Do you want me, or my child, Alpha

MICAELA

“Get out of my way, Micaela!”

Ariel’s voice hit me before her hand did. The wet uniform slapped against the tile, soap water spilling over my bare feet.

“I said I washed it,” I told her, but my voice shook lightly. The machine was still running, but she didn’t care.

“You never do anything right,” she snapped, loud enough for the whole house to hear. “You just stand there acting innocent while I have to fix your mess.”

I swallowed the words sitting in my throat. Nothing I said would matter. It never did in this house.

Mr. Henry came in, still holding his beer. “What’s going on now?”

“She ruined my uniform again,” Ariel complained.

His face hardened before he even looked at the evidence. “Of course she did.”

I tried to explain, but his hand moved faster. The slap threw my head sideways. My cheek burned, but I didn’t dare touch it.

“You think you can live here for free?” he said. “Eat my food, sleep in my house, and still give me attitude?”

“I wasn’t…”

“Shut up.” His voice rose, and I stepped back, bumping into the table.

I wanted to disappear, but then he said the words that froze the air in my lungs.

“Tomorrow you turn eighteen. You’re of age. Pack your things. You’re leaving.”

“Leaving?” My heart pounded. “Where?”

“To the Powerful Howl Pack.” He grinned, proud of himself. “You’re going to Alpha Barrett.”

I blinked, not sure I heard him right. “You… you sold me?”

He shrugged like it was nothing. “They offered good money. Better than you’ll ever be worth here.”

The name Alpha Barrett spun in my head. Every pack talked about him, the cruel Alpha who killed for sport, the one even warriors feared to cross. Rumors said he’d burned a whole den once because someone lied to him.

“Please,” I said, grabbing his arm. “You can’t send me there. He’ll kill me.”

He kicked my hand away. “Then don’t make him angry.”

The front door opened, and my mother’s perfume filled the room. She stumbled in, drunk again, heels clicking across the floor.

“What is this noise?” she demanded.

“Your daughter ruined everything,” Henry said, pretending to be tired of the chaos.

She looked at me, her gaze cold. “Do you ever stop causing problems?”

“Mom….”

The heel of her shoe pressed into my shoulder, forcing me down. “I should have left you at the orphanage,” she muttered, then looked at Henry. “Do whatever you want with her. I’m done.”

Henry made a call right there. “She’s ready,” he said. “You can pick her up now.”

I stared at him, shaking. “Please don’t…”

The words died when two men entered the house. They were tall, dressed in black, their expressions blank.

“This is her?”

Henry nodded eagerly. “Yeah. Micaela. She’s yours.”

“Payment?”

“Received,” the other man said, glancing at his phone.

My knees felt weak. “You can’t do this. I’m not…”

The first man grabbed my arm, his grip like iron. “Move.”

I pulled back hard. “Let me go!”

Henry’s voice followed me as they dragged me toward the door. “Be grateful, girl. At least someone wants you.”

Outside, the night air was cold against my skin. A black car waited at the curb, engine running. I twisted, trying to see my mother one last time, but she never came out. She didn’t even look through the window.

When I screamed again, one of the men sighed. “Put her to sleep.”

The other man’s hand came fast to my neck, and darkness swallowed everything.

*

I woke up to silence. My head throbbed, and the smell of leather filled my nose. I was in the backseat of a moving car, wrists bound lightly in front of me.

Through the tinted window, the world was nothing but endless forest. The man in the front didn’t turn around once.

“How long have I been out?” I asked.

No reply.

“Where are you taking me?”

Still nothing.

The road curved, and I saw gates appear ahead, massive steel, guarded by armed wolves. They opened slowly, recognizing the car. My heart sank.

The mansion inside was enormous, more fortress than home. Gray walls, black roofs, glass windows reflecting the moonlight. It looked dead and alive at the same time.

When the car stopped, one man got out and opened my door. “This way.”

I stepped out carefully, my legs weak.

Servants stood near the entrance, heads lowered. No one dared to look at me.

A man waited near the stairs—a Beta, judging by his stance. His tone was clipped when he spoke. “You’re the new one?”

I nodded, unsure what to say.

He didn’t bother to introduce himself. “You’ll stay in the east wing. Do not leave your room unless instructed. Meals will be brought to you. The Alpha doesn’t like noise.”

“Why am I here?” I asked quietly.

He paused, then turned toward a closed door down the hall. “Ask him yourself.”

The door opened before I could move.

Alpha Barrett walked out.

Everything in me stilled. He wasn’t old or pot-bellied like the rumors said. He was tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a black shirt that looked too simple for someone this powerful. His eyes were cold, gray, sharp, unreadable.

He didn’t glance at the guards, only at me.

“This is her?” his voice was low.

“Yes, Alpha,” the Beta replied.

Barrett studied me for a moment. “What’s your name?”

“Micaela,” I said, forcing the word out.

“Fine,” he said. “You’ll stay here. Follow the rules, and there won’t be problems.”

“That’s it?” I asked before I could stop myself.

His eyes narrowed slightly. “Do you need more?”

I shook my head.

He turned away. “Beta Andrew will handle everything else.”

Kyle gestured for me to follow. “Come. Don’t test his patience.”

My room was too big for one person. Clean sheets, polished desk. It looked more like a hotel than a prison, but the locked windows said otherwise.

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the walls. Every sound in the house carried, the steps of guards, the faint hum of voices, the wind pushing against glass. Somewhere downstairs, I heard Barrett again, talking to someone.

“Her results?” he asked.