The Betas Revenge

Chapter Seven

Chapter 7: Emma’s POV – The Auction Block

I sat on the edge of the velvet-draped bed in the "Guest Suite"—which was just a polite word for a high-security cage. I had tried to leave and my guards had politely told me I wasn't to leave the room. I had been here all day. Meals had been brought in and every time I had asked for anything it had been brought to me immediately. My every want was to be taken care of by order of the Alpha and Beta. But, I was under no circumstances allowed to leave the room. The lemon and lavender scent of my own skin felt like a neon sign in this house of wolves.

The door didn't creak; it swung open with the heavy authority of an Alpha who owned the air he breathed. Cast. He looked impeccable, his light hair perfectly styled, but his brown eyes were dark with something that looked suspiciously like a headache.

"I hope the room is to your liking, Pet," he said, his voice smooth as bourbon.

"It’s missing a few things," I snapped, “Such as?” Cast drawled standing up to meet his gaze. "A lock on the outside of the door, a suitcase for me to leave in, and a Beta who doesn't look like he wants to wear my skin as a coat."

Cast let out a dry, humorless chuckle. He walked toward me, stopping just outside my personal space. The Alpha aura rolled off him in waves—heavy, warm, and demanding. "Kieran is... going through a transition. But your safety isn't why I’m here." I hadn’t stopped thinking about our moment in the woods. Cast had transitioned from the kinky alpha one I was secretly drawn to, to someone who seemed closed off from me. Yesterday, I could touch a part of his inner soul but today that seemed shut down. Far away from me.

"Oh? Is it time for my daily check-up? See if the 'property' is still intact?"

"The Elders have fast-tracked the timeline," Cast said, his face turning to stone. "The Red Moon Alpha—your father—is impatient. He’s demanding proof of the alliance. Proof of life."

I felt a chill run down my spine and my stomach drop. It was just like my father to think of me as a soldier, someone to order around. "What kind of proof?"

"The Blood Moon is in seven days, Emma. The contract has been amended. You aren't just marrying the Beta. You are to conceive an heir on the night of the Blood Moon. Seven days to seal the bond, or the treaty is voided and your head goes back to your father on a silver platter."

The room felt like it was shrinking. Seven days. My father didn't want peace; he wanted a bloodline infused with this pack's strength. He hadn't sent me here to be a wife; he’d sent me here as a broodmare.

"And if I refuse?" I whispered, my wolf pacing inside me, snarling at the cage. She wanted a mate or mates in this case yes. But, she was not to be breed and forgotten. I had heard about horrible alphas that locked their Lunas away only for when mating was to happen to conceive an heir. I shuddered at that thought. I wanted to put distance between us backing up towards the wall, but Cast saw that as an invitation.

Cast stepped closer, his hand coming up to tilt my chin toward him. His touch was electric, a spark that made my skin itch. My wolf peered inside of me. This is what we want. Him. Mate. "If you refuse, Kieran won't be the one who kills you. I will. I love that man more than I love my own life, and I won't let your stubbornness get him executed by the Council."

He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear. "So, starting tonight, you will play the doting mate. You will let him touch you. You will let him into your bed. Because in seven days, one way or another, you're going to be carrying the future of this pack." “It does not matter if it's my child or Kierans. The blood line has to be secured. No matter what.” Looking at Kierans boyish good looks and watching them change to this stone cold alpha made my blood hiss. I wanted to punch him. Instead I just nodded.

He pulled back, a flicker of something—was it pity?—in his eyes. "Try to look pretty, Emma. We have a public dinner in an hour. Don't make me remind you who owns you.” So, that was it then. Bow to this alpha and my father or die and he’d see me dead before he’d see Kieran suffer.