Alpha Terrell's POV
"What I want is information."
The scarred leader pressed his forehead to the dirt, his entire body shaking. "Anything, Alpha! Anything you want! I'll provide whatever information you need, I swear it on my life!"
The desperation in his voice was almost amusing. Almost.
I turned to Sheena, jerking my head toward the trembling men. "Go ahead."
She slid off the horse carefully, her priestess robes gathering dust as she approached the slave traders. "We're looking for a girl. A runaway."
The leader lifted his head slightly, eager to please. "We see many girls on the run, Your Grace. Many desperate women fleeing bad situations. Just describe her, and we'll check our records. If we had her, we'll tell you everything. And if we didn't…" He swallowed hard. "I won't rest until we find her for you. You have my word."
"How noble," I drawled sarcastically. "Sheena, describe her."
Sheena clasped her hands in front of her, and I caught the slight hesitation before she spoke. That should have warned me.
"She's fair-skinned," Sheena began carefully. "Almost like a baby's complexion. Very soft. She was wearing a white ceremonial gown - nun's garments. She's fat. She has long black hair that falls past her shoulders…"
"Wait." Something she'd said made my skin prickle. "Come again?"
Sheena blinked. "She has long black hair…"
"No, no." I raised my index finger in warning. "Before that."
I saw it then - the fear that flashed across her eyes. The way her throat worked as she swallowed.
"She's... she's fat, Alpha."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
Time seemed to slow. I felt my wolf - which had been stirring with interest, with possessive fury at the thought of our mate in danger - recoil so violently it was like a physical blow to my chest.
Fat.
The single word echoed in my mind, drowning out everything else.
"What the fuck did you just say?"
My voice came out quiet. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that preceded violence.
"Alpha, please, she's not that fat…" Sheena started backing away, her hands raised defensively.
I moved.
One moment I was standing in front of the filthy slave trader, the next my hand was around her throat, lifting her off the ground. Her feet kicked uselessly, her fingers clawing at my wrist.
"What in the fucking hell do you mean she's fat, you old miserable witch?"
"I'm… sorry…" she gasped, her face turning red. "That's… how… your bride… is…"
"My BRIDE?" I roared, shaking her like a rag doll. "You still have the audacity to open your godforsaken mouth and call her my bride? After withholding this essential information from me?"
"I'm sorry, Alpha…"
"Sorry for WHAT exactly?" I squeezed harder, watching her eyes bulge. "Sorry for the fact that you didn't tell me this before I left my palace to comb the entire fucking region for her? Sorry that you didn't tell your crazy Moon Goddess that I DETEST fat girls? Give me ONE valid reason why I shouldn't snap this frail neck right now!"
Behind me, I heard Kane shift nervously. My generals knew better than to intervene, but even they seemed shocked by the intensity of my rage.
"I should have… mentioned it… earlier…" Sheena choked out. "But I was… scared…you would refuse… to go after… Angel…"
"And you got that right."
The words came out with deadly calm. I released her, and she crumpled to the ground, gasping and coughing.
I turned and mounted my horse in one fluid motion. "We're done here. Generals, we're going home."
"Alpha, wait…" Sheena crawled forward on her hands and knees, dirt and tears streaking her face. "Please… don't leave her…"
"Leave her?" I looked down at her with pure contempt. "I never wanted her in the first place. A fat, human nun who's probably never seen a real man in her life? You expect me to claim THAT as my mate?"
"The Moon Goddess…"
"The Moon Goddess can go fuck herself." I moved my horse forward. "I'm not going to be shackled to some overweight, sanctimonious virgin who probably prays before she eats and cries during sex."
"Alpha!" Sheena's voice cracked with desperation. She was actually crawling after us now, her priestess dignity completely abandoned. "Please! Even if you won't claim her… at least rescue her! Take her back to the convent! She's suffered enough! Pleaseeee!"
That made me pause.
Not because I cared about the girl - I didn't. But because Sheena was right. The girl was probably running because she was scared of being with me. It'll be better if we found her and returned her back to the convent. That could be my own way of repaying her for killing her family. And despite my disgust and disappointment, she was technically still under the Moon Goddess's protection.
Letting her die would bring complications I didn't need.
"Fine," I said coldly. "We'll retrieve her and dump her back at whatever convent she came from. But I want absolutely nothing to do with her. Do you understand?"
Relief flooded Sheena's face. "Yes, Alpha. Thank you, Alpha. I'll prepare the rites of rejection myself as soon as we return…"
"See that you do." I turned my attention to the slave traders, who'd been watching this entire exchange with growing horror. "You. Leader. Have you seen this girl?"
The scarred man nodded frantically. "Yes, Alpha. We… we sold her. This morning. To Lord Harwick."
A collective intake of breath from my men.
"You sold her to Harwick," I repeated flatly.
"We didn't know she was important, Alpha! We thought she was just some runaway nun! If we'd known…"
"Where is he?" I interrupted. "Where did he take her?"
"His estate. Two days north of here. But Alpha…" The man's voice dropped to something almost pitiful. "Lord Harwick doesn't give up his acquisitions easily. Especially not the ones he pays premium for."
"Then he'll learn to make an exception." I looked at Kane. "Gather the men. We ride for Harwick's estate."
"To rescue your mate?" Kane asked carefully.
"To retrieve an unfortunate girl who's been victimized by circumstance," I corrected coldly. "Nothing more. We get her, we return her to the convent, and we perform the rejection rites. Then this entire disaster is over."
"And if Lord Harwick refuses to release her?" one of my generals asked.
I smiled, and it was not a pleasant expression. "Then Lord Harwick will discover why people fear the name Terrell."
Not because I cared about some fat human girl.
But because no one - NO ONE - got to tell me no.
"You." I pointed at the slave trader leader. "You're coming with us. If we can't find Harwick's estate, you'll lead us there personally."
"Yes, Alpha! Of course, Alpha!" He scrambled to his feet. "I'll take you right to the gates!"
I kicked my horse into motion, not waiting to see if the others followed.
As we rode, Sheena pulled up beside me on her borrowed mount from one of the traders. "Alpha…"
"Don't," I warned. "Don't try to convince me she's special or meant for me or any of that mystical bullshit. I'm doing this because leaving her with Harwick would send her to an early grave. Nothing more."
"Of course, Alpha."
"And when this is over, I never want to hear her name again. Angel, or whatever foolish name she has. She doesn't exist to me."
"I understand."
I'd spent a thousand years perfecting my preferences. Tall, slender she-wolves who could match my intensity in bed and my brutality on the battlefield. Women who knew what they wanted and how to take it.
A soft, fat human who smelled like vanilla and spent her life praying?
That was the antithesis of everything I desired.