Page 6 of Brutal Alpha's Sold Mate
I’m buying a mate.
The realization hits me hard, and for a moment, I consider walking away. My father’s voice echoes in my head.Mates are a liability. A weakness. You don’t need one, Theo. You’re stronger alone.
But I’m not alone anymore, am I? Reed and Jacob are circling like vultures, each one waiting for me to make a mistake. The pack is watching, waiting for me to prove I can lead. And Leonard is right—no one will accept my claim without a mate.
So I push the doubt aside and make the deal.
They bring her to me the next day in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town. The place is a dump—cracked concrete floors, peeling paint, and a faint smell of mildew that seeps into everything. But the moment they shove her forward and she limps my way, the setting fades into the background. All I can see is her.
She’s smaller than I expected, almost delicate, but there’s nothing fragile about her. She moves like a wolf pacing the edges of a cage. Graceful but deadly while somehow looking like the most innocent creature I’ve ever laid eyes on. Brown hair falls in loose waves around her face, framing features that are equal parts soft and defiant. But it’s her eyes that hold me. Deep brown rimmed with gold, burning with a fire that even captivity hasn’t dimmed.
“This is Kai,” Malcolm explains. “She’s yours at the price we agreed upon. We even had one of our witches add a little… insurance. She’ll obey her mate’s every command. It’s just aprecaution. A little guarantee to make things easier for you. Trust me, you’ll thank us later.”
Kai. The name suits her—short, pointed, unapologetic. She doesn’t look at Malcolm or Wiley, doesn’t acknowledge their presence at all. Her gaze locks on me, steady and unflinching, and there’s a challenge in it. Like she’s daring me to prove I’m worth her time.
“She’s been a bit of a handful,” Wiley adds, laughing nervously. “But nothing a wolf like you can’t handle, I’m sure.”
I ignore him and step closer, my focus narrowing to her and nothing else. For a moment, I forget why we’re here. Forget about the deal, about Malcolm and Wiley, about everything except the way my wolf surges forward, protective and possessive in a way that catches me off guard.
“Are you hurt?” The question surprises me, even as I say it. I don’t know why I care. I shouldn’t.
“Nothing I can’t handle.” Her voice is steady, but there’s an edge to it, a quiet fury that makes my claws itch to extend. I don’t know what Malcolm and Wiley have done to her, but I know enough to hate them for it.
“She’s perfect, isn’t she?” Malcolm praises. “Strong, beautiful, loyal. Everything an alpha needs.”
I don’t miss the way Kai stiffens. She doesn’t like this arrangement any more than I do. But the difference is, I have a choice.
“Done,” I declare without so much as blinking. “I’ll take her.”
Malcolm and Wiley grin like they’ve just won the lottery. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
They leave quickly, like they’re almost eager to escape now that the deal is sealed. When the door slams shut behind them, Kai doesn’t move. She just watches me like she wants to rip me apart inch by inch.
Something tells me this isn’t going to be as easy as I was told.
Chapter 3 - Kai
They sold me.
The words rattle around in my skull like loose marbles, each time making less sense than the last. Malcolm and Wiley, the smug bastards who couldn’t break me, decided I wasn’t worth the effort. I should’ve seen it coming. Should’ve realized that when torture didn’t work, they’d take the easy way out. But instead, I let my guard down, thinking I had time to figure out their plans and find a way to warn the alphas.
Now I’m stuck. Sold like livestock.
The man who bought me doesn’t say much, but he doesn’t have to. Everything about him screams dominance, from the rigid way he holds himself to the way he looks at me, like I’m a problem he needs to solve. Tall, broad, and built like he could tear a tree out of the ground with his bare hands, he radiates strength in a way that makes my wolf itch to fight before he’s even said a word. Black hair, thick and unruly, falls across his forehead, and his eyes are darker than midnight. There’s a scar on his cheek, cutting across tanned skin like a permanent reminder of a battle fought—and, I’m willing to bet, won.
He looks every inch the arrogant alpha he clearly thinks he is, but that’s not what throws me. No, it’s the way my gaze lingers, catching on the angular line of his jaw or the way he moves like nothing in this world could touch him. Strong. Confident. A complete asshole. My stomach twists, and it’s not just from the potion.
There’s something about him that’s impossible to ignore, no matter how much I want to. Like a storm, dangerous and magnetic, pulling at me in ways I can’t explain. It pisses me off. I’m furious with him, with this whole situation, with myselfmost of all. But even anger isn’t enough to drown out the heat prickling under my skin.
The worst part? He’s not just strong—he’s calm. No nervous fidgeting, no anxious glances. He looks at me like he’s already won, and that pisses me off more than anything.
“I’m not going with you,” I snap when we step outside. I jerk my arm back, even though the motion feels like it might topple me over. Damn potion. “So you might as well turn around and ask for a refund.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Not how this works.”
“It is if I say so.”
“Is that right?” His voice is deep, smooth, and infuriatingly steady. Like he’s humoring me. Like he thinks this is cute.
