Selena ran! She did not know where she was heading, but she really needed to get away, preferably from this damned pack. However, she didn’t have much of a choice, so she sprinted towards the inner courtyard, which had a swimming pool in it. Two wolves gave her a surprised glance. She came to an abrupt halt and hastily averted her gaze from the show that was taking place in front of her. Max was enjoying his time off by reclining in a pool chair. A young girl was bending over, giving him a blow job.
What the fuck!
He greeted her with a grin and a wave, saying, “Hey Selena!”
The young woman halted her ‘ministrations’ and frowned angrily at Selena as she turned to face her.
“Will she be joining us?” She said to Max.
“Selena, are you joining us?” Max beamed a sly grin.
Her face flushed, and she turned away.
“Please excuse me for interrupting; I wasn’t intending to do so.” She left in a hurry, trying not to attract anyone’s notice as she went.
“Wait!” She was startled by the sound of Max’s voice, which caused her to whirl around.
When she noticed Max’s perfectly toned abdominal muscles, she turned a deeper shade of red. Thankfully, he was wearing his swim trunks, but it didn’t make the situation any easier for Selena. Why was everyone so shameless in this pack? Their utter lack of modesty baffled her.
“Max, are you sure you still want to be with me?” The young woman yelled from the edge of the pool, an expression of rage and resentment engraved over her face.
“Weren’t you just sucking my dick?” After turning around, he questioned her.
“Ye.... Yes,”
“Good, so we’ll continue where we left off later,” he said dismissively.
“So, let’s see... where were we?” He asked Selena.
“Uh!” she responded while she was still in astonishment. She snapped, “I’m not going to suck your dick, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Max burst out laughing at her comment. “Don’t be concerned, for that ship has already sailed. I do not wish to be skinned and quartered by Cayden.”
She gave him a confused look as she blinked at him.
“Are you okay?” He asked in a hushed tone.
Selena was forced to give his question some thought, and she wondered how he could have known she was upset. Perhaps someone else would have informed him. Because she was embarrassed to appear vulnerable, she frowned, straightened up, and blinked away the cloud that had settled over her eyes.
“I am fine.”
“Really?” He grinned again. “I know when things are wrong. So, tell me what happened?”
Selena hesitated, Max and she were not close, but he was the only one after Millie who treated her with some kindness.
“Why does everyone hate me in this place? What has my father done to wrong you?”
His countenance went from one of playfulness to one of solemnity. A combination of sadness and pain.
“It took place a long time ago, yet it was the event that broke Cayden; a part of him died that day.” He whispered. “However, you need an explanation for everything. Give me a minute."
He made his way back to the swimming area and retrieved a towel. After he had finished drying off, he changed into a tracksuit. Selena accompanied him as he navigated the twisting and turning halls of the mansion. She suddenly knew Max was making his way towards the vacant rooms on the upper floors.
He mumbled, “It’s gorgeous from up here,” referring to the view.
She looked at the mansion’s wide grounds and responded, “Yes, it is.”
She had a clear view of the mountains, the city skyline, and the pool that was below her. Wilderness extended out on either side of the tall walls, as well as over the tops of the walls themselves. There was not even a single cloud in the sky, it was an absolute wonderland.
“What do you know about your father?” Max questioned out of the blue.
“I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with him because he was such a busy man.” She responded, in a snappy manner.
“Are you familiar with what he did for a living?”
“Yeah, the mines in the forest belonged to my pack.”
“Yeah, mines,” he muttered through a sigh. “Who, exactly, was employed in those mines?”
“Many people. Why?” Her interest was piqued by what she heard.
“Slaves, slave labour fuelled those mines. It continues to do so.”
“WHAT! Slavery is illegal.”
“In a perfect world,” he shrugged, “but some packs don’t observe the law.”
“About 10 years ago, the packs were divided into distinct group. The rich snobs and the humble idiots. Cayden’s father had been a gentleman, more suited to studying his favourite astronomy books than ruling a pack. Your father and his group, which comprises several other Alphas is like a mafia syndicate. They used all means to take over a pack, take their people as slaves, especially the Alpha kids, and them sold them at a very private auction.
“Why didn’t the council do anything?”
“Corruption. The council didn’t seem too concerned about the less powerful packs.” He shrugged.
Her thoughts were racing as she recalled the young boy who had been working in the mines. She finally realized why her mother used to cry every night before bedtime. She didn’t want to be a part of all this.
“You dad befriended Alpha Rudolph. Gave him bad financial advice and screwed up his finances. When Cayden was 10 years old, those mafia packs attacked. Alpha Rudolph sacrificed his life to save both his son and his mate. However, they were victorious, and your father could kidnap Cayden and Luna Kristin.” Max whispered.
Selena sat still and attentively hung on to every word he said.
“Everyone in the pack had a lot of affection for Luna Kristin. But,” he paused, “but...”
“But?” Selena questioned in an irritated tone when Max was going to stop.
“Are you aware of what your father did to those he held captive?”
She recalled her half-brother bragging about punishing the rogues and punishing the “adult” things he would do to them. She remembered her half-sister laughing with him.
She gasped in fear.
“What happened with Cayden?”