Sold To The Alpha
The Cursed Luna Chapter 49

Charity tried to hold back a sob as her eyes connected with her grandfathers, pulling futilely at the bars she tried to open the door, to reach him.

Marcus raised his eyes to Darius, 'Get her out of here Darius' he said, trying to muster his Alpha tone, sensing the danger, Darius reached for Charity's arm trying to pull her away just as a resounding crack filled the air and his unconscious body fell to the floor causing her to scream.

'Well well well, what a lovely family reunion' came the dangerous drawl of Jonas, spinning round Charity came face to face with the lustful look on the Alpha's face as he stepped into the light of the lamp. Reaching forward he grabbed Charity by the waist, pulling her to him as he pressed his lips roughly to hers, taking her surprise as she just stood for a moment in his embrace before starting to try and wriggle free.

'Anna-Marie' Jonas breathed as he pulled away from her, his eyes travelling her face as he tried to ingrain her features in his mind.

'Let her go Jonas' Marcus roared weakly, 'Charity has nothing to do with this'

Jonas spun to face the chained Alpha, 'She has everything to do with this' he growled back, holding Charity to his chest, 'you took her from me once dog! but you won't stop her from being mine this time!' Charity struggled against his grip trying to free herself, 'Let me go' she yelled 'I have a mate, I don't want you let me go!'

Jonas spun her round suddenly, striking her with the back of his hand, drawing a gasp of pain from her lips, You are MINE Anna-Marie, he tricked you, made you think you were his but you weren't, we were meant to be' he roared, his eyes wild as Charity stood there open mouthed.

'Let go of her Jonas' came Aaron's voice from behind them, relief coursing through her, Charity turned her head to see Aaron and Merrick stood in the passage, glowering at the Alpha in front of them.

Jonas spun Charity round again, pulling her to his chest as he drew a silver dagger from his pocket, holding it against her throat as her fear returned.

'You will move aside Aaron' Jonas growled in a low dangerous voice, 'I don't want to hurt her but I will pick our death over losing her again' he promised.

Aaron made a move as if to attack when Merrick grabbed him, muttering something only he could here, reluctantly he stepped aside, edging around the wall as Jonas dragged Charity round them, positioning them both in the mouth of the tunnel before backing his way up the corridor, his eyes never leaving the two men until they disappeared into the darkness. Grabbing Charity's hand, he dragged her toward the steps, forcing her up them before slamming the heavy trap door shut, throwing the three bolts home, securing it tightly.

Under their feet they could hear the pounding of the two men against the solid wood, 'Aaron' Charity yelled as she continued to wrestle against the Alpha's grasp, Jonas pulled a syringe out of his jacket with his free hand, pulling the cap off with his teeth, 'I'm sorry my love, but you leave me no choice' he growled before plunging the needle into her neck. A sharp sting emanated from the puncture point, pain flowing through her body before her eyes rolled and she fell forward, her last sight was of being caught in Jonas' arms as blackness consumed her.

Slamming his shoulder against the thick wooden barricade, Aaron roared his wife's name over and over again, trying to force the locks free before defeated he slumped against the stone steps, his body aching.

Merrick sat next to him, 'I'm so sorry Alpha' he murmured, his head in his hands, 'I failed you, I failed our Luna'

Aaron shook his head, grabbing the man's shoulder in his hand, 'no you didn't Merrick, you told me that something wasn't right, you were the one who tracked him here, it was me that failed, I failed to save my mate again' he groaned.

Merrick scrambled to his feet and held out his hand to help the Alpha up, 'well we can sit here moping or we can go and get Marcus and Darius and make a plan of how to recover her' he growled defiantly.

Raising his eyes to the glowering Beta, Aaron gave a determined grin of his own, 'That we can Beta, lets go' he said as he grasped the outstretched hand and pulled himself to his feet. Retracing their steps, they returned to the light of the oil lamp, the barely stirring body of Darius still sprawled out on the dirt.

Merrick dropped to his friend's side, rolling him over and attempting to bring him round whilst Aaron examined the bars that caged the former Alpha. The low groans from the Red Moon warrior caught his attention and he joined Merrick by the injured fighter's side. 'Oh my goddess, what the f**k hit me?' moaned Darius as he cradled his head in his hands, his eyes shut tight to the grainy light.

'That would have been the force of a two by four plank of wood being wielded by a lunatic Alpha who seems to think our Luna belongs to him' replied Merrick helpfully.

His eyes snapping open, Darius looked around himself wildly 'Charity?' he croaked, his eyes squinting in pain, 'Luna?'

Aaron hung his head, 'She's gone Darius' he muttered 'Jonas took her, we had to let them go, he had a knife to her throat'

Darius let out a low howl of pain, 'nooo, Alpha, I am so sorry! you trusted me with her life and I allowed him to take us by surprise'

Helping the shaken warrior to his feet, Aaron shook his head, 'none of us failed here Darius, Jonas was determined to get her, we will get her back, but first we need to get Marcus out of this damn cage and figure out how to get out of this underground prison. Turning their attention to the cage door, the three warriors studied the older Alpha who was still chained to the chair, his body slumped over seeming to have passed out from the pain of the silver against his wrists.

'Marcus?' called Aaron through the bars, whilst Merrick and Darius examined the bolts holding the door to the frame, 'can you hear me?'

