The Alpha’s Fated Choice (Alpha's Fated Encounter Trilogy #1)

“Because,” I answer softly, my mind focused on the task, “we need to know how to identify her. Just going around looking at the color of every shifter’s fur isn’t going to cut it. How has the Silver Wolf been able to disguise herself all this time? There have to be other ways to identify her.”

I suck in a sharp breath when I nearly snap my hairpin in half.

“Also, you do not seem to have a very clear idea about what her powers are.” I move the hairpin to the side, searching for a tumbler. “If we can find out how her abilities work, it should be easier for you to figure out how she can help you.”

“So, you’re doing this for me?”

I let out a sharp laugh. “Alex, I’m doing this so that you can find her and leave Oakrest, so that I can get back to my normal life. And partly because I don’t like the idea of little babies being held as hostages.”

I only admit that last part to myself, under my breath.

“I see.” Alex doesn’t sound very happy. I try not to care and keep working on opening the lock. After a moment or two, he asks, “How did you learn to pick locks?”

My lips curve in a dark grin. “It was a survival skill. When I was a child, I was often punished by the Director of the orphanage because I kept getting into fights with the other children, who would bully me. As punishment, I would be forced to skip lunch and dinner.”

As I got older, I noticed that none of the other children were ever deprived of food. That punishment was always reserved for me. I remember that once, one of the older boys slammed a baseball bat against my head and split my forehead open. I bit him in response, but the Director—even after seeing my bloodied state—only punished me. I wasn’t allowed food for two days. I wasn’t even taken to a healer.

In my mind, I normalized those incidents and the handling of them. A part of me began to believe that I was deserving of such treatment.

I hear Alex’s gasp and realize I was speaking out loud.

“Your Alpha allowed such things?!” he growls.

I shrug. “He hated me. Still does. Anyway, I was six years old when I picked my first lock. I had been confined in the broom closet for three days because…Well, I don’t even remember what I had done. But I was starving.”

I recall the desperation and that gnawing sensation in my belly. It felt like my insides were eating themselves. I feel numb when I think of that time, almost as if it was an out-of-body experience. As if it happened to somebody else.

“I stuck anything and everything I could get my hands on into the keyhole to get that door to open, and then it did. That was when I realized I could open locks without a key. I never starved after that.” A proud smile forms on my lips. “Every time the Director punished me and locked me up somewhere, I would pick the lock once everybody was asleep and then break into the kitchen and eat to my heart’s content.”

Those memories don’t bother me anymore, but when I look up at Alex to tell him to keep the light steady, I see the distress in his eyes.

“They were so cruel to you.”

I move my shoulders in a casual shrug. “I try not to dwell on the past. Besides, once I have the money I need to get out of here, I’m never going to look back.”

“What do you mean?”

I sink my teeth into my lower lip, angry at myself. Me and my big fat mouth. Why can’t I just shut up when I’m around him?

“Forget you heard anything.”

“That’s a little hard to do, Sophia. What’s this money you’re talking about?” Alex asks sharply. “Where are you going?”

I lower my hands and look up at him. “I’m planning to buy my freedom from the Alliance. I’m going to leave this town.”

Alex stares at me. “Leave? And go where?”

I shrug once again. “Europe, maybe? I heard the rules are pretty lax over there. I want to travel and explore the world. I want to live on my terms.”

“And where are you getting the money from?”

“That’s my business.”

The last thing I need is for him to start prying into my personal affairs. This man doesn’t understand the meaning of the word boundaries.

He opens his mouth, but I say, “Just hold the light steady. This isn’t the time or place to have a full-blown conversation. We don’t have that luxury right now.”

“You’re so bossy,” Alex says, but he shines the flashlight at the lock.