Sold To The Billionaire Alpha
Chapter 20

Orion’s POV

Rose was the very picture of a beautiful, blushing bride but I could not take my eyes off of Orchid. I could never take my eyes off of Orchid. She was always up to something for one and secondly, she was everything to me. She was far away. She attended the wedding but her thoughts were elsewhere. Her mind was elsewhere. I hoped her heart was not elsewhere too. She looked stunning in her gown, even with her sullen expression. Her beauty was effortless. I remembered the first time I saw her. She had been walking home from the human hospital, all alone. Well, she had thought she was all alone. There was a man following her, one besides me. When she had become aware of him, she had tried desperately to quicken her pace. She had been so tired after her shift. I had felt feel her fatigue through the mate bond. She had been lovely then without even trying and my heart and my wolf told me the same thing, she was ours, forever. She was certainly not his, the pervert who had been following her. I had done away with him and had walked her home safely without her knowledge of course. There had been no need to terrify her, making her aware of a second person following her.

Flashback

“Perseus, don’t go easy on them! You know how you feel sorry for people!” I said offhandedly to my younger brother on the phone.

“They’ll never be able to afford to pay!” Reasoned Perseus.

“Then they should not incur any more debts!” I snarled.

The family of his intended, his fated mate, was in financial trouble just days after we had paid off all of their debts and given them a million-dollar bonus as payment for Rose. Rose was their she-wolf daughter, the mate of my younger brother. She was feisty and intended to never marry. Perseus obsessed over her night and day.

“You’ve already secured Rose,” I told Perseus.

I heard him sigh on the other end.

“I really want her love, Brother, not her submission,” he murmured. “She will never think kindly of me if we allow another large pack to kill her family.”

“Then maybe they should not incur another huge gambling debt the very day after we solve all of their financial problems and make them overnight millionaires!” I growled.

“How did they manage to bet all of that away?! They place larger bets than me then and I’m a billionaire. They’re living far above their means,” I told him.

I was seething. Truth be told, I placed no bets. Gambling was a waste of money in my eyes. I wanted to see an obvious and sure result with my money. If I bought something, it should be right f*****g in front of me. With gambling, you were paying for a thrill, an intangible. No thank you. I knew my little brother was upset. I sighed.

“The money isn’t much to us but it’s the difference between life and death for them,” mumbled Perseus. His voice sounded thick. Was this boy crying? Good grief, what a wuss. He was my little brother and I loved him dearly though.

“Very well, pay off this gambling debt but make sure they’re well aware they will die the next time they behave this recklessly. We will not be bailing them out of everything,” I said.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” said Perseus excitedly. “You won’t regret it. I’m putting Rose’s Dad in a Gambling Anonymous Group. They have this retreat where they…”

I hung up on him. The diner I was in had lack lustre food and crumby service. The waitresses had checked on me about nine times since I sat down but they were just stunned. Human girls were always taken with me. A group of them giggled and blushed nearby. I winked at them and their giggles turned to squeals. The waitresses were neglecting literally every other customer though. An elder guy in the corner had been wanting his muffin warmed since Palaeolithic times. A weary-looking human Mom was waiting on her significant other to meet her and her little daughter here and walk them home. The little girl had dropped her complimentary crayons on the floor and the waitress said one pack per table. The little girl was on the verge of tears. They had been waiting for the man picking them up a long while. It was dark out. I knew this because of my impeccable hearing as an alpha. I could even hear the guy talking on the other end of the phone as the woman quarrelled with him.

“Chill out, Shonda. Don’t be a b***h about this too,” said the guy.

“Sean, do not speak to me like that!” Snapped Shonda. “Sally is tired! It’s almost midnight! We’ve been waiting for you since ten. If we had known you would so long, it would have been safer to just go on our own at ten.”

“Get a cab,” said Sean, the deadbeat.

“We can’t afford one and you know that!” She said, tears forming in her eyes.

The little girl was staring at me. I looked at her, broken crayons on the floor. How much did a human cab cost?

“Excuse me,” I said to the nearby group of waitresses.

Literally all of them came over eagerly.

“I want to colour this,” I said, pointing to the paper placemat. It depicted a captain at the wheel of his ship. The girl had been colouring her placemat.

The waitresses dissolved into giggles again. They gave me six packs of crayons, ensuring I got every colour. Apparently each pack only had three colours. The little girl had gotten yellow, blue and green. I could see it from here.

“Thank you,” I said, bowing slightly to them.

They giggled. They scurried off. The place was about to close. It was not a twenty-four hour diner.

“Sean, the place is closing! Sally is frightened!” Said Shonda over the phone.

I walked over to Sally, hoping her mom didn’t freak out because a large stranger was approaching them. Her mom looked up with a scowl on her face. Her jaw dropped and her scowl gave way to amazement.

“Um, hi,” she said. She hung up on Sean. I sat on the other end of their booth facing them. I gave Sally the six packs of crayons. She squealed in delight and began to colour the new placemat I had also brought over.

“Forgive me,” I said, bowing slightly.

Her eyes widened. “You’re forgiven!” She said quickly.

