SOLD TO THE RUTHLESS ALPHA

The truth they hid

The wolf that stepped into the moonlight was enormous.

Its silver-gray fur gleamed beneath the pale light of the moon, and its golden eyes locked onto me with terrifying intensity.

Not Alpha Kael.

Me.

Fear gripped my heart.

One wolf emerged from the shadows.

Then another.

And another.

Within seconds, more than a dozen wolves surrounded us.

My breath caught in my throat.

They moved with purpose.

Like they had been searching for me.

Like they had finally found what they were looking for.

I instinctively took a step backward.

My injured ankle protested immediately.

A sharp pain shot through my leg.

Before I could lose my balance, Alpha Kael moved slightly in front of me.

Shielding me.

The gesture caught me off guard.

Why would he protect me?

I pushed the thought away.

None of this made sense.

A low growl vibrated through Kael's chest.

The sound was deep.

Dangerous.

Powerful.

Every wolf around us immediately became alert.

The atmosphere shifted.

Tension crackled through the air.

Then one of the wolves stepped forward.

Bones cracked.

Muscles twisted.

Fur disappeared.

I watched in shock as the wolf shifted into a man.

He was tall.

Broad-shouldered.

His silver hair fell past his shoulders and his icy blue eyes seemed almost unnatural.

A cruel smile spread across his face.

"There she is."

My stomach twisted.

The way he looked at me made me uncomfortable.

Like I wasn't a person.

Like I was an object.

Something to be claimed.

Something to be owned.

"Move aside, Kael," he said calmly.

Alpha Kael didn't move.

The stranger's smile widened.

"We've been looking for her for a very long time."

A chill ran down my spine.

Looking for me?

Why?

Who were these people?

I had never seen them before.

I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out.

Too many questions swirled through my mind.

Kael's voice broke the silence.

"Leave."

The command carried enough authority to make my heart skip a beat.

But the stranger laughed.

Actually laughed.

As though he found the Alpha amusing.

"You know I can't do that."

His eyes shifted toward me.

A strange look crossed his face.

Recognition.

Excitement.

Almost obsession.

The sight made my skin crawl.

"After all these years, we finally found her."

My pulse quickened.

Found me?

I had never met these people.

The stranger took a step forward.

Kael immediately growled.

The ground beneath us seemed to vibrate.

For the first time, the smile faded from the stranger's face.

"You still don't understand, do you?" he asked.

Kael's expression remained cold.

"Understand what?"

The stranger's eyes returned to me.

"Who she really is."

Silence followed.

The words seemed to hang in the air.

Who she really is.

My chest tightened.

I looked at Kael.

For a brief second, something flickered across his face.

Something that looked suspiciously like concern.

Then it vanished.

The stranger noticed it too.

A grin slowly spread across his lips.

"Oh."

His eyes sparkled with amusement.

"You don't know."

Kael's jaw tightened.

"I know enough."

"No."

The stranger laughed softly.

"You know pieces."

My breathing became uneven.

Nobody was making sense.

Everyone was talking about me.

Yet nobody was explaining anything.

I clenched my fists.

"Can someone tell me what is going on?"

The words exploded from my mouth.

For a moment, everyone looked at me.

The stranger's smile softened.

Oddly enough, it made him look even more dangerous.

"Poor girl."

I hated the pity in his voice.

"You've spent your entire life living a lie."

My stomach dropped.

"What lie?"

The stranger ignored the question.

Instead, he stared at me with unsettling intensity.

"Tell me something."

I swallowed hard.

"What?"

"Have you ever shifted?"

My heart skipped.

The question hit harder than expected.

No.

I hadn't.

Not once.

Every member of my pack had shifted years ago.

Even wolves younger than me had experienced their first transformation.

But not me.

Never me.

Growing up, people whispered behind my back.

Some called me weak.

Others called me cursed.

A few believed the Moon Goddess had abandoned me.

I hated every one of those whispers.

Because deep down...

I had feared they were right.

The stranger's smile widened.

"Exactly."

Something cold settled in my stomach.

"What does that mean?"

"It means you're not what they think you are."

I stared at him.

My heart pounded.

"What am I then?"

Before he could answer, Alpha Kael stepped forward.

The movement was subtle.

But deliberate.

Protective.

"Enough."

The stranger sighed dramatically.

"There you go again."

His expression darkened.

"You can't hide the truth forever."

Kael's eyes flashed gold.

"I said enough."

The stranger shook his head.

"You should have told her."

Silence.

My gaze immediately snapped toward Kael.

Told me what?

The look on his face made my pulse race.

Because for the first time...

He looked guilty.

A thousand thoughts collided inside my head.

My father.

The debt.

The contract.

These wolves.

My inability to shift.

It couldn't all be a coincidence.

Could it?

The stranger suddenly smiled again.

Then he said the one thing that changed everything.

"The man who sold you isn't your father."

The world stopped.

I couldn't breathe.

Couldn't think.

Couldn't move.

The words echoed inside my mind.

Again.

And again.

And again.

No.

That wasn't possible.

It couldn't be.

My father might have betrayed me.

He might have sold me.

But he was still my father.

Wasn't he?

I looked at Kael.

Desperately.

Needing him to deny it.

Needing him to tell me this was a lie.

Instead...

He remained silent.

The silence shattered me.

My knees nearly gave out.

"No."

The word came out broken.

The stranger's expression softened slightly.

"He raised you."

My chest tightened painfully.

"But he isn't your blood."

Tears blurred my vision.

Everything hurt.

I had spent the entire day believing I had lost my father.

Now I wasn't even sure he had ever been mine.

The realization was unbearable.

A sob escaped my throat.

I hated it.

Hated feeling weak.

Hated crying in front of strangers.

But I couldn't stop.

The ground beneath me seemed to disappear.

Nothing felt real anymore.

Nothing.

Suddenly the stranger's face hardened.

"Enough talking."

The warmth vanished from his eyes.

Only determination remained.

"We're taking her."

Every wolf around him instantly became alert.

My fear returned.

Stronger than before.

Kael moved.

Fast.

Terrifyingly fast.

He positioned himself directly in front of me.

His body became a wall between me and them.

A shield.

The stranger sighed.

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this."

Kael's voice dropped.

Danger radiated from every word.

"Take one more step."

The wolves growled.

The forest trembled with tension.

And then the stranger smiled.

A cold smile.

A deadly smile.

"I don't need to take a step."

Confusion flashed through my mind.

Then something slammed into the back of my neck.

Pain exploded through my body.

A scream died in my throat.

My vision blurred instantly.

No.

No.

No.

I hadn't even seen anyone behind me.

The world tilted sideways.

My knees hit the ground.

The last thing I heard was Alpha Kael roaring my name.

"ARIA!"

Then darkness swallowed me whole.