“You’re not the woman I’m supposed to marry.”
The grim look on his face explains how irritated he must be to have gotten married to me. My heart leaped at first when he grabbed my arm like that, I thought he wanted to hurt me.“Answer me, young woman.” he snaps.“It’s Cora, Mr. Alpha and no, I’m not the one. But, you signed up for the Alpha’s daughter and here I am,” I reply with heavy sarcasm.He lets go of my arm, “Is the redhead woman the other one?”“Lily, and yes, she was supposed to be your wife,” I answer. I’m not even in the mood to speak to him.He nods and turns to the tall man who is driving us. “The other woman is talkative and this one looks more quiet and feisty, she’ll do.”The tall man nods but says nothing more. An awkward silence follows next and I choose picking my nails as my new occupation. We drive for hours and stop at a motel to take our rest, a question suddenly pops into my head as he is about to come down.“Mr. Alpha, you walked out when the elder said that we should kiss. Why?”He stops in his tracks and stares dangerously at me. If eyes could kill, I would have been long gone with just one glance from him.“Young woman, I thought you were the quiet one,” he mumbles instead.“My name is Cora,” I grunt.He stares at my face for a moment. “Alright, brown Doe.”He enters the motel while I look at his long steady steps ahead. My face is a mixture of confusion and surprise, I wasn’t expecting him to notice my Doe eyes and their color in the middle of the night.“It’s getting colder outside here, Luna Cora.” The tall man says to me.“Oh, thanks. What’s your name?”“Conrad, I’m the Alpha’s beta,” he replies.“Okay, Conrad.”I follow him inside the motel, where the Alpha is already making room arrangements for us. He glanced at me shortly before discussing with the receptionist who is dying hard to get his attention.“I’m sorry sir but there are only two rooms available this night, and one is a double room,” the receptionist informs him.“We’ll take the rooms.” He says.The receptionist smiles naughtily. “One room for you and the double room for your married friends.”I sigh when I realize that I’m still dressed in my wedding gown, and it is the only belonging I carried with me.“The Alpha and his wife will have the double room, I’ll take the single room,” Conrad speaks out.The receptionist is embarrassed for making flirtatious moves with the Alpha and she apologizes for her mistakes. She shows us to our rooms before taking our orders for dinner.“I’m sweaty so I will wash up first,” I announce immediately.I slump on the bed and watch as the Alpha begins to take his shoes off, then he unbuckles his belt. He stops and looks at me.“Are you going to wash up or stare at me like a ravaged mad woman while I undress?” he lashes out at me.“No way, I was… I was going… to enter the bathroom like now,” I stammer when I reply to him.I stand up abruptly and dash into the bathroom with heated cheeks. When I try to remove my gown, I realize that the clip at the back is so tight and will only need someone to unclip it.I stumble out to ask him for help. He now has a towel tied around his core, his abs are perfectly lined and his chest is rising and falling in rhythm to my heartbeat.He raises his brow at me in a questionable manner, “Already done?”“Not yet, I need you to help me unclip my dress at the back. It’s hooked and I can’t get it off myself.”I turn my back to avoid knowing the expression that will be on his face. But when I feel his warm body close to me and his fingers running through the clipped lace, my heart races faster than usual.His proximity is beginning to have an effect on me even though I don't know him yet, my body’s reaction when his hot breath tickles at the back of my neck is overwhelming.“Brown Doe, I’m done,” his melodious voice whispers into my ears.My heart trembles at the sound of his voice - but not in fear. He might seem to be a cold Alpha with a deadly gaze but I'll never see him that way, I have never felt intimidated by his presence unlike when I was with others.“Brown Doe, are you fantasizing about senseless imaginations?”“Uh…”“Or do you want your dress to fall to your legs and have you stark naked in front of me?”I wave him off immediately, my cheeks turning bright red, “Okay, I’m heading in now. You don’t have to sound brutal to me.”I can feel his eyes boring into my bare back as I rush back into the bathroom. The hot bath helps to calm my unsettled mind when I remember how the Alpha family abandoned me at the hands of a strange man.They knew him and what he was capable of doing yet they threw me to him and preferred to keep Lily as their daughter - the world is so unfair to me!Coming out, I see that the Alpha has brought out one of his shirts for me to put on.“Handle my shirt with care, Brown Doe,” he says before going to take his bathe.Dinner arrives and I hurriedly eat mine and go to bed, it has been a long day and I am not willing to keep up with the Alpha’s nonchalance anymore. I would save my strengths for tomorrow and try to interact more with him.I am allowed to sleep as much as I want in the morning and our journey only continues after I’m done with breakfast. I had to wear one of his shirts and sweatpants to avoid looking like a ragged bride when I arrive.