BOUND BY FATE: Contracted To The Enemy Alpha

Chapter 25— His Prisoner, His Spectacle.

Chapter 25— His Prisoner, His Spectacle.

KYRA

Tristan stormed in like someone had lit his veins on fire. Rage rolling off him in thick, hot swirls. I couldn’t tell if it was meant for me, because somehow everything always circled back to being my fault.

He got close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off his body. His eyes fell on me, and his mouth tightened, then he looked away and turned to Callie whose confident posture was betrayed by the tremble in her fingers.

“What the hell is going on here, Callie?” He growled.

Callie flinched, almost slightly but it didn’t miss my eyes. She swallowed, and lifted her chin looking at Tristan with all confidence as if she was unfazed.

“Alpha Eric demanded an apology after being disrespected by the Ferguson bitch.” She flicked her eyes at me. “this is her way of offering it. That’s all.”

That’s all?

As if that justified the disgusting game she created.

As if that excused the humiliation.

As if I deserved to be made a spectacle of.

When Tristan looked at me again, shame clawed at my chest. I wanted to vanish, disappear into the ground, bury myself six feet under if it meant escaping the humiliation that soaked me as he looked at me.

A gentle hand landed on my shoulder, pulling me to my feet. “Come with me.”

I blinked, barely processing that it was Leon guiding me.

His body moved in front of me so that all I could see was him. His broad chest had blocked everyone and I was so grateful because the mist in my eyes was beginning to spill.

Tears slid down my cheeks in a hot stream.

A sob ripped out of me so violently it made my knees buckle. I tried to swallow it, tried to hold myself together, but goddess, it hurt so much. My body was done. I was tired of fighting. Tired of holding on to dignity I no longer had. Tired of pretending that I wasn’t crumbling every day under the weight of being Tristan’s prisoner, his spectacle.

Leon said nothing. He only guided me farther away, through the hall, out a door, until the noise was gone and the air was fresh. My legs trembled beneath me, but he kept an arm around me, steadying me.

I didn’t even realize he’d sat me down until the bench pressed cool against the back of my legs. He gently cupped the back of my head, guiding it to his chest, his fingers sliding through my hair with a gentleness that I didn’t think I could receive from anyone again and the action made my tears drop even more.

My tears soaked into his shirt. My forehead pressed against him. My shoulders shook, my hands trembling helplessly as they clutched to the front of his shirt.

I didn’t know what hurt more.

Tristan activating the blood pact and tying me in his pack as his servant, or forcing obedience into my veins like poison. Having to get on all fours like a dog, barking like an animal in front of Eric, Callie… and Elora.

I remembered the look on Elora’s face when Eric had ordered me to go on all fours.

That smug, vicious smirk on her face as if it had been her idea and I didn’t put it pass her.

A raw, aching sound ripped from me. I didn’t care how I looked. I didn’t care if this made me weak or pathetic. I didn’t care that this man was a stranger just like everyone else in that damn room.

I just wanted to let out the pain that I’ve been keeping in.

It hurt.

It hurt so much I felt like I was splitting open.

Was there a greater humiliation than being stripped of every last shred of respect in front of people who once looked at me differently? People who, even if they held opinions about me, never voiced them out of courtesy? Out of basic decency?

Now… now I was entertainment. Their favorite joke. Their spectacle.

A servant.

A reminder of how far I had fallen.

I just want my father. I want Ethan. I just want things to be the way they used to.

I cried into his chest for so long until my throat hurt and my sobs eventually turned into sniffles.

I stayed with my head pressed against Leon’s chest, hearing his heart beat.

I didn’t lift my head. I couldn’t. Shame still pressed heavy in my chest. I had just cried on Leonardo Emberfell’s chest, the Alpha King’s chest. My body suddenly grew still, my throat thick and dry.

Heat shot through my body, mortification sweeping over me. I slowly lifted my head. Leon’s intense blue eyes met mine, studying me in a way that felt like he could see every thought, every wound, every crack inside me.

I hate how deeply intense his gaze was. It always felt like they were digging in for secrets.

I straightened quickly, pulling away and wiping at my face, even though it didn’t do much. “I—I’m sorry,” I muttered, gesturing weakly at the wet patches on his clothes. “I didn’t mean to… your shirt—”

He waved a hand immediately. “It means nothing, Kyra. Truly. It was the least I could do after what you went through in there.”

I nodded, unsure how to process the softness in his voice. Was he pitying me? Or was he just kind?

It was then my gaze drifted around. We were in the garden flowers covered the path and climbed the pillars in rich blues and golds. In the center stood a stone statue of a woman, with an inscription carved at the base

“WITH LOVE AND MEMORIES”

I swallowed and got to my feet. “Thank you,” I said quietly. “For taking me out of there. But I… I should return to my duties now.”

Leon’s brows rose. “Duties?” He leaned back slightly, eyes narrowing with disbelief. “You think you can walk back into that hellhole after what just happened?”

I looked away, biting my trembling lower lip.

Could I?

No. I couldn’t.

At least not right away.

Not when the humiliation still stings.

If I returned, it would only be because Tristan commanded it.

But I couldn’t tell him that. I just wanted to get away from him, from everyone. Hide somewhere and gather whatever scraps of dignity I had left.

Leon let out a slow breath, then exhaled “I hear you’re stubborn,” he murmured, almost amused, “but Goddess, Kyra… sit this one out. Come. Sit.”

My body moved before my brain could process it fully. My eyes stung. f*****g blood pact!

Leon’s eyes widened in alarm. “I—Kyra, I didn’t mean that as an order. I’m sorry. It was supposed to be a suggestion.”

“It’s fine,” I whispered, though embarrassment burned through me. I was already seated, knees tucked together. “It’s okay.”

No. It wasn’t okay. It wasn’t okay that anyone right now could literally asked anything of me and I have no option to object. It wasn’t okay that this was what my life has suddenly turned to but I wasn’t going to cry the second time, at least not in front of him.

He looked genuinely unsettled, unsure where to put his hands. For a man whom people would tremble upon meeting him, this sight was… strange.

As I watched him, questions nudged at the back of my mind.

Why?

Why was he the only one treating me like a person?

Granted, the Alphas I was familiar with weren’t in the entertainment room, but Alpha Rowan had been and he had made no attempt to intervene.

Yet Leonardo Emberfell, the Alpha King… he had taken me away, comforted me and even let me cry and stain his shirt with snot and tears.

I lifted my eyes to him. “Can I ask you a question?”

He nodded. “Of course.”

“Why are you… kind to me?”

Leon raised a brow. “Would you prefer I not be?”

“No!” I said quickly, shaking my head. “No. It’s just… everyone else treats me differently.”

He looked at me for a long moment. “You know I’d like to ask questions of my own, Kyra…”

A throat cleared behind us.

I stiffened. Already sensing who it was.

Tristan stood there.

His eyes flicked between us, unreadable and then they landed fully on Leon. Something tense passed between them and then he turned to me.

“I need to speak with Kyra, Alpha Leon.”

Leon nodded and rose smoothly. “Of course. We will continue from where we stopped another time, Kyra.”

He gave me a final look before walking away, leaving me alone with the one person I least wanted to face.

.