SOLD TO THE RUTHLESS ALPHA

Her last words

The room fell silent.

Not the ordinary kind of silence.

The dangerous kind.

The kind that settles over a battlefield moments before blood is spilled.

I couldn't breathe.

Couldn't think.

Couldn't look away.

My eyes remained locked on Kael.

Waiting.

Begging.

Praying.

Tell me he's lying.

Tell me my mother's death has nothing to do with you.

Tell me I haven't spent days learning to trust the wrong person.

But Kael said nothing.

And somehow...

His silence hurt more than any answer ever could.

The stranger laughed softly.

The sound echoed through the ruined room.

Cruel.

Satisfied.

As though he had been waiting years for this moment.

"You see?" he said.

His silver eyes never left mine.

"He can't deny it."

My pulse thundered.

I looked at Kael again.

His jaw was clenched so tightly I thought it might c***k.

Blood dripped from the cuts on his arms.

His chest rose and fell heavily.

Yet none of that mattered.

Not compared to the look in his eyes.

Pain.

Raw.

Unhidden.

The kind of pain that doesn't come from wounds.

The kind that never heals.

"Kael."

My voice barely worked.

His gaze shifted toward me.

For one brief second...

The room disappeared.

The stranger disappeared.

The battle disappeared.

There was only us.

And the horrible distance suddenly growing between us.

"Tell me."

The words broke apart as they left my mouth.

"What happened to my mother?"

Something flickered across his face.

Regret.

Guilt.

Grief.

Then it vanished behind the Alpha mask.

Cold.

Controlled.

Untouchable.

"Aria."

My heart sank.

Because he wasn't answering.

"Tell me."

My voice rose.

Louder this time.

Sharper.

"Please."

The stranger smiled.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

And I hated him for it.

"Go on, Kael."

His voice dripped with mockery.

"Tell her."

Kael's golden eyes darkened.

"Dangerous game."

The stranger shrugged.

"Only for you."

The tension exploded.

Power rolled through the room.

Pure Alpha dominance.

The walls shook.

The floor cracked.

Furniture splintered.

Every instinct inside me screamed to run.

Yet neither man moved.

They simply stared at one another.

Two predators.

Two monsters.

Two men connected by something far darker than hatred.

Rowan stepped closer to me.

Protective.

Alert.

Ready for war.

My voice came out as a whisper.

"Who is he?"

Rowan hesitated.

Then sighed.

"You deserve the truth."

The stranger laughed.

"Finally."

Rowan ignored him.

His eyes remained on me.

"The man standing in front of you is Lucien Mooncrest."

The name echoed through my mind.

Lucien.

Mooncrest.

My bloodline.

My family.

My history.

My pulse quickened.

"And?"

The Beta looked grim.

"He's your father."

The words hit me like a physical blow.

Even though I already suspected it.

Even though I already knew.

Hearing it spoken aloud somehow made it real.

My father.

Not the man who sold me.

Not the man who ignored me.

Not the man who treated me like a burden.

This man.

The stranger watched me carefully.

As though waiting to see my reaction.

I hated that.

Hated that he looked hopeful.

Hated that a small part of me wanted him to be telling the truth.

Because if he was...

Then why wasn't he there?

Why wasn't he there when I needed him?

Why wasn't he there when everything hurt?

Why wasn't he there when I was alone?

The anger returned instantly.

Sharp.

Hot.

Painful.

"You don't get to be my father."

The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

Lucien flinched.

Actually flinched.

Good.

Let him hurt.

I was tired of being the only one in pain.

His expression softened.

"I know."

"No."

My voice shook.

"You don't."

Tears burned my eyes.

"I spent nineteen years believing nobody wanted me."

The room became painfully quiet.

"I begged for love."

My throat tightened.

"I begged for attention."

I laughed bitterly.

"And now suddenly everyone wants me?"

Lucien closed his eyes briefly.

As though every word cut him open.

"I searched for you."

"Not hard enough."

His face paled.

The room fell silent again.

Then Kael spoke.

"Enough."

The single word carried enough authority to shake the walls.

Lucien slowly turned.

Their eyes met.

Hatred exploded between them.

Old hatred.

Ancient hatred.

The kind built over years.

Maybe decades.

Maybe longer.

"You don't get to decide when enough is enough."

Lucien's voice turned cold.

"You lost that right years ago."

