Auctioned at 18 | Claimed by Two Alphas

Chapter 10 | Not Even Once

Raina

One hour drive to the airport, and then we are off on a plane.

Just Alpha Thorne and me.

He’s too nice.

Too polite.

This isn’t what I expected from the man who seemed to have such a dominating presence; it overwhelmed my senses.

He seemed so mysterious. He still is, I guess, because I can’t tell what version of him I’m going to get at what moment.

Will he be looking at me with that deep intensity?

Will he be charming and boyish?

Or have all of that dominating essence that he requires when taking on his Alpha role?

He sits across from me, and my stomach lurches as the plane takes off. He smiles brightly at me, trying to reassure me silently, but it just makes me feel self-conscious.

I look at him warily, not sure what to say or do when he’s just… staring.

My eyes flicker down and then back up to meet his gaze. He’s still staring. I feel defensive as I ask, “What?”

He shrugs nonchalantly, “Just happy to have you with me, Raina.”

I nod slowly, cautiously, “Thanks, Alpha Thorne.”

“In private, you can call me Malcolm.” He offers, moving a hand through his hair.

It all seems so… normal for him.

I don’t understand.

He unbuttons the top of his shirt and loosens his tie. He grabs a cup and fills it with some brown liquid. I can smell that it’s a type of liquor, but I’ve never been allowed to be around that stuff, so I have no clue what it could be.

The scent is so strong to my sensitive nose that it’s hard not to crinkle my nose in disgust. Coolly, I respond, “I was trying to remain proper.”

His grin is wicked as he leans forward, “What if I don’t want you proper?”

My eyes narrow, “You haven’t really told me what you…” I trail off, a vision coming forward and begging to take me from this world and bring me onto the spiritual plane.

It’s not something I can resist. I’ve never been able to control it. Even when I know it’s a bad time, I can’t stop it from taking root in my head.

For me, the vision is unclear. It’s like trying to watch TV through fog.

A man appears, he’s at a desk, and runs his fingers through his hair like he’s frustrated. He snaps, “This isn’t what we agreed to.”

Someone else speaks, but I don’t see them. I can just hear the annoyed timbre of their voice, “It’s what the Alpha wants.”

“He has a council for a reason.” The man hisses in response. He scowls as he spins the chair to look behind him, “There must be a way to stop this.”

The picture blurs, and I’m blinking back into the real world.

Alpha Thorne’s brows are raised, and he says, “Well, that certainly is interesting.”

I swallow the saliva in my throat, not knowing how to respond to him. He tilts his head to the side as he observes me and says, “You really are a Seer.”

“Well, that’s why you bought me, isn’t it?”

His dark gaze makes me feel like I’m on fire; it’s so intense. He sits up, seeming more professional, more like the man I saw when I met Beta Cantworth and all the men he purchased. This is the Alpha of the Twilight Pack.

He says, “You being a Seer was a bonus, Raina. I would’ve made this purchase regardless.”

“Why?” I question. I seem to have caught him off guard, his eyebrows raising slightly. He leans in closer to me as he says, “Raina, I chose you because you intrigued me. Women don’t run from me often.”

There’s a smile playing at his lips, like me running from him was a game.

A game he won because he purchased me, and now I’m his. Forever.

“I’m a part of a well-known pack, and I became Alpha younger than most due to my mother’s unexpected demise and my father’s abusive rule that someone needed to challenge him. I was the only one capable and willing to defeat him in that match.”

His hands clenched tightly at the mention of his father. His whole body seems tenser than it has since the moment I met him. He continues, “Other packs think they can take advantage of the fact I don’t have a mate. They think the only way they can negotiate with me is by offering their daughters or nieces in exchange for an alliance. Which isn’t… beneficial.”

He shakes his head, annoyed by this thought. He breathes out, “I don’t want that. I’ve never wanted that. But I’m getting close to 25 now, and each year I’m without a mate makes it harder for me with my professional life with other packs and with the council.”

Council?

Could my vision have pertained to him?

It’s really odd he hasn’t asked me about the vision.

“I wasn’t going to purchase a girl. My pack rarely does; we don’t normally have a need for them. But… then I ran into you off stage.”

He pauses for a moment, making me feel stiff, and then he continues, “You felt real. And you were beautiful, and all I could think about was making sure you ended up somewhere good. And then I realized, it couldn’t just be somewhere good. I needed to make sure you ended up here. With me. I needed to know what happened to you.”

“Okay…” I trail off then slowly say, “But, you said I need to prove myself.”

He nods, “Yeah, you do, if you want to be my mate. I’m not going to mark and mate you immediately. I need to know you are the perfect fit for my pack to be the Luna. If you’re not a good fit, then you’ll just join my pack or something, I’m not sure. We’ll figure it out if it comes to that.”

“Okay,” I say, frowning slightly as I try to come to grips with all of his words and what exactly it means for me.

He looks at me as he says, “You seem confused.”

I sigh, running a hand through my hair as I say, “Not confused, exactly. I’m not sure how to explain it. I just, I feel like I accidentally got handed a winning lotto ticket.”

He laughs when I say that, but I keep talking like he didn’t, “I don’t exactly know how to move forward. Like, am I supposed to try to make you fall in love with me? Am I supposed to be this seductive temptress or just be myself and whatever will be will be?”

The more I talk, the more my mind unravels.

I keep going, “But I know how much money you spent on me. I know my life isn’t free. Like, if I’m not your mate, then I’m going to have to pay that off somehow. How would I do that? I don’t know what I’m skilled at or if it’s even possible to make that much money in my life!”

I take a deep breath, ready to continue the spiral. “Even as your Luna, am I just paying you back by having s*x with you and bearing your kids? I will always owe you everything, and what about-”

He stops me from my spiral by simply putting his hand on mine.

His steady warmth forces me to freeze, and my eyes meet his. He keeps my gaze as he says, “Breathe, Raina.”

I follow him in the breathing pattern he shows me.

Inhale for four, hold for seven, exhale for eight. Repeat.

And again.

And again.

Then he tells me in a soothing tone, “There’s no need to overthink it, Raina. Right now, I just want the opportunity to get to know you. There’s no need for you to seduce me. We’ll figure this out together, one step at a time. Okay?”

I nod my head slowly, “Yeah, okay.”

His smile is reassuring.

Be myself, that shouldn’t be so hard, right?

But who am I?

If I’m honest with myself. I don’t know. I’ve always been told what to be. Now, I’m being told to be the one thing I don’t know how to be, myself.

I’ve always been a part of a set. I’ve always been on display, a token, a toy for others to play with. And now… I’m not.

He still hasn’t asked about my vision.

Does he not care?

I always thought that if anyone found out about my visions, they’d try to take advantage of me. Yet, he doesn’t even ask about it. Not even once.