A low grunt came from the mass of injuries and the piercing blue eyes of Marcus looked with Aaron's. 'What the hell are you doing here?' Aaron whispered

Wincing as the silver caught his skin again, Marcus fidgeted in the chair, trying to flick his long matted hair out of his face. Finally he sighed, 'After our argument I returned to Red Moon intent on letting you cool down but I caught wind of talk of a woman who had been seen in a far off forest, travelers visiting our area, sat in bars, mentioning a mysterious woman who had suddenly appeared, she seemed to be in waiting for someone, they described her as a witch. I thought about contacting you but knew you needed to focus on retrieving Charity, I figured I could put some feelers out, do a bit of scouting, if it was the sorceress then that would save us time once Charity was free, if not, well that was another route we didn't have to waste time with. He said quietly.

'I traveled for weeks, questioning humans and rogue's that I came across, some needed more persuasion to talk than others but I kept perservering. The few people who knew anything just corroborated what I already knew, a woman had appeared and seemed to be waiting for something. One night I was stumbling through some woods, I could smell a pack, it wasn't large so I thought I could handle myself, plus I wasn't there to cause trouble. I walked up to the gates, was stopped by the guards, explained I was on a mission and asked for an audience with their Alpha. The called him down, he stood just in the shadows so I couldn't make out his features, asking me my business, I told him my name and pack and that I was looking for a sorceress. Next thing I know, four guards had grabbed hold of me and I was injected with what I later realized was wolfsbane, I fought but succumbed to the poison.' Marcus started to cough, his throat dry before spitting on the floor and continuing.

'I woke up in here, chained to this chair, their Alpha came down to see me, even after all these years I recognized him, it was Jonas, my rival for my mate. Jonas was the Gamma from Anna-Marie's original pack, he had been promised her as a wife by her father, my pack were visiting, they wanted to negotiate a treaty between us, we were a strong alliance, they were weaker and needed strong allies to survive. Whilst we discussed our terms, my Anna-Marie entered the office, her scent enveloped me and I knew she was mine, I grabbed her, pulling her too me as Jonas lunged at me, trying to rip her from my grasp. Well that was never going to happen, I was an Alpha, an a strong one, he was a mere Gamma, I sent him flying across the room, holding my Anna-Marie tightly before turning to their Alpha and demanding what was mine or we would not only have no alliance, we would be enemies and I would return to take her by force.

'Their Alpha agreed, but Jonas was unhappy, he challenged me for my title and the right to Anna-Marie, I accepted, no-one, especially a gamma was going to disrespect my authority and try to take my chosen mate from me. A circle was drawn outside, my men on one side, the pack's men on the other, all making sure it was a fair fight. Jonas gave everything he had, he even manged to get a few marks on me, but I was faster, stronger and more determined, I was fueled by my love for my mate, I destroyed him, left him gasping for breath, blood oozing from his mouth before taking my love by the hand and leading her too our cars, returning with her as our new Luna!

'It seems in the time that has elapsed, Jonas had left his own pack, coming here and taking over, I assume he fought their Alpha and won, I have been here ever since, enduring daily beatings and torture at the hands of Jonas, kept subdued so I can't fight back. He blames me, he thinks it's my fault Anna-Marie died, not that he is wrong' he added sadly. 'He thinks I stole his woman even though she was never his mate, she was mine, he was infatuated with her. Things changed a few days ago, he stopped torturing me, just kept coming down here telling me how beautiful Anna-Marie was, I didn't understand until I woke up and saw Charity, the crazy son of a b***h thinks my grand daughter is Anna-Marie' he growled shaking his wrists, howling at the pain as he tried to break the shackles. Aaron was silent for a few minutes, shock filling him, 'What do you think he will do with her?' he asked fearfully.

Marcus held Aaron's eye, 'He'll hide her, keep her and try to force her to be with him' he replied, his eyes flashing with anger.

Aaron jumped to his feet, 'we need to get this cage open and we need to do it NOW' he growled as the three men started scouring the small passageway for anything they could use to open the door. Darius's foot tapped against something on the floor, looking down he brushed the dirt from a small screw, snatching it up he used the pointed end to force between the top hinge and the pin, slowly wiggling it trying to force the pin upwards and out of its casing, slowly the pin started to lift upwards as the screw point eased its way underneath. Grunting with the effort, he grabbed the protruding pin head and rocked it back and forth, forcing it out of its casing until it popped from the top and fell to the floor with a loud clatter. Dropping to his knees he worked on the second hinge, not relenting until its pin was also laying on the floor next to its brother. Pulling the door toward him, he moved it sideways, slipping the lock from its housing before twisting it against the padlock and leaning it against the wall as the three moved inside to surround Marcus and try to remove his shackles.

Looking at the manacles holding Marcus in place, Merrick removed his shirt, ripping it into rags before placing a piece of fabric between the Alpha's skin and the silver, breaking the contact. He then wrapped a strip around each of his hands, before grasping the left shackle firmly and starting to pull, them apart, straining against the padlock that held them closed as he grunted loudly. Slowly the metal started to separate, the lock straining under the pressure, Darius quickly grabbed the alpha's hand moving it carefully as he eased it through the tight gap, Marcus trying to hold in his growls as the metal tried to scrape his skin from his hands through the fabric. Finally with a final tug, his hand came free, letting the manacle fall to the floor, Merrick wiped the sweat from his brow before turning to the right wrist and repeating the process.

Soon Marcus was sat rubbing his wrists, trying to get some feeling back into them, having decided to make their way back to the door, Merrick placed his arm around the Alpha's waist, lifting him from the chair as he supported him through the doorway and down the corridor, Aaron and Darius behind them, Darius grabbing the oil lamp as they passed to maintain the light. Reaching the steps, Marcus sat down as the three men started to synchronize their movements as they shouldered against the trap door in unison, heaving against the heavy wood which was starting to lift slightly under their combined pressure.