Claimed By My Three Alphas
Chapter 40

QUINCY

I stroked the paintbrush on the canvas in front of me, trying to get a better picture of what I wanted. Unsatisfied with my latest creation, I scrunched up the paper and threw it amongst the pile of other discarded pieces. My brain had gone numb, and Amery's blunt refusal of my offer had not helped. It had bruised my ego and eaten away at my pride.

I stood up from my seat, picked up my leather jacket, and dashed out of the bedroom. Maybe I could show compassion and help her out with what she had asked of me. I left for the market almost immediately. I knew she would already be there. That stubborn

woman.

When all of this was over, she would finally learn to trust me and open up more to me. So far, all of my plans to ruin the relationship between Amery and Asher had proved abortive. The more I tried to get closer to them, the harder it got.

I needed Amery to trust me enough. I needed her to depend on me to the point of letting me have s*x with her. I needed to mark her and make her mine. But how could I do that when she was always hung over Asher like a lost changeling?

I, for one, did not care about her one bit. I didn't care who she liked or wanted to be with. I just wanted to win this bet by any means necessary.

After all, it was a matter of life and death, and I wasn't about to choose death. I wouldn't lose, even if it's the last thing I do.

Although the mating bond between us was evident, I genuinely never cared about her. I was comfortable with her being around me, and yes, I really enjoyed her company a lot. But that's all it was.

She was a fun and bubbly person, but still, I'd admit that all of this was nothing but just a fun game to me, and it was the most excitement I had ever had in a long while.

I had always loved a good competition and a challenge, and this only fueled the excitement inside me. The thought of knowing that I could take things from my brothers and not play fair like either of them only made it a lot better. Besides, I would do anything to separate Asher and Amery. She was mine for the taking. She belonged to me.

I arrived at the market and strolled along the open shops. But that's when I noticed that something was weirdly off.

At first, I didn't pay attention, but when I noticed the number of people crowded up in disarray, I knew that something had gone wrong.

The market had always been filled with people, but most of them were gathered at a spot, pointing and whispering incoherent words that I couldn't understand.

Did something happen?

I walked towards the group of people who were clustered in one spot and that's when I noticed the posters of Amery hanging in strategic places all over the market. The members of the pack who recognized me bowed their heads in greeting and dispersed, giving me enough space to myself.

"What happened here?" I asked no one in particular, my eyes searching frantically for a clue or something that would lead me to the finishing piece of the puzzle.

I found the guards scouting round the market and I approached them.

"My prince," they all inclined their heads as a sign of respect when they saw me.

"What's going on? Why is the pack in chaos, and why are you patrolling the market in such a manner?" I asked, looking clueless.

"The Alpha king had placed a bounty on the human girl, and earlier today, we found her in the market, but she took off before we could get the chance to apprehend her," he explained, and I felt my mouth suddenly getting dry. "Do you know where she could have gone to?"

They shook their heads vehemently. "She escaped with another girl, and we are yet to track their whereabouts."

"Dalia," I mumbled knowingly to myself. I had overheard her conversation with Dalia earlier, who had promised to help her pick out a gift, so I knew that she was the one. Where could they have possibly run off to?

If only I had agreed to go with her earlier, I would have averted the crisis before it came down to this. And to think that father had gone out of his way to place a bounty on her, this wasn't a good sign. "Excuse us, my prince," they bowed and walked out of my presence.

I watched them leave. I am restless, and my wolf is filled with dread at the recent happenings. I couldn't even track Amery if I wanted to because our bond wasn't even that strong yet.

"What do I do now?" I whispered worriedly to myself, and just as I am about to rack my brain for a solution, I spotted Dalia hastily walking across the street.

"What is she doing here? And where is Amery? Didn't they escape together?"

Feeling suspicious, I decided to follow her quietly, and I was shocked to replace her talking with some men. I looked closely from where I stood and immediately recognized them as father's henchmen.

They were skilled and cruel werewolves who followed my father's every command. They were his most trusted warriors and didn't hesitate to inflict pain and misery on anyone as per his instructions.

Why was Dalia meeting up with them? This wasn't a good sign. They were definitely up to something. They wouldn't have come all the way to the market if they hadn't been tipped off or given an instruction to follow. From where I hid, I saw Dalia whispering to them before leading them out of the market. I followed closely, careful not to make a sound, otherwise, my cover would be blown.

Minutes later, we arrived at a small cottage in the middle of nowhere. Just as we approached, I heard Amery's agonizing screams. For the first time, I felt a strange pain build up inside me. My wolf bared its teeth in rage. Why was I so angry? I had never cared about anyone but myself until now.

The need to break down the door and kill everyone torturing her overwhelmed me, but I knew I had to be careful. Those warriors were the best for a reason. They worked with their brains, not their emotions.

After carefully planning out a strategy, I attacked the men guarding the cottage from outside. One of them approached me, but I picked him up like he weighed nothing and threw him away. He crashed and hit his head on the nearest wall, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

Another tried to come at me from behind, but I caught his hands midway and snapped his fingers, causing him to cry out in pain. I hit him continuously until he passed out cold, then stormed into the cottage just in time to stop one of the men from raping Amery. "M-My Prince!" Dalia stuttered, but I ignored her outbursts and made for the man. I held him by the collar and forcefully dragged him off Amery's almost naked body.

"How dare you try to touch her? You ANIMAL!" I finished the statement with a growl and snapped the man's neck, watching him fall to the ground, dead.

I reached out to Amery and carefully gathered her injured body into my hands. She was wailing loudly, and I could smell the familiar scent of wolf's bane. They had really done a number on her. She was a complete mess. "Amery, I'm so sorry. I'm here-" I said, but before I could finish, I felt a hard object hit my head. I groaned deeply, and in the confusion, accidentally dropped Amery. My vision blurred, and I fought to stay conscious. As the warrior charged towards me, I readied myself for the fight. He was skilled, but I had to protect Amery at all costs. We exchanged blows, each one trying to gain an advantage over the other.

My heart raced as I dodged his attacks and landed a few of my own. It was clear that he had been trained to fight with his bare hands and he was not holding back. But I was not going to let him defeat me that easily.

As the fight intensified, I noticed Dalia and the other woman trying to escape with Amery. They were struggling to move her as she was still in agony and barely conscious.

I knew I had to act fast. Without wasting a second, I grabbed the rock that the warrior had discarded earlier and hit him hard in the head. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

I rushed towards Amery, but before I could reach them, the other warrior caught me by surprise. He grabbed me from behind and slammed me against the nearest wall.

I was cornered and defenseless, and he took advantage of the situation, knocking me out cold.