I smiled.

“I am Orion,” I said, figuring it was good to introduce myself.

“I…am Shonda,” she said slowly.

I nodded. Sally was colouring fiercely. She would make a good warrior.

“I want to be a captain,” she said suddenly as if she had read my mind.

“Of a ship?” I asked.

“I know girls usually never…” she began.

“That is perfect for you!” I said, interrupting her doubts.

She grinned. Her two front teeth were missing. I grinned at her. Human children were exactly like werewolf children except better behaved probably. Shonda was smiling at the exchange.

“They’re closing,” Shonda said.

“How will you get home?” I said.

She looked surprised.

“You don’t have to tell me if you’re uncomfortable. That is understandable. How do hu…I mean how do you get a cab?” I asked.

“How do you get a cab?” She repeated incredulously.

She had said the word cab. Did she not?

“Yes, how do you get one of those?” I asked.

“I…um…you just stop one,” she said. “Or call one. You could call an Uber too.”

“Call one!” I instructed.

She stared at me.

The waitresses began prompting stragglers to leave. Closing time. Of course, they left the table I was at for last. Uber sounded interesting.

“Get the Uber!” I said with a wave of my hand. There. I had pronounce it. It was done. Shonda snorted with laughter.

“I live on the other side of the island. That would be crazy expensive!” She said.

“It is quite sane,” I said, feeling confused.

She giggled. Sally was looking at me again.

“An Uber is a kind of like a taxi service and you pay based on how far you have to go,” she said.

I nodded. This child was welcome in my army when she came of age. A smart human.

“Arrange it,” I said to Sally, realising she was the boss actually.

She snatched her mother’s phone.

“Sally!” Snapped her mother.

Sally was furiously looking for something on the phone. She found it and typed something.

“It says it will be a hundred,” said Sally.

“WHAT?” Barked her mom. She snatched back the phone.

“No, Sally, that is for a fancy car, not a regular…”

“A hundred of your money?” I clarified.

“Um, what?” Said Shonda.

I put a stack on the table. It was rolled up with a rubber band. Sally took it and counted.

“A thousand dollars!” She squealed. “Jack pot!”

I laughed. The human child was amusing.

“Sally, shh!” Said Shonda.

“Are you a mob boss?” Asked Sally.

“I am a boss,” I said. Not of a mob though.

“I will be a boss of something when I grow up,” she said.

“Certainly,” I said.

“We cannot accept his, um, Orion,” said her mother shakily.

“I cannot accept it back,” I said.

Sally giggled. I winked at her.

“It’s…we can’t..”

“Is the fancy car Uber coming?” I asked.

Sally nodded.

Shonda checked her phone.

“Sally!” She squeaked, upset something expensive had occurred. My mother had been the same despite our wealth. I gave Sally an understanding look. Sally looked exasperated.

“I’m so sorry, but we’re closing,” said a waitress flanked by the other waitresses.

“That’s ok, can I have both bills?” I asked, nodding towards Shonda.

Sally had a half-eaten burger in front of her and an empty glass. Mom had not gotten anything for herself.

The waitresses glared at Shonda at the insinuation of me paying both bills.

“What can I order last minute?” I asked.

“A ham sandwich! Or any cold-cut sandwich!” Said the waitress who spoke initially, unperturbed. She seemed the nicest one.

“Do you eat this?” I asked.

“I like ham,” said Shonda in a confused tone, her expression puzzled.

“She likes ham,” I told the waitress.

The waitress quickly brought a wrapped up sandwich. Shonda tried to pay but I had already given them my card. I settled the bill and left with Sally on my heels. Shonda scurried after us.

“Is that the fancy car Uber, Captain Sally?” I asked.

“Yes!” Squealed Sally.

The Uber had pulled up. I gave the man another stack. He looked amazed.

“Sir I…”

“Ensure this Mom and child are home safe and soon,” I told him. “Do not disappoint me! I don’t like to be disappointed!”

“Don’t disappoint him!” Said Sally.

“Thank you, Beta Sally,” I said.

“I’m an Alpha!” Said Sally.

I was shocked. I looked at her schoolbag. There were werewolves and vampires on it. The watered-down version. I had forgotten we were fodder for human entertainment. They censored everything and made it glossy and digestible.

“Alpha Sally, ensure your Mom and this feeble taxi driver gets to the destination safely,” I said seriously.

“Sure, Alpha Orion,” she said brightly.

That phrase caught me off-guard. It seemed so out of place in their human world. I smiled. Sally and Shonda got in. The Uber man was too pleased about the money he had gotten to react to being called ‘feeble’. I knew they would be ok. They had Sally with them.

I walked slowly down the street. I did not come to this human island often. It interested me though. Ibis Isle. Gregoire, the werewolf gate community, was a thirty-minute walk from here. I was staying with two friends of mine, noble she-wolves, both named Mary. To be truthful, I often forgot who was who. They were not particularly interesting. Many threw themselves at me. I was an Alpha of huge northern pack and werewolf kingdom, the elder of two Alpha brothers, Perseus being the younger. I was turning a corner when I smelled her and my world stopped.