Page 6 of The Alpha King's Mate

“You. Stick the rags in their mouths.”

Her head volleyed from the women back to me.

“Now!” I snapped.

She scuttled around to gather another rag before rushing towards the women.

“Don’t you dare,” the younger one hissed.

When the daughter raised her hand, I was out of my chair and had her wrist before the blow could land.

Zev moved to force her mouth open. The mother didn’t hesitate. She opened hers wide.

I nudged Gerald with my toe.

“Perhaps if you had your house in order, you wouldn’t have been stupid enough to steal from me.”

He raised his head. Someone must have choked him out on the drive back, because his eyes were bloodshot.

“A daughter, a bastard and a shrew.”

“I’m not a bastard,” she said, flat and toneless.

The brunette growled and went for her again. This time I punched the side of her head before she reached the other girl. She collapsed to the floor and didn’t move.

“I take it she’s the bastard, then?” I asked with a chuckle.

So Gerald wasn’t mated to the redhead. That explained a lot.

Chapter 3

Aliana

His long coat swung, suspended in the air. I was so tired and hungry that everything seemed to slow. I blinked and the coat settled. The Alpha King sat on his chair again. This time he stretched his long legs out and rested them on my father’s back before crossing them at the ankle. I stared at the soles of his boots. They were enormous.

Cora lay motionless on the floor, the dirty rag still in her mouth. I shouldn’t have been pleased, but I was. The girl was a compulsive liar, and every single one of them had made my life a living hell for seven years.

“You know why I’m here, Gerald,” he drawled as a man approached, brandishing a blowtorch.

I’d heard of the Bloodborne pack’s hunting skills. No one could run from them. No one could hide. One day or ten years—they eventually found you. Their notorious reputation had garnered a great deal of interest. The pack was global.

How stupid was my father, to steal from the Alpha King? It didn’t make sense.

He tossed something onto the floor. The metal skittered and lay still against the wood. A gold pendant. A large crystal crescent moon surrounded by tiny diamonds to complete the look. One tiny stone was red. It was unique.

My lips parted. If that moon was a diamond, it was worth more than all of our lives and this house combined.

I tried to focus on the words my dumbass father was babbling.

The canister lit with a hiss of pressurised gas. The scent of burning flesh filled the room, along with my father’s terrified screams. My heart stayed dead. He’d had zero empathy for his mate when she died.

I swallowed as my mouth watered.

Dear Moon Goddess. It smelled like a Saturday afternoon barbecue.

“It’s upstairs in my safe,” he screeched.“Please stop. I beg of you, Alpha King. I-I made a mistake.”

“Take the whore to the safe and retrieve my pendant,” he said, almost bored, as he stared at Deeana.