BOUND BY FATE: Contracted To The Enemy Alpha

Chapter 26— The dignity that you stripped.

Chapter 26— The dignity that you stripped.

TRISTAN

I swallowed forcefully, my jaw still locked from how hard I was clenching it. I couldn’t explain why seeing Leon that way with the Ferguson princess had fueled a rage in me.

But it had.

Fuck! It had me seeing red.

The moment I turned after scolding Callie and saw Leon leading Kyra away like some knights in f*****g armor made my blood boiled so fast I felt heat crawl up my face.

I waited until I was sure that Leon was out of earshot before I turned to Kyra.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” The words came out rough, scraping up my throat.

She straightened, her shoulders stiff, yet lifted in that prideful way even though I could see the fatigue in her stance. Her red, swollen eyes lifted to mine in a stare so flat she might as well have spat in my face. She had wiped most of her tears but the traces were still there. The sight made something in my chest twist.

“Well then, if that’s all…” she drawled, in a robotic tone. “Then I will be taking my leave.”

She turned sharply, like she couldn’t stand another heartbeat in my presence. And honestly, I got it. I wouldn’t want to be in my presence either, if I were her.

I should’ve known the moment Callie came running to me that it wasn’t just about Kyra “disrespecting” Eric. Nothing involving that bastard was ever simple.

I caught her wrist before she could step away.

“Kyra,” I said softer than I had intended.

She froze in my touch and yet her body was warm. This close to me I could take in the sweet scent of her rose like fragrance.

Why was my heart aching? Why was I trying hard to make her understand that this wasn’t my doing? Hell, I knew nothing that was happening in that room until I walked in?

Why the f**k did seeing her on all fours in front of Eric make my vision black out?

I should be thrilled, satisfied even. I brought her here to see those pride wash out of her eyes, to see her broken until there was nothing left before I give her that satisfying end I’ve always craved and yet, the sight of her on all fours in front of f*****g Eric had made me see red.

If I hadn’t controlled myself, Eric’s guts would’ve been painted across the entertainment room.

Kyra’s fingers twitched under my hold. Then, as if yanked back into herself, she grit her teeth and jerked her hand free.

“What do you want, Alpha Tristan?” she asked coldly. “I don’t have all day.”

I exhaled through my nose, trying not to let irritation override the apology I was already regretting offering. I didn’t owe her kindness. I didn’t owe her comfort. She was in my pack because her bloodline murdered mine.

Yet I felt the need to apologize to her after learning what Callie did. Because it wasn’t who we are as a pack or what we stood for.

Or… it’s because once again you’re going to be hunted by those eyes when you sleep?

“I didn’t know Callie planned anything like that,” I said. And here we go again with the explanation. Not like I had to but somehow I felt like I needed her to know. Goddess, this is f****d up.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

The plan was simple. Capture the Ferguson princess, strip her off her pride and then eliminate the bloodline. How did a simple plan now turn into something so confusing and messed up?

“If I had known her intention especially with that prick Eric I wouldn’t have given the orders.” I continued.

Kyra laughed. She laughed, a tear slipping out of her eye. “What order exactly? The one where the Alphas were allowed to harass any servant they felt like or the one where I am required to obey any command from anyone?”

I swallowed, looking away. Somehow when Callie had told me about her disobedience to Eric I knew something wasn’t right. As much as I hated the Ferguson princess, she wasn’t one to bite without being bitten.

And I knew Eric f*****g Ashveil, I knew how vile he could be, which was exactly why I'd told Leon to excuse me but he insisted on coming with me. I hadn't even left the office completely when a pain so sharp shook me to my core. I knew at that moment it was Kyra fighting the blood pact, and it was only going to keep hurting until she gave in.

“Do not get ahead of yourself, princess,” I warned, my anger rising again but I wasn’t sure at who. “You’re still a prisoner in this pack. Being on the list does not make you the same as the others.”

All I should feel for her is hatred. Not even an ounce of pity, whatever she gets was what she and her goddamn family had sown.

I forced myself to continue. “I only came to apologize because no one, not even a prisoner deserves to be treated that way.”

“Then apology accepted, Alpha.” She bowed her head slightly, tipping it at mocking surrender to me. “Thank you for reminding me I deserve respect, and giving me back the dignity that you stripped.”

I glared at her not missing the sarcasm in her words. My skin was flaring in irritation. I was done with this. Maybe I shouldn’t have come here at all.

“We are done here,” I snapped, then walked away before she could say any more infuriating words.

I found Callie exactly where I’d expected her.

She was now dressed in a deep red plunging dress, that basically left nothing to the imagination. She was lounging against the couch in my office, her hand holding a glass of burgundy wine with her legs crossed.

She straightened when I approached. “You asked to see me, Tristan.” She said that sultry voice of hers that could bring a man to his knees but it doesn’t work on me… well, unless I want it to.

“Yes, I did.” I gritted, walking to my seat before looking back up at her.

“What you did today, Callie was disgusting, disappointing and totally not what I expected from you!”

Her smile slipped.

She set her glass down with a little more force than necessary but I didn’t care. “What do you mean, Tristan?”

I glared at her. “What do I mean? Goddess, Callie you humiliated people for sports! And you know that isn’t what I stand for, or this pack!”

She scoffed. Folded her arms over chest. “The Alphas were bored, Tristan. You weren’t there to keep them entertained, so I came up with a solution…”

“And your solution,” I cut in, “was to humiliate someone? At the detriment of our values?”

Callie snorted. “Humiliate someone? Oh please Tristan. It’s not that deep besides it’s just Kyra and if she had minded her business maybe Alpha Eric wouldn’t have felt disrespected and demanded such a humiliating apology.”

I looked at Callie as she spoke. It was as if I was staring at someone else, as if this wasn’t the Callie I had known all these years. I lifted my palm, halting her.

My jaw ticked.

She had no idea how close she was to crossing a line she couldn’t uncross.

“I trusted you to handle the event. And you went out there and turned the room into a damn circus. Maybe I had too much expectations from you, and I shouldn’t have. Take your things, you will be taken to the labor camp.”

Callie looked at me shocked. Her eyes wide. “Tris… Tristan, don't do this please. You can’t take me there, I can’t… please Tristan.”

I shook my head. “Pack law is pack law, Callie s****l harassment of anyone…”

“…You asked me to punish her however I saw fit!” She yelled.

“Yes, I did. But not for the detriment of other people? Not this. And what about Maddy? You offered her on a platter to Eric for s****l tendencies, Callie. Don’t act like I asked you to do this.”

She shook her head, and scoffed. “No, no, this is not really about what I did. It’s more about who I did it to. You’re punishing me because of her, Tristan. You’re punishing me because of that Ferguson scum. I knew that when the bond starts to click you’d bed with the enemy!” Her voice broke into a snarl.

“Kara would turn in her grave to see me get punished by you because of her murderer.”

The door opened and Kallum stepped in. I nodded at him and as he approached Callie she began to scream. “Fine, Tristan. It won’t repeat itself again.”

“Until you’ve shown genuine remorse will you be allowed back.” I said as Kallum led her away.