The Alpha’s Bought Luna

Chapter3

Kael's POV

The morning sun had barely touched the stone towers of Blood Haven when I stepped outside. A gentle breeze swept across the courtyard, carrying with it the faint scent of pine and steel, both familiar and comforting.

Blood Haven never truly slept, even at this hour, warriors trained in the yard, their bodies slick with sweat and determination. I paused at the top of the steps, watching them for a moment.

Discipline, order, strength. That’s what I built this place on. Not loyalty, that was too fragile, too easily bought or broken.

“Alpha,” Lucien’s voice came from behind me, calm and steady like always. He walked beside me without being told.

“You are early,” I said, my hands tucked behind my back as we walked down the steps together.

“You hardly sleep,” he answered with a small smile. “Figured I would keep up.”

I chuckled slowly. “Sleep is for the weak.”

He didn’t argue. Lucien rarely did.

We moved through the heart of the pack grounds, warrior zones, armory blocks, and trading posts. Everyone who saw me stepped aside, eyes lowered, respectful… or afraid. Either was fine by me.

“They’ve added more guards to the western walls,” Lucien said. “We had word that a rogue group has been active near the border.”

“Handle it,” I replied. “No need to make a show unless they come too close. I don’t want to panic. Blood Haven thrives on control, not chaos.”

Lucien nodded.

I slowed my pace as we reached the entrance of the central district. Unlike the warrior’s ground, this part of Blood Haven sparkled, with white pavements, tall glass towers, luxury stores, and cafes. This was where the powerful mingled, the rich lived, and the wolves with polished smiles played pretend.

The moment we stepped in, I felt the shift. All eyes turned. Whispers started and the high class women, they always flocked to where the power was.

A woman in red brushed past, her perfume too heavy, her dress clinging to every curve. She smiled, lips red as blood, eyes gleaming with hunger that had nothing to do with food.

“Alpha,” she purred, fingers grazing my sleeve.

I didn’t stop walking.

Another leaned close from her seat at a wine bar, arching her back, letting her golden hair tumble down as if by accident. “You’re always welcome to join us, Kael,” she called.

Lucien snorted beside me. “You attract them like flies to honey.”

“Honey?” I scoffed. “More like blood.”

He didn’t deny it.

They didn’t love me, they wanted power. The money, the name. Alpha Kael Nightshade, rich, dangerous, untouchable. Some wanted to tame me, others wanted to use me. I let them all believe what they wanted.

That way, I kept the upper hand.

As we neared the auction house,an innocent, looking glass building, I paused. From the outside, it looked like any other pack business. Clean, elegant and professional.

Inside, it was something else entirely.

The black market had always intrigued me, not because of the money, I had enough of that, but because of the power that moved unseen beneath the surface.

Everything had a price, even lives.

“Anything new from our inside contact?” I asked Lucien as we stood near the door, pretending to admire the fountain beside it.

He handed me a slim folder, brown and stamped with the sigil of secrecy.

“They have a girl lined up for the next private auction,” he said quietly. “An Omega. Her name is Ava Harlow.”

I took the folder.

“Family?” I asked.

“Dead. Executed for treason in Silverclaw. The mate rejected her. She was sold to cover debts.”

I opened the file and saw the image of her, hair dark and tangled, eyes empty. Beautiful, even in pain.

“She looks broken,” I muttered, thumbing through the page.

“Most Omegas are by the time they are put up for auction,” Lucien replied. “But this one… There is something odd. She had tried to escape once, made it to the rogue zones before she was dragged back.”

I raised an eyebrow. “She escaped?”

He nodded. “They had to drug her twice before she stopped fighting.”

Interesting.

I closed the file and held it for a moment, feeling the weight of it in my hands. So much darkness in so few pages.

“She is not for public bidding,” Lucien added. “Private invitation only.”

“Good,” I said. “Keep it that way.”

“You want her?” he asked, watching me carefully.

I gave a half smile. “I want to see what breaks her… and what makes her fight.”

Lucien didn’t ask more, he knew me too well. The game was never about lust. It was about control, and sometimes, saving someone meant owning them completely.

We moved past the auction house and moved toward the cliffside manor, the heart of my territory. The wind was sharper here, stronger wind brushing through my long coat as I looked out over the sea.

Below, the harbor buzzed with activity. New shipments from distant packs. Crates full of goods, legal and not. I watched it all like a god above his kingdom.

Afterwards I went home, it was cold, modern, built of steel and glass. No warmth, no softness, just like me.

Inside, everything was silent. My staff knew better than to hover, Lucien followed me into my study. I tossed the folder on the table and walked to the bar.

“Whiskey?” I asked.

“No. You will need a clear head tonight,” he replied.

I smirked. “You sound like my conscience.”

“I’m the closest thing you have to one.”

We sat.

I lit a cigar and stared at the flickering light from the fireplace. My mind wasn’t on the flames. It was on the girl. Ava Harlow.

“She will fight,” I said quietly. “I can feel it.”

“Are you planning to break her?” Lucien asked.

“No,” I said, slowly blowing out smoke. “I plan to see if she can survive me.”

Lucien leaned back, his expression unreadable. “And if she does?”

I looked at the file one more time. “Then maybe,” I said, voice low, “she is more valuable than any wolf in this pack.”