Best Catch

CHAPTER THREE

MALAKAI.

It had been a long time since I've had to carry a woman. I mean, one that was still breathing. 

It wasn't a scene I was familiar with, so I had to train my temper to match the mood. It wasn't every day I got to buy a true blood from her parents. 

"Let me go!" Her body quaked against mine as I headed to the carriage with her frail body hanging over my shoulders. 

I could still feel my cheeks tingling from the impact of her drunken pinch, and it still begged the question, was she a broken product? This child wasn't the first, but I did hope she was the last.

My wolf consented to it. She had the right body and frame, not to mention— she was my mate. I didn't buy it. Wolf connections were stupid bonds to tie a person's logic. Nothing more, it was as fragile as they come.

Though my wolf begged to differ, I hauled her into the carriage and dumped her there. "Please!" Her desperate voice cried out again, expression distorted from useless crying. "I'm…not the one you want! I can't be of help to you. I'm not even their-"

I stepped back and slammed the door on her, moving my attention to the parents, who seemed to be processing more of relief than grief at their daughter being snatched for a couple of silver shillings.

That worked for me. I moved towards the Alpha; everything about him spoke of negativity— perhaps it was just the notion I bore.

This park was one I'd choose to annihilate if I was ever granted the power to. I had the power, but not yet. Their death would come slowly.

"Are you sure she'd never been touched?" I asked the fragile-looking man through gritted teeth. He hadn't been able to look me in the eyes since I got here.

As should be. He croaked a response, an asphyxiated sound in place of a 'yes.' I narrowed my gaze, and the answer came out faster. 

"Yes, she is. Aramiah had never been touched by a man, all the more reason for her to be useful for you, Alpha!"

"Aramiah…" I tasted the words. It wasn't anything special; rather, it was strange, and I must say, I expected less and less of this dead pack.

The Alpha seemed to crumble under my gaze. It was a sight that incited a glint of what the fodders would call happiness within me. That I'd been able to captain as the Alpha of all Alphas was a position worthy of every brag.

The thudding sound of the carriage door reached my ears, interrupting the tense quietude that lingered over the cold porche. One glance at Curtis, and he started to explain.

"She isn't normally like this," He hurriedly expressed. "I think my daughter is just adjusting to the new…development…"

"New development?" I scoffed. "Don't worry, you can call it what it is. Look, Curtis. This might be the most defective one I'd ever gotten. She looks like trouble…" I spared the carriage a momentary glance. "Acts like it. And even smells like it."

"She -"

"Let's just hope she breeds," I cut in. "And like I said, don't come finding her."

I didn't wait for a response, or the pitiful moment of self-reflection that normally followed for these people. I hopped into the carriage and ordered the riders to proceed.

Aramiah tensed beside me, red face and pale blonde hair that matched the madness of her gaze. Everything about her seemed to stand out. Her features were shouty— the kind of beauty that called for attention.

Long, curvy eyelashes scattered around big doe eyes, a nose bridge that looked carved by a sculptor, and small protruding lips that now yelled her disgust for me.

Not that I cared. They all did— at some point, then got addicted. It was an endless circle, but the one I was trying to find wasn't yet to arrive.

Aramiah might be her. The purchased Luna with wolf blood strong enough to bear me an heir. I eyed her, my eyes ripping off every piece of clothing she had on.

For that to happen, of course— she needed to be sexually pleasing —a body worthy of being seen naked, like art. Like emotions. From her thin neckline, it doesn't seem like Aramiah would have a hard time pleasing me.

That is, if she was tamed enough to.

"Where…" She uttered softly. The voice of a defeatist. "Where are you taking me?"

I leaned back, focused more on the rocky road than her lousy beauty. "Home.."

"Hell?" I heard her ask.

Pleasing. The word clicked in my ears. I liked for them to be ready for what lay ahead. A smirk crawled its way up my face, and I bit down on my bottom lips.

"You…" I turned in my seat, " I think I'm gonna like you."

Judging from her expression, I didn't think she liked that very much. But it made it more fun.

*

Aramiah didn't look nearly as ecstatic as I thought she would when we arrived at the manor. The pack was a good sight, ordinary, lively, everything a park should be.

But the manor contrasted in all qualities. The silence engulfed me just as it always did. So quiet that one would hear a pin drop. 

Any girl would be freaked out by a castle draped in black paint and towering over her, reflecting all the kinds of doom her people inflicted on us years ago.

"Get out," I ordered, but I didn't wait for movement. My hand wrapped around her wrist, and I yanked her out of the carriage.

She almost lost footing, and her fragile legs shook. No, she did lose footing, As she'd rather fall to the rock-hard floor and cry than hold me for support. If only Aramiah knew how much more those legs would shake, she'd hold on to me immediately and get used to it.

But I chose silence. Right at the open compartment was my Beta, his keen eyes on Aramiah as they'd always been on every one of them who came in.

I rolled my eyes, tightening my grip around her wrist. 

"You're hurting me!" The little wolf cried out again, pulling away her hand with the other.

"You'd stop being stupid this instant if you knew how much you were in for," I said tiredly without turning to her.

I ushered her towards the step. Soon enough, I was before Kalvin's judging eyes and the confused expression he wore as he scanned Aramiah. Every man would want to. She had the appeal.

"Welcome back, Alpha," He said in his usual calm tone. Kalvin had never been one to raise his voice. 

I acted like I didn't see the question that danced on his face. "The new Luna.." I immediately declared. "Maybe there's luck this time."

"You sick cunt!" Aramiah raged, her voice materializing out of nowhere. "Is this some-"

I pulled her towards me, and her back slammed against my chest. I wrapped my hand around her waist while the other found her mouth, pushing her jaw upwards and covering her mouth shut.

I loved the struggle. "A smart mouth this time," I added. "I like it."

Kalvin opened his mouth to say something, but I'd heard it all. His brotherly feelings, although they sickened me to my guts.

Kalvin was the one person who'd been there since the ruin of this pack, and his sister, the whore in denial. I slipped past him and led Aramiah into the room I had prepared for her.

 She ran to the nearest corner like a scared little prey, just as expected. I cornered her, trapping her between two edges, and my eyes slowly raked her small body.

I licked my lips as they curved into a smile that faltered from the edges, containing all the boiling excitement inside me.

"Please…" She begged, slowly falling to her knees, eyes wet with tears. "Please, don't do this. I don't understand what's going on. Don't hurt me, please…"

Same old lines. Same dynamic. It sickened me to the stomach.

"Strip," I commanded, my eyes swooning over the dress she had on. "Take off every bit of it."