Page 2 of Ruthless Alpha (Nightfire Islands Alphas #3)

The Telaxis market was heaving. Traders from Ferris, Lapine, Opifex, Argent, and Tritica all manned busy stalls—even Arbor was present, having managed to go three full years without trying to kidnap or murder any members of other Packs.

I tried to make out the faces of the traders as I wandered through, but I doubted I’d see any of my friends: Caleb and Ethan both had young children and pregnant mates, with no time to be spent managing trade on other islands; Leo or Jace might make an appearance, but I hadn’t spotted them so far; and Noah—Noah wouldn’t have been here in any case.

Markets weren’t usually something I made time for, but I was here for much more than the sale of a few knives or claw extenders.

Telaxis had been hosting the First Pack for almost four years, and it seemed as though that honor was finally coming to an end.

After such a long blessing, the Telaxis Alpha would need to present the First Pack with a grand parting gift, and that’s where I came in.

“You want ranged or hand-to-hand?” I asked Sam.

As much of an honor as it was to host the First Pack, I could tell he was eager for their departure.

He was approaching seventy—one of the longest-serving Alphas in the islands’ history—and was waiting only for them to leave before he stepped down and handed the mantle to his son.

“Hand to hand, I think. The First considered ranged weapons cowardly, too human,” he explained, and I nodded.

“I get you.” Hand-to-hand was our specialty, and it was what I’d been hoping for.

Still, a weapon that adapted with the shift was something we’d never tried before, and I didn’t want to seem too cocky before we’d produced something worth Sam’s investment.

“I’ll see what we can do. I’ll take the steel with me today and radio you as we develop. ”

Sam beamed, slapping me on the shoulder with a hand that, while wrinkled, was still strong as iron.

“Thank you, Xander,” he said. “If you don’t mind my saying, you’re a hell of a lot easier to deal with than your old man.”

It was a compliment, and I took it as such, but it still made me nervous.

“Don’t let my Betas hear you saying that,” I told him. My tone was joking, but I was deadly serious. Easy was not a quality that was valued in an Ensign Alpha. I loved my island and my Pack, but I couldn’t pretend that being away from them didn’t feel like a weight lifted from my shoulders.

“Good morning, Alphas. I hope you don’t mind my interrupting.”

The man who approached us was middle-aged, pot-bellied, and balding, with tobacco-stained teeth and a slimy manner that immediately raised my hackles.

His head was slightly bowed as he addressed us in a way that felt performative rather than respectful.

Beneath his stale sawdust scent was something fresher, like tilled earth. He was an Arbor shifter.

“Our business is concluded,” Sam told him. “What can we do for you?”

Sam had a truly impressive amount of restraint. Even after all this time, I could hardly look at an Arbor shifter without contempt. They’d threatened the lives of my friend’s children, kidnapped and tried to sell off a woman who was like a sister to me.

“I’m sure busy Alphas like yourselves have little time to peruse the stalls,” said the trader, not even bothering to pretend he wasn’t kissing our asses, “but I wanted to ensure you didn’t miss out on the wares that Arbor has to offer today.”

“I’m sure I can stop by later,” Sam said generously, but the trader didn’t seem to notice he’d been dismissed.

“Apologies, I’ve not made myself clear. Our most valuable item for sale is right here.”

He stepped to the side, revealing that he had not come alone.

In his shadow stood a girl, dirty and unkempt and very obviously miserable, despite her attempt at a pleasing smile.

She was small—couldn’t be much over five feet—with tangled blonde hair that must be curly when it was properly cared for.

Her face was round, her lips pink and plump, her nose slightly upturned, but it was her eyes that commanded attention: large and blue and framed with thick lashes only a few shades darker than her hair.

She couldn’t have been out of her teens, and the urge that overtook me—the one that wanted to rip her out of the trader’s hands—must have been the urge to protect.

The girl was young and clearly frightened, and to feel anything else when I looked at her would make me the kind of monster I’d always reviled.

I didn’t trust myself to speak; there was nothing but a growl lurking in my chest, and I wasn’t about to start a fight on someone else’s territory. Fortunately, Sam had no such issues.

“You were ordered to stop your flesh auctions.” After over four decades of leading Telaxis, the authority in his voice was effortless, and the Arbor trader cringed beneath its weight.

