Alex was fuming in anger as he drove back home.
"Loosen the grip, Alex.", He heard the person from the adjacent seat say:
"Shut up, Seth."
"You're going to break the steering wheel,", his best friend countered.
Alex groaned but loosened the choke hold on the steering anyway.
"Good, now tell me what's got you all—death grippy."
"It's that Omega. I hate her,", Alex snarled.
"What, Omega?", Seth asked innocently.
"You know who I'm talking about,", Alex said, narrowing his eyes, not impressed at Seth's act of clean hands.
"Nope,", Seth said, even though his mischievous smirk said otherwise.
Alex gritted his teeth and said, "Ashly James."
Seth's smirk left his face. "Why do you hate her? You just met the girl. Surely, she can't be that bad."
"It's not about her; it's the fucking situation,", Alex sighed. After talking with Ashly, Alex basically stormed off and snatched Seth with him back to their manor. Seth didn't raise his disappointment at being dragged away before he had eaten, but Alex knew he was.
"So the situation is what you hate, not Ashly?"
"Both,", Alex breathed exasperatedly. "Why did she have to say yes to the mating, Seth?"
"Alex, not this again."
"No,", Alex said firmly. "When mom and dad told me about this whole peace treaty/arranged marriage, I was shocked. This wasn't supposed to happen. I am in love with Jasmine, and everything was fine; everything was perfect, and then this Omega just had to go and accept the proposal."
"Alex, stop.", Seth snapped, "You're forgetting that she is an Omega, as you so obviously state but can't seem to grasp. She can't refuse, remember? She doesn't get a choice. No omega does."
Alex knew Seth was right. He actually felt a little sorry for Ashly to be forced into a relationship—a nuptial one at that. But he didn't know what else to do except blame it on her. He didn't want Ashly James. He was in love with Jasmine, and he was looking forward to mating with her and marrying her. But then this huge bomb was dropped on her.
He stared straight ahead, not replying. Seth took that as a cue to continue: "This is your own fault, you know. You were the only one who had the power to stop this wedding, and you didn't. Instead, you chose to accept the arrangement, and now you're blaming the poor girl who probably was informed about the wedding and you just this morning."
"What else was I supposed to do, Seth? I'm the future alpha of this pack. I can't just get up and tell you I won't do something that will probably be the best thing that could ever happen to our pack."
Seth shrugged.
"I had it all figured out, Seth. I was going to take over as the alpha, get married to the woman I'm in love with, have kids, and live happily. With this new person in the mix, everything's changing."
"I know, man. I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault", Alex said, shaking his head. Seth was one of the only people Alex let call him out on his shit, the other person being his sister Rose. Seth was not just his friend; he was his brother in many ways, even if they weren't related by blood. Being in the same pack favored their strong friendship bond. Alex and Seth have been inseparable from the time they met each other when they were five years old. Even after eighteen long years, nothing could change that.
"I know you told me that you didn't want to talk about it, but I have to know...How did Jasmine take this news?"
Alex sighed before answering, "How do you think? She was shocked. She told me that she needed some time alone to process and shut the door on my face."
Seth grimaced. "You broke up?"
"No,", Alex whined. "I won't give up on her that easily; I'm not giving up on our love. I'm sure Jasmine won't, too."
"Sure.", Seth rolled his eyes.
"I'm going to see her tonight."
"Alex, No. You can't do that.", Seth sighed.
"Why not?", Alex snapped.
"Because you're engaged to someone else. Your marriage is literally in a week. You and Jasmine can't be together, Alex. You need to let her go. Otherwise, you both are going to be hurting."
"We already are, Seth."
"You'll hurt more,", Seth negated.
"Only if we go our separate ways."
"What?", Seth asked, unsure if he heard right.
"I'm not breaking up with Jasmine, unless that's what she wants."
Seth shook his head. "What about your marriage?"
"What about it? I can't stop it."
"So you won't break up with Jasmine; you won't stop your wedding with Ashly... You are stupid. This thing that you're thinking of doing is stupid and selfish. It's not fair to your lover or your fiance."
They reached the Branson mansion soon, after the whole two-hour drive that Seth spent trying to convince Alex to let Jasmine go. Alex waltzed into his house after bidding bye to Seth, who shook his head, disappointed.
He didn't wait for his parents and sister to arrive home as he walked through the forest behind the mansion. He looked up at the crescent moon and took a deep breath, calling for his wolf. He relaxed his body, awaiting the change. He could have simply driven his car; it was only an hour's drive away. But his sister would know he had taken off, and she'd follow him and drag him back home. Especially now that she met Ashly and liked her better than Jasmine. Besides, he could travel faster in his wolf form. He had clothes at Jasmine Place, so he could manage, for sure.
He fell to the ground, his bones cracking. Low growls escaped his mouth as his body twitched. His eyesight blurred, and he closed his eyes, clenching his canines that had started coming out. He growled one last time, and Alex Wolf emerged. He stood on his fours, howling, the sound echoing through the otherwise still night. He craned his head backward to check if he had someone on his trail, and he took off when he was sure there was no one. He ran, heading to the outskirts of the territory of the Starlight Pack. Their pack wasn't as big as Alex's. Alex was hoping that he could solidify and unite their packs instead of uniting with the James pack.
