Page 59 of Sold to Three Alpha Kings

Her response is a wry grin, a little dull.

We stay in Snowpeak longer than either of the other two territories, mostly because Chris refuses to leave until the tension eases.

I watch him work harder over those days than I’ve ever seen him work at anything.

He walks the halls with her personally, correcting anyone who so much as hesitates too long in her presence.

He has his own healer check on her daily. He ensures she’s fed the finest the territory has to offer. He personally escorts her through the training yards and the mountain paths rather than leaving the task to guards.

It’s an entirely different Chris than the one who once called her not worth the trouble. He does everything he can to show her another version of him—a kinder and gentler Chris Winterborn.

She doesn’t make it easy for him at first, and he’s clearly unused to the work of earning something rather than simply commanding it.

Slowly, the pack begins to shift around her.

A young girl once ran and hugged Charlize’s feet during one of our excursions around the territory. She then smiled and offered her a flower. She told Charlize that she’s as pretty as the flower and took off before Charlize could even thank her.

A guard who once eyed her with suspicion begins nodding a proper greeting each morning.

Small things, incremental, but I watch Charlize’s shoulders loosen bit by bit as the days pass. I watch some of the old wariness give way to something more settled.

She even laughs, once, at something one of the younger pack members says during a meal—a genuine, unguarded sound that has Chris looking over at her with an expression I’ve never seen on his face before. Something between disbelief and quiet, desperate hope.

The possessiveness doesn’t fade, though. If anything, it sharpens the longer we stay.

A young soldier compliments her during a training exhibition, harmless enough, and Chris’s entire demeanor shifts within seconds.

He turns cold and dismisses the man from the yard with an excuse thin enough that everyone present understands exactly what’s actually happening.

Wayne does the same thing days later when a merchant’s son lingers too long at her side in the market. I catch myself doing it at times too, my hand finding the small of her back a beat too quickly whenever someone stands closer to her than I’d like.

She notices. Of course she does. Our possessiveness of her is clear as crystal.

“You three are ridiculous,” she says one evening in her quarters. “I spoke to a soldier for thirty seconds. Chris looked ready to have him reassigned to guard duty on the coldest peak in the territory.”

“He probably still will,” I admit, seated on her head with her back against the headboard.

She’s lying and facing the ceiling, the back of her head resting on my lap.

“That’s absurd.” She glances at me.

“Maybe to you. But to us, whoever touches you will have us to contend with.” I shrug, stroking her hair. “None of us are being reasonable about this. I don’t expect that to change anytime soon.”

She doesn’t argue further, and I catch the small, reluctant smile she tries to hide.

Something in my chest settles at the sight of it—proof, however small, that whatever’s growing between the four of us survived even Snowpeak’s coldest welcome.

Chapter 16 - Chris

The elders summon us again. I know before I sit down at the table that this won’t go well.

Corvin doesn’t bother with pleasantries. “It has been weeks since the girl arrived. Weeks since you claimed the fate-match binds the three of you to her. And yet none of you have completed a mating bite.” His eyes move across our faces.

Silence

He adds, “The council grows impatient. The people grow impatient. I would like an explanation.”

Wayne throws a quick look in my direction, as if asking if I’m going to tell them or he should.