Sold To Be The Alpha's Caged Slave

Chapter 4 - His Possession

Piper’s POV

THE CHAINS were cold against my wrists, heavy enough that every step reminded me I wasn’t free. The maid’s grip was firm on one arm, Kai’s looming shadow on the other. I wanted to resist, but the drug still lingered in my veins, dulling my reflexes. My body felt like it belonged to someone else, and all I could do was stumble forward between them.

We moved down a narrow hallway, the flicker of chandelier lights casting warped shadows along the crimson walls. My heart thudded, each beat a warning that I was walking deeper into a world I never should’ve touched.

Then the maid pushed open a double door.

The sight inside made my stomach twist.

The room was drenched in red and black, every corner steeped in shadows and silk. The air smelled faintly of leather and smoke, like a space designed to make you remember who held the power here. A massive bed dominated the far wall, draped in dark velvet sheets with wrought-iron posts that curled upward like claws. Beside it stood tables of polished black wood, their surfaces lined with silver trays, glasses, and things I didn’t recognize but didn’t want to look at too closely.

But what arrested me, what truly made my breath catch in horror, was the cage.

It was large enough to hold a person—me—with space to sit or even lie down. Gold bars gleamed beneath the dim lighting, its frame too ornate to be anything but deliberate. In the center of it, a plush cushion lay waiting, blood-red, like a throne twisted into something humiliating.

The maid guided me forward, her touch no longer steady but insistent. When Kai unlocked the cage door, dread flooded me so quickly I almost lost my balance.

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head as the realization set in. “No, please—”

My protests meant nothing.

Kai’s hand pressed against my back, and I stumbled into the cage. My knees buckled, the chains clinking, the cushion soft but suffocating beneath me. Before I could crawl out, the door shut with a metallic click, and Kai slid the bolt into place. The sound was final.

I was trapped.

I gripped the bars, my knuckles white. “Why?” My voice trembled, but I forced the words out. “Why am I being locked in here?”

Kai paused, his expression unreadable, the shadows hardening his sharp features. His dark eyes met mine with a weight that pressed down on me.

“Because,” he said slowly, like the words themselves were a sentence, “you are Alpha’s possession now.”

Possession. The word sliced through me like a blade.

My heart hammered. “No—you’re wrong. I was told—I was here for a job. As a tutor. For his daughter.” I clutched the bars tighter, my desperation spilling out in a rush. “That’s what the ad said. That’s what I applied for!”

For a moment, something flickered in Kai’s eyes. Almost pity. But before he could answer, the door on the far side of the room swung open.

And everything inside me went still.

Julian St. Clair entered like he owned not just this room but the very air I breathed. He was tall, broad-shouldered, his suit cut so sharply it looked like it had been stitched onto him. Midnight-black hair framed his face, every strand disciplined into ruthless perfection. His jaw was sharp, his lips sculpted into something dangerously close to a smirk, and his eyes—God, his eyes.

They were the color of storm clouds right before the downpour, piercing, cold, and yet charged with something that pulled at me in a way I couldn’t explain. One glance from him was enough to make my lungs forget how to work.

Julian didn’t say a word at first. He didn’t need to. His mere presence silenced the room.

He gave a single nod to Kai and the maid. They bowed their heads slightly, then slipped out, leaving me alone with him. The air shifted the moment the door clicked shut. It was heavier, darker, threaded with something that crawled over my skin.

Julian walked closer, his gaze never leaving me. My pulse quickened, a wild rhythm I couldn’t control. There was a strange pull inside me, a tether I didn’t understand, drawing me toward him even as my mind screamed to run.

He stopped before the cage, looking down at me as though studying a rare specimen.

“You were Lot Seventeen,” he said, his voice low and deliberate, every syllable polished with power. “I purchased you.”

I blinked at him, the words sinking in too slowly, too wrong. “You—what?”

His mouth curved faintly, but it wasn’t a smile. “At the auction. I paid a considerable amount. Enough to remind every man in that room who you belong to now.”

My stomach dropped. “No. No, that’s not—” My voice cracked, hysteria bubbling up. “You don’t understand. I was kidnapped. I’m not supposed to be here. I’m—”

“A victim?” he cut in smoothly, tilting his head. “No, Piper. You were prey. And prey doesn’t survive an auction unless someone stronger claims it.”

The way he said my name sent a chill down my spine.

“I didn’t save you for free,” he continued, his tone hardening, his eyes like steel. “You’re indebted to me now. Until your debt is paid, you remain mine. My possession. My right.” His gaze flicked briefly over me, sharp enough to feel like a touch. “And I can do anything I choose with what I own.”

The bars pressed into my palms as I recoiled. My breath came shallow, uneven. I wanted to scream, to fight, but the truth was caged in with me—I had no power here. None.

“I don’t…” My throat tightened. “I don’t have money. That’s why I applied for the job in the first place. I—” My voice cracked, shame burning hot in my chest. “I’m not lucky, okay? I’ve lost everything. My parents, my scholarship, even the people I thought loved me. My ex. My best friend. They betrayed me. And now this—”

The words broke into a sob before I could stop them.

I dropped my forehead against the bars, trying to muffle the sound. The cushion beneath me blurred as tears stung my eyes. For the first time since the auction, I wanted nothing more than to just disappear. To stop existing altogether.

“Stop.”

The command lashed through the room, sharp and final. I flinched, my breath hitching.

Julian’s jaw was clenched, his hands fisted at his sides. He turned his back to me, as though my weakness offended him, or maybe—though I didn’t dare believe it—because it affected him.

Silence stretched, broken only by my uneven breathing.

Finally, he spoke again, his voice calm but unyielding. “Tomorrow, you will sign the contract. You will serve as my daughter’s private tutor. Consider that… a concession.”

He strode to the door, his shoulders broad and unbending. Then he paused, his hand on the frame.

“Maria,” he called, and the maid from before entered swiftly, head bowed.

“Bring her back to her room. Clothe her properly. Then escort her to the study.” His tone left no room for questions.

I gripped the bars, desperation clawing its way back. “Mr. St. Clair—”

He turned then, his gaze catching mine. For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to just those storm-dark eyes.

“Not Mr. St. Clair.” His voice was quiet, but it thundered through me. “Call me Alpha Julian.”

And with that, he left, the door closing behind him, leaving me with nothing but the echo of his command and the terrifying truth that I was trapped in his world now.