Alton
For as long as I could remember, the house had always smelt of rotten flesh.
We've used well-scented flowers and candles in every corner, yet the stench never truly left. Today, however, the fragrance was different.
It was unlike anything I had ever smelled and it was seeping out of that room.
Kelien; my wolf, who was always deep asleep during the day, woke up the moment he inhaled it and had been restless ever since.
Stepping inside the room, I stood by the door, unable to move forward when I sighted the wretched piece of clothing by the foot of the bed.
Was that omega really this dirty before bathing?
When she saw me, her eyes trembled, and she immediately rushed back into the bathroom.
I raised a hand to my face, surprised.
She could… move?
Kelien whimpered, instantly struggling for control, but I clenched my fist and forced him back, ignoring his tantrum.
Soft footsteps sounded again, and I lifted my gaze to see her stepping out, her hands barely covering her privates.
"I—I was wrong to run, Master," she said quickly. "You must've come in here because I took too long."
"But the truth is, I don't have anything to cover myself with. I don't even know where to get something to dry my body with."
I clench my jaw, hardening my face whilst observing the correlating eye color and hair.
Witch.
That purple hair. It was just like…
I stopped, pushing the rest of my thoughts to the back of my mind before looking away.
Then I took a step back, turning around to walk to the door.
Tempting, but I can't stay another minute with this poison in the air.
I wandered the house until I found Malcolm beneath the mangrove tree.
Janet and Juliet stood before him, disrobed while crushing grapes against their chests.
Malcolm noticed me and dismissed them with a lazy wave.
"I want her gone." I immediately demanded, standing before him.
He leaned off the chair and sat up. "I paid five thousand gold coins."
"I'm sure there are others willing to pay more," I deadpanned..
He looked at me, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"I did this for you."
I tilted my head.
"Alton, you haven't touched a woman in sixty years. I know how possessive you can be, so I waited for the right time to bring you someone."
"Lincoln didn't object, so I'll say this once." He then stood and walked towards me, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. "Take this gift from your brother. It's the least I can do, considering how hard you struggle with Kelien."
I stare at him from the corner of my eyes, juggling the thought for a while before I spat it out, "She's a witch."
"Don't be dramatic. She's just an omega who never awakened a wolf." He sucked his teeth and walked away.
Seconds after he left, Kelien stirred again—my nose catching that familiar, sweet scent for the second time today.
I turned just in time to see her—the witch—trimming the flowerbed.
She was dressed in rags. No—damp clothes. They didn't look like anything from the house.
It was what she'd worn as a slave. She must have washed and worn them wet to avoid trouble with the twins or me.
A piercing pain shot through me, and I gritted my teeth, fighting Kelien again as he tried to force control.
I was right.
This girl was a witch.
The only time Kelien had ever reacted like this was in the presence of that woman. Only a witch could provoke him this way.
That settled it.
"The slave Malcolm bought, I'll have her added to the girls from other packs being auctioned tomorrow evening," I announced, passing through the back garden where Lincoln laid under the sun, eyes closed.
He merely shifted onto his side without a word.
He was in agreement.
Malcolm bought her for me, and I could do with her as I pleased.
I gave the order, and by midnight, the trusted aides who carried out our commands arrived with others to drag her away.
As expected, once she was gone, Kelien calmed again and returned to his heavy daytime sleep the next day.
By evening, my brothers and I changed and joined the bidding hosted at one of the bidding halls.
"Is this really necessary?" Malcolm muttered as we took our seats in one of the enclosed areas. "They want an heir. Why not just breed the women and wait to see who gets pregnant?"
"The aides are stationed outside," Lincoln replied lazily, reclining in a chair at the far end of the room and closing his eyes. "If you see anyone you like, inform them. They'll bid for you."
"You sent away the new girl," Malcolm said with a grin, looking at me. "So I'll buy you at least three tonight."
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the host announced, appearing on the corner of the stage designated to him. "Welcome to the start of the auction!"
It began with the ugliest women with faces darkened and bodies scarred before gradually moving upward.
"And finally, we have a witch. A purple-haired witch."
My nose flared as she was led onto the stage, a bag over her head.
Kelien stirred awake.
My eyes darkened.
"Starting bid: two hundred gold coins."
The words were barely out of his mouth when a ripple occurred with the other bidders.
"Weren't we willing to go up to five hundred just last night?"
"The man who paid five thousand must be regretting it now."
"That's what happens when you don't understand the slave market."
"Three hundred."
"Three fifty."
"Five hundred."
"Five hundred going once, going twice—sold!"
The bag was ripped off, and the spotlight burned down on her.
She flinched fearfully as a collar was clamped around her neck, a chain snapping into place.
As she was led off the stage, a strange discomfort bloomed in my chest.
Then it became pain—scraping, tearing.
Kelien was forcing his way out.
"Stop it!" I growled, suppressing him with every ounce of strength I had.
Then, for the first time in sixty years, I heard him speak—crying out in agony and certainty.
"Mate!"