Sold to the Alpha

by Cara Wylde

  Avelyn was silent, thoughtful for a few minutes. The clock was ticking the time away as she was trying to decide how she should react. She was still mad at Christine for having lied to her and done exactly the opposite of what she had asked, but that was ancient history now, anyway. It had been her own fault for foolishly believing the elder of Clan Blackmane would disobey her Alpha. She reached over to the tray on the table and lifted the lid off the bowl of soup in one swift motion. She took it in her hands, enjoying the warmth it gave off, and sank the spoon to scoop up a piece of carrot.

  “What about Sabine?” she asked. “Was there any time when you believed she was his soul mate?”

  Christine sighed. “No. As much as I adored Sabine, I always knew she wasn’t right for Max. He tried to save her and protect her. Maybe he even learned to love her after he brought her to the Schloss, but she was never the one for him.”

  “Adored her?” Avelyn huffed, then blew gently on her soup and gulped it down, enjoying the way it burned her throat. “You kept her locked up down there and almost sedated.”

  “And it pained me to do it, but it was for her own good. The herbal teas I made her were meant to calm her down and reduce her anxiety. I know it’s hard for you to believe me, but I care a lot about Sabine. She’s just a broken soul who lost everything, then found herself thrown into a new world she had to adapt to. The moment she turned, she wasn’t herself anymore. She hadn’t only lost her family, but she had also lost herself, that human part which connected her to her past. If I had been there when Max found her and decided to save her and bring her home, I would have tried to talk him out of it. You can’t fix what someone else has broken. It always ends badly, especially when the broken one doesn’t want to be fixed, or when the mending would take too much of a toll on them.”

  “So, you would have let her die.”

  “Yes.” There was no hesitation in the she-wolf’s voice. “It would have been easier for her.”

  “Wow! And you still claim you care about her.”

  “Caring is thinking of the other’s well-being, making the choice that’s good for them, not for you.”

  “Max healed her and saved her for her own good.”

  “No, he did it for himself.”

  Avelyn raised her left eyebrow, indicating she didn’t see the logic.

  “Karl and his Dark Wolves had raided the village and killed Sabine’s family. Max saved her because he needed to feel better about himself. He needed to be the good brother.”

  “That’s… that’s just fucked up.”

  Christine laughed cheerfully at Avelyn’s blunt choice of words. “I guess you could say that.”

  “So… Karl really did kill her family. She didn’t lie about that. Tell me the whole story.”

  “No. That is something Max has to do. You two still have a lot to talk about. It’s his turn to come out clean, and you should give him the chance to regain your trust. This is a new beginning for the both of you. If you want to be happy, Avelyn, then you have to do this right. You and Max have started on the wrong foot, and this may well be the last chance you’ve got to start over. Take it and make the best of it.”

  “And then what?” Avelyn set the bowl down and placed her hands on her lap, palms facing up, as a sign of defeat and resignation. “What will happen after the full moon, when I’ll most likely lose my unborn baby and never be able to have children ever again?”

  Christine rose from her chair, rounded the table, and crouched beside her. She squeezed her knee in a firm grip and made her look into her green eyes. “There’s an entire lifetime until then, and it’s filled with possibilities and solutions you can’t see now.”

  Avelyn laughed weakly. “How do you know that? Do you have some sort of clairvoyant abilities I don’t know about?”

  “Maybe I do.”

  ***

  Avelyn arched her back and pulled gently at Max’s hair, as he was swirling his wicked tongue around her hard nub. She moaned, then chuckled when he bit her lightly, the graze of his teeth sending a pleasant shudder up her spine. His tongue went lower to clean the juices off her swollen folds and dip inside her entrance for more. She bucked her hips into his mouth, and felt his strong hands squeezing her butt encouragingly. Her Alpha had always liked it when she took control of her own pleasure and showed him exactly what made her lose her mind. Maybe that was why he had preferred a fiery vixen instead of an obedient Lupi wife. He wasn’t a typical Alpha wolf just as she wasn’t a typical shifter-bride. There were shades and nuances there, and they were discovering them together.

