Page 52 of Sold to Three Alpha Kings

I throw a party for my own pack three nights after the carriage, mostly because staying still has started to feel unbearable.

It doesn’t work the way it usually does. Usually the noise fills something in me, the drink and the music and the easy company of men who’ve followed me since we were both too young to know better.

Tonight it just sits there, loud and useless, while my mind keeps circling back to the one place I told myself I wouldn’t let it go.

I’m seated on a log in front of a flame, a goblet of wine in my hand. My Pack members are drinking and dancing under the moon while I wallow away in a corner.

I can’t stop thinking about the carriage and the fact that I almost lost her that night. Why did she try to run away? What if we hadn’t arrived in the nick of time? What would those sick bastards have done to her?

My grip tightens around the goblet as the mere thought of those swindlers touching her infuriates me. I can’t bring myself to imagine what would’ve been her fate that night if we hadn’t stopped them.

I had kept my word to send my men to her village to shake up her family and scare them into never coming near her again. That’s how serious I am about protecting her.

What happened after the incident is still tattooed at the back of my mind. The carriage sex. None of us had thought it was going to happen that night. And perhaps that’s what made the whole thing even more interesting.

The sound of her moans still echoes in my head. And in my mind, the images of her face twisted in pleasure are all I can see. She was so tight and slick. Her skin was smooth, her breasts full and soft. Her lips were succulent, and the scent of her heat was like none I’ve ever smelled.

It’s been three days since it happened; three days since I last saw her because she’s refused to see any of us. I don’t know exactly why she’s so cold, and I want to find out.

Yes, Chris’s previous behavior must’ve triggered something that caused her to withdraw from us. But I still want to know why I’m being punished with her silence.

Every cell in my body wants her again. I’ve been deep inside her, and now I want more. But I can’t have her now because she’s mad at all of us. It’s honestly frustrating.

I drain the wine down my throat, fighting against the memory of how she turned cold immediately after sex.

That image won’t leave me alone.

I pour myself another wine and drink more than I should even though it doesn’t help at all.

“You’re awfully quiet tonight.” One of my lieutenants, Baird, drops into the seat across from me, already three cups deep. “That’s unlike you.”

“I’m just tired, that’s all.”

“Tired.” He snorts. “Never known you to be tired at your own party.”

I hesitate. “Well, there’s a first time for everything, am I right?”

He studies me for a moment. “Get a grip. It’s weird seeing you like this.” He taps my shoulder once and walks away.

A woman finds her way to my side not long after. Tall. Blonde hair. Brown eyes. And a seductive grin.

Elizabeth. That’s her name. She’s the daughter of a respected noble man in my Pack. I’ve always found her attractive and irresistible. She’s one of the women I fuck when I’m bored or horny. Not because she’s cheap. But because she always wanted me as badly as I wanted her.

Tonight, though, she seemed ordinary—like every other woman at the party.

“Who are you and what have you done with my Alpha King?” She folds her arms across her chest, those brown eyes pinned on me.

I huff.

She settles on the log beside me. “I’ve been watching you for a while. You’re not your usual self?”

“That obvious, huh?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “Not obvious at all. It’s just me and everyone else who’s noticed so far. So…you’re good.” The sarcasm in her statement can’t be more glaring.

I laugh quietly.

She leans in close, her hand finding my arm, her voice dropping into something practiced and inviting. “You know, you don’t have to sit here all by yourself all night.” Her hand caresses my chest, her eyes flashing with a familiar excitement.