Page 11 of Stolen By the Alpha Hunter (Moonbound Mates #3)

JAVI

I n a matter of minutes, I’ve screwed over three—maybe four—people.

Myself, Boyd, Lila…and Peaches.

I don’t break contact with her as we follow Gideon and his generals through the crowd of alphas, the men of the Rig leering at Peaches even though I’ve claimed her.

I bare my teeth and snarl at them, holding my omega close to my side and staring daggers at anyone who dares look at her.

She’s still vulnerable—even with my bite still bloody on her neck, she’s so vulnerable I can hardly stand it.

I can’t figure out why I did this.

I think…

No—the fact of the matter is that I wasn’t thinking at all.

I did this because I let my wolf win.

The storm is just getting started again when Gideon guides us into the Citadel, the metal supports swaying overhead.

If I didn’t have my sea legs, it might scare me, but I know that platforms like this have been through worse over the years.

Peaches, on the other hand, can’t stop trembling.

I grip her tightly, wishing she would just stop drawing attention to herself like this.

The Citadel is just as spooky as the last time I was here, featuring old, decrepit artwork and piles of loot all over the place. I catch the scent of other omegas in the building, but they’re nowhere to be seen—not like last night when I saw them chained to the floor.

Maybe that’s why I did this.

Because I grew a fucking conscience all of a sudden.

My timing could not have been any worse.

Gideon guides us to a sitting area with a torn up old sofa and two armchairs, taking a seat in the biggest chair.

He’s about my size—big for an alpha, supposedly the biggest man here.

It’s what’s always made me so valuable to Boyd, even when he scraped my strung out ass up off the floor of a fighting ring in Miami.

I’m able to take on almost any alpha…but I never wanted to be a leader.

This might be my toughest match yet.

Gideon gestures to the sofa and I sit down, Peaches glued to my side. She doesn’t say a word—which I’m grateful for, given how these men have treated her so far. Things are bad all over, but this…this is next level shit.

Gideon watches as his son, Ephraim, pours a whiskey.

Ephraim didn’t inherit his father’s size; he’s smaller than Abel, who stands guard at the door with another alpha.

It’s jarring how much Ephraim looks like Peaches, his freckled face snide and sinister in comparison—but eerily similar.

He hands a glass to Gideon, then Gideon narrows his eyes at him.

“Well?” he says. “Pour a glass for your new brother.”

The way he says it makes it sound like a joke—like this is temporary. My hackles raise at the prospect that he’s already scheming against me, that he has some plan in place to get me away from her.

If I want to keep her, I’m going to have to watch her like a hawk. Make sure she’s thoroughly claimed. Bite her everywhere I can, cover her with my scent, fill herwith my…

No.

That’s not why I did this.

Is it?

Ephraim gives me a glass of whiskey and I shake my head, putting my hand up. “I don’t drink.”

It’s not a good idea for a recovering addict, not that I tell them that.

“First you take my daughter, then you refuse my hospitality,” Gideon says. “You need to learn manners, son.”

“I’m not your son,” I seethe.

“But you are,” he says. “At least—you are now. You put your mark on my daughter, and I intend on making the most of a less than ideal situation. You’re a big man, Javier. I’m curious why you’re taking odd jobs instead of leading a pack of your own.”

I narrow my eyes, trying to figure out his game. I’ve met men like this before—men that wanted to wield me as a weapon, who didn’t see anything but the utility I could provide. I’m about to snap at him when Peaches trembles next to me, her whole body shaking uncontrollably.

I need to get her warm.

Fuck…I still need to get dressed. Even though we’re all wolves here, and it kind of comes with the territory, I feel vulnerable when I’m naked as the day I was born in front of these men. They can all see the scars…hopefully not the track marks.

But I can’t let her go, and I have to finish this conversation before I’m allowed to leave. She’s too weak; they’ll use her against me if I let them.

“I’m not cut out for that kind of thing,” I say.

“For being Prime?” Gideon stirs his whiskey, staring into the amber glass. “Hm…you understand then. Being king isn’t for everyone. There’s something in the blood of kings that makes it easier.”

He’s an asshole, but I don’t mind him talking. The more he talks, the more time I have to plan, to listen, to focus on how I’m going to protect us both. Me and Peaches are both in danger right now, whether she realizes it or not.

“We’re always looking for men like you to join the Rig, Javier,” Gideon says. “Men who know what it means to be a warrior—who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. And the perks…?” He gestures at Peaches—at his daughter, the sick fuck. “Well, you can see the advantages.”

