The Runaway Mate And Her Alpha

“Rhea! Where the hell are you!? Get your lazy ass in here, now!” “Yes, father!” Rhea bellowed back. She quickly stacked the laundry baskets she was using in the laundry room in the outhouse and hurried back to the living room in the main building. Her stepfather, Lorn Madden, calling her lazy was nothing unusual. Just another day at the Madden household. His words used to grate her at first, but not anymore. In fact, he had only called her lazy, so Rhea figured he was probably in a good mood today. As she climbed up the steps to the back porch, she was met by her stepbrother, Cody, standing in the doorway, with a look of disgust. “Why are you always late when you’re summoned?” he barked at her. Rhea brushed past him as she replied. “I was doing your laundry, Cody.” She didn’t have time for his antics. The quicker she got to her stepfather, the less punishment she would likely face. “I’m sorry, father,” she rasped as she stumbled into the living room, clearly out of breath from all the running. “I was in the laundry room. It took me so—” Her stepfather raised his hand, stopping her in the middle of her sentence. She was inwardly grateful as it allowed her more time to catch her breath. “We have a special visitor.” The way Lorn said it carried a note of reverence she wasn’t used to hearing from him. Rhea looked at him. He was looking past her at something—or someone—behind her. Rhea followed his gaze and stopped cold when she saw who her stepfather was looking at. She was staring into the fierce eyes of Alpha Elijah. The feared leader of their pack, the Bloodbound pack, was sitting in their living room with his legs crossed and staring straight at her, his blue sapphire eyes unblinking and burning into her. Rhea wanted to say something, anything. She didn’t know if to kneel or bow. She tried to speak, but only sputtering, meaningless sounds came from her mouth. She averted her gaze as she started to feel her knees weaken. All the alarm bells in her head were going off, and she frantically searched her memory to uncover what she may have done to incur the Alpha’s wrath. “What’s this, Lorn?” Elijah finally spoke up. He sounded impatient and irritated. The Alpha made everyone uneasy, which was visible in Lorn’s wide eyes as he struggled to compose himself. “Well, m—my lord. She’s the payment you asked for the debt I owe you.” Fuck! What was happening? As if Rhea wasn’t already disoriented enough, she felt her chest burning and her throat felt like someone had smashed it in with a sledgehammer. She gasped for breath and bent over, propping herself on her knees to keep from falling over. There were very few things that were worse than being owned by Alpha Elijah. His reputation preceded him, and most who lived to tell the tale often whispered that death was a kinder fate. The Alpha was silent for a while. His eyes studied Rhea intently, looking her over as if searching for a flaw, some kind of wolf defect. Rhea stayed in her buckled position, unable to move or return his gaze. She bit her lip and closed her eyes tightly, trying to calm her wolf's whimpering. Alpha Elijah slowly unfolded himself from the seat and approached Rhea. He placed two fingers under her chin and lifted her head till she stood straight and faced him. "What's your name, girl?" he demanded. "Rhea, my Lord." She barely managed the words as her voice was merely a whisper and her body trembled from standing so close to the towering hunk of a man. "Hmm." Elijah withdrew his hand from her face and traced his fingers around her body, stopping to squeeze her shoulders, which drew a gasp from Rhea. The alpha moved behind her, slid his hands down to the small of her back, and gripped her waist. "I can smell your fear, Rhea, and that of your wolf, too. It's pathetic, really." Alpha Elijah had an uncanny ability to wolf-pass, allowing him to break through a person's defenses to assess their wolf's emotions. And right now, he could feel Rhea's wolf, Fiarl, wilting as he tightened his grip on Rhea. He suddenly let go and swung Rhea around to face him as he addressed Lorn. "She's just a scraggy wolf-girl. What can an omega offer me? I don’t think this one would suffice as payment." Rhea felt a glimmer of hope begin to rise in her. The alpha didn't consider her worthy of his attention or ownership. Rhea let a breath escape her lips as she silently prayed for the alpha to discard her. But Lorn's next words punctured her growing hope and sent her crashing back into despair. "My lord. She's an efficient workhorse. I bet you she can outwork any servant in your home." Lorn fell silent for a few seconds, then quipped. "She could tend to your personal needs, too, my lord." The last part of Lorn's sales pitch seemed to rekindle Elijah's interest. He was mulling it over in his mind. Elijah was a feared warrior in his pack and other packs in New Orleans and beyond. In his time as alpha, no wolf had dared challenge him for his title. Trying that would essentially be a death sentence. But while all the warriors in the pack's hunter creed were too scared to take him on, the pack's women never seemed to get enough of him. From the stories Rhea had heard, Elijah didn't seem to get enough of them either. If Elijah accepted her as payment for whatever her father owed him, she would simply join the ranks as his latest booty call. Elijah cupped Rhea's arms in his massive palms, gauging her body size. "I guess with a little fattening, she could do. Alright, I'll take her. You're off the hook, Lorn—for now." A surge of purpose suddenly came over Rhea when Elijah let go of her. She ran to Lorn, fell at his knees, and gripped his leg. "Please, father. Don't do this to me! I've served you well. I've never complained. I want to stay with you, father, please!" Rhea's pleading was useless, like pouring water on stone. Elijah just hung back, arms folded, with a derisive smile playing at the corner of his lips. Lorn smacked her hand, breaking her grip on his knee. "Don't embarrass me in front of the alpha, girl! You're going with him, and that's it!" He yanked her up from the floor in one fluid motion and tossed at the alpha's feet. Rhea's world was ending. She couldn't believe she had just been sold to the alpha like a decommissioned device. Her lips quivered as tears flooded down her face. "Thank you, my lord. I'm grateful." Lorn bowed his head and stayed that way. "Alright, girl. It's time to see what I can make of you. Let's go." Elijah dragged her by the arm and headed out of the house. Rhea kicked and trashed around more out of fear of the unknown than resistance, but she was no match for the Alpha’s strength. Once outside, he tossed her to one of his guards waiting outside Lorn's home. Two cars were parked in the driveway. Elijah entered one, and the guard shoved Rhea into the other car. Rhea looked back one last time at the place she had called home her whole life. Through cloudy eyes, she could make out Lorn standing on the front porch, a victorious expression on his face as he watched them drive away.