Claimed By The Rival Alpha

Chapter 102: Chapter 102

Sally

I pulled the last pin through my hair and stared at my reflection in the small, cracked mirror hanging beside my bed.

My clothes were plain, as usual. Nothing about them suggested I was anything more than another servant who spent her days working until her hands ached and her feet hurt.

I reached for my bag.

"I’m worried about Selena." Marqee’s voice came from behind me.

I paused. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, watching me through the mirror.

"She hasn’t been seen since last night," she continued. "Do you think something happened to her?"

I adjusted the strap of my bag over my shoulder. "She’ll be fine."

"You sound very sure."

"I am."

Marqee stared at me for a moment while I picked up my cloak and headed toward the door.

"Sally." She called out and I stopped. "Do you ever think about your sister?"

My fingers tightened around the door handle. I didn’t turn around as I responded, "Always." I walked out.

The moment I stepped into the corridor, I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

Celeste... Even hearing her name without hearing it directly could still twist something inside my chest.

I pushed the thought away.

My day’s work was over, and I had somewhere to go. I made my way through the castle until I reached the exit.

I had barely stepped outside when I heard voices behind me. "Sally!"

I ignored them.

"Sally, wait!" I stopped reluctantly and turned around.

Niamh and Ryuiji were approaching me but they weren’t alone. Jett and Ash were with them.

I looked at the four of them. "What is this?"

Nobody answered. I raised an eyebrow. "Is this some kind of setup?"

Normally, Jett would have laughed but he didn’t and neither did Ash.

That immediately made me straighten. "What happened?"

Niamh stepped closer. "We need to know where Selena is."

I shrugged. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because you’re her closest friend here."

"I am not her keeper." I pointed out.

Ryuiji frowned. "You know what we’re talking about."

"I know that Selena is a grown woman who can walk wherever she wants."

"Sally..."

"She’ll return when she’s supposed to."

Jett folded his arms. "And the group?"

"What about it?" I asked with knitted brows.

"Where do we stand?" He asked, staring intently at me.

I sighed. "Eion has already gone to the Hawthorne manor. Once he returns, we’ll hold another meeting and discuss whatever he found."

Ryuiji glanced at Niamh. "And the Alpha?"

I looked at him as he lowered his voice. "Are we really going to keep pretending that isn’t suspicious? Why would the Alpha join a group planning a revolution against vampires? Don’t you think he has arrested Selena already?"

"Ryuiji," Niamh warned.

"What?"

"Don’t speak like that."

He scoffed. "The question remains."

It did and unfortunately, the same question had crossed my mind more than once.

But I wasn’t going to stand there discussing it. "I have somewhere to be."

Jett looked at me. "Where are you going?"

I gave him a long, unimpressed look. "That’s none of your business." Then I walked away.

The lower belt of the city was considered filthy by people who had never needed it.

To me, it was home.

I knew every crooked alley. Every broken wall. Every street vendor who would throw vegetable scraps at me if I asked nicely enough.

I had spent most of my childhood there. Even now, at twenty-two, I could still remember being ten years old and fighting a stable boy twice my size.

He had been fifteen... I had been small but he’d taken Celeste’s hairpin.

It wasn’t worth much. It was probably worth less than a single copper coin but it was hers.

So I’d fought him for it. I remembered biting his hand when he refused to give it back.

I remembered running afterward with Celeste’s hairpin clutched tightly in my fist while he screamed insults behind me.

Celeste had laughed so hard when I returned. But that memory hurt more than I wanted it to.

I continued walking and eventually, I reached the alley. Water filled the uneven ground, forcing me to step carefully.

At the very end stood a small wooden hut. It looked abandoned... Nobody lived there anymore but to me, it was sacred. It had belonged to Celeste.

I pushed open the door and the familiar smell hit me immediately. Dust, old wood, dampness and silence.

I stood there for a moment before walking inside. "I’m here," I whispered. There was no answer... there never was.

I opened the windows first and fresh air rushed inside. Then I began cleaning.

I swept the floor. Wiped the table. Cleaned the little wooden chair before removing the dust from the shelf.

I did this every fortnight. Always. It has become a tradition for me.

This was the last place I had seen Celeste before she disappeared.

I refused to allow it to become nothing more than an abandoned hut.

After I finished cleaning, I sat down then I opened my bag and carefully removed the only painting we had ever owned.

It wasn’t beautiful. The artist had probably been more interested in getting paid than making something perfect.

But it was ours. Celeste and I had saved for it.

Actually, I’d paid for most of it after one particularly good payday.

I placed it in front of me then I brought out my dinner. As I ate, memories began rushing through my mind.

Celeste had always trusted people too easily... especially men.

I remembered the boy who had convinced her that he was her mate.

She had believed him. She had spent days smiling whenever she talked about him.

Until we discovered he’d been lying and I had wanted to break his nose.

Celeste had stopped me. She always stopped me and yet I had always defended her.

Any man who looked at her like prey learned quickly that I was standing between them.

There had been another time when we nearly ended up trapped in the business of a corrupt noble.

They advertised positions for young girls as maids but we eventually discovered what those positions really meant.

Some were sold. Others were forced into prostitution but we had escaped by luck and by running.

I stared at the painting. "I should have protected you better."

