Page 11 of Brutal Alpha's Sold Mate
“This is Kai,” I explain, nodding in her direction. “We’ve had a little chat on the drive in. She’s going to help me secure the alpha position.”
Leonard’s grin fades, replaced by a look of cautious approval. He sniffs the air around her before granting an approving nod. “Strong mate. Good choice.”
Kai bristles, and her spine lengthens as she glares at both of us. “I’m standing right here, you know.”
Leonard chuckles, unbothered by her tone. “Good. I like a she-wolf with some fire.”
I glance at her, biting back a smirk. She looks ready to snap back, but Leonard’s already turning toward the porch. “Come on inside. We’ll make it official.”
Kai’s steps are slow and unsure as she follows me inside. The packhouse is as rustic as the rest of the territory, with its wood-paneled walls, mismatched furniture, and the faint scents of pine and smoke lingering in the air.
“This is where you hold ceremonies?” she asks, scrunching up her nose.
“It gets the job done,” I reply, ignoring her skepticism.
Leonard retrieves a battered leather-bound book from a shelf and sets it on the dining table. “Nothing fancy,” hecomments as he flips to a marked page. “Just a simple binding ceremony to make it official.”
Kai looks at me, and her expression is somewhere between wary and defiant. “Is this really necessary?”
“It is if you want the deal to work,” I reply evenly. “The pack needs to see us as a united front. This is how we make that happen.”
She huffs, but she doesn’t argue. Instead, she crosses her arms and nods for Leonard to continue.
The ceremony is short and to the point. Leonard reads a passage about loyalty and partnership, then he asks us to exchange vows. Kai’s gaze burns into mine as she repeats what she’s told to say. She’s not happy about this arrangement, and she makes that clear by throwing in a few colorful expletives as she speaks.
When it’s my turn, I keep my words simple. I promise to protect her, to respect her, and to honor our agreement. The pack doesn’t need to know the details—they just need to believe it’s real.
Then comes the kiss.
I expect it to be quick and impersonal, a formality to seal the deal. A brush of lips, nothing more. A transaction like any other. But the moment my lips meet hers, everything I planned for shatters.
Her defiance doesn’t fade—it ignites. It’s not the kiss of someone resigned to her fate or begrudgingly going through the motions. No, there’s fire in it, an explosive, consuming energy that spiders through my body like lightning. The strength in it is startling, and for a heartbeat, I’m completely unmoored. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
My hand finds her waist instinctively, steadying her—or maybe myself. Her warmth seeps through my fingers, grounding yet somehow unsettling. Her scent surrounds me, faintly wild and utterly intoxicating, with hints of earth and something unplaceably natural, like the first breath of an untamed forest after a storm. I can’t seem to pull away, even when my brain is screaming at me to get a grip.
She’s not supposed to feel like this. Not like heaven wrapped in the flames of hell. Not like a storm crashing into me, tearing through every shield I’ve built. But that’s exactly what she is. Every inch of her brims with power held back only by circumstance, and for the first time in longer than I care to admit, I’m off-balance.
The pack, the elder, the ceremony—they all fade into a dull hum in the background. There’s nothing else but her, the way her lips press against mine with equal parts rebellion and lust, and the traitorous way my body responds to her. Heat pools low in my stomach, and the rational part of me—the part that reminds me this is nothing more than a deal, a means to an end—takes a backseat to something more primal.
When I finally pull back, it feels like dragging myself out of a riptide. My breathing is unsteady, but I don’t dare show it. She’s watching me with something in her eyes—anger, maybe, or confusion. Or worse, the same fire that’s still smoldering in my chest.
Her lips are parted, she’s panting, and I have the overwhelming urge to reach for her again. My wolf stirs, restless and at attention, and I shove the sensation down hard. This isn’t part of the plan. None of this is part of the damn plan.
For her part, she recovers quickly. She steps back, breaking whatever invisible thread was holding us together. Theflames in her eyes turn to ice, and I feel her walls slam back into place as if daring me to make something of it.
“Well,” she sneers, “was that everything you dreamed of, Alpha?”
The way she says it—mocking, laced with venom—should piss me off. Instead, it does something else entirely. It brings something alive in me that I had no idea even existed. Not that I can show it.
“Let’s not make a habit of it,” I reply, forcing my voice to sound as detached as possible.
Her smirk is a challenge, but she doesn’t respond. Instead, she turns on her heel with her shoulders squared as if she’s already put the entire ceremony—and me—behind her.
I glance at Leonard, who’s watching me with a knowing look that I don’t like one bit. He says nothing, but the faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth is louder than any words could be.
“It’s done,” he finally announces, breaking the silence. “Congratulations, Alpha Hunt and Luna Kai.”
The title settles over me like a weight, heavier than I expected. I nod, keeping my expression neutral, but my thoughts are anything but. This wasn’t supposed to be complicated. I was supposed to bring her here, seal the deal, and move on. She was a means to an end, a tool to secure the alpha position. Nothing more.