  Max stroked her delicious clit with the tip of his tongue, enjoying the way she shuddered under him. He inhaled her intoxicating scent, and marveled at the new note he felt in it. She was still human all right, but there was something else hidden there, just under her skin; the werewolf venom that was slowly taking over her body. The new smell drove him mad with lust. The combination of human frailty and raw animal desire she exuded made it so hard for him to make love to her at a slow pace. One good thing that would come out of her transformation would be that he’d finally be able to take her fast and hard anytime he wanted, without having to hold back or worry he might hurt her. She moaned louder and he knew she was close to release. To his surprise, her hands pulled slightly harder at his hair, urging him to look up and see what was wrong.

  “Come up here,” she whispered. “I want you to fuck me.”

  “Mmm… baby, but I’m rather enjoying my treat.”

  “I need you inside me. Now.”

  She gave a frustrated whine and Max laughed before letting go of her perfect butt and climbing up her body. Half an hour ago, he had come with one thing in mind: tell her everything about his past. The last thing he had expected was to end up on top of her, his shirt shredded to pieces, her mouth devouring his in a hungry, almost desperate kiss. “Now I know why I’ve been so damn horny in the past week,” she had said between kisses and small bites. “Almost three days without sex. Are you trying to make me go crazy? I’m a pregnant woman, Max. I need your attention.” He had been more than happy to comply.

  Avelyn took hold of his painfully hard cock and stroked it slowly, teasingly. Her hand moved lower to squeeze his balls, and she took a few seconds to knead them playfully. He dove down for a kiss, and Avelyn responded eagerly, opening her mouth to let their tongues fight for dominance. She spread her legs wider and angled his cock to her entrance. She loved how the soft skin of the head felt against her wet pussy lips, and she bucked her hips upwards, letting him know she was ready for some action.

  Max placed his hands on both sides of her head, and rested his weight on them. He looked her in the eyes, and pushed slowly, loving the way her walls parted and clenched down on his throbbing cock.

  “Oh, how I missed that,” she said.

  “Three days and you’re already climbing the wall? You’re one needy little vixen.”

  “She-wolf. I’m one needy she-wolf who wants that cock of yours to fuck her brains out.”

  Max moaned when he heard her say the magic word that showed how much she belonged to him now. She was his she-wolf, and yes, he’d give her what she’d asked for. He pushed all the way in and started moving immediately, knowing she didn’t need time to adjust to his impressive girth.

  Her legs encircled his waist, her heels digging into his buttocks to urge him to go deeper. She clawed at his back and pressed him down until he captured her lips in another heated kiss. She sucked on his tongue as he thrust his cock into her wet pussy over and over, filling her, bringing her closer to the edge. She yelped when he pushed particularly deeper, a hint of pain mingling with the intense pleasure of being taken by her lover. He broke the kiss and threw her a concerned glance, but she laughed and slapped his butt playfully.

  “Don’t slow down. I’ve been waiting for this for so long, give it to me harder.” He picked up the pace and she screamed. “Yes! Just like that. Fuck me!” She let her feet fall on the bed and used her legs to r
aise her hips higher and meet his thrusts. She squeezed her eyes shut, abandoning her body to his feverish assault, her hands flying above her head to grip the bedpost.

  Max couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her full, beautiful body spread so shamelessly under him was a sight he could stare at for hours. His balls tightened, and he felt the familiar pressure right before release. He loved the way her breasts bounced freely on her chest, and he couldn’t resist the temptation to dive down and take one hard nipple between his lips. He bit down on it, driving his cock inside her up to the hilt. Her body went still for a moment, and she screamed his name as she orgasmed, her pussy clenching down on his cock so hard that it threw him over the edge. He whispered her name, his hot seed coating her walls. Their bodies relaxed and shook softly in the aftermath, and Max let himself fall completely on top of her.

  Avelyn let go of the bedpost and ran her hands through his black hair, massaging his scalp slowly, tenderly. “Much better. If I had to wait one more hour, I would have gone insane or exploded.”