A muscle jumped in Kael's jaw.

Rowan swore quietly.

I looked between them.

Confusion filled me.

What happened between them?

Why did they hate each other?

Why did they look like men carrying the same wound?

My pulse quickened.

Because suddenly...

I wasn't sure they were enemies because of me.

I was beginning to suspect I was only part of the story.

Lucien looked at me again.

His expression softened instantly.

"Your mother loved you."

The words hit harder than expected.

My throat tightened.

"Don't."

He frowned.

"What?"

"Don't use her."

My voice cracked.

The pain returned immediately.

Fresh.

Raw.

Open.

"You don't get to talk about her like you knew her."

Silence.

Then something shocking happened.

Lucien laughed.

Not mockingly.

Not cruelly.

Sadly.

The sound hurt.

Because it sounded broken.

"I loved Selene."

The room froze.

My pulse stopped.

"What?"

Lucien's eyes filled with grief.

Real grief.

The kind that never leaves.

"More than my own life."

My chest tightened.

For some reason...

I believed him.

And that terrified me.

Because monsters weren't supposed to look heartbroken.

Monsters weren't supposed to mourn.

Monsters weren't supposed to love.

Lucien's gaze drifted toward the shattered window.

Toward the battlefield outside.

Toward memories only he could see.

"She used to read beside rivers."

My breath caught.

Rowan had said that.

"She hated royal meetings."

Again.

Rowan had told me that too.

"She once punched a warrior for insulting a healer."

I froze.

Every story matched.

Every memory.

Every detail.

The tears returned instantly.

Because he knew her.

Really knew her.

My mother wasn't just a story to him.

She had been real.

Important.

Loved.

The realization hurt.

Because for the first time...

I saw grief in his eyes that looked a lot like mine.

Lucien swallowed hard.

"She laughed whenever she was nervous."

A small smile appeared.

Then disappeared.

"She used to squeeze your hand when she thought nobody was looking."

My heart stopped.

How would he know that?

How?

The answer terrified me.

Because only someone who loved her would notice things like that.

The room felt smaller.

Harder to breathe in.

Then Lucien looked at Kael.

And everything changed.

The warmth vanished.

The grief vanished.

Only fury remained.

"Tell her."

Kael remained silent.

Lucien's voice sharpened.

"Tell her why Selene died."

My pulse skyrocketed.

The room seemed to tilt beneath my feet.

Kael looked away.

Just for a second.

That second destroyed me.

Because innocent people don't look away.

Innocent people don't struggle to answer.

My voice trembled.

"Kael."

Nothing.

Fear gripped my chest.

"Kael."

His eyes finally met mine.

And suddenly I wished they hadn't.

Because I'd never seen him look like that before.

Broken.

"Please."

The word barely escaped.

The Alpha closed his eyes.

For one long moment...

Nobody spoke.

Then slowly—

Painfully—

He opened them again.

"I was there."

The words crushed me.

The room spun.

No.

No.

No.

My breathing became uneven.

"You were there?"

Kael nodded once.

The movement looked difficult.

Like every inch of it hurt.

"I was there."

Lucien laughed bitterly.

"There it is."

My heart pounded.

"What happened?"

Kael remained silent.

Lucien answered instead.

"Your mother died because of him."

The room exploded.

"Stop!"

My voice echoed through the walls.

Everyone froze.

I couldn't do this.

Couldn't listen to them tear each other apart.

Couldn't survive another half-truth.

Another secret.

Another lie.

My chest hurt.

My head hurt.

Everything hurt.

I pointed at both of them.

"Enough."

The room fell silent.

"I am tired."

The words trembled.

"I am tired of secrets."

Tears streamed down my face.

"I am tired of people deciding what I deserve to know."

Neither man spoke.

Good.

For once they were listening.

"I want the truth."

My voice cracked.

"The entire truth."

I looked at Lucien.

"No games."

Then Kael.

"No protecting me."

The room became deathly quiet.

Finally—

Kael sighed.

A tired sigh.

The sigh of a man carrying too much.

"You deserve that."

Lucien folded his arms.

For once he didn't interrupt.

Kael looked at me.

And only me.

The world seemed to disappear.

"I met your mother fifteen years ago."

My pulse quickened.

"She saved my life."

I blinked.

What?

The Alpha's expression softened.

The look in his eyes made my chest ache.

"Bandits attacked a village near our territory."

