Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes - Chapter 9: Chapter 9

The mood is glum by the time we make it to the line of black SUVs that are waiting for us. The road they are hidden on is no more than a recently bulldozed piece of woodland, and it makes me wonder if perhaps they cleared it out just for us. How high up are these warriors that they would comply with such a request?
I may be the daughter of a beta from a smaller pack, but this feels like royalty status. A frown tugs at my lip as I glance around, watching as not a single person seems to question it, everyone clamoring into a vehicle or putting away the gear they were carrying on their backs. Drivers exit the vehicles, standing at the door, waiting for orders.
It feels like I am an outsider looking in, as no one pays attention to me standing by the wayside. Not that I mind the lack of attention, but it makes me feel out of place, like perhaps I could slip away and no one would notice me. I wring my hands; the thought sounding more tempting by the second as I take a small step backward, then another and another.
The shadows of the trees provide a canopy, masking me from the heat of the sun hammer down on me. Only a few more steps and I can spin and disappear into the trees. What I will do when I am on my own only time will tell. But the thought of making that decision for myself feeds a part of my aching soul.
I spin on my heels, finally feeling comfortable enough to make a break for it, only to slam into a chest, falling back on my ass with a groan. Dev’s face is like a roman statue, angled and perfect yet stoney and unreadable. He crosses his arms over his chest, showcasing the expanse of his muscles as I swallow hard and wince, afraid to look at his face.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?” He asks, his voice sounding disappointed.
“I just want to live for myself.” I rush out, pushing myself back up as I dust my shorts off.
“And you can only do that if you run off into rogue territory?” He asks, arching a brow as if he is questioning my intelligence.
To be fair, at the moment I feel like questioning the same thing. Why didn’t I even think about the assholes who tried to sell me or what they would do to me if they got hold of me again? There is no way Dev and his warriors killed every one of them.
“With my pack abandoned, am I not technically a rogue?” I ask, meaning the question. There are many rules to becoming a rogue, and I don’t know a single one other than having no alpha. Why the hell would I care when I was a beta? My life should have had me finding my mate and having a place of status.
Not that finding my mate and instantly becoming a child factory was all that appealing to me, but I was willing to oblige for the comfort and stability that life would afford me. Unfortunately, that option was torn from me with my family’s betrayal. Not just to me, but to the kingdom we swore to serve and protect.
“No,” Dev says, exhaling as his hands drop. “A rogue is banished, forced from pack life. It is not about an alpha dying or leaving, it is about your words and your actions. If you want to become a rogue, you have to deny all wolves and the safety they provide.”
“So I’m just a packless pack wolf?” I scoff, and he cracks a small smile.
“No, you have a pack because we have a bond of our own.” He reminds me. “We have promised each other certain things.”
“What happens if you just leave me?” I ask.
“That is not an option.” He frowns, shaking his head as he reaches out and grabs my hand, stalking past me as I whip around and he drags me back to the vehicles.
“I don’t want to go,” I complain and his muscles tense, then he spins around, dragging me close to him, my body pressed to him.
“Me having a breeder reflects poorly on me. It makes me a hypocrite, and that is not something I like to be. We have a bond, one we must break in order for me to accept a mate, something I would like to do in this lifetime.”
“Why not just keep it a secret and let me go live my life?” I ask him seriously, looking up as he groans, dragging his hand through his hair.
“With you as my breeder, only you can bear me children, Eden. I want to choose a mate I love, someone who wants me and my children and is not forced to have them. That is not possible until we figure this fucking pact or bond or whatever the fuck it is out.”
“Alpha, we are ready.” The driver shouts from the first vehicle. His jaw clenches and he closes his eyes, exhaling.
“You can hate me, and you can be happy living your life, ignoring me all you want in the kingdom. But right now I refuse to fight with you over this while my closest friend’s life hangs in the balance, so either walk to the fucking vehicle or I will carry you.” He grinds the words out and I can see the way his temper flares, face reddening and his chest growing with a large inhale of frustration.
I only take a moment to think, realizing that his friend is Leoni’s mate and Leoni somehow got under my skin. Her promise of protection when it wasn’t possible and the way she tries to shield me and help me, forcing me to accept the reality here. It would be wrong to deny him and force her to wait. So I open my mouth to accept him, but it’s too late.
“Times up,” He growls, my eyes flying wide open as I rear my head back, watching as he stoops low and grabs me around my knees, tossing me over his shoulder as he storms toward the first SUV.
“I was going to agree,” I hiss at him, slapping at his back.
“We do not have time to wait for you to over analyze everything.” He mutters, his long, limping strides tossing my pronounced hip bone into his shoulder.
“I wasn’t.” I pout, my lip curling in annoyance. He lowers me to the ground as if he is in no pain before he opens the door and lefts me in, shoving at my ass as he pushes me over and climbs in next to me.
