Sold To The Alpha
Chapter 9

Chloe jumped off the bed, pacing angrily, 'that.. that.. evil evil b***h!' she shouted vehemently, 'I hope she rots in hell, actually hell is too good for her, I hope she lives in a pile of rotting corpses unable to dig her way out, slowly suffocating in their stench and THEN rots in hell', Chloe kicked the bedroom door as she passed it before marching back to Charity's bed and flinging herself down onto it. 'continue' she ordered, 'I want to know how you finally got away from that terrible narcissistic woman and ended up here', she threw her arms around Charity's neck briefly whispering, 'I'm so glad you did, by the way, I'm so glad you are here'. Charity smiled, 'so am I' she replied, 'you are the very first friend I've had in years, you have no idea how glad I am to be here' she confided. Settling herself against the pillows on her bed, Charity absentmindedly started to fiddle with the fringe of the blue checked blanket that was laid over her duvet cover, pulling the strands through her fingers. 'With my father gone, things became so much worse, even more so than when he worked away. My stepmother moved me from the box room to the attic, that was my new room. I had a mattress on the floor and I kept my clothes on top of the boxes that had been stored up there. I was not allowed to leave the attic unless it was to do my chores, she didn't want to see me, know of my existence. The hardest part was food, I basically got whatever no-one else wanted to eat. Bartholemew and Rebecca would sit with these overflowing bowls of ice cream, I would get the bananas that had gone black. I'll admit it, there was more than one occasion I licked their bowls after they finished and I was washing the dishes, just to taste what they had!' she confided, her cheeks reddening. 'They didn't starve me but Rebecca particularly, she would take and eat anything she thought I wanted even if it made her sick, she would stand in front of me stuffing cakes and pastries into her mouth while laughing at me. I stopped even trying to get anything after a while, they took too much pleasure in depriving me so I protected myself, ate what I was given, and pretended that these other foods didn't exist so I didn't have to deal with the pain of missing out.

With no-one to protect me, the anger from my stepmother became physical, she had a belt, if she was angry with me, which was pretty much always, she would beat me with it' Charity's eyes clouded at the memory, narrowing as she remembered the pain from each flick upon her back. Chloe grabbed her arm instinctively but didn't speak, not wanting to interrupt the release that was flowing out of Charity, acutely aware that with each word, the pain she carried was lessening.

'This went on for many years, I worked as a slave and then hid up in the attic, hoping my stepmother wouldn't decide to come visit me up there. Then two months ago she came to my room, I was scared, wondering what I had done wrong, I'd cleaned the floors till they shone, all the dishes were washed, the clothes pressed and put away, had my step-siblings sabotaged me again? was she just in a bad mood? I didn't know.

She walked in filling the doorway, she was smiling broadly as she had just received the best news. I knew if it was something to make her that happy, that it did not bode well for me. She walked in and told me to start packing my things, that she had sold me to a werewolf pack as their slave and that I would do whatever I was told by them. I had the head of this pack, everyone in my village had, you are feared, Alpha Alistair is feared greatly by the humans, so I was terrified, of everything she had done to me I had never imagined she would sell me off to a dangerous pack' Chloe choked at her words, Charity looked at her sheepishly, 'I didn't know you then, the stories of Alpha Alistair are infamous through human settlements round our way, they were all I had to form an opinion on where I was going!' she said apologetically. 'I begged my stepmother to change her mind, pleaded, promised to do whatever she wanted but she just shook me off her, looking at me like I was something grubby that had got on her shoe before walking out and leaving me alone. Weeks later a car turned up, I was shoved inside and then my stepmother and step-siblings stood and watched as I was driven away, they were beaming, no doubt imagining what awful life I was being sent too, relishing the idea of me being raped, beaten and god knows what else by these ruthless werewolves they had sold me too. But, then I pulled up at the gates and this really nice man welcomed me, he called me Lady Charity, I hadn't been called that since I was very little, before my mother passed. Then you bounded into my life and you accepted me without question, you didn't care who I was, what my story was you just became my friend.' Charity's eyes filled with tears again causing her to choke on her words, finally, she uttered, 'I love it here Chloe, I love sharing this room with you, seeing the other members, how you all laugh and joke and are just one big loving family, and I'm so scared that Alpha Alistair might change his mind and send me away' she whispered, fear etched into her eyes. Chloe grabbed her friend firmly by the shoulders, 'now you listen to me Lady Charity' she chided quietly, with a slight smile through her own tears, 'you are one of us now, we don't turn on our own, you are a silver cross pack member forever' she said forcefully before drawing her into a bear hug that almost crushed the air out of Charity's lungs, but she didn't care, she was just happy to be with someone who so obviously cared about her.

