Sold to the Alpha (Alma Venus Shifter Brides 1)

Avelyn didn’t know what to say. Her thoughts were a complete jumble, her body was exhausted, and her eyes were so heavy that she could barely keep them open. She caressed Max’s neck with the tips of her fingers, hoping that would be enough of an answer for now.

Max pressed a warm, lingering kiss to her forehead. “I’ll tell you everything, my love. Everything. I’ll make it all better.”

She sighed and let her mind drop back into sweet unconsciousness.

END OF BOOK THREE

CHAPTER ONE

Future Uncertain

Never in her life had Avelyn felt so tired. She was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to make sense of what had happened in the last 12 hours. The wound on her neck throbbed softly, sending jolts of pain through the entire left side of her body. She preferred not to move her left arm at all, so it was limp on the covers while she used the other one to gently massage her forehead. The headache was slowly subsiding thanks to the pills the doctor had made her swallow before leaving the room. The curtains filtered the shy sunrays, and the windows muffled the sound of the howling wind. Even though it was rather sunny outside, the wind blew sharply through the branches and hit the tall towers of the Schloss with all its might. Aside from that, the castle was eerily silent. Avelyn sighed and tried to change her position only to cringe at the sharp pain that started in her left shoulder and made its way straight to her temple.

“Bloody hell,” she muttered. She gave up and stood still. A door slammed somewhere down the corridor, and Avelyn’s eyes turned to the bedroom door, ears perked up in attention, her heart rate increasing. She hoped someone would come already and tell her what the doctor had said. He had left the room 15 minutes ago. After half an hour of tending to her wound and consulting her, poking and prodding to make sure there was nothing broken or severely damaged, he had simply smiled at her and told her she was going to be fine. Avelyn would have loved to grab him by the collar and yell at him to forget the platitudes and tell her exactly what he thought. Luckily for him, she was in too much pain. All she could do was whisper a question: “Don’t lie to me doctor. What is going on?”

She knew what the werewolf venom was going to do to her body. The process wasn’t evident yet, but she would soon feel the changes. However, she had a sinking feeling that the small crease of worry and concentration on the doctor’s forehead was a reaction to something else. Sure, the transformation process she’d have to go through for an entire month, until the next full moon, wasn’t going to be easy or pleasant, but it wasn’t dangerous to her either. Somewhere between the gatehouse and the heavy door of the Crescent Wing, Avelyn had come to terms with what was waiting ahead. Max had carried her back to the Schloss gently, cradling her broken body in his arms, and Avelyn had snuggled against his chest, trying to focus on the warmth of his body and ignore the pain and the smell of fresh blood. Crossing the courtyard, she had seen the ashes of the bonfire and the curious eyes of the few werewolves who hadn’t gone to chase after Sabine. The dim light of dawn shined on their soft fur, enveloping them in an aura of magic. Or, maybe, she was hallucinating. Her tired eyes took in their proud posture, their heavy bodies and strong legs, and their green, kind eyes. In one month, she was going to be one of them. Truly be one of them. There was no doubt about it, and no way out. She would become a werewolf, and she had realized then that she was ready to accept her fate. She had looked up at Max and smiled. As long as she was with him, it wouldn’t be too bad, would it?

But, there had been a flicker of worry in the doctor’s eyes right before he caught himself, cleared his throat and gave her a reassuring smile. “The wound is healing quickly, as it should,” he had offered as an answer to her question. Avelyn had already known that. She could feel it. That was not what she had wanted from him. She had tried to stand up, determined to make him talk. “No, no, Miss Avelyn. Bad idea.” He had pushed her gently back under the covers and rearranged her pillow. “I’m going to give you some painkillers for now, to make things easier for you until the wound heals completely, then I’ll let you rest.” She had protested, but he had been firm and distant. She hadn’t been able to stop him when he left the room, presumably to let Mr. Blackmane know he could see her.

Avelyn’s eyes were now fixed on the door, and she was wondering why it was taking Max so long. There was something wrong, she could feel it. Sabine hadn’t hurt her that badly. She had scared her, yes, and she had ripped a huge patch of skin off her neck, but the bite hadn’t been deep. She had made sure she sank her fangs deep enough to let the venom flow through the open wound, but not so much as to endanger her life. As the girl had said in that mad, hateful voice, she had only wanted to turn Avelyn, not kill her. Then, what had worried the doctor so much? What was so important, so urgent, and… complicated that it took him 15 minutes to tell Max? She threw a quick glance at the clock on the wall. Twenty minutes.

