Gambled to the Rival Alpha

Chapter 4-The betrayal

My legs felt like lead and my blood ran cold as the reality of what just transpired slammed into my chest.

The hall seemed to spin around me as the doors of the VIP lounge swung open.

Diego stepped into the hallway first, followed by Silas, the latter looking utterly broken, his hands shaking so violently he could barely hold himself upright.

And then Silas’s eyes met mine and he froze.

A quick flash of guilt crossed his features, but it was instantly swallowed by a cowardly rage. He didn't rush to apologize. He didn't drop to his knees to beg for my forgiveness. Instead, he pulled his shoulders back, trying to rebuild his shattered pride.

"Lia," he said. "You were listening."

Even the pet name sounded disgusting now.

"You gambled me away." My voice didn't sound like my own. The tears I had been fighting finally spilled over, burning hot tracks down my cheeks. "Silas... tell me this is a sick joke. Tell me you didn't just put our mate bond on a card table."

He took a step toward me, but I instinctively recoiled, taking a step back until my spine hit the pillar.

"Listen to me!" Silas hissed under his breath, leaning in so the gathering crowd in the hallway wouldn't hear every word. "I had no choice. He had the northern timber deeds. My father would have stripped me of my birthright if I lost those lands. You don't understand the pressure I’m under."

"I don't understand?" A grim, disbelieving laughter escaped from my throat. "You traded your mate for timber? For gold?"

"It’s temporary."

My head tilted sideways and my eyes widened for a moment. Was he serious now?

"We’ll figure out a way around it later. The elders will find a loop—" He reached for my wrist.

"Don't you dare touch her."

Diego stepped between us. His imposing frame cut Silas off from my line of sight and his scent instantly crowded out Silas’s from my nose.

His eyes were fixed on my mate, glowing with a dangerous intensity.

"You lost the hand, Silas," he spoke, the smooth, seductive Hispanic tone deceptively romancing my eardrums, now that he was of a closer distance to me. "The bet was explicit. The wager is settled."

"This is madness!" A loud voice bellowed from down the corridor. Our collective gazes trained towards the direction.

Alexander marched toward us, flanked by three high-ranking Silver Crest guards and the ancient pack officiant, Elder Aaron. Alexander’s face was red with fury, his eyes darting between his son, Diego and me.

"What is the meaning of this, Silas?" Alexander demanded. "Why is Miguel Cortez carrying our pack’s land deeds?"

Silas swallowed hard, shrinking under his father's frosty glare. "Father... I... the game got out of hand..."

"He didn't just lose the land, Alpha Alexander," Miguel spoke up, stepping forward with his arms crossed and a cool smirk on his lips. "Your precious son put up his mate bond as collateral for his final hand."

He c****d his head to Diego's direction. "And Alpha Diego won."

Alexander stopped dead in his tracks. For a second, it looked like he had no idea where he was. He blinked as if back from a trance and slowly turned his head to stare at his son. "You... you did what?"

"Father, please—"

The sound of Alexander’s heavy hand striking Silas’s face echoed through the hall. Silas stumbled back, gripping his reddening cheek, his eyes wide in shock.

"You stupid i***t," Alexander seethed. "You risked the Scarlet bloodline on a game of cards?"

"Then void it!" Silas pleaded, pointing a trembling finger at Diego. "Father, you're the Alpha. Declare the gamble illegal. Tell him he can't have her. You have the power to do so."

Alexander’s gaze flicked to Diego, then to the heavy briefcase in Miguel's hand containing the northern timber deeds, and finally to Elder Aaron.

As the two elderly men locked eyes, I could see the calculating gears of politics turning inside Alexander’s head;

If he fought the gamble to save me, Diego would walk away with the timber deeds and publicly destroy Silver Crest's honorable reputation across the entire regional council.

But if he enforced the bet, he lost a future Luna, but saved face and kept the scandal contained within ancient wolf gambling traditions.

"An oath made at an Alpha's table under full witness is binding by ancient law," Elder Aaron said, his voice heavy with regret as he looked at me. "If the wager was agreed upon before the cards were dealt, the bond must be paid."

Alexander stepped back from his son. He didn't look at me. He couldn't even meet my eyes.

"Enforce the wager," he commanded.

My heart shattered completely. This had to be some universal level of trolling from the moon goddess. My father-in-law-to-be was throwing me away to save his political standing.

"Father, no!" Silas cried. "You can't-"

"Shut your mouth, you fool." Alexander's jaw grounded. "You made your bed. Now, hand over the girl."

Silas stood frozen, looking at me with a pitiful mix of horror and self-preservation. His gaze then shifted to Diego, whose chest was rising and falling slowly, waiting like a patient predator ready to collect his prize. And then his eyes locked on to me once more. Like a toddler learning how to take it's first steps, he slowly advanced towards me.

"Ophelia..."

"Don't." The tears blurred my vision as I squeezed my eyes shut. "Don't look at me."

"Elder Aaron," Diego's voice made me open my eyes. He was facing the ancient officiant with a smugness known only to the most arrogant of Alphas. "Prepare the severance ritual. I'm taking my victory gift home."