A sudden loud bang shook their room followed by an ear-deafening roar right outside their door. Chloe sprung from the bed and wrenched the door open but was only greeted with the faces of other curious and slightly scared girls peering out from their own rooms wondering what the commotion had been.

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Aaron slammed his fist into the wall outside of Charity's room before letting out a roar of rage, he had been stood outside of their room listening to Charity's story, he hadn't meant to eavesdrop, had been coming to tell her that he would be driving her to school the following day but had caught the words of her mother dying, had heard the pain in his mates voice and had been unable to wrench himself from where he stood, to ignore the anguish that he could feel within him that he knew was through their mating bond. When she had said about the belt and the way she had been treated by her so-called family, Aaron had lost control, slamming his fist into the wall of their room with all the force he could muster whilst his wolf raged within him. Someone, some.. HUMAN had laid a hand on his mate, made her cry, treated her like scum. He had let out an almighty roar of anger before turning and tearing down the hall toward his father's office.

When he arrived outside the door, he burst through it without knocking, causing his father and his Beta Jared to jump in shock, 'Aaron' glowered his father angrily, 'I am in a meeting discussing the encroaching red moon pack! now is.. before he could finish, Aaron cut across him, 'They beat her father! they need to PAY!' he yelled storming around the room, picking things up only to put them back down again, seeming to have no control over his actions. Alistair nodded at Jared, dismissing him, when he had shut the door behind him Alistair turned to face his son, his face neutral, 'why so concerned Aaron?' he inquired, 'I thought you didn't want her, that she was their family's reject?' he said softly. Aaron's face contorted with his vying emotions, 'I didn't, I mean I don't' he spat, 'but no-one should be treated as she was, no-one! Their blood should spill for what they did! Those evil bastards that she had to live with should be ripped limb from limb, and the villagers as well for not seeing what was going on, for not protecting her!' he roared, unable to keep the emotions out of his voice. Alistair viewed his son over his glasses, his face understanding, 'This is why I brought her here son, I had heard rumours about her, and when I approached a confidant within their community, she confirmed what was happening, so I made her stepmother an offer she couldn't refuse, using our reputation to my advantage. She was ignorant, believed she was selling that poor girl into slavery, having no understanding of the working of a pack and that she was actually sending her to her salvation. Alistair sighed, 'I started watching her as she went about her days, the chores she had to do, her clothes hand darned, her pale face from lack of food.' he said as he rubbed his eyes, 'but I also felt something when I saw her, I cannot explain it, but it was as if she belonged with our kind Aaron, there is something about her, something important, I can feel it but I can't explain it. Hopefully one day we will learn what makes her special but until then, we will keep her safe. Aaron threw himself into one of the chairs in front of his fathers desk moodily, 'so they just get away with what they did?' he snarled, gripping the arms of the chair in a vice-like grip. Alistair shook his head sadly, 'we cannot erase her past Aaron, all we can do is try and improve her future' he replied. 'Speaking of which, Jared has been talking to me about your marriage to Charity, he agrees with you that you should not be forced to marry someone that is not your rightful another half! Alistair looked at Aaron intently over his glasses, studying his face, 'he has suggested that as you are so against her that maybe Justin should take over looking out for and getting to know her, we both think she could make an excellent future beta's wife' Aaron jumped from his chair, anger flashing through his eyes, 'Justin will not TOUCH her! no-one will touch her! she is MINE!' he roared. Alistair looked at his son intently, 'well well well' he said, so quietly Aaron almost couldn't hear him, 'so do I take it you wish to marry Charity?' he asked, a smile tweaking at the corner of his mouth. Aaron breathed heavily, trying to gain control of his emotions, his father had baited him and he knew it, he was furious at himself for falling for it but the thought of anyone touching what was his drove him insane, just the mere mention of Justin getting within feet of her made him want to smash his best friends face into a wall until he couldn't focus on her beauty. Aaron looked at his father, anger and a hint of defeat written across his face, he huffed, 'I will get to know her' he conceded reluctantly, before bowing his head and leaving the office to head back to his own room.