BOUGHT BY THE WRONG ALPHA

CHAPTER TWO : BLACK ICE

Wasn’t planning on being transported in a bike. But I guess here we are.

I fold my wristband twice and put it into the pocket of my dress. Check the sheath. Get on the bike.

Because whatever reason made anyone purchase an infertile Dove - at that price, who knows his plan?

Ten minutes in and no one has said anything.

Lucien swerves the bike to the left and to the right. Almost like he’s showing off.

My body adjusts its weight accordingly.

I press on to him tighter. He notices, doesn’t say anything.

We’ve gone far enough from the auction hall now. It’s just us, the trees and the mountains. Dark clouds forming ahead.

Lucien stops swerving and starts riding like a sane being.

I move my hands slowly away from him. Towards my sheath.

I’m humming without knowing.

We’re alone. This is it. One shot and run. Didn’t really plan the aftermath - but I just want to kill him. The same way he did my mom.

While I’m struggling to get my sheath out from my inner thigh, the second man - the man that handed him the key outside - appears by my side.

I move my hands as if I was adjusting my dress against the cold. Which is actually biting at this point.

“The venue for the meeting, Boss?” He muffles through his helmet.

Lucien replies and tells him he wants everyone present. Zooms off past him, leaving him behind us.

Opportunity comes twice - for once.

I’m reaching for my sheath when the bike suddenly jerks forward.

Lucien is trying to slow down. But the bike is not responding. We’re heading down a curve at a very fast speed.

In trying to slow down, the rear wheel has moved sideways.

The bike is skidding off the road.

It all happens so fast. Things I can’t quite wrap my head around afterward.

First, there’s the quick feeling of the man in front of me doing something strange. Like an engine trying to catch but not quite. Then the next second, we’re heading for a fall. He throws his hands around me, and then —

Black ice.

Everywhere goes dark.

The world comes back into view in tiny bits.

I don’t know how long I’m out for.

I open my eyes. My face is on the ground. So close I can almost taste the asphalt.

The first thing I do when I regain consciousness is reach for my helmet on the floor. Straighten it. Check my sheath, and look for him.

My hips hurt. My back hurts. My palms sting from the contact with the ground. But I don’t look as bad as I’d have expected.

I look around.

Lucien is already up. Sitting on the ground, watching his bike laying across the road.

I move to him. Stand a few feet away from where he’s seated.

His jacket is torn at the shoulder level. He has a cut on his jaw and on his arm. But they’re all healing fast. In front of me.

He looks at me for two seconds. Assesses me quickly.

“You’re fine.” He says. Not asking. Just a statement.

“Yes,” I lie. “You?”

He doesn’t answer. His eyes are fixed on the bike.

Soon, the other man shows up. Clears off the road. Turns off his engine.

He crouches beside Lucien and whispers something in his ear. Something I can’t quite hear from where I’m standing.

I don’t move. Not like I had anything to do with what just happened anyway. But it would have helped if the outcome was not me on the ground with a back and hip that wasn’t part of this plan.

Lucien raises his head up. Shakes it. The man straightens. Stands by his side.

The two men move toward the bike, get it to stand.

Lucien looks angry. But not in a way that’s loud. He moves around the bike, bends, checks the tyres. Then runs his hand along the handling.

“Something felt wrong about the handling this morning.” He says, almost to himself.

He gets on the bike. Revs it twice. “Get on.” He says, eyes locked on mine.

I pick his helmet from the floor, offer it to him. Get on the bike.

The other man goes on his too.

The rest of the ride is much slower now. No more pro swerves.

In about fifteen minutes, the trees begin to open up to a compound.

We arrive at a massive gate with the writing “IRONCLAW PACK” boldly written and a very large wolf emblem crested at its center.

Two men step forward from either sides of the gate. They relax when they see Lucien.

“Welcome back, Sir. We heard about what happened in the mindlink.” One of them says as he nods for the gate to be opened.

The other one - the younger one - stares at me as we move through. I stare back. Neither of us refuses to stop looking.

We ride inside.

Inside, the pack compound is the same as the gate. Solid structures. Courtyard. Wolves moving around. Some staring at me like they’re genuinely confused.

Lucien turns off the engine as we reach the car park. Takes off his helmet revealing his dark curly hair that’s still sitting perfectly despite all that happened.

He takes one foot out, plants it on the ground, waits for me to get down first. Never knew he was a gentleman. But he killed my mother so that will never count.

I get off the bike, take my helmet off, lower it.

“Someone will show you where you’ll be staying.”

He moves. Doesn’t explain. Goes toward a building in front of me. As he’s stepping in, almost at the same time - a woman is stepping out of the quarters. Coming towards me.

“Hi, I’m Mrs. Garret. Head of Doves here. We heard about what happened. Sorry, hope you’re okay. Follow me,” she gestures toward the same quarters. “We’ve prepared somewhere special for you.”