Page 33 of Brutal Alpha's Sold Mate
He thrusts his hips to match my pace, the intensity increasing. My breathing is ragged, and sweat slicks our bodies.I’m on the verge of crashing over the edge. His ragged groans tell me he’s close, too.
I lean down, capturing his mouth in a fierce kiss. We move together, bodies entwined, and the world dissolves. There’s nothing but heat and pleasure and him. Rolling my hips, I take him deeper, bouncing harder and faster as he cups my breasts.
He grabs my ass, slamming into me with renewed ferocity, and I teeter on the brink. When he bites down on the sensitive spot where my shoulder meets my neck, I go flying. He shifts, angling himself so that each thrust hits my clit, and I gasp. The pleasure is almost too much. My whole body shudders, and I grip his shoulders, needing something to hold onto. The pressure crests, and my body convulses, shuddering with release.
He keeps going, pounding into me with abandon. I’m floating on the high of orgasm, and it’s exquisite. A moment later, he thrusts up, grunting as his own release hits. We ride the waves together, bodies shuddering, until we finally collapse, my head falling against his chest.
We stay like that, gasping for air, until he finally relaxes. I’m still trembling, and the aftershocks make me shiver. Slowly, he eases out. I collapse on the bed beside him.
He pulls me close, stroking my hair. My mind is reeling, and my body is sated. But I remember the words he said to me when I first arrived here. “You’ll come to me willingly. Maybe not tonight. Maybe not tomorrow. But eventually, you will.”
Was this his plan all along? Is this just another way to exert control?
My stomach clenches. The post-orgasm bliss disappears, shame taking its place. I don’t want to believe this ismanipulation, and God help me, my body already craves his touch again. But how do I separate sex from power dynamics?
I don’t want to be just a pawn in whatever game he’s playing, but I’ve just put myself on the board and played right into his hands.
Chapter 12 - Theo
I wake up with a headache the size of Reed’s ego and a pile of papers scattered across my desk. Last night, I pored over every possible clue linking Reed to the attack on Kai. It got me nowhere except exhausted. The evidence is so scant it might as well not exist. Half the scraps of fabric we found belong to some random drifter, and the footprints? Three different pairs of boots match them. In other words, useless.
I shuffle the stack and glance over my notes. Half of them are scrawled so poorly, I can barely read my own writing. Not that it matters—every path leads to a dead end. My watchers say Reed’s recruits are troublemakers, yes, but we can’t tie any of them to Kai’s attacker. There’s no conclusive proof, and my frustration grows by the hour.
Kai’s obviously top-priority to me. We haven’t talked much about the near-death experience she just endured, but I see it in her eyes—she’s unsettled.
Even now, as I step into the main room of the cabin to see if she’s around, I’m met with silence. I recall our conversation from last night, the aftermath of… everything. My chest still tightens at the thought of her pinned under that knife. If I’d arrived even a minute later, she might’ve been killed.
I try to bury that grim thought and refocus on my second big objective: curing her. We both know she can handle herself—she’s proven that—but the poison has chipped away at her wolf, leaving her vulnerable. That can’t continue. I head outside, hoping to spot Leonard or anyone who might have leads on a remedy. Instead, I find one of my watchers, Heath, and nod to him over.
“Morning, Alpha,” Heath says. “You’re up early.”
“Sleep doesn’t come easy when your territory’s threatened,” I say. “Heard anything new?”
He shuffles on his feet. “Nothing about Reed. Looks like he’s laying low. No sign of the attacker’s associates, either.”
I grunt. “Keep at it. What about a cure for that poison? I told you to spread the word and see if anyone had contacts.”
Heath brightens a little. “Leonard mentioned something. Said he’d talk to you.”
That’s what I want to hear. I wave him off and march straight to Leonard’s cottage, a small structure near the edge of the village. Leonard emerges as soon as he hears me approach. He pushes the door open and runs a hand through his thinning hair. His expression carries relief, which is better than the guilt I’ve seen since I revealed what kind of scumbags he got into business with.
He gestures for me to follow him inside. “I’ve been waiting for you. Got something you’ll like.”
“Talk,” I order once we’re inside.
He rummages through a box on a cluttered table and pulls out a piece of parchment. “Damien Lucas reached out. Well, I reached out first, but he responded in record time. He’s alpha of the River Valley pack, remember? Your father had some arrangement with them a few years back. Mutual respect, minimal contact. Damien says they have a witch who might help with curing your mate.”
“A witch?” I echo. “A real one? Not some charlatan peddling worthless potions?”
Leonard nods. “She’s Jade Thornton, his mate. It gets complicated since she’s originally from a different pack, but the point is, she’s known for her healing spells. She’s helped RiverValley wolves, East Hills wolves, even Red Arrow’s. Pretty much any pack in the Glory Town area.”
I recall hearing rumors about Jade. Some said she was an outcast, a shifter who also wields powerful witchcraft. But if she can reverse what Malcolm and Wiley did to Kai, I’ll happily set aside any prejudices for an alliance.
“What does Damien want in return?” I ask.
Leonard sets the parchment down. “He wants any intel on demon activity or the enslavers—Malcolm and Wiley. They’re wanted in multiple territories. If you hear anything, you pass it along. Seems he’s concerned about a possible resurgence.”
That’s an easy deal. “So we just show up, talk to Jade, she gives us a potion, and we’re good?”
