Page 88 of Sold to Three Alpha Kings

“I didn’t do it for them.” She looks up at me, something fierce and unguarded in her eyes. “I did it because I’m done being afraid of what people think I’m worth.”

Sinth reaches us next, pressing a kiss to her temple, quiet pride written across his whole face.

Wayne throws an arm around her shoulders from the other side, grinning wide despite the tears he isn’t bothering to hide.

“That,” Wayne says, “was the single most terrifying and impressive thing I’ve ever watched anyone do. And I’ve watched men charge into battle.”

“High praise, coming from you.” She smiles, eyes crinkling at the corners.

“The highest I’ve got…well, for now, obviously.” He presses a kiss to the top of her head, still grinning.

I kiss her then, in front of the entire hall, without a single thought toward propriety or protocol.

She kisses me back without hesitation and then proceeds to kiss Sinth and Wayne as well. She does this in front of all these people, confident and proud.

For the first time since this began, I don’t feel like a King managing an inconvenient problem.

I feel like a man who finally deserves what he’s been given.

Chapter 25 - Charlize

A part of me still can’t believe that I did that—that I stood my ground against Elder Edgar. It was like I was a completely different being; bolder, fearless.

Maybe I drew my courage from the fact that my wolf was alive and well. Or maybe I drew it from knowing that my lords always have my back no matter what.

Whatever the case, I did stand my ground against oppression instead of cowering in fear. And honestly, it felt really good, especially after all the praise I received from my Alpha Kings.

They all accompany me to my room, and Wayne refuses to shut up about how brave he thinks I am.

They ask to stay the night. All three of them. And I let them. Of course I let them. We’re one big family now.

Sinth curls behind me, steady and warm. Wayne sprawls across the foot of the nest, one hand resting on my ankle like he needs the contact even in sleep. Chris stays closest, his arm draped over my waist, his breathing slow and even against my neck.

I used to think this feeling would never belong to me. Warmth like this. Safety like this. Three men who once looked at me and called me not worth the trouble, now unwilling to leave my side even for a single night.

I love them. All three, differently yet equally. I let myself think the word fully for the first time, no hedging, no fear attached to it.

Sinth loves me steady, patient, like something he’s been waiting his whole life to find without knowing what shape it would take.

Wayne loves me loud and messy, teasing and fierce in equal measure, never quite able to sit still with how much he feels it.

Chris loves me the hardest way—quietly, like a man still relearning how every gentle thing he does costs him more effort than it looks like from the outside.

“You’re thinking too loud,” Wayne mumbles, half-asleep, eyes still closed.

“I didn’t say anything.” My voice is a whisper.

“Didn’t have to.” He cracks one eye open, smiling faintly. “Your heartbeat gives you away, cutie.”

I smile into the dark and let myself drift off surrounded by all three of them. For the first time in my life, I fall asleep without a single fear trailing after me into my dreams.

***

Sinth suggests the wolf run two mornings later, and they take me into the woods. The sun’s rays are filtering through the leaves and tree branches. The sky is clear, the grass still wet from the rain last night.

I stand in the clearing, my heart racing with anticipation as the Alpha Kings take off their shirts, exposing those ripped bodies I’ll never get tired of drooling over.

“Alright, first thing you need to learn about being a wolf is that you and the beast within are one and the same,” Wayne begins, his deep husky voice carrying his usual charisma.