Page 40 of Dark Auctioned Mate

Alanis drew back a bit so she could read his face as it was illuminated through the dim light that came in through the window.

“In Caldwell, you were sold by the time you turned sixteen. The Alpha had contacts with... buyers. Little girls who could not shift or fight back were sold.”

His face grew dark, his jaw clenched, and his grip around her tightened almost painfully.

“They sold kids to traffickers?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “I heard of it when I was fifteen. I overheard some of the pack adults discussing the next shipment and how much they would get from the three girls who were turning sixteen that month. That was when I knew I would be one of the next shipments.”

“What did you do?”

“I ran. It was the eve of my sixteenth birthday. I packed a bag and ran. I walked for two days.”

“Through woods and highways, and slept in ditches. I did not have a plan or a destination. I just knew that I could not get sold.”

Rael raised his hand and caressed her face with his thumb. “You were so brave.”

“I was a sixteen-year-old girl, with no survival skills, no money, and no idea how to survive in the human world. I thought I was going to die out there.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No. I got lucky.” She recalled that gas station and how lucky she was to meet Deva. But she could not tell him about the Lumen yet. “I came across some…people who helped me.”

“Who taught me that being shiftless did not mean that I was worthless.”

It was not the entire truth, but it was enough.

Rael was silent for a while. Alanis could literally see him processing everything she just told him. When he finally spoke, his voice was choked with emotion. “I will find them—your old pack. I will kill every one of them who abused you, tried to sell you, and tried to make you believe that you were worthless. I will make them pay.”

A normal person would have been scared by the violence in his voice. But it helped Alanis feel safe and cherished.

“They disappeared. I tried looking for them after a couple of years, but there is no trace of them.”

“We will find them, no matter what it takes,” Rael swore. “I promise.”

Alanis stared at him, her heart swelling with something she couldn’t name. This man, this Alpha who had purchased her at an auction, who had compelled her into a relationship that she did not desire, who had turned her life upside down, was offering to help her hunt down her demons and make them pay.

“Why?” she whispered. “Why do you care so much?”

“Because you’re mine. Because—” he hesitated. “Because I cannot imagine them living after everything they did to you.”

“Rael…” The words got stuck in her throat. So, she did the only thing she could think of. She kissed him, softly. Rael returned the kiss just as softly while he gently caressed her back.

When they finally broke apart, she leaned her forehead against his.

“Thanks for listening to everything.”

“Always,” he murmured. “Here for you whenever you need me.”

They both went back to bed and this time, when Rael pulled Alanis to his chest, it was less possessive and more reassuring. His hand stroked through her hair and Alanis started to feel the fear of the nightmare dissipate.

Chapter 13 - Rael

It was a cool morning, and Rael stood in the training yard, observing pack members go through combat drills. Three days had gone by since that night with Alanis. Three days of waking up with her in his arms, of eating with her, talking with her, and gradually building something that seemed more and more like a true relationship and marriage.

But the mission never stopped, and new intelligence had come in today.

“Rael!” August jogged to him from across the yard, with Javi behind him. Both looked grim. “We need to talk. Now.”