Page 37 of Sold to Three Alpha Kings

Sinth lowers his head and rubs his eyes.

“It’s for her,” I say. “She’s been stuck in that room for days, and I thought she could use something that isn’t four walls and a healer poking at her ribs.”

Sinth meets my gaze. “You told my courier it was an emergency.”

“It was. Emergency lack of fun in this palace. Dire situation, honestly.”

Chris looks like he’s calculating exactly how much trouble he’d be in if he strangled me in front of witnesses.

Charlize’s door opens before he can decide, and she steps out slowly, eyes wide at the sight of the hall transformed, the lights, the food, the small crowd of musicians tuning their instruments.

She looks between the three of us, clearly trying to work out whether this is a trap of some kind, some new test she hasn’t yet identified the rules of.

“What’s going on here? What is this?” she asks.

“A party,” I say. “In your honor. Well—mostly your honor. Partly my own, because I get bored easily and this palace has needed a party for months.”

She hesitates, brows slowly rising. I watch her weigh it—the isolation she’s clearly sick of against whatever wariness still clings to her about all three of us.

“This is a bad idea,” Chris says.

“Uh, I’m not so sure it is,” Charlize answers without looking at him.

“See? She gets it.” I grab a jar of wine and pour a generous amount into a chalice. “So, does this mean you approve?” The question is thrown at her.

She thinks for a second, shifting her gaze between the three of us. “I’ve never been to a party before.” A brief pause. “I guess it won’t hurt to attend one now.”

“Fantastic!” A bang of a hand on the table. “It’s settled then. “Tonight, we party!” I gulp the wine from my chalice, pretending I don’t notice the way my chest goes warm at how easily her words undo me.

Chapter 10 - Chris

I can’t believe that idiot tricked me into attending a party. I should’ve known better, but I fell for his lies. Maybe it’s because I figured something bad might’ve happened to her. Charlize.

Why did I come running the second I thought she was in danger? Why am I so drawn to her?

Even now, I can’t help stealing hidden glances at her. She keeps pulling me in like a moth to a flame. But then isn’t she supposed to? She’s our fated mate—the Omega destined to draw us together.

I see the way she smiles at Wayne and Sinth. But she doesn’t even look in my direction, and I can sense her hostility.

I guess after being so cold and harsh toward her, her resentment is understandable.

As guests—soldiers, a handful of noble men’s sons, women and musicians—begin to flood the hall and the party is starting to gain momentum, I stand in a corner, observing. Wayne is getting wasted somewhere across the space, surrounded by a few of his Pack members.

Sinth is with our mate, and they’re both observing the people dancing across the floor. She has a smile on her face, and her eyes light up in a way I haven’t seen before. It’s beautiful. She’s tapping her feet and clapping to the musician’s song while turning to Sinth every now and then.

She never looks at me like that. Never smiles at me with that much mirth in her eyes.

I head over to Wayne and pull him away from his folks—against his protests.

“What is wrong with you? Why did you call an emergency meeting when you knew you were going to throw a party?”

He belches, yanking his hand out of my hold. “What exactly is your problem? The party or the trick I used to get your ass down here?”

“You shouldn’t be throwing a party at a time like this.”

“You say that like it’s a crime.”

“It’s reckless and highly unnecessary.” I keep my voice low, controlled, though the effort costs me more than it should. “We have an unstable Omega whose wolf could destabilize under the wrong strain, and you’ve filled a hall with wine and strangers and music loud enough to wake the dead.”