“You were loud last night.” the Alpha suddenly speaks up after an hour of silence.Conrad coughs and pretend to choke for a moment, my cheeks turn bright red again - I’m going to end up as a tomato if I keep blushing in front of this man.“Loud? What do you mean by loud?”“Your snoring was loud, Brown Doe. I couldn’t sleep at all,” he replies with a snort.“You should have put your earpiece on then,” I mumble.“I did, but you were louder and that receptionist had to check up on us two times at dark to be sure I didn’t bring a hedgehog.”I hiss loudly, “She only checked up because she thought you were solitary and wanted some time with you.”Conrad muffles his laughter and I see the Alpha’s lips raise in a smile that disappears in a twinkle of an eye.“Let me ask you something, do you have any idea what goes on when a man and woman are alone in a room at night?”I think about it for a while. Apart from kissing which I see lots of mated people do, I have no idea what goes on except sounds that I do hear at midnight when I'm sneaking out to get some food - Alma’s room always has that sound at night.“Uh… a sound?” I answer softly, unsure if I’m making sense or not.The Alpha laughs out loud for the first time in twenty-four hours since I met him. His laughter is adorable and his Adam’s apple gurgle up and down in sync with his laughter. Then I notice his jawlines are edged to the nearest perfection and I wonder if Selena took a special class to mould him.He says nothing more after laughing at me - I understand that he was laughing at me in an actual sense. I fold my arms and scowl hard, blaming myself for foolishly answering him.I could have just admitted that I don’t know and had him tell me then, but I simply decided to be a big head and make a fool out of myself.Soon we drive into a beautiful town and when I see the banners up, I know instantly that we’re in his pack - The Dark Howlers pack.I had thought that Citadel’s pack house was magnificent but when I arrive at his pack house, I see a glamorous castle in front of me.“Is this your pack house, Mr. Alpha?”“Our pack house,” he replies and steps down then ducks his head right back in, “And call me Zane, that’s my name.”I smile sheepishly, so he feels the same as me when I call him other than his name - how bewitching!“Thank you, Luna Cora,” Conrad says to me when I step down from the car.“Whatever for?”“The Alpha hasn't laughed like that in years. It’s a relief to see that he has some remnants of humor in him.”“Why hasn’t he laughed in years?”Conrad adjusts his shirt and slips his hands into his pockets, a gesture I notice that the Alpha does too.“You’ll see for yourself, My Luna.”ZaneThe brown Doe follows me behind with an inquisitive stare, she continues to turn her head around possibly taking in her new surroundings. Her boldness is what baffles me the most, she is not afraid of me one bit - only flustered. “Stop staring or people will begin to think that you came from the woods,” I convey to her quietly.She huffed, “Let them think what they like. This pack house is the most beautiful I have ever seen in my life!”“And how many have you seen?”“Just one, but the citadel pack is not as enormous as your pack.” I ignore her as we pass the series of omega servants standing at both of our sides, they bow their heads in fear and look down to the ground. Cora looks at them in awe, I wonder if her pack is not so organized like this.Taking the stairs, I check my wristwatch. I’m supposed to be having a conference meeting at my company in a few hours. Cora bumps into me as I stop to check my phone notifications.“Sorry, Mr. Alpha…” she mumbles.“I told you to stop
After my short nap, I prepared myself for the conference meeting. It is already evening and the sun is setting, I enter the dining room to have a meal. Cora is already seated there while the servants are serving bountiful food on the table, her mouth is watery and those doe eyes are opened widely.As I take my serving, she taps me lightly on my hand. Her eyes blink nervously - and shyly - when my eyes meet hers.“It seems like I have a little problem here,” she tells me.I remain silent, giving her a simple nod to go on.“I have no idea how to use the cutlery.”“You’re saying that as a joke, right?” I ask.She nods in response, biting her lips in a manner that arouses me oddly. It is quite shocking to learn that from Cora, I know that she is not the Alpha’s daughter. Probably an omega that was used to supersede their daughter, but knowing that she has never used the cutlery all her life is a huge blow.First of all, I dismiss the servants and guards in the room. I don't want them to h
My eyes flutter open as the rays of sunlight radiate on my face. I stretch my body and run a cold shower, my mind recaps that I had a fallout issue with Cora last night. I made up my mind to apologize to her for making her feel bad.I slightly open her door when I get to her room, Cora is sleeping peacefully on the bare floor. I carry up to the bed and she wakes up, her eyes slowly opening. She scowls when she sees my face.“What do you want?” She snaps.“Why are you sleeping on the floor?” I ask her instead, my apologies being swallowed up by pride.“I am used to it. Back at the pack, I slept on the cold floor in my narrow attic. Is that really why you came to my room this morning?” I ruffle my hair, now looking for a cover-up. Cora cocks her eyebrows at me, her eyes glimmering with a huge expectation for me to apologize. “I’ll be taking my leave then,” I reply instead.“Is that all?” She drawls.“Don’t sleep on the floor again so you don’t get a cold.”She scoffs behind me as I wa