My voice cracked as I lowered my eyes. "I should have been there."

A voice suddenly called my name. "Sally!"

I froze. "Sally!"

I immediately stood as the voice came again. "Sally!"

I put down the painting before rushing outside. Kenji stood in the alley and he was breathing heavily with his face pale.

"What happened?" I immediately asked.

He bent over, trying to catch his breath. "Tadhg."

My heart dropped at the mention of that name. "What about him?"

"He saw you."

"What? How did they know where I was?" I asked in surprise.

"Tadhg and his boys saw you coming here. They’re on their way."

I looked toward the street and saw nothing yet.

"Stay here." I turned back toward the hut. "I need to get my things."

"Sally, we don’t have time."

"I won’t leave them." I said before rushing back inside.

I had barely begun gathering my belongings when I heard whistles, then laughter and hooting.

My body went rigid. I knew that sound and it was Tadhg.

I stepped outside. He stood at the entrance of the alley with several men behind him.

He was older now, but somehow he still dressed like a teenager who had no idea his youth had abandoned him years ago.

I looked him over. "Did you dress yourself?"

His face twisted. "What?"

"I was just wondering." I glanced at his clothes. "You look like you’re trying to convince people you’re twenty."

His men laughed while Tadhg scowled. "Still disrespectful, huh?"

"Still badly dressed."

His jaw tightened. "I didn’t come here to argue."

"Then what do you want?"

"I just want my money."

I sighed. "Again?"

"You owe me, Sally..."

"I paid you."

"Not all of it! It’s forty silver and you only paid sixteen. You still owe me twenty-four."

"I’ll pay you." I uttered knowing he was right.

"When?" He asked.

"Soon."

He shook his head. "You’ve said that before."

"And I meant it every time."

"You stopped your little spice business." He suddenly mentioned.

My expression hardened. "So? What does that have to do with this?"

"So now I have nothing to believe you’ll ever be able to pay me my money."

"I told you I’ll pay."

"You don’t understand." He stepped closer. "I’ve waited long enough."

His boys moved behind him, blocking the path.

I looked at them. "Move!" I said but nobody moved.

"Nobody moves... not until I get my coins from you."

"I don’t have them with me but I promise, I’m going to pay you."

"If this were before, I’d believe you." He pointed at me. "But now I know you’ve stopped making money."

"You don’t know anything about me."

He smiled. "I know enough."

I rolled my eyes before muttering. "I’ll get your coins soon."

"There’s another way for you to make good money."

I became slightly interested. "What way?"

He smiled. "There’s an alternative and because I respect you, I’m going to propose a way for you to earn from it as well."

"I don’t like the sound of that."

"You work at the castle."

I stared at him. "So?"

"So we sell you to a noble house..."

I immediately shook my head. "No! I’m not interested."

"Listen first."

"I don’t need to." I snapped.

"They’ll pay more for someone who’s worked inside the castle." His grin widened. "And you’ll get a cut."

I stared at him. "A cut?"

"If you’re lucky, they’ll let you work there. You could end up as a no-wages maid, perhaps, but you’ll earn something eventually as you work."

The disgust that rose inside me was immediate. The idea sickened me. "No."

Tadhg shrugged. "Your choice."

I turned away and began walking away but then, he spoke again. "You must really miss your sister."

I stopped as every muscle in my body went rigid. Slowly, I turned around. "What did you just say?"

He smiled. "That hut." His eyes moved toward it. "You come here every fortnight to revisit your sister’s memory."

My heart began pounding. "What do you know about my sister?"

He didn’t answer so I stepped closer. "What do you know about Celeste?" I asked in anger.

His smile widened. "Have you ever wondered how she disappeared that night?"

My fists clenched as he added, "And then she somehow ended up on the vampires’ tribute list?"

The world seemed to stop. I instantly grabbed his clothing. "Tell me everything you know."

His men moved forward, but Tadhg lifted a hand. "Let her."

I tightened my grip. "Did you kidnap and sell her to the vampires?"

He laughed. "Still using that story?"

"Did you sell her?"

He shook his head. "You’ve tried accusing me of that before."

"Then tell me what happened!"

He looked directly into my eyes. "Well, no vampire would want a slum girl." He teasingly said.

I frowned.

"Unless..." He paused deliberately. "Unless she was refurbished."

My grip loosened slightly. "What?"

"A slum girl doesn’t suddenly become valuable to vampires." His voice lowered. "But turn her into a noble girl... And suddenly, everything changes."

My breathing almost stopped as I stared at him.

Only one class could do that and that was the... Realization hit me like a boulder. "A noble house!!!"

Tadhg smiled as I stepped closer to him. "Which noble house took my sister?" I demanded, staring into his eyes.

"You want the answer?" He asked with that same teasing look.

"Yes."

"Then we make a deal."

"What deal?"

"You agree to be sold to the noble house through me and I get all of your selling price."

I stared at him in disbelief. "All of it..." he grinned with his arms spread out.

My eyes burned.

I slowly removed my bag, reached inside and pulled out my satchel.

Every coin I had saved was inside so I threw it at him and the satchel landed against his chest. "Take it."

He caught it effortlessly.

"Get me there." I stepped closer. "Tonight!"

Tadhg looked down at the satchel then he grinned.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!