Sold to the Rogue Warlord

Kaelith’s POV

The first thing I noticed was how the stone beneath me still smelled like the dungeon. I hadn’t been given water, not even a scrap of food since last night, and yet somehow I was still expected to stand when the guards yanked me into the throne room.

“Bring her forward,” Alpha Garren’s voice cut through the murmurs.

I lifted my chin, the bruises were already painting my body in black and blue, my lip split wide from last night when one of the guards decided I needed teaching. My father’s bloodline used to protect me, well, not that anymore.

“Do you know what you are?”

The hall was packed, with guards, pack elders, and even the young ones craning for a glimpse of the girl who had failed her role—the girl who dared fight back.

I swallowed against the dryness in my throat. My voice didn’t sound like mine when I forced it out. “I’m your pack’s disgrace, isn’t that the story you’re selling?”

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

The Alpha’s eyes narrowed, his teeth flashing, showcasing that single gold tooth. “Disgrace doesn’t cover it,” he sneered. “You dared to raise claws against Marcus, my Beta’s son. My Beta’s heir and for what? Now he lies in bed recovering.”

He left out the part where Marcus had tried to force himself on me, again. He left out the part where my only crime was fighting him off with every shred of strength I had left.

It wasn’t the first time I’d seen the dungeon. This pack had a funny way of punishing the victim.

“And…” his gaze flicked briefly toward the right side of the hall “…you think yourself worthy of my son?”

That was when I finally forced my eyes to my mate, his dark brown hair was combed back, not a strand out of place.

“Aiden,” the Alpha said, his voice almost coaxing. “Do you still take her as your mate?”

For one split second, I prayed he wouldn’t, that even if he was controlled by his father, a coward, he wouldn’t strip me down in front of everyone.

“There’s no point in having a future Luna who isn't flawless,” the bastard said and I held back from hissing at him. “I want no bond with a girl whose back was torn apart by rogues. Did you really believe I’d touch those scars when there were better women to warm my bed?”

My lips trembled even when I said nothing, knowing what was coming. He wasn't the best of mates, never been, but why does it still hurt knowing I’d be rid of him?

In front of the pack members gathered, my mate looked me in the eyes and said, “I, Aiden Garren, reject you, Kaelith of Eden Pack, as my mate.”

The silence that followed was so loud that it rang in my ears. The hall blurred as something cracked in my chest, and I hated myself for still hoping he’d take it back, that he’d at least not look at me when he gutted me with his rejection.

My claws that had torn through my flesh retreated and I heard the Alpha laugh.

He leaned back in satisfaction. “Then it is settled.”

The world tilted a little when he raised his hand, and I stumbled before I even realized one of the guards had shoved me forward.

I hit the ground hard, stone against my knees, my breath rattled out in a hiss, and I looked up just in time to feel the sting.

I must have snarled at the Alpha because a hand struck my cheek immediately. One of the guards had done it. The crack echoed in the chamber, and the room seemed to lean in with it. My face burned, vision blurring for a moment, and still I clenched my teeth so no sound would leave me.

“Ungrateful bitch,” the Alpha spat.

“Kaelith!”

I spun immediately at the voice. It was my twin sister, Evaya.

She broke from the entrance, her small frame darting forward before two warriors grabbed her arms. She struggled, and I knew she wouldn't make it to me, she was that weak, the reason I had to be strong, her cough breaking through as she tried to fight them off.

“Let me go!!”

Her voice tore at me worse than the slap.

“Evaya!” My throat ripped around her name. I was going to tell her not to worry.

My knees nearly buckled, but I lurched forward anyway, shoving against the guards holding me like I could claw my way free if it meant reaching her.

She shouldn’t even be here! The throne room’s windows were high and the sun was still out. She wouldn’t be able to take the heat for long as she was too fragile for sunlight, for anything that demanded more than her thin lungs could handle. And she was all I’ve had since the night our mother bled out, since our father decided we weren’t worth the burden of staying after the rogues tore into me when I was thirteen.