CORAI pace around my room, still thinking about what I saw earlier. My mind is probably messed up by now, cussing Zane for being the cause. He never told her that he was dating someone, let alone that she was living under the same roof as them.I bite the bottom of my lips, this is very tempting. I have imagined that my life with Zane will be molded to perfection so that when the Alpha family of the Citadel pack comes to see me, they will be shocked.But Zane has given them every reason to scorn me over and over again. With his girlfriend looking at me dangerously, I am assured that a battle line has been drawn between us and we are left to fight for one man.Do I want to fight for Zane?I don’t like him because of his coldness and arrogance, but there is no one I can relate to except him. But when I am close to him, I feel immeasurably overwhelmed and when I felt that spark as our hands touched, I knew instantly that I was tied to him. Zane is the only person I have who gives me at
“Who are you?” I ask the woman standing behind me.She clears her throat before answering, “I am… Eleanor, one of the servants ordered to assist you.”“Oh…” is all I say.“So, are you in need of any special services… with the Alpha?”“I’m not sure if I should be needing one. Why would I need a special service with him?”Eleanor sits me on my bed and holds my hand, “Because you are his wife, the marriage should be consummated and then you prepare to give birth to pups!”Eleanor sounds more like a mother advising her child, the enthusiasm in her eyes gets me more confused.“Giving birth to pups?” She nods her head.I abruptly stand on my feet with a determined face, “I can do it on my own.”Eleanor sits me down again, her face looks amused by what I said.“How do you think you can have pups on your own?” She asks.I think for a while, I don’t have a suitable answer for this but I don’t want to look stupid or clueless.“I’ll simply sit and relax in my room, read a lot of books, and eat
My mind is in a haze, the thoughts that are running through my head are multiple and I hold my head up to control them. The spark that I felt with Zane is like a mystery that needs to be unraveled. If we were mates, Zane would have told me about it right?But he didn’t and should mean nothing. I relax myself, tonight is the coronation and I have to brace myself for what will happen. The Alpha family will be present and probably watching to see my downfall, I can’t give them that hope.The dining room is empty when I arrive there to eat breakfast. I do that hurriedly, I need to rest and probably feed my thoughts with more theories.“Cora, can I have a word with you?” Erika asks on my way back to my room.“Yes?”“Do you think that doing this will work out for you?”I recognize her question as a warning to remind me of failure, I will not let her break my walls down. I fold my arms and smile at her, she does not know my weakness yet so that gives me the upper hand.“Does it matter what a
The rest of the week was spent avoiding each other. The fire-blazing passion between us that night made me sleepless and uneasy. I wondered why Zane had pushed me away when it was obvious that we were both enjoying the kiss. There was no one to talk to, Eleanor did not show up again and I can not open up to Yuri.Tired of being alone and bored, I storm off to Zane’s room. On my way, I bump into his beta, Conrad.“Greetings, Luna Cora.”“Where is Zane?” I ask, allowing my curiosity to get the better of me.Conrad replies, “He went to the training ground.”“Take me there.” Conrad hesitated a bit before leading me to the car. If Zane will not come to me, then I am going to him. Either way, we are both going to talk about this maddening feelings that are attached to us.What I did not prepare myself for was the outcome of where I was going. The training ground is the largest I have ever seen, with a large capacity that can contain thousands of people.Conrad leads me to the main field w
My night is clouded with dreams of Zane and I am convinced that I am not alone in this, I felt his presence in my room probably in the middle of the night. His peonies fragrance had hit my nose but I was too sleepy to open my eyes. Now that I am awake, a refreshing sensation hits me.I stretch my body while Eleanor prepares my bath, she applies the same oil to my skin. I'm beginning to wonder how she was so sure that the oil would work, how was she even able to come up with such sentiment?Is this some sort of a love potion, because the last thing on my mind is attracting the wrong person?“This oil won't turn into a huge problem if another guy gets attracted to it, right?” I ask her, just to clear my doubt.Eleanor chuckles but shakes her head, “This is not a witch's potion or a fairytale oil, Luna Cora. Let's just say my mother was once a powerful herbalist and I learned some recipes from her.”I nod in understanding, but there is something in Eleanor’s demeanor that makes me think