His voice grew quieter.

"I was injured."

A small smile appeared.

"Selene ignored every order I gave her."

That sounded exactly like the woman Rowan described.

Despite everything...

A tiny laugh escaped me.

Kael's smile faded.

"She stayed."

His voice roughened.

"Even when it was dangerous."

Something inside me twisted.

Because the way he spoke about her...

It sounded like a memory he treasured.

Not a story.

A wound.

Lucien's jaw tightened.

But he remained silent.

Kael swallowed hard.

"We became friends."

The room was perfectly still.

Then—

"We became family."

I frowned.

Family?

What did that mean?

The Alpha looked away.

Pain flickered across his face.

"She trusted me."

His voice broke slightly.

"And I swore I would protect her."

The words echoed through my mind.

Protect her.

Like the letter.

Like the promise.

Like the vow.

My pulse quickened.

Then Kael said the words that shattered everything.

"I failed."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

The grief in his voice felt real.

Too real.

My chest tightened.

Lucien's expression darkened.

"There it is."

Kael ignored him.

His eyes remained fixed on mine.

"I failed her."

The room felt smaller.

Hotter.

Dangerous.

Because for the first time...

I didn't hear guilt.

I heard self-hatred.

The kind that grows for years.

The kind that never leaves.

My voice softened.

"What happened?"

Kael froze.

Lucien watched him carefully.

Waiting.

Like a predator sensing weakness.

Finally—

Kael answered.

"There was an attack."

A chill ran through me.

"The night Mooncrest fell."

The room went silent.

Even Lucien's expression changed.

Pain flashed across his face.

Kael continued.

"The attackers were stronger than anyone expected."

His jaw tightened.

"We were losing."

I couldn't breathe.

Couldn't look away.

The Alpha's voice roughened.

"Your mother found me."

My heart pounded.

"She put you in my arms."

The room disappeared.

My pulse roared in my ears.

What?

Kael's eyes burned.

Not with anger.

With grief.

"She told me to run."

Tears filled my eyes.

My mother.

Holding me.

Protecting me.

Choosing me.

Even in her final moments.

Kael swallowed hard.

"I refused."

The words sounded haunted.

"I told her I wasn't leaving."

A broken laugh escaped him.

"She punched me."

Rowan snorted unexpectedly.

Even Lucien looked annoyed.

Despite everything...

A tiny smile touched my lips.

That sounded like Selene.

The smile vanished when Kael continued.

"Then she made me promise."

My pulse quickened.

"What promise?"

The Alpha's voice dropped.

"To protect you."

Tears spilled down my cheeks.

Protect my daughter at all costs.

The letter.

The vow.

The promise.

Everything connected.

My heart shattered.

Because suddenly I understood.

Kael hadn't been protecting me because he wanted to.

He'd been protecting me because he promised her.

The realization hurt more than it should have.

Then Lucien spoke.

Cold.

Sharp.

Merciless.

"Tell her the rest."

Kael froze.

Fear crawled up my spine.

The room grew quiet.

Too quiet.

My pulse thundered.

"What rest?"

Neither man answered.

I looked at Kael.

His expression terrified me.

Because for the first time...

The ruthless Alpha looked afraid.

Lucien smiled slowly.

A smile that promised destruction.

"Go on."

Kael's jaw tightened.

"Stop."

"No."

The silver-eyed man took a step forward.

"Tell her."

My pulse raced.

Tell me what?

What aren't they saying?

What happened?

The tension became unbearable.

Then Lucien delivered the final blow.

"Ask him."

His silver eyes locked onto mine.

"Ask him what your mother's last words were."

The room froze.

Every breath stopped.

Every heartbeat stopped.

Slowly—

I turned toward Kael.

His face had gone pale.

My voice barely worked.

"What were they?"

Silence.

One second.

Two.

Three.

The Alpha closed his eyes.

And when he finally spoke...

His voice broke.

"Run."

The single word shattered something inside me.

Tears filled my eyes.

But Kael wasn't finished.

His golden eyes opened.

Locked onto mine.

Filled with grief.

Filled with guilt.

Filled with a pain so deep it looked endless.

And then he whispered the words that changed everything.

"Her last words weren't for me."

My heart stopped.

Kael's voice cracked.

"They were for you."

The room fell silent.

And suddenly...

I needed to know exactly what my mother had said before she died.