Page 4 of Brutal Alpha's Sold Mate
“You will,” Wiley replies. “Or you’ll really see my bad side.”
“Careful,” I taunt. “Throwing tantrums isn’t a good look.”
Malcolm holds up a hand, stopping Wiley in his tracks. “She’ll talk,” he says confidently. “And if she doesn’t, we’ll sell her off to the highest bidder.”
I let them believe that. Let them think they’ve won. Because the longer I’m here, the more I can learn. The map, the girl’s warnings, everything points to this place being more than just a hideout. It’s a hub. A nerve center for their operation.
And when I get out, I’ll make sure it burns.
Chapter 2 - Theo
The first thing I learned after my father died was this: the dead are a lot easier to deal with than the living. Corpses don’t argue, don’t fight, don’t steal territory out from under you. They stay in their graves and out of the way, where they belong. Unlike my brothers.
Reed’s temper is a powder keg, always one insult away from blowing up in someone’s face. And Jacob? That sly bastard’s never met a scheme he didn’t like. Together, they’re a walking advertisement for why peace was never going to last in the Black Cauldron pack.
Not that peace was my father’s style, either. He ruled in isolation, keeping the pack quiet, tucked into the mountains like a secret no one was allowed to share. That worked for him, and to his credit, it kept us safe. Kept the wolves out of trouble. But it also made us weak. What good is a pack that can’t defend its borders and expand its influence? That’s why I’m going to change everything.
If I can survive my brothers, that is.
I shove the map off the edge of my desk, letting it hit the floor in a crumpled heap. It doesn’t matter how many times I look at it; there’s no strategy that accounts for three brothers who’d rather stab each other than share a piece of land. The old man didn’t do us any favors by splitting the territory like it was a pie to be divided. Now all three of us want the whole damn thing, and no one’s willing to back down.
This was supposed to be simple. I’m the eldest, the strongest, the one with the right to lead. I am alpha by all traditions and rights. But nothing’s ever simple with Reed and Jacob. They’ve spent their entire lives acting like this was somesort of competition, as if the alpha position was a prize to be won instead of a responsibility to bear. And now, thanks to our father’s last great idea, I’m stuck playing referee between two wolves who wouldn’t know diplomacy if it bit them in the ass.
Reed’s already staked his claim to the southern border, where the forest meets the river. It’s rich with resources and hunting grounds, but that’s not why he wants it. He wants it because Jacob wants it, too. But Jacob also wants the eastern cliffs, where the territory opens up to neighboring packs. And Reed is determined to block Jacob’s every move, even if it means burning his own house down in the process.
My father used to say we were a pack of three, but brothers in name only. He wasn’t wrong. Growing up, we fought over everything—food, training, attention. Especially attention. Having different mothers only made things worse, dividing us into factions within our own family. The only thing we ever agreed on was that none of us wanted to be like our father. We just couldn’t agree on what we’d be instead.
“Are you planning to sulk all day, or do you actually have a plan?” Elder Leonard’s voice cuts through my thoughts.
I glance up, scowling. “I don’t sulk.”
Leonard snorts. “No, of course not, Theo. Scowling in the dark like a wolf with a thorn in his paw is entirely different.”
I grit my teeth, but I don’t bother arguing. Leonard’s one of the few elders who actually has the guts to talk to me like that. He’s been around since before any of us was born, back when my father was the alpha of this pack. Maybe that’s why he’s the only one who hasn’t written me off as another hot-headed Hunt brother with too much ambition and not enough sense.
He steps closer as he looks over the mess I’ve made of the desk. “You’re thinking too small.”
“It’s a big territory,” I shoot back. “There’s nothing small about it.”
“You’re thinking about the wrong thing,” he corrects. “This isn’t just about land. It’s about leadership. Stability. You can’t conquer the pack if you can’t even hold it together.”
“Stability,” I echo. “You’re talking about Reed and Jacob.”
Leonard shrugs. “They’re part of the problem. But that’s not the real issue.”
I cross my arms and lean back against the desk. “Enlighten me, then. What is the real issue?”
“You.” Leonard doesn’t flinch, doesn’t blink, doesn’t stop to soften the blow. “You’re the oldest. The strongest. The one everyone expects to take the alpha position. But the pack isn’t going to follow someone who doesn’t have an anchor.”
“I don’t need an anchor. I need them to get in line.”
“You need a mate.”
My wolf stirs, bristling at the suggestion, and I shake my head before he can say anything else. “I don’t have time for this.”
“You don’t have a choice,” Leonard counters. “No one’s going to accept your claim to the alpha position without a luna. Not with the way things are now.”
I let out a growl, low and rough, but he doesn’t back down. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. My father didn’t need a mate to rule.”
