Sold To The Alphas

KaiaThe library air was suffocating. Silence pressed against my eardrums. I sat across from Selene, my eyes locked on her hands. They were steady as she smoothed a piece of yellowed parchment over the mahogany table. This wasn't a fairy tale. It was a cage with better lighting.Selene’s glasses caught the dim overhead glow as she traced the heavy black lines on the map. She didn't look up."Five territories, Kaia," she said. Her voice was flat, like she was reciting a grocery list. "Five packs. Five alphas. All of them answer to one man."Her finger landed on the center of the map. Kentrikos."Your father," she whispered. "Alpha Narcisse. He owns it. All of it."I stared at the thick ink. My stomach did a slow, sick roll. "He owns it? Like a king?"Selene’s mouth twitched. It wasn't a smile; it was a ghost of a bitter thought. "We don't have kings here.""Then why do people call me Princess?" I asked. I tried to make it sound like a joke, but my voice cracked in the middle.She fina

KaiaThe heavy thrum of a headache pulsed behind my eyes, the kind that came from sleeping too long in a room that felt like a cage."Wake up."Selene’s voice sliced through the haze. I felt her hand on my shoulder, a firm shake that rattled my bones. My eyes lurched open, stinging against the dim light."What?" I croaked. My throat felt like I'd swallowed sand. I pushed myself up, my hair a knotted mess. "Selene? What’s going on?"A floorboard creaked near my desk. "We don't have all day, Princess."Cain was leaning there, arms locked over his chest. He looked bored, but his eyes tracked the way my shirt slipped off one shoulder. A sharp, mocking glint danced in his gaze."What are you doing in my room?" I rubbed my face, trying to scrub the sleep away. "Looking for another chance to throw me on the floor?"He clicked his tongue, a slow, predatory sound. "Tempting. But not tonight.""Tonight?" I glanced at the clock. I’d crashed after the morning run, falling into a black hole of exh

KaiaThe last two weeks on my father’s island were a blur of sweat and raw meat. I stopped making excuses. I stopped slacking. Every morning, I pushed my body into the shift, my bones snapping and reforming until I was running on four paws alongside Cain and Selene. They were so lost in each other it was nauseating. I was the third wheel in a high-speed furry romance, trailing behind while they shared silent glances I couldn't understand.Afternoons were a slow torture of history. Selene’s voice would drone on, a steady hum that made my forehead itch to meet the table. But the evenings were different. Cain was a monster in the gym. He broke me down, over and over, drilling human defense into my muscle memory until my limbs turned to lead. Then came the range. I fired until the smell of gunpowder lived in my skin and my arms shook too hard to load another clip.And then there was the hunger.I turned into a predator. Red meat was the only thing that stopped the growl in my gut. I didn'

Kaia"Selene."The name hung in the heavy air of the car. She blinked, her eyes clearing as she broke whatever private link she was holding with Cain. It was always Cain. She turned to me with a soft, tired smile."Am I a rogue?"Her grin widened, though it didn't reach her eyes. "No, Kaia. You are White Moon. You are under your father’s protection. That makes you one of us."I looked down at my hands. I thought about the pack ritual that never finished and the way Elder William looked at me, like I was a stain on the floor. "I’m not in the pack. Not really. I don't feel the tether."Her smile faltered. A small line formed between her brows as she searched for a way to sugarcoat the truth."Why not?" I pushed. My voice sounded thin, and I hated how much I sounded like a lost child."It was your father’s call," she said."That's not an answer. Give me the real one."She sighed, tucking a stray curl behind her ear and looking out at the passing trees. "He doesn't give us the 'why,' Kaia

Kaia"Wake up, Princess."The voice was a low growl, rough and jagged with irritation. It sliced through the thick fog in my head. Heavy fingers dug into my shoulders, jolting me. My head flopped forward like a broken doll before snapping back, my neck rigid and aching. My limbs felt like lead, and my lips wouldn't stop shaking—half from the biting cold on my skin, half from the blurred, ugly memories clawing at my mind."Kaia!"The shove was harder this time. My eyelids flickered and finally stayed open. The world was a smear of gray and shadow until Cain and Selene blurred into focus. Their dark eyes were pinned on me, stretched wide with a fear they couldn't hide. I blinked hard, trying to shove the haze out of my brain."What... what happened?" My voice was a wreck—dry, sandpaper-rough, like I’d spent hours screaming into a void. I could still taste the salt on my tongue. It was bitter, a ghost of the ocean that had tried to pull me under."You saved us!" Selene let out a shaky br