  He laughed at her exaggeration and rubbed his face against her neck, inhaling the flowery scent of her shampoo. The position was perfect. He could stay like that for hours, listening to her heartbeat and focusing on the way her chest rose and fell in the rhythm of her breathing. It was perfect. Peaceful and serene. He never wanted to leave her arms or pull out of her. They were one.

  “Max, baby, you’re kind of… getting heavy.”

  “Oh, sorry.” He immediately rolled on his side, already missing the closeness. She turned to face him and snuggled to his chest, like a kitten asking to be petted, caressed, and loved. His fingers started untangling her curly hair, arranging the soft tresses like a halo around her head. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  She smiled and pinched his nipple. “And horny little me pounced on you and made you forget all about it.”

  “Pretty much, yes.” He smiled. He was silent for a long moment. He knew she was waiting for him to continue, but the moment had passed. It had taken him long hours to choose his words and make up his mind over and over again, and now it seemed it had been in vain. The sex had distracted him completely, and all he wanted was to lie in bed forever, with his beautiful bride in his arms.

  Avelyn sensed he wasn’t going to start speaking that easily. After her discussion with Christine, she realized she saw him differently. She had fought him so hard, and now she knew it wasn’t because he had trapped her and robbed her of her freedom, but because he had taken her to a perfect home and showered her in love and attention. He had given her what she had been hoping to achieve all by herself, and that’s why she had fought him so earnestly. It was over now. It was her turn to give.

  “How are things going out there? Any news on Sabine’s whereabouts?”

  Max relaxed and exhaled in relief, thankful for the simple, straight to the point question. Yes, he could do that. Simple questions, a normal conversation. He didn’t have to start with the big stuff. He could take it slow. “No. It’s like she vanished. Kevin and Ryan are still in Stuttgart, but they’ll come back soon if they don’t find anything. She might have moved on by now.”

  “What do you think she wants? I mean… what’s her plan?”

  “I wish I knew. The truth is… after having known her for so many years, I’ve no idea what she’s thinking. She’s always been moody and unpredictable.”

  “Maybe she just wants to start over, somewhere far away from here. Maybe we should just leave her be.”

  Max smiled at the hopeful tone in Avelyn’s voice, but he didn’t know what to say. In fact, he knew, but it would have sounded too pessimistic.

  “How did it all begin?”

  He took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds.

  “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me right now.”

  “No. It was exactly what I wanted to tell you when I came in. You have her version of the story, so it’s time I give you mine. I… I won’t keep anything from you anymore, but, before I start, you have to know that it’s not a pretty story.”

  She snuggled closer to his chest, her cheek pressed against the taut muscles. “I’m ready.”

  “It all began one hundred years ago. We were getting close to the end of the war, but we didn’t know it yet. Europe was one huge battlefield covered in bloody bodies and torn limbs. The humans were getting better and better at killing shape-shifters, having learned their weak spots. We were in southern UK, Karl and I, with our packs. Jocelyn was here, at the Schloss, making sure no one passed through our gates. We heard the rumor that the humans had killed a dragon, and Karl simply lost it. You have to understand the news was frightening. In four years of full-blown war, no dragon had ever fallen. Sure, they had been wounded and sometimes chased away, but not shot down from the sky. At that moment, it sounded like we were losing the war, because if the humans had found a way to kill the weredragons, who were the most powerful shifters, then the rest of us, werewolves, werefoxes, werebears, and wereeagles, didn’t even count. Compared to the mighty dragons, we were easy targets. I tried to reason with Karl and convince him it was not the end, but he wouldn’t listen. We had a fight, and he stormed out of our hiding place with his Dark Wolves right behind him. I thought he only wanted some time for himself because of our argument, so I didn’t go after him.”

  Max made a brief pause to gather his thoughts and prepare for what he had to say next. Avelyn rubbed his arm reassuringly.

  “The next day, one of my scouts came running to tell me that the nearby village had been plundered and almost burned to the ground, and it looked like a pack of wolves had done it. Maybe he knew, my scout… maybe he knew it had been Karl, but he didn’t have the courage to tell me. You see, it was a poor farming village. Those people had never posed a threat, and there were mostly women, children, and men who couldn’t fight, so no one could actually defend it in case of attack. Our mission was to regroup, and that was why we had found a hiding place. Karl and I were supposed to wait for two sleuths of bears and then move farther south. We had no interest in that village. But it seemed that Karl, in his rage, had attacked at night and killed or critically wounded every living soul.”

