Page 58 of Sold to Three Alpha Kings

“Who would’ve thought that the brooding King actually has a sense of humor, am I right?” Wayne teases.

We laugh at the table, and in that moment, I zone out briefly, watching the smiles on their faces. Even Chris, who never grins, has something that resembles a smile on his face. It’s faint. But it’s there, and it’s genuine.

Wayne makes another joke, and Charlize laughs so hard she has her hand on her belly. There’s something light in her eyes. Mirth. And it’s simply beautiful to behold. I catch the other two men staring at her like they also have been caught in the web of her warmth.

Together, at this table, I see the possibility of building a happy home with her. I know deep down that we can make it happen. We have to.

It’s a good night, and I let myself enjoy it without guarding against what comes next.

Before dinner is over, Chris finally offers to take Charlize to his Pack. Although there’s a moment of fleeting silence, she doesn’t refuse. In fact, she says she can’t wait to meet his folks.

My heart skips a beat because I know visiting his Pack won’t be as wonderful as she thinks. Chris’s people are just as cold as their Alpha. They’re not particularly known for their warmth with strangers.

Wayne and I exchange glances from across the table, but neither of us says a word.

***

Snowpeak is different from the moment we arrive. Chris lets Wayne and me tag along, probably because he knows how his people can be and a little backup wouldn’t hurt.

Chris’s territory carries itself the way Chris carries himself—cold, disciplined, unwelcoming to anything it hasn’t already decided to trust.

The mountain air bites harder here, the stone architecture severe compared to Trident’s driftwood and Forestguard’s timber.

I feel the shift in Charlize’s posture the instant our carriage rides through the gates. She straightens, wary, some old defensive instinct clearly kicking back in.

She’s right to be wary. It doesn’t take long before the first sign of trouble surfaces.

An elder of Chris’s pack approaches us in the main hall. Older, severe, flanked by two others who wear the same expression of thinly veiled disgust. His eyes move over Charlize with open contempt.

“This is the shiftless girl the council speaks of?” His voice carries clearly across the hall, meant to be heard.

The words land so hard that my face twists in fury.

“You bring her here, into Snowpeak, expecting us to welcome what half the island already whispers is an abomination against nature?”

Charlize goes rigid beside me. I feel her flinch, small and controlled. There’s fear in her eyes. But there’s also anger.

Chris moves before I do.

“Careful,” Chris says, voice dropping into something sharper, more dangerous. “Choose your next words with extreme caution.” His eyes are blazing red, fingers already curled into fists at his sides.

“My King, with respect, the girl has no wolf. Bringing her into our halls, presenting her as—”

Wayne rolls his eyes. “Are you deaf? Are you just simply dumb? The instructions were simple. Choose your next words carefully—and you open your big mouth to spill this nonsense?” There’s a hint of bemusement in his tone.

The elder’s jaw locks, clearly feeling insulted.

“She is my fated mate.” Chris’s voice cuts through the hall like a blade, final and absolute. “Mine, Wayne’s, and Sinth’s. Anyone in this pack who speaks of her as an abomination speaks against their King directly, and I will treat it exactly as such.”

Silence.

The elder pales and swallows hard. “My King, I only meant—”

“I know precisely what you meant.” Chris takes a step closer, and the temperature in the room seems to drop several degrees along with his tone. “You will not speak of her that way again. Nor will anyone under my command. Is that understood?”

The hall goes still. Nobody argues further, though I catch more than one uneasy glance passed between pack members, the kind that says the tension hasn’t dissolved so much as gone quiet for now.

As we walk further down the hall, flanked around her like bodyguards, I lean in and whisper, “I apologize for what just happened. I probably should’ve warned you.”