Sold To The Alpha
Hated Ties That Bind Chapter 47

Pushing though the thick hedge that edged the area, the men forced their way into the next pasture and then the next until Landen raised his hand, pointing into the distance. 'Is that a house?' he yelled, pulling the attention of the others. Wiping the water from his face, the older Beta peered through the sheet of water to where his son was pointing, just making out a dark structure in the distance. 'I think so' he agreed, changing course and heading toward it as fast as he could, the others hot on his heels. Stumbling through the overgrown weeds and reeds, they reached the building, replaceing it to be a single story wooden shack. Reaching out, Daniel pounded on the door, calling out as he did so, 'hello? Is anyone home?'

No reply came from within, so he carefully pushed against the door, the wood swinging open with an eerie creak to reveal a single room that housed a bed, table, some furniture, an old armchair and a few rickety wooden chairs. The dust and cobwebs that decorated the area gave the impression that the place had been uninhabited for a long time.

Looking back at the others, Daniel shrugged 'home sweet home' he joked before walking inside, the others following suit with Landen shutting the door behind them, cutting off the icy wind from outside.

Placing Alessia onto the bed, Rowan placed his rucksack on the floor and headed to the small hearth, looking up the chimney before nodding in contentment, 'I can see sky' he called out to the group, 'means we can light a fire, try to warm ourselves up! Moving around the room, the ex-Rogue started to dig through the sparse cupboards and boxes that were against the walls, pulling out some half burned candles, an old newspaper and a box of matches that had six unused ones left inside. Placing the candles on the table, Rowan grabbed one of the chairs and lifted it, smashing it roughly against the hard stone floor shattering it.

'Dude!' Landen roared as he jumped in shock, 'what the hell?'

'Need firewood' Rowan replied with a shrug as he gathered the broken sticks and carried them over to the hearth, organising the smaller splinters skilfully with some scrunched up newspaper before striking a match and holding it to the paper. Soon a fire was blazing, the warrior placing larger pieces of the chair onto the flames as the icy chill in the room began to recede.

Alessia shivered as she sat on the bed, her foot resting on the thin blanket that covered the old mattress, looking over at her Riley moved closer and pulled her rucksack to her. 'You should changed into dry clothes Lessi' he rumbled worriedly, 'we don't want you getting sick on top of your ankle.'

The she wolf nodded numbly as she rummaged in her bag, pulling out some leggings a t'shirt and a jumper.

All the men immediately turned away from her, giving her privacy as she stripped off her top quickly and pulled the t'shirt and jumper over her head.

Wriggling, she tried to remove her jeans, hissing with pain as the denim moved over her legs.

'Uh guys' she called hesitantly, 'I.. um.. need some help.

Looking nervously over his shoulder Landen smiled ruefully as he took in the young woman sat on the bed, the blanket now wrapped around her waist, her jeans pulled down to her thighs.

Flushing in embarrassment, Alessia muttered, 'I can't get my jeans off by myself!'

Raising an eyebrow at the others, Landen rolled his eyes as each of the men immediately put their hands up defensively. 'I'll help you' he finally sighed with a grimace as he walked over to the side of the bed and knelt down in front of her. Gripping the blanket tightly, the she wolf gave him a relieved smile, 'I just need you to pull them off my legs and get the leggings over my feet, I can do the rest' she whispered.

Gathering the pant leg on her bad ankle, Landen pulled gently, inching the fabric over her skin as Alessia gritted her teeth through the pain. After managing to remove it, he made short work of the other leg, before hanging the clothes over the back of one of the remaining chairs.

Grabbing the leggings, he looked over at the three men who were watching from by the fire, 'no-one mentions this to anyone, ever' he growled before rolling up one of the legs and slipping it over the she wolf's foot. Once both were over her ankles, Landen helped her to stand, Alessia grabbing hold of the headboard to steady herself as he walked back to the others and they all turned around again in unison.

Shaking her head, Alessia dropped the blanket back onto the mattress and eased the leggings up her thighs and over her hips before sitting down and calling out to her companions. 'It's OK now, you can turn around, I'm all covered' she said, trying to hide her amusement.

Daniel grinned as he turned back to face her, 'you haven't met our wives' he said with a shrug, 'they will murder us if we so much as think about looking at another she wolf undressing! Alessia laughed, 'they would never know, we are in the middle of nowhere!'

