CHAPTER 5 ~ ALPHA ESTATE

HEIDI’S POV

"What are you going to do first, Alpha?" I asked, looking up into his incredibly handsome face while I felt my heart beating rapidly inside my chest.

Kurt looked down at me, and his dark eyes softened significantly. He did not release his tight grip on my waist. Instead, he turned his massive head to address the terrified people still pressing their faces into the dirt.

"Get up and clean the blood off my wooden stage immediately," Kurt commanded the pack in a deep, powerful voice that echoed loudly across the open clearing. "Jason will oversee the disposal of the traitors and the restructuring of the guard patrols. Anyone who disrespects my Luna will join Erwin in the underground dungeon. Disperse right now and return to your daily duties."

The pack members scrambled to their feet because they were completely desperate to escape the heavy physical pressure of his aura. They kept their heads bowed in absolute submission and hurried away from the center of the territory. Kurt finally loosened his hold on my waist, but he reached down and laced his large fingers securely through mine. His hand felt incredibly warm, and the physical contact sent a sudden surge of comforting energy straight up my arm.

We walked down the wooden stairs together and stepped onto the dirt path leading toward the residential area of the territory. I looked down at my faded blue jeans and my oversized gray t-shirt. The fabric was covered in white flour and bacon grease because I spent my entire morning cooking breakfast for Robert and Susan. The reality of my current situation felt entirely absurd. I woke up this morning expecting to scrub dirty toilets in a freezing basement, yet I was currently holding hands with the most dangerous man in the entire supernatural world.

"You are very quiet suddenly," Kurt noted as we walked past the smaller wooden pack houses. "You had plenty of loud insults ready for Derek and Naomi on the stage, so I expected you to talk the entire way home."

"I am simply processing the fact that my life changed completely in the span of ten minutes," I replied, squeezing his hand slightly as we walked. "I knew Derek would reject me today, and I planned to leave the territory eventually to find a normal human job in the city. Now, my broken jade bracelet is sitting on a wooden stage, and I am officially bonded to a Warlord."

"I smelled your unique scent the second I walked into the clearing, Heidi," Kurt said, looking straight ahead at the dirt path. "I knew you were my mate before I even sat down in the wooden chair, but I wanted to watch you handle Derek first. You showed absolutely no fear."

"I handled him by telling the entire pack the honest truth about his anatomy," I replied, feeling a genuine laugh escape my throat. "I washed his laundry for three years, so I saw his undergarments every single week. He always acted incredibly arrogant, yet he possessed absolutely nothing to be arrogant about."

Kurt chuckled deeply, and the sound vibrated pleasantly in the air between us. "You will never need to wash another person's dirty laundry, and you will never scrub another floor. You belong to me now, Heidi. I spent fourteen years building my wealth and my private army in the shadows, and everything I own belongs entirely to you."

We reached the end of the long dirt path and stopped directly in front of the massive Alpha Estate. The house was enormous, featuring three stories of solid gray stone walls, large glass windows, and a heavy mahogany front door. Erwin lived in this house for many years, but the property rightfully belonged to Kurt all along. Kurt pushed the heavy wooden door open and led me into the spacious front foyer.

The interior looked incredibly luxurious. The floors were made of polished hardwood, and a large crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling. I instinctively tried to take off my dirty shoes because Susan always slapped the back of my head if I tracked dirt into her pristine house.

"Leave your shoes on if you want to, Heidi," Kurt instructed, noticing my hesitation immediately. "This is your house now. You make the rules, and nobody will ever raise a hand to you again. If you want to track mud across the expensive rugs, you have my absolute permission to do so."

"I appreciate the offer, but I actually prefer clean floors," I said, kicking my worn shoes off and leaving them neatly near the front entrance.

We walked past the formal sitting room. I looked at the ugly green velvet chairs and the dark, depressing curtains covering the windows.

"Erwin bought all this terrible furniture," Kurt muttered, noticing my facial expression. "We will throw all of this garbage away tomorrow morning. You can pick out brand new couches, paint the walls a completely different color, and redesign the entire house to fit your personal taste."

"I would love to decorate the rooms, but I would really love to take a hot shower first," I told him, running a hand through my messy dark hair. "The water heater in the basement of my foster home never worked properly, so I have taken freezing cold showers for the past ten years. My muscles are incredibly tight from the stress of the ceremony."

"There is a massive master bathroom upstairs with a large soaking tub and endless hot water," Kurt told me, reaching out to gently brush a stray strand of hair away from my cheek. "You can take a warm bath for three hours if you want. We have a fully stocked kitchen down the hall, and I will hire a private chef tomorrow so you never have to cook another meal unless you specifically desire to do so."

I smiled genuinely for the first time all day because the idea of a hot bath and a professionally cooked meal sounded absolutely perfect. "You are being surprisingly domestic for a man who just whipped his brother mercilessly in front of hundreds of terrified people."

"I am completely ruthless to my enemies because they deserve violence, but I will only ever show you respect and care," Kurt answered honestly, his dark eyes staring intensely into mine. "You are my mate, and my primary biological instinct is to protect you and provide for your daily needs."

I opened my mouth to thank him for his surprisingly sweet words, but a sudden noise interrupted our conversation. A remarkably loud crashing sound echoed from the large kitchen located at the very end of the long hallway. The distinct sound of heavy ceramic shattering violently against the hardwood floor broke the peaceful silence of the estate.

Kurt reacted instantly. His entire body tensed, and his heavy protective aura flared aggressively around us, filling the hallway with immense physical pressure. He stepped directly in front of me, using his broad shoulders and heavily muscled torso to completely shield my body from the hallway. He reached his right hand back and pushed me gently toward the solid stone wall near the front door.

"Stay exactly right there, Heidi, and do not make a single sound," Kurt ordered in a low, dangerous whisper as he began to walk slowly toward the closed kitchen door. "Someone managed to bypass my perimeter guards, and I am going to rip their throat out right now."