Page 5 of Dark Sold Mate

Each word hit her like a punch in the gut, and something broke inside Elle. Something fundamental and irreparable.

She ran out of the library, and Silas’ demeaning laughter followed her into the darkness.

The following morning, the Alpha had called a pack meeting.

Elle stood amongst the pack, still feeling raw after Silas’ rejection, wondering what was so important that the whole pack had to be assembled.

Silas’ father—the Alpha loomed over them with the same stature that his son would grow into

“I'm proclaiming a new pack law,” he announced. “Hereby effective, all non-shifters shall be sent out of our kingdom. We are a band of shifters, and we will not be able to take in those who are not shifters anymore.”

Elle's world completely shattered into pieces.

She glanced at August, who looked horrified. He'd tried to protest and argue, but the Alpha's word was law.

Elle was given three days to prepare and move out.

Three days to say goodbye to the only family she knew. Three days before, she went out into the world where she had no idea what to expect, no money, no hope, and no strategy.

And Elle had known within her that Silas had planned it all. After she asked him about them being mates in the library, he went to his father. He told the Alpha to make this law in order to eliminate her—the embarrassment of a human daring to suggest they could be mates.

August had implored her to fight against it, but what could she do? The Alpha had decided. The pack had supported it. Her adopted parents, as nice as they were, had not resisted the ruling.

So Elle left.

The first year had been hell.

She went to a city where she had no friends, where the abilities she had were applicable in the pack, but not in the human world. She moved around homeless shelters, slept in her vehicle that she had been able to scavenge up enough money to purchase, and went days without eating decently.

She experienced biting cold, gnawing hunger, and the hollow reality of having no warm place to sleep. What it was like to be afraid of strange men following you down dark streets.

But Elle had survived.

She had taken up a job washing dishes in a diner. Then, a second job cleaning offices at night. She had scrimped and saved every penny, slept four hours a night, worked until her hands were bleeding and her feet screamed in protest.

Painfully and slowly, she had built something.

She rented an apartment—nothing fancy, a studio in a crime-ridden neighborhood. She also climbed her way to the top of the diner, moving from washing dishes to being a waitress, and then was promoted to shift manager. The human world didn't care that she was unable to shift. Not that they knew of her world anyway. They were more concerned that she was punctual, worked diligently, and was helpful to customers.

Elle had made friends. True friends who liked her because of who she was, not because of what pack she was a part of. Friends like Sarah, the other waitress who had taught Elle how to apply makeup. The owner, Marcus, who had brought recipes from his family and made sure Elle ate good food. Jennifer, her neighbor who assisted her in navigating paperwork.

She'd learned to be fierce, to stand up for herself. Not to be bossed around or follow orders.

The docile girl who had allowed the pack to stomp all over her had died the day she was exiled. That girl had been replaced by someone who had made her way to the top.

Elle felt stable and happy.

She stopped thinking about the pack or August. And she no longer dreamt of green eyes and cruel laughter.

She had made a decent life in the human world, and it was good. Life was good.

Until three days ago, when everything shattered.

Elle was heading home after working in the diner. It was late, almost midnight, but she had walked this path a hundred times. She knew what streets to avoid, what shortcuts were not dangerous.

She'd turned down her usual street, keys already in hand, when the van had pulled up beside her.

Everything after that was a blur of violence and terror.