Reborn: I Chose the Alpha Slave

Blood soaked my dress as Kael took the bullet for my sister.

For five years, I gave him everything, curing his muteness and respecting his fake germaphobia.

His dying words to me were a cold "Don't choose me next life."

I watched him smile at Diana, the sister who always tormented me.

Then, I closed my eyes and opened them to the day of the slave auction.

Kael knelt before me, pretending to be the broken, mute boy I once pitied.

He waited for my hand, confident I would save him again.

Instead, I stepped past him and grabbed the chains of his older brother, Rowan.

"I'll take this one," I announced, ignoring Kael's suddenly panicked gaze.

Rowan's dark eyes locked onto mine, a predator waking up.

Kael wanted my sister?

He can have her—and the hell she brings.

***

The sharp crack of a leather whip snapped me awake.

Pain flared through my temples as I jerked upright. Harsh halogen lights blinded me for a second. The stench of rust, sweat, and stale beer hit me. I blinked until the iron cages lining the damp stone walls came into focus.

The underground market.

I pressed a hand to my chest. Beneath my palm, my heart beat strong and steady. No bullet wound. No blood soaking my favorite white blouse.

Five years earlier. I was back.

"I'll take this one."

Diana's shrill voice cut through the damp air, dragging my attention from my racing pulse.

She stood a few feet away, manicured fingers locked around a steel chain that ran to the thick collar circling a towering man's neck. Rowan.

"You can have the leftovers, Elara," my half-sister sneered. She kicked a smaller, bloodied figure toward my boots. "He looks half-dead anyway. Fits you perfectly."

The boy at my feet coughed, spitting a glob of dark blood onto the concrete. Kael.

He peered up at me through matted blond hair, wide, tear-filled eyes begging for mercy. His lips quivered; his whole body shook. He played the tragic mute to perfection.

My stomach turned. Disgust iced my veins.

In my previous life, I bought him. I healed his wounds, trained him, and built an empire with him at my side. His repayment? He stepped in front of a bullet meant for Diana, then confessed his undying love for her while I bled out on the floor.

"Please," Kael mouthed silently. He reached a bruised, shaking hand toward my ankle.

I stepped back, letting his hand hit the dirt.

"Don't touch me." My voice was flat.

Kael flinched. His eyes widened in genuine surprise. He hadn't expected rejection.

"Oh, stop being so dramatic, Elara," Diana huffed. "He's just a slave. Buy him so we can leave this filthy place. Father expects us back before dinner."

"If you're in such a hurry, why don't you buy him?" I asked, keeping my gaze fixed on Kael's calculating eyes.

"Because I already chose," Diana said proudly. She yanked on Rowan's chain.

The massive gladiator didn't stumble. He stood like a statue carved from rough stone, his dark eyes staring straight ahead. He ignored the iron biting into his neck, ignored Diana completely.

"He's a runt," Diana laughed, kicking Kael again. "Look at him bleed. You love fixing broken things, Elara. Go on. Claim your pet."

"He's not a pet," I said, staring at the blood pooling under Kael's chin. "He's a liability."

Kael's head snapped up. He dragged himself forward, his bloody fingers leaving smears on the concrete. He grabbed the hem of my coat.

"Please," he mouthed again, more aggressively this time.

I kicked my boot out, knocking his grip away. "I said, keep your hands off me."

"Wow," Diana sneered. "Cold today, aren't we? Usually you'd be crying over a stray dog by now."

"People change, Diana," I said.

"Whatever. Handler!" Diana snapped her fingers. "Wrap this big one up. I'm taking him."

A greasy man in a stained suit scurried forward, rubbing his hands together. "Certainly, Miss. That will be two million."

Diana scoffed. "Bill my father. He handles my accounts."

"I'm afraid this is a cash-only establishment, Miss," the handler mumbled, taking a cautious step back. "Or chips. No credit."

"Do you know who I am?" Diana shrieked.

"I know you don't have the funds on you," I interrupted.

I pulled the two-million-dollar chip from my pocket. It caught the harsh overhead light, gleaming like a beacon. The exact price for a premium fighter in this wretched auction.

Kael saw it. He let out a soft, desperate whine, crawling an inch closer. He pointed to his own chest, then to the chip, his eyes pleading. He thought his pathetic act worked.

"You want this?" I asked him softly.

Kael nodded vigorously, tears spilling down his dirty cheeks.

I smiled. A cold, dead smile. "Too bad."

I walked right past him. Kael froze, shivering on the cold floor as he realized I was leaving him behind.

"Hey!" Diana snapped as I stepped into her personal space. "Watch your step. You're getting dirt on my shoes."

I ignored her and stopped directly in front of Rowan. Up close, the thick scars crisscrossing his chest told the story of a hundred brutal pit fights. He was a weapon waiting to be aimed.

"What are you doing?" Diana demanded. Her grip tightened on the chain. "I claimed him."

I flicked my wrist. The gold-rimmed chip clattered onto the handler's silver tray.

"Two million," I told the handler. "For this one."

The handler's eyes bulged. He quickly snatched the chip, verifying the gold seal with a small flashlight. "Sold to the lady."

"No!" Diana shrieked. She stomped her stiletto heel against the floor. "I picked him first! You can't do this, Elara!"

"I just did," I replied. "Drop his chain, Diana. You haven't paid."

Diana's face flushed a blotchy, furious red. "You always ruin everything! Take the mute! He's right there!"

I glanced over my shoulder. The fake fragility vanished from Kael's face, replaced by panic. He scrambled to his knees, opening his mouth to cry out, but remembered his mute act just in time. He settled for a pathetic, animalistic whimper, reaching both hands toward me.

"I don't buy garbage." I enunciated each word for Kael's benefit. "I want the best."

I turned back to the handler. "Lock his collar to my wrist. Now."

The handler fumbled with a heavy ring of iron keys. "Right away, ma'am."

He grabbed the secondary cuff dangling from Rowan's thick steel collar. With shaking hands, he secured it around my left wrist. The cold metal snapped shut with a final click.

"Unfasten him from the wall," I ordered.

"Wait!" Diana lunged forward, her manicured nails curled into claws. "He's mine! You bitch, unhook him right now! I'll tell Father!"

"Tell him," I said. "Tell him you let a two-million-dollar asset slip through your fingers because you were too cheap to bring cash."

Diana screamed in frustration and lunged for the handler's keys. "Guards! Stop her!"

Two burly guards stepped forward, raising their stun batons.

Before they could advance, Rowan moved.

He didn't step back. He didn't cower away from the guards.

He raised both hands and gripped the iron links connecting his collar to the handler's anchor post. Muscle bunched beneath his bruised skin.

Metal groaned in protest.

With a sickening screech, the links shattered. Iron fragments rained onto the concrete and skittered against Diana's expensive shoes.

Diana froze mid-step, her mouth hanging open in horror.

Rowan turned his towering frame toward me, the broken chain dangling freely from his neck.

"My life is yours," he rumbled.