“Drive,” He snaps out, the vehicle launching forward before his door is fully closed. Dev places his arm behind me, his bicep brushing the back of my head as he turns, his chest leaning into my shoulder, looking in the back. “Same as before?”
I peek over my shoulder, my heart sinking when I see Hastings laying in the large back, the last row of seats laid down to give Topher and Leoni the space to be near him. Leoni’s skin tone has lightened, as if she is going to be sick, her cheeks looking near green and her eyes rimmed red.
“It will be okay,” I offer her the only thing I can think of even if it is empty words. When they were spoken to me when I thought I was dying, it brought me comfort to know someone cared enough to try.
“I-i- can’t feel him anymore,” she rasps out, her voice breaking as she lifts her eyes to meet mine. Her chin quivers, and her eyes slide closed, a tear slipping down her cheek.
“He is still alive, Leoni.” Topher tells her. She smiles as she reaches forward, stroking his cheek as if he is looking back at her with the most brilliant smile.
“Not for much longer, I fear,” she whispers. “His lycan is gone, and without it, Hastings will not fight to live. He doesn’t believe in a life separated from his lycan.”
Dev’s body tenses against mine, my body shivering even with the warmth of him sitting so close.
“I don’t believe that.” He says, looking at Leoni, “He loves you unlike anything I have ever seen before.”
She nods, but she doesn’t move her eyes from Hastings, whose chest rattles helplessly with every wheezing breath.
“That is why I can let him go in peace,” she smiles. “We loved so well, didn’t we, baby?”
I look forward, my nose stinging as tears pour down my cheeks, my chest constricting. How can anyone just accept a loss like that? Is it her maturity or maybe her experience with this way of life that helps her understand how to treasure time when we have it and cling to the memories when we no longer can make more?
I clear my throat, clasping my hands together in my hand as Leoni hums to her other half, as if trying to help him transition to the next phase of life after death. Dev’s chest stutters a few times and I steal a glance, watching him look out the window as he lifts his hands and wipes his face a few times.
“Your unc–” the driver tries to speak, but Dev cuts him off.
“Is the king waiting for us at the gate?” He asks, and the driver looks at him through the rear-view mirror before he nods his head.
“Yes, and the best healers are on standby for the second we arrive.” He continues. “Your room has been prepared, but -uh- what would you like to do for the young lady you are bringing home with you?”
There is a suggestive nature in his tone that I choose to ignore, hating the insinuation that I am potentially just a plaything for Dev to keep at his side. Though, I suppose according to the stupid tie between us; I am just that.
“Eden will stay with us. She was meant to be auctioned and because of her status, I am choosing to keep her close.” He says, his voice frigid, as if telling the driver to drop the shit.
“I see. So should her room be near yours or—?”
“She will stay in the guest wing, where guests stay, Murdoch.” He says, as if he is tired.
“No,” Leoni’s voice is soft, “No, she will stay with me in my home. I will be mourning, or heavens willing, taking care of Hastings and could use emotional support from someone who understands loss.”
A warmth spreads in my chest at the thought of being near someone I trust. Well, as much as trust can grow in a short day and a half time frame. I can feel Dev relax, and it makes me wonder if he was worried I would somehow embarrass him. Is keeping me at Leoni’s a tactic to keep me hidden until we get things situated? I am, after all, living proof of his supposed hypocrisy, even if it was unintentional.
“Good, that is likely for the best. She has been through a lot and with the nightmares she seems to have, it will be better she doesn’t wake up the others in the guest house.” Dev muses.
His words feel like an attack, a stabbing at my inability to be in public due to my issues. I am skinny and weak. Large groups make me uncomfortable and I prefer silence. But hiding me away…it still hurts. Even if it makes complete sense.
I look away, noticing there is no one to my right, so I slip over, putting distance between Dev and I. The driver takes notice, a hint of amusement on his face as his eyes catch mine in the mirror. I lean against the window, pressing my forehead to the cool glass, a sigh escaping my lips as I allow my eyes to close.
“No sleeping, Eden.” Dev says and I swing my heavy lidded glare to him.
“Worried I will scream again?” I ask, my exhaustion and confused emotions biting back at his words with more force than I really should.
“No,” he says back, a twitch in his lips, and I realize he is mildly amused. “I just think it is wise for you to see the territory line. You want to roam free without the fear of the rogues? Then you will need to know the territory lines.” Then he leans toward me, pointing out my window.
“There?” I ask, one brow raised and my lips twisted as I look at a boring field.
“No, where the snapdragons sprout, there at the tree line?” He says, moving his body closer. “That is the line to our kingdom’s territory.”
“Snapdragons?” I scoff, disbelieving, and he grins.
“They signify protection.”
“So, does that mean we are here?” I ask, my brows pulling together as I force myself to pretend I don’t notice his closeness as his chest brushes over my shoulder.
He laughs lightly. “No, but it does mean we are finally getting close to the mansion and the city.”