Chapter Four
It was when she had decided to shrink into herself and tune out the voices of the male jeers that a sudden hush enveloped the large cabin.
Only the heavy footfalls of a new arrival could be heard as the men sucked in a shocked breath, clearly afraid of whoever it was.
The uneasy silence and the way the men acted, as if they weren’t the ones sneering and hurling degrading words at her, made Saffron bow her head a little lower.
Whoever it was, she didn’t want to meet his eyes. Because something told her it was the Alpha the men had been speaking about since the moment they had taken her from her home.
The loud clicking of his boots against the hardwood floor was the only sound to be heard in the cabin, save for the erratic whirring of the aged overhead fan.
Though she couldn’t see him clearly, the nearness of his footfalls told her that he was heading her way. And though his presence filled her with trepidation as her fate was in his hands, she willed herself not to show her reaction to him.
The shoes stopped right in front of her, and it took everything in her not shake in fear or move in any way. As he gripped her chin in a harsh hold, she was sure his fingerprints would leave a mark on her skin.
With her chin in his hand, she came to a sudden realization that she was a mouse trapped in a lion’s den, and if she made a sudden movement, she could very well sign her own death certificate.
Though her chin quivered from the pain of his grip, she forced her gaze up to meet his.
The man was frail, and not as large as any of the men she had encountered. But raw lethality rolled off of him in waves, his cruelty shining right through his eyes.
This was a man who was used to having men underestimate him due to his smaller size, only to prove them wrong and show them exactly why he was the predator and them his prey.
He was used to having people obeying his every command and following every whim of his, as was evidenced by the way every single man in the cabin watched him with varying shades of fear, respect, and forced loyalty.
His shoulders were the only broad features of his, apart from his thick arms.
He looked younger than her father did, even though the creases around his eyes told her he was older than her alcohol-ridden parent. His dark hair was slicked back in a sophisticated sort of way, the grey locks in his hair shining brightly.
He leaned down to get a better look at her, and she immediately wanted to recoil from the invasion and cower away from him, but instinct and the voice in her head—which she had come to trust its judgement—told her it was not the best decision in this situation.
His eyes were intense as he looked at her, his dark eyes to her light brown ones.
“Do you know why you are here, girl?” he asked, his voice a dark baritone that had instant goosebumps peppering her skin.
Silence met his question, as the gag over her mouth and the pain focused on her chin rendered her incapable of speech.
She held his eye contact longer than she was allowed to, and she watched as his lips twisted into a sinister smile before it disappeared.
Abruptly, he let go of her chin. And before she could rejoice finally being free of his hold, pain exploded against her temple as he used his palm to backhand her.
A whimper of pain escaped her lips, as she tilted to her side, falling face flat on the hardwood floor, splitting her lip in the process.
“You do not stare into my eyes, wench,” she heard him growl, as she breathed through the pain, refusing to show any more weakness in front of these men.
James Kessler, Oscar, Ivan, Hael, Kane, Ralph, the Alpha.
She repeated the names in her head over and over, as none of the men came to her aid.
Before she could get her bearings, he wrapped his hand around her hair and jerked her head back, causing pain to explode against her temple once again.
“I ask you again. Do you know why you are here?” he questioned, the baritone of his voice scraping against her skull. “Nod or shake your head.”
She shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks as the pain grew too much for her to keep a leash on.
“Your father stole from me.”
Her eyes widened, making the Alpha laugh heartily as he released her hair.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too. Who could be stupid enough to steal from me?” He kissed his teeth, as he motioned for one of the men to remove the gag from her mouth. “But it would seem that your father was stupid enough to not only steal from me but also kill one of my men.”
His words made the lead in her stomach sink even deeper, making her feel sick.
Theft and murder.
Just how much lower could her father sink?
“He stole five thousand dollars’ worth of coke from me, and that’s not counting the other three thousand dollars he owes me,” he continued, seemingly unaware that he had lost her to her thoughts. “I should have killed him for costing me one of my men, but if any of my men is stupid enough to get killed by a lowly human, then that’s on them.
“I should kill him for the insult though, but he offered me something in return. Something much more valuable. He offered me you.”
Hysteria burned her throat, sending hot flashes of panic through the rest of her body.
Now, she knew that her father had condemned her to a fate worse than death.
Earlier, a part of her still refused to believe that she had been sold by her father to the mafia for his addictions. But now, after hearing the words from the Alpha himself, she knew it to be true.
There was no way out for her.
“There are so many choices to make here girl,” the Alpha stated as he walked back to her side. “Make the right one, and you get to live the rest of your measly human life here on my pack lands. Misbehave, and I will have you killed sooner than you can pronounce your name. Is that clear?”
Saffron nodded, knowing that it was the right thing to do even though she couldn’t process what he was saying.
His words confused her. He called her human. Wasn’t he one himself? And pack lands? What the hell was that?
“Good,” he responded. “Congratulations, you just earned yourself the status of slave.”
Slave?
She tried to scream, but her world went dark again.