I remember him leaving more than I remember his face.

“You'd better take your hands off her!” I barked at the guards.

“Let me go!” My voice cracked as I thrashed harder, desperate to break free of the guard’s iron grip. “She can’t be here, she’ll—”

My throat closed around the word collapse.

“She’s all I have left!” I screamed, kicking back at the guard holding me, trying to get closer to her. Evaya was coughing now, trying to push to her knees. My heart twisted. “Let me go, damn you!”

The Alpha only sat higher on his throne. “Pathetic,” he sneered. “Both of you.”

Something shifted at the edge of my vision, and my eyes caught on the stranger.

He didn’t stand like the other guards. He wasn’t dressed like them, either. His leathers were darker, fitted with hints of armor, and his hair was a striking red that caught the sunlight.

Who the hell was he?

Before I could figure it out, Alpha Garren leaned forward, and I knew whatever was about to come off him won’t benefit me whatsoever.

“Since you hold no value to my pack, I’ve decided to see how you fight back in a different place. You’re being sold.”

My blood iced.

He couldn’t mean…

“You’ve heard the stories,” he sneered. “The warlord who drowns the land in blood. The one who buys women for his men, lets his men ruin them until nothing’s left. Let’s see if you will bare your claws there too.”

The blood drained from my face.

Because there was only one warlord he could mean.

Every story I’d ever heard about him and his territory immediately hit me like a fist to the ribs. Girls sold there were said never been seen again. Some said they were kept in cages, used for sport and pleasure. Others whispered worse, that the Warlord enjoyed breaking them himself, piece by piece, until they were nothing but shadows of who they used to be.

I felt sick.

Alpha Garren chuckled at my expression and Aiden couldn't be any more cruel to look at.

“NO!” Evaya’s scream broke, shrill and raw, as the red-haired male finally moved. He slid a hand into his armor, pulled out a small, heavy pouch, and let it drop into the waiting palms of the guard. Coins clinked together, real gold.

The guard carried it to the Alpha, who grinned like he’d just won a war.

“Give her back!” Evaya sobbed, struggling against the guard holding her in place. “NO!!”

***

Our pack Alpha didn’t send me off right away. Instead, he requested the red-haired one who had stood so quietly through it all to wait outside. That was when my stomach twisted, because nothing about Alpha Garren ever came without another sharp edge hidden behind his teeth.

“You didn’t think I’d let you go just for gold, did you?” His grin cut across his face. “How can I let such an opportunity pass me by?”

I didn't like where this was going.

But he only chuckled. “You’ll be my spy, Kaelith. The Rogue Alpha might be ruthless, but even he isn’t untouchable. So, you’ll live among them, watch him, and find his plan and weakness, and you’ll report back.”

He flicked his eyes toward Evaya, who clung to the bars of the dais as if her fingernails alone could keep me here.

“If you disobey me, if you even think of betraying me,” he drawled, “your sister dies.”

“Don’t,” I breathed, my voice cracking. “Please don’t touch her.”

“I won’t. Not unless you give me reason to.”

He jerked his chin, and the pack mage stepped forward. I thrashed against the guards, but they pinned my arms behind me until my shoulders screamed. The mage pressed the base of his staff against my chest.

I couldn’t stop the scream that tore out of my throat. I heard my sister thrash and scream, cursing the guards and yelling at the Alpha. When the mage finally stepped back, my knees hit the stone floor, sweat dripping down my face. I gasped, clutching at my chest, but there was nothing there. No mark from the burning iron.

Damn it!

“It’s simple,” his voice came again. “That brand will keep you honest. Think of fleeing, and it’ll burn. Think of disobedience, and it’ll remind you who holds your leash.”

I lifted my head, rage boiling hotter than the sear in my chest and my fucking ex-mate had to look me in the eyes and scuff.