Semua Bab SOLD TO THE ALPHA KING: Bab 31 - Bab 40

Rider’s POVFew hours ago“She’s going into heat.”I did not look up from the papers spread across my desk when Raven said it, my eyes moving slowly over the words even though I had already read the same line three times.“I know,” I replied calmly.Raven frowned. “You know.”“Yes,” I said again. “The healer already told me.”“You didn’t think to mention it,” he asked, his voice tight, “or are you just pretending it doesn’t matter.”“It matters,” I said flatly. “It just doesn’t surprise me.”Raven took a step into the room. “She’s struggling.”“I’m aware,” I answered, still not looking at him.“That didn’t sound like awareness,” he said. “That sounded like indifference.”Before I could reply, the door swung open and Declan walked in, his shirt half unbuttoned, his hair messy, irritation written all over his face.“Tell me I’m not the only one feeling like my skin is on fire,” he said immediately. “Because if I am then I’m going to lose my mind.”Raven glanced at him. “You feel it too.

Rider’s POV“What was that?”I said it out loud the first time I heard the scream, sharp and sudden, tearing through the halls, and I paused with my hand on the edge of my desk, telling myself it was nothing, telling myself it was just the heat, telling myself she had brought this on herself.“It’s just the heat,” I muttered to the empty room. “She’ll be fine.”Then I heard it again.This time it wasn’t just a sound. This time it dug into my chest and twisted, and before I could stop myself I was already on my feet, the papers on my desk forgotten as I walked out.I barely made it down the corridor before Declan appeared in front of me, his face tight, his shoulders tense.“Don’t,” he said immediately, holding up a hand. “This is not the time.”I frowned at him. “Move.”“She’s not in a state to see you right now,” he said, his voice low. “You should give her space.”“I said move,” I repeated, my temper flaring. “You don’t get to decide when I see her.”Declan stepped aside only half a

Bailey’s POV“I don’t care about him,” I said again, louder this time, because nobody seemed to hear me the first time, or maybe they heard me and just didn’t believe me. “I really don’t care about what happens to him.”Rider’s eyes narrowed immediately and he leaned forward like he was about to lecture me. “You should not say things like that.”“Why not,” I snapped. “Because it makes you uncomfortable or because it doesn’t fit the picture you want of me crying and begging for my father’s life.”Declan opened his mouth. “Bailey.”“No,” I cut in, pointing at the box on the table even though Declan had already moved it farther away. “The problem is not him. The problem is that someone thinks she owns you.”Raven went very still beside me and I felt it more than I saw it.“That note did not say leave the pack alone,” I continued, my voice shaking now because my wolf was fully awake and pacing and snarling inside me. “It did not say leave the throne alone. It said leave my mates alone.”S

Bailey's POV"Bailey, you’re trembling."I froze the second I heard Raven’s voice, my body reacting before my brain could tell it to stop, the heat like fire crawling under my skin, and when I looked up he was there, pressing me gently against the wall, his hands warm on my back and sides, and I couldn’t move or speak because the sudden surge of need hit me harder than it had the last time, and I didn’t even notice when he eased me down onto the nearest chair, his presence grounding me without saying anything."You okay now," he asked after a moment, his voice low and steady, and I nodded though I couldn’t really think straight, my hands gripping the edges of the chair like it was the only thing keeping me from completely losing control, and I wondered why he always seemed to know exactly how to touch me so nothing else could hurt even for a second."I was just… I don’t know," I said finally, my voice rough, "I came here to read but then it just…" I trailed off, my words failing me be

Bailey's POV “No, Bailey.”“That’s the third time you’ve said that, Rider,” I said, my voice steady even though everything inside me was shaking, “and I’m done pretending it means anything.”“You are not going in there,” Rider replied, his tone controlled but strained, like he was holding a door shut with his body, “Lancaster is still considered property until the council decides otherwise, and I am not risking you walking into something you can’t undo.”I stared at him for a second, then nodded slowly, like I was agreeing, like I was backing down, and then I walked straight past him toward the holding corridor without another word.“Bailey,” he snapped, and his hand closed around my wrist, firm and fast, and the contact made my skin prickle, my wolf lifting her head instantly.I turned around slowly, meeting his eyes, my heart pounding but my voice calm, “That’s my father in that room,” I said, every word deliberate, “sold or not, broken or not, he is mine, and if you do not let go