  “My God…” whispered Avelyn.

  “I sent Kevin and two scouts to track him down, and I stayed with the rest of my wolves to assess the damage and see if we could help anyone. We changed into our human forms and covered ourselves with what we could find, then went from house to house to gather the bodies and look for survivors. That’s how I found Sabine Miller. She was lying on the floor, squeezing her brother’s small hand, and fighting to breathe. She was bleeding profusely, and she couldn’t move. She couldn’t even crawl. When she saw me, she tried to scream, but her voice broke and only tears ran down her dirty cheeks. She had a broken leg, and her hip had been almost smashed to pieces, but she hadn’t been bitten. A slow, painful death awaited her, mainly from blood loss, and I couldn’t let it happen. Right then, seeing her broken and helpless, so innocent and alone, I decided that I couldn’t let her die or, worse, kill her myself so she wouldn’t suffer. So, I took her in my arms and bit her, then stayed like that for hours, waiting for the venom to take effect and start healing her wounds.”

  “That was a brave and kind thing to do.”

  Max’s smile was more of a grimace. “I don’t know. Maybe I thought the same then, that I was doing the right thing saving her and taking her with me. Now, I don’t know anymore.”

  “You couldn’t have known how things would change.”

  “I guess… Anyway, Kevin found Karl and the Dark Wolves and brought them back. Karl was easy to convince. After his rage had subsided, he saw what he had done and calmed down. Maybe he even regretted it to some extent, but I’ll never know that for sure. We carried on with our mission, but I secretly sent Sabine to the Schloss with Caleb and Daniel to guard her and keep her safe. I would have sent Kevin, but I needed my Beta. On the other hand, I could manage without my Deltas for a couple o
f days. It took another two months until I could finally reach the Schloss myself. Until then, Christine and Jocelyn had taken care of Sabine and made sure her change went as smoothly as possible.”

  “Jocelyn?”

  “Yes…”

  “I’m sorry, I just don’t see Jocelyn caring for anyone.”

  “She’s a tough one, my sister, but she has a heart, you know? She and Sabine were quite close for a while. I think Sabine looked up to her.”

  “How did she…” Avelyn swallowed heavily. “How did Sabine welcome you?”

  “She was amazing. In those two months, she had gained a bit of weight, her skin had gotten a nice tan. She was happy and full of energy and life. She kept thanking me over and over for saving her and giving her a new home. The wolves liked her young, wild spirit, and she loved running in the woods around the Schloss and hunting with them. It was like she had been born to be a werewolf. Soon, the peace treaty was signed and the Council was formed. The next few months were peaceful and uneventful. Karl moved away to London, which was a great relief, because it would have been crazy to expect Sabine to live under the same roof with the one who murdered her family. They didn’t talk to each other anyway. Although, I remember Karl coming back from one of his morning jogs naked, bruised, and in a foul mood. He said it was nothing, but then I saw Sabine gloating for, like, a whole week. Jocelyn and I came to the conclusion that she probably found the perfect time and place to corner him and ruffle his fur a bit, give him a taste of his own medicine. She was a strong little she-wolf, but not strong enough to actually stand up to him. He probably let her have that victory.”

  “How kind of him.” The irony in Avelyn’s voice was evident.

  “Things got complicated when… when I realized she had fallen for me. We had developed a strong friendship, so when Sabine told me she loved me, I was bewildered. Later, Christine told me I had been a blind fool for not seeing it all along. She said Sabine had felt that way even before I came back to the Schloss. Our relationship grew in time, little by little, step by step. We took it slowly, aware we had all the time in the world. After one year, I decided we should have the full moon ritual. It was only normal for her to become my official bride. That was the first time when Jocelyn and Christine showed their disapproval. Of course, the reason was that Sabine would never be able to offer the clan heirs, but I dismissed it and told them that could very well fall on Karl’s shoulders. I…” He made a long pause, unsure how to say the words. “I…”