A pulse of fury cracks through me. I don’t know who gave him the scar on his face, or who blinded him in one eye—but whoever it was, I owe them a drink. I want to rip that smile off his face. I want to drag my claws across his throat and watch him beg .

“Do I have a choice?” I grind out.

Gideon chuckles. “Well, that’s a matter of perspective, isn’t it?

” He leans back, all faux-casual, like this is a friendly business deal and not a fucking hostage negotiation.

“You stay. Join my pack. You fuck your omega and keep your spot here on the Rig. Or—” He lifts a brow.

“I throw you overboard and give her to someone else.”

Peaches stiffens in my arms.

“I know what I’d choose,” he adds with a smirk.

My vision goes white-hot for a second. Not just at the threat to me—but to her . To everything we’ve just been through. He’s talking about handing her over like she’s some piece of meat.

And yet…there’s something worse curling behind his words.

He didn’t say we could leave.

He never intended to let us go. I might be her alpha…but he’s the Prime.

So I take a breath, force my fists to unclench, and ask the one thing that might matter enough to keep me calm.

“And Boyd?” I ask. “What happens to him?”

“Hm…” Gideon leans back in his big armchair. “Mr. Boyd seems like a smart man, and he’s done good work for me. If he behaves himself, he can leave once the storm passes. I’m a stern leader, but I can be generous.”

Generous my ass. I’ve seen what this guy does to people who disobey him.

If I were smart, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in the first place.

But I’m here. I bither. And the only thing that will sever our bond is my death or hers…

or covering her in so many bites from another alpha that it erases any trace of me.

“I’ll stay,” I say. “But no one else fucking touches her.”

Peaches flinches, glancing up at me, wide-eyed. I growl low in my chest, not at her—but for her. A warning. A signal. Don’t make a scene. Don’t show them how soft we are. We’re in the lion’s den now, and she needs to act like she’s mine.

Because she is mine. And these fuckers need to believe I’ll kill for her—because I will .

Gideon spreads his hands, all mock innocence. “We wouldn’t dare,” he says, his smile slow and cold. “Like you said, you won her fair and square per my rules. And I’m not the kind of man who goes back on his word.”

His smile widens.

“Especially not when I’ve just earned myself a new foot-soldier.”

Peaches trembles, a soft whimper escaping her lips.

I glance down to find a thin trail of blood slipping from her bite, carving a line of red down her pale skin, over the new collar I buckled around her throat.

It makes something inside me lurch —a sharp, visceral twist in my gut.

A reminder of everything I’ve done to her.

Of everything I still might have to do.

“I need to tend to my mate,” I say. “Get her cleaned up. Dressed. Warm. Safe.”

I expect Gideon to wave me off—to nod, smug and satisfied.

Instead, he laughs.

A long, low chuckle that turns my stomach.

“You’re real tender, aren’t you?” he says, stepping forward just one pace. His good eye narrows as he takes me in—from my naked chest to the claw scars across my ribs, down to the faint, silvery track marks near the crook of my elbow. “Real soft for a man who used to bleed in the pits.”

The muscles in my jaw tighten.

He smiles wider, like he’s found a bruise to press.

“You didn’t think I knew, did you?” he says, circling me slowly.

“Miami. The rings. I’ve bought men from there before.

You’ve got the look—half-wild, half-broken.

Always fighting like you’ve got something to prove, always protecting the nearest warm body like they’re the last good thing you ever touched. ”

He leans in, breath hot near my ear.

“You’re a junkyard dog with a pretty bitch to guard now. That doesn’t make you dangerous, son. That makes you predictable .”

Peaches makes a noise in her throat, like she’s about to speak, about to protest , but I tighten my arm around her waist.

“Don’t,” I say. To her. To him.

My voice is low and calm.

But it’s not soft .

Gideon studies me for another long beat. His grin doesn’t fade—but something in his posture shifts. He may be Prime here, but he can smell it now—that line I’m daring him to cross.

And that if he crosses it, I’ll bite.

“I need to tend to my mate,” I repeat.

Gideon exhales through his nose, flicks a glance toward Ephraim.

“Son,” he says, the edge in his voice turning sharp again. “Show our guest and his girl to the suite.”

Ephraim scowls like he’s been handed a bag of shit, but he jerks his chin toward one of the stairwells.

“Right this way,” he says.

I don’t thank him. I don’t thank any of them.

I just tighten my grip on Peaches and guide her away—out of the circle, out of the storm, out of their reach.

For now.

And I make myself a promise: by the time this is over, I’ll give Gideon a brand new scar.