The wait was killing her. Christine and Max had stayed with her until the doctor came, but they had both left the room to give them some space. She hated being alone, not knowing what was happening outside that stupid door, outside the Schloss, in the woods. She wondered where Sabine was. What if Max’s and Jocelyn’s wolves found her and brought her back to the castle? What would happen to her then? Would Max try to lock her back up in the dungeons? In the light of everything that had happened, Sabine could well be considered a rogue wolf now. Belonging to no pack, running wild in the woods, no one knowing who she was or where she came from… Avelyn shuddered under the thick covers, suddenly feeling cold. She couldn’t think about that. Rogue wolves and the treatment they got when they were caught. Even though Sabine had hurt her, Avelyn couldn’t bring herself to hate her or wish her the slightest harm. She decided she should stop thinking about Sabine and trying to make sense of her actions until she knew the whole story. Max owed her an explanation. “Where is he?” She would have screamed in frustration or called for him or Christine if she had had the energy. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, reminding herself she had to calm down. They would eventually show up to tell her the news, whatever that news was. Of course, it wouldn’t have hurt if they did it before she went crazy with worry.

A soft knock on the door, and Avelyn’s eyes flew open. She cleared her throat, hoping her voice wouldn’t crack.

“Come in!”

Max opened the door slowly and stepped inside, followed close behind by the doctor, Christine, and Jocelyn.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

Jocelyn closed the door and leaned against it, apparently not willing to go farther inside. She studied Avelyn carefully for a few seconds, but didn’t say anything. Christine and the doctor stopped at the foot of the bed, and Max sat down next to Avelyn and caressed her hair.

“I’m better,” she answered. “I think the painkillers are kicking in. What took you so long?” Her eyes scrutinized his face, then she turned to the doctor, who was watching her kindly, his hands hidden deep in the pockets of his coat. He seemed to have gotten ready to leave. “Well? Why the mystery? It’s not like I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next month. Doctor?” What was his name again? She couldn’t remember. “Max?”

Max sighed. “You will turn on the next full moon. The werewolf venom will slowly spread through your blood and start making small changes. In the first few days, it won’t be very obvious or bad. You might experience dizziness, nausea, sensitivity to stimuli. Your senses will sharpen and you’ll suddenly start hearing better, seeing more clearly and at longer distances, and you’ll eventually start moving faster. You’ll have to learn how to handle and control your new speed and strength, but that won’t be a problem. We are all here, by your side, and we’ll help you in any way we can. We’ll try to make the process as easy for you as possible.”

Avelyn squeezed his fingers in her right hand, and smiled up at him. “Thank you.” She looked at the other three in the room, but they were all quiet. “That’s not all, is it?”

Max raised her small hand to his lips and kissed it. “No.”

Avelyn sighed and braced herself for whatever was to come. She couldn’t even try to imagine, because she was completely at a loss. She had no idea what could ever go wrong with a transformation. As unpleasant as it

was going to be, in a month she would be a werewolf. Strong and fast, and perfectly capable to take care of herself. The only downfall was that she’d never be able to have children. Exactly how Sabine had planned it all along.

“Max, if you’re about to tell me that once I turn I will never be able to get pregnant… I already know that. Sabine told me herself.”

“Don’t say her name,” said Jocelyn, her voice as cold as ice. “Just don’t.”

Avelyn jumped when she heard her talk for the first time since she had entered the room. She looked at her, but didn’t say anything. She noticed how Christine had slowly hung her head down.

“I…” she wasn’t sure how to continue. “It doesn’t bother me. I mean… no, that came out wrong, selfish. This is not about me anymore.”

“Avelyn…”

“No, let me finish.” She pulled herself up on the pillow, noticing that her neck and shoulder didn’t hurt as badly as before. She squeezed his hand again and looked into his eyes. “Max, if you’ll have me, as broken and useless as I am right now, I am ready to spend my life with you. There’s no excuse for what I did. You have all treated me so well, and you’ve welcomed me in the clan, and how did I repay you? I tried to run away. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for not trusting you, for lying to you, and for putting all of you in danger with my stupid stunt.”

“Jesus…” sighed Jocelyn, exasperation obvious in her tone. “Just get over it already.”