“We were ordered to stop selling females from other Packs to humans,” he managed to say, his head bent low. “Nothing was said about trading our own females for goods from our neighbors.”

Technically, this was true. Following the incident with Julia, Caleb and Ethan had gone on the warpath, and it hadn’t been difficult to convince the other Packs that sanctions needed to be put on Arbor.

It was a rare occurrence for multiple Packs to band together to lay down the law—each Pack was governed by its own laws, and we tried to respect each other’s ways—but the fear of having their own females stolen away was enough to secure the support of almost every Pack in the archipelago.

Arbor knew what was in store for them if they continued selling our women to humans.

We had, however, said nothing about their females.

“The practice is just as repulsive,” said Sam, voicing my own thoughts on the matter. “You and this poor girl will be off my island before sunset, or Arbor will have their trading privileges on Telaxis permanently revoked. Is that clear?”

“As crystal,” replied the trader. His voice was still slimy and obsequious, but he couldn’t hide the edge of anger in it. “My apologies for any offense caused.”

Then he was slipping away, and I couldn’t help watching the pair of them retreat into the crowd. I felt sick to consider who he might offer the girl to next, what kind of monster would look into those innocent eyes and decide he wanted to own her.

Beside me, Sam cleared his throat, a little awkward.

“My apologies,” he said. “I can assure you, Xander, that this is the first such offer we’ve had from the Arbor traders. I’ll let my Betas know to be on the lookout for any further—”

“Don’t sweat it,” I interrupted. “I know you’d never let that shit slide.”

Sam let out a sigh of relief. It was strange to see another Alpha—especially one with Sam’s decades of experience—be so apologetic, but it was satisfying to know the influence my friends and I had among our fellow shifters.

Between the six of us, we ruled some of the most powerful Packs in the archipelago, and the united front we’d presented against Arbor during their attempted invasion of Lapine had solidified that power.

No one wanted to look like they were associated with Arbor, for fear of attracting our ire.

I knew that Sam was far from sympathizing with Arbor; while Telaxis might not be the most tolerant of witches, they treated their females well—certainly better than we did on Ensign—and Sam wasn’t the type of Alpha to stand for females being sold like cattle right under his nose.

The trader and the girl had made a swift departure from the market, but they made no such departure from my thoughts.

As I purchased the materials I’d need for Sam’s weapon development, I thought about where they might go next, what sort of shifter might be persuaded to buy a clearly terrified female who was barely more than a child.

The thought of some shifter looming over her, touching her, making those huge blue eyes fill with tears, had a near-constant growl rumbling in my chest. I needed to get out of here before the wrong shifter thought I had a problem .

Taking my leave of Sam, I hitched the wagon full of steel to my belt, ready to pull it behind me all the way back to Ensign.

One day, I would convince the Pack that buying a truck wasn’t an affront to their strength.

It wasn’t weak to want a nice vehicle to transport your goods in, rather than walking for miles with a cart strapped to you, but try telling them that.

I’d only made it a mile or so out of Telaxis town when I caught that scent on the wind again: stale sawdust and just a hint of freshly tilled earth.

Up ahead, the trader was sitting on a fallen log, taking long drags from a pipe while the girl stood trembling next to him.

She looked so lost, so vulnerable, and I knew she’d haunt my dreams if I didn’t do something.

Fate had put her in my path a second time, and I wasn’t stupid enough to ignore a sign like that.

I couldn’t start a fight on another Alpha’s land, so there was only one option left to me.

“Hey, you!” I called out before I could think better of it, unhitching the cart from my belt and striding toward the pair.

The trader cringed, as if readying for a blow.

“We have time before sunset, Alpha,” he implored. I hated his red face and his groveling manner. “Please—”

“Shut up,” I snapped. “How much do you want for her?”

It was like I’d flipped a switch: the trader straightened, suddenly the picture of affability and confidence. The girl, in contrast, went pale.

“If the Ensign Alpha is willing to trade with us, we would certainly appreciate the weapons he might—”

“No. No weapons.” I was clearly willing to do some stupid shit for the sake of a girl I’d seen in passing, but I wasn’t willing to arm a Pack that had threatened people close to me.