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1101 Words
•~Leonardo~•
"Alpha Leonardo."
Her voice is low, and before I can get to her, she suddenly collapses.
Even in her unconscious state, her hold trembles in the cage, hot tears dripping down her cheeks. The cage reeks of something dangerous, far worse than wolfsbane. The guards used Vartex potion.
The chains binding her wrists and ankles are rusted and stained with blood, cutting deep into her skin. Her bruised arms wrap protectively around her body, though there’s no shielding her from the wounds they bear. She flinches at the sound of my voice.
The sight enrages me.
‘Kill them all,’ Nema, my wolf, growls.
The guards flanking the cage flinch, their posture stiffening. They stammer incoherently, tripping over their words like bumbling fools.
“S-she’s dangerous,” one of them dares to say, his voice trembling. “We were just—”
I don’t let him finish. My sharp claws collide with his jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. His companion raises his hands in a pitiful attempt to surrender.
“I gave explicit orders that she be taken to my quarters unscathed,” I say, my voice calm—too calm—but the storm behind it makes them cower. “This doesn’t look unscathed to me.”
The second guard shakes his head vehemently. “It wasn’t us! The elders—”
“Enough,” I growl, cutting him off. My attention turns to the girl. Fiona.
Kneeling, I reach out to her slowly, carefully, like approaching a wounded animal. She recoils, pressing herself into the farthest corner of the cage.
Even in her unconscious state, she’s still defensive.
“Fiona,” I say softly. “You’re safe now. No one here will hurt you again.”
Her lips quiver, and fresh tears spill down her cheeks. She doesn’t believe me, and I can’t blame her.
The sound of heavy footsteps behind me draws my attention. I stand, turning to see Raphael striding toward us, his face tense. How does he know we’re out here?
The air around him practically crackles with suppressed anger, but there’s something else there too—concern.
“You said you wouldn’t touch her!” I roar.
‘Kill him. Just let me shred him into pieces.’ Nema, my wolf growls.
His jaw clenches, and his blue eyes flicker to Fiona, the barest hint of guilt crossing his face before it’s replaced with indifference.
“This wasn’t my doing. I’d never harm her.”
“And yet,” I gesture to her broken form, “As if what you did before wasn’t enough, now you want to take her too?” I bellow.
My jaw tightens. I can’t let this one too.
Raphael’s gaze darkens. “She’s cursed, Leo Dangerous. You will regret this.”
I step forward, closing the distance between us until we’re nearly nose to nose. “What I regret,” I say slowly, venom dripping from each word, “is seeing how carelessly you treat your own pack member-your mate. You didn’t even have the decency to protect her.”
Raphael flinches, but he quickly masks it with a snarl. “She’s not my mate anymore. I rejected her.”
I smirk darkly. “Yes, I heard. That’s what makes you a coward, Raphael.”
His fists clench at his sides, and his eyes flash with something dangerous, but he says nothing.
I turn away from him, my attention returning to Fiona. With one swift motion, I bend down and snap the lock on the cage. The metal groans under the force of my strength, breaking apart like brittle twigs.
“Come,” I mutter.
As if she hears me in her sleep, her body moves slightly forward, her movements sluggish and weak. Her body stiffens again, and this time, I scoop her up effortlessly, cradling her as though she weighs nothing. Her head rests against my chest and her breathing shallow.
“She’ll die if she doesn’t receive treatment soon,” I say, not bothering to look at Raphael. “I hope you understand what a mistake that would be—for you.”
Without waiting for a response, I turn on my heel and stride toward the packhouse, Fiona limping in my arms.
~••~
“Are you sure this is safe, Alpha?” Kendrick, my beta, asks as soon as I drop her wounded body on the mattress.
“If he brought her here, then of course it is,” Jason, his brother, bellows at him.
I don’t bother engaging in their chatter as my eyes stay focused on her.
‘She’s not healing,’ Nema muses.
My hands form fists as my jaw tightens. They’ve managed to stop her from healing.
‘ Bastards.’
“We sign the contract this evening. Jason, get the documents.”
An hour later, we arrive at the White Fox packhouse. Alpha Raphael and Lucian—Fiona’s supposed father—are already seated in the room.
My jaw tightens as I see him. All this is happening to his own blood, and he hasn’t done a thing to stop it.
Gesturing to Jason, he pulls out a brown envelope, handing it over to me.
“The contract, including the truce and complete ownership of the girl.”
Fiona is nowhere to be seen—per my orders, she’s being treated in private by my pack’s healers.
“I’ve made the necessary adjustments to the agreement,” I say, sliding the revised document across the table to Raphael.
His eyes scan the paper, his jaw tightening as he reads. “You’ve made it abundantly clear that she is yours now.”
I smirk. “Of course. She’s no longer your problem.”
“You think you’re doing her a favor,” Raphael mutters, signing his name at the bottom of the document with a sharp flourish. “You’ll regret this.”
I lean in, my voice dropping to a deadly whisper. “And you’ll regret ever letting her go.”
His eyes flash with something akin to sorrow, but it’s gone as quickly as it appears.
The deal is sealed with a handshake—colder than any truce I’ve ever negotiated.
She’s cursed, but at least she’s mine.
Jason and Kendrick follow behind me as I leave the room, heading straight to the parked truck.
I don’t understand why I feel so drawn to her, and even Nema seems to like her. But regardless of the reason, one thing is certain: I won’t let her get hurt ever again.
She is now the property of the Black Wolves.
- Writer
