sense of comfort in hiding by her. She reaches out and touches my cheek and I frown, my fingers swiping at my face, and I realize I am sobbing.
“Eden…” she mumbles.
“I am fine, I’m sorry.” I whisper, wiping my face on my arm and placing my plate to the side as I focus on the fire, trying to ignore the fact that I just devoured a meal while sobbing so quickly that I caught all of the attention of the men.
“Have some more,” Dev says, and I turn to see him sitting next to me, his injured leg out straight and bandaged heavily.
“No, no, I’m fine. I promise.” I mutter out, waving my hands to stop him from offering me more.
“What the hell are you doing over there now?” Someone groans, their voice filled with frustration.
“I’m eating?” Dev says, looking up at a man with disheveled blond hair and a scowl that could kill an army.
“Oh? Is that why my handiwork is already bleeding through?” He grits and points at his reddening bandage and Dev gives me a sly smirk.
“I was being a gracious host.” He shrugs.
“Well, how about you be a good leader and do what you are told so you don’t die on us? You may be a ly–”
“Alpha,” Dev cuts him off. “I may be an alpha, but yes, I know I still need time to heal. Fine, Topher, I will stay still now, happy?”
The man he called Topher narrows his eyes and watches him carefully before storming off in a huff.
“That is Topher. He is the healer with our group.” Dev says, turning to me like I asked. Then he leans over and nods toward Leoni. “You have met Leoni. She is one of my top warriors.”
“One of them?” She scoffs, “Try THE top warrior. Who else would allow themselves to be taken and sold as a damn breeder for the cause, hmmm?”
The men across the fire break into a laugh, one of them shaking his head.
“I lack the parts required to be sold in this auction, Leoni. Let’s not pretend you were picked merely based on skill set.” He says and she grins.
“That douche bucket is Hastings.” She introduces him, and he fakes a bow, before she leans over close to my ear. “He talks a big game, but he is a big softy and Dev’s best friend.”
“And your mate,” Hastings says from across the fire, arching a brow as Leoni smiles prettily at him.
“And yet you sit so far away.” She taunts, and he rolls his eyes.
“You sent me away so our guest could have my seat.”
“And yet Dev made his way closer to us with an injured leg. If you wanted to be over here, you would be.” She shrugs, very clearly playing the hard to get game.
“This is an every night occurrence. No one else here is mated, so they like to remain distant until they go to bed,” Dev whispers, leaning close.
I say nothing just, soaking it all in and letting my stomach settle as it twists with all the food now inside of it. I can feel Dev watching me closely, so I fiddle with my fingers, trying to make myself comfortable in a group of strangers.
“What about you? Do you have a mate we should be finding?” Dev finally asks me and I snap my eyes in his direction. My chest throbs, my throat closing up. I have never talked about my mate before, never having anyone to talk to about it. No friends, no kind words from anyone since the fire that ruined my life.
“Uh,” I rasp out, clearing my throat quietly. “Is there somewhere safe where I can sleep?”
My words are soft as I try to push the unresolved ache in my chest away from when my mate, whom I never saw or scented, rejected me. The very same day I lost my entire family, I had what was left of my heart and soul ripped from me and crushed with three horrible words.
“Oh, come on, you really don’t have a mate Have you at least found him yet?” Dev presses and I abruptly stand, the plate clattering as I kick it and I try to lean down to grab it.
He has the same idea as he leans forward, our heads slamming together as I let out a yelp and shoot back up, hand on my head. My foot moves forward, looking for stability as my vision comes back from red, only to have me witnessing the world spinning around me.
I slam into a hard body, arms wrapping around me as someone grunts, and I hear the air leave their lungs. Yet again I feel a flush come over me as I try to push myself up, my hands landing on the most muscular chest I could have ever imagined and I glance down into an amused set of silver eyes, a dimple in his cheeks as he smiles smugly and a soft laugh ripples through his chest.
“You are a mess,” He whispers, his hand reaching out and tucking loose hair behind my ear. His words aren’t harsh. Instead, it is almost like he is somehow complimenting me with slanderous terms and I find myself flustered, uncertain of how to respond.
After two heart beats I shove away from him, jumping up as fast as I can and taking three steps back. My hands nervously rub my pant legs and I look around, finding not a single person is paying attention to us other than Leoni and Hastings.
“Leoni, take her to her tent. I think she needs some space and time to process everything.” Dev says, wincing as he pushes himself back up to the log he was set on.
I don’t miss the way his eyes linger on mine, the two of us once again caught in some invisible field that confuses me. When Leoni calls my name, I break eye contact and rush away, trying to tell myself it has everything to do with not having man be nice to me in years and not a strange feeling in my chest that makes it seem like I somehow know him.