Rowan shook his head solemnly, 'they will know' he replied adamantly as the others nodded in agreement, 'those women know everything, it's like a mated she wolf sixth sense. There are no secrets between a man and his mate, and Goddess help any man who tries to keep one.

Chuckling to herself, Alessia indicated to the four of them, 'are you all going to stand there in wet clothes or are you going to get changed too?' she asked.

Everyone rifled through their belongings as dry clothes appeared. Alessia made a big show of shuffling around on the bed and covering her eyes with her hands, giggling at the mutters coming from the men behind her as they changed into the new clothes and hung the wet items over the sparse furniture to dry.

Digging further into their bags, the men produced some food, sharing it with Alessia who hadn't had time to pack anything other than her belongings.

Sitting silently on the bed, the five travellers ate as they listened to the rain thundering against the wooden roof above them.

'It doesn't sound like it's letting up' Riley murmured in concern, Daniel stood up and walked to the window, looking through the cracked pain at the blackness outside.

'It's like night out there, and I'm pretty sure that the path leading up to this place is now just a river of mud' the Beta remarked as he returned to his spot and resumed eating the pasty in his hand.

Rowan lay back against the headboard, putting his arm around Alessia as he took a drink from a bottle of water. 'How are you feeling short stuff?' the warrior asked with a wink.

'Pfft, I'm not much shorter than you lot' Alessia grumbled as she reached over and grabbed his drink, taking a swig with a snigger at his dumbfounded face.

'You are pretty small' Landen mused, his eyes twinkling with amusement, 'it's like having one of those pet mascots that companies have!

Growling playfully, Alessia leaned forward, using her good leg to shove the young Beta hard causing him to fall off the bed with a yelp.

Riley and Daniel chuckled as Landen scrambled up, rubbing his butt as he scowled in annoyance, 'not cool Lessi, I'm going to have a massive bruise on my a*s now' he grumbled.

Alessia shrugged as she cuddled back into Rowan's side, 'don't pick fights you can't win Beta and you won't get hurt' she replied.

As night crept in, the darkness making way to pitch black outside, Rowan got up from the bed and arranged the half burned candles on a chipped plate that he found gathering dust in another one of the boxes, lighting them, making the room slightly brighter. The group of men tentatively skirted around the topic of their sleeping arrangements until Alessia finally lost her temper with the embarrassed warriors around her.

'Look, none of you are interested in me, you all have mates that you love, and no offence but none of you rev my engine either' she snapped in annoyance. 'We can all share this stupidly small bed and try to get some sleep because this storm isn't letting up and the floor is disgustingly dirty. Plus there are no other blankets! So, holster your self-consciousness and get your asses in this bed because I'm tired and cold' she ordered.

The werewolves looked between themselves uncomfortably until Rowan finally lay down on the small double bed, Alessia curling up next to him. With a shrug, Landen lay down on the opposite side of Alessia, sandwiching her between himself and the warrior. Looking at the youngsters, Daniel shrugged and lay down next to Landen, his head by his son's feet.

'I'm supposed to sleep by Rowan's feet? Seriously?' Riley grumbled as he inched onto the edge of the bed.

'It's Rowan's or Landen's mate' Daniel replied over the younger wolves legs, 'I figure you'd rather cuddle up to your son in law's ankles than your god son's, plus, it's always good for you and Rowan to bond' he added with a grin.

'f**k off Dan' Riley growled back in irritation.

'Mate! I'm hurt!' Daniel replied with a pout, 'I thought we were best bro's! Here I am trying to holdout an olive branch to bridge the gap between you and Rowan for the sake of my beautiful Goddaughter Gabby and you slap my hand away like Bella when you tried to take the last brownie at our last dinner!'

Riley grumbled incoherently under his breath, shifting around uncomfortably as Rowan rolled his eyes, 'are you both sure that you are the strongest, smartest and highest ranking members here? I'm not always sure that you managed to leave adolescence when I listen to you' he muttered, his eyes closed.

'Shut your gob Rowan, I still don't like you, a*****e' Riley grumbled back, though the previously obvious venom from his voice was now missing.

Alessia giggled to herself as she lay on her side, pressing herself against the warrior, using his radiating body heat to try and inject warmth into her still harshly cold skin.

'I still do not understand how I have somehow ended up in a musty old bed in an abandoned cabin with my Beta, my son-in-law, my godson and a she wolf that we obtained along the way' Riley huffed making everyone laugh before they settled down to sleep.