Ashly was good-looking; Alex will admit that. But his heart belonged to a blond-haired beauty whom he wanted to spend his entire life with. Maybe if he had met Ashly before he met Jasmine, everything would have turned out differently. He only hoped that Jasmine was willing to wait for him even after his marriage. He knew what to do; he would get married, yes, but once he was sure that the peace treaty between the packs wouldn't ever be affected, he had to get rid of Ashly. He didn't know how, but he would do it for his love. He didn't even know what was waiting for him at Jasmine Place, and he desperately wished it wasn't a breakup. He didn't know if he could take it. It would kill him if Jasmine ever left him. He soon reached the destination of his choice. He shifted back as his bones popped back into their original places. Jasmine's room was on the ground floor, and her room had a balcony that led right to the forest. Alex's feet carried her through the familiar path; he walked car
Ashly felt like her world had crashed, spinning one second and stopping entirely the next. Those words that escaped her fiancé's mouth weren't the ones that she was expecting at all. She guessed she deserved the cold treatment because it was an arranged marriage and Alex wasn't in love with her. But what Alex had said—Ashly still couldn't wrap her head around it, ten hours later. Alex had someone in his life, someone he loved, whom he planned on being with ever after their marriage. Ashly had never had an opportunity to fall in love. Being an Omega meant Ashly had a pretty sheltered life. People were never looking to build a relationship with her; they'd rather get in bed with her. It had put Ashly off relationships and falling in love. But after she had gotten engaged, she started looking forward to sharing her life with that single person to whom she would give everything. She had gotten ready to give everything to the cold and hostile Alex Branson. Ashly sighed, pulling the bedshee
"What the hell, Alex?" His sister's voice boomed through the emptiness of his room as soon as she opened the door. "Where the hell have you been?" He groaned, sitting up on the bed. To be honest, he knew this conversation was due. He had returned in the wee hours of the morning from Jasmine Place and sneaked back into the house, being careful not to wake his parents or his sister. He knew Rose was going to lecture him on yesterday's events, and he wasn't really looking forward to it. He had a good time after leaving the Shadow Pack lands and felt at peace after spending the night with Jasmine. He was in a good mood, and he wanted to maintain it that way. "Nowhere,", he replied carelessly. "Nowhere?", she scoffed. "That's funny because I don't remember seeing you at home last night." Alex sighed, avoiding her eyes. "None of your business, Rose." Rose narrowed her gaze. "Did you...Did..." She closed her eyes, irritated. Alex was an even bigger idiot than she initially thought, if he
"Monika, Ashly." Brandon shouted. "Come on down! There's someone you have to see." "God, why is he shouting in the morning?" Monika groaned, walking out of her room, her hair like that of a bird's nest making Ashly squint away her drowsiness just so she could get a clear look at her sister. And when she did, she couldn't resist laughing, making Monika let out a growl at her, before she carded her fingers through her messy hair, trying to smooth down the tangled strands, before they walked down the stairs, both wanting to know why their dad was yelling for them at 7 in the morning. They walked together to the living room, and they looked at their father, in front of whom another guy stood. And they squinted before the said guy turned around, and they both squealed, "ADOM!" "Surprise." Their friend stated before holding his arms out, knowing that the next moment Monika and Ashly were going to strangle him with a tight hug. "Curse you, Adom! I missed you so much." Monika rushed forwar
"Ashly, you look amazing." Monika said, staring at her sister, who was wearing a red, black-striped glittery long dress with a royal black sequined coat over it. She knew when Ashly picked out the dress that she was going to look amazing in it, but actually seeing her all ready for the big event brought tears to her eyes. "Of course, I do." Ashly laughed. "After all, you're the one who did my make-up." She smiled at her teary-eyed sister. She hugged her, gently shaking her head. "I love you, Ashly." "I love you too, Moni." Ashly gently patted her back. She pulled away, smiling at her and blinking away the tears before her makeup could be ruined. "Oh shit." She said as she noticed the time on the table clock in the tent assigned for Ashly in the gardens of Branson Manor. "Mom asked me to give this to someone before 4. It's half over already. Shit. shit." She pointed to the file that contained papers about the two-pack agreement and their peace treaty. "Moni, calm down." Ashly said
"What are you doing, sitting here alone?" Monika asked the blond-haired man who sat by the pond, his blazer on the ground by his side. "Just sitting. Crowd's not really my scene." He answered when he looked at her. "Really?" She asked. "I would have pegged you for a love-the-attention kind of guy." "Oh, believe me, I am. I just don't want to steal the newlyweds' spotlight." He joked. "Cocky, I see." She smirked. "Is that how you talk to an alpha?" Seth's eyes hardened, and Monika was scared for a second. "Sorry...I.." She stopped when Seth's brow furrowed. "Relax; I was just teasing you." He chuckled. Monika relaxed. "Oh." She sat down near him. "Yeah.." "So you're not like your friend, then?" She said, bringing up her knees to the chest. "Who?" Seth asked, confused. "Alex," she answered. "Alex is not that bad, either." Seth said it gently. "Try again," she said, smiling sadly. "Monika, he's not." "Seth I don't know if you know what Alex told my sister or not, but if you
Alex wouldn't look at Ashly as he walked past her, down to their bedroom. "I'm going to another country for some packing business." "Of course you are! You always run to your problem, don't you? You spent our whole time outside when you couldn't give an answer. You call things off almost every fucking time when we want to talk to you, and no, that's still not enough time for you? What about Ashly, Alex? What about your mate?" Rose yelled through the tears pouring down her face as she watched her brother pack a bag of clothes quickly. She can hear Ashly sob from outside. "I just need time to think. Jasmine tries to help me sort things out, and I think I should go," Alex said, grabbing his toothbrush and throwing it in his bag. "I'm sorry," Alex mumbled to his sister, quickly walking out of the bedroom and down the hallway, not meeting Ashly's eyes. "Alex, Alex No, don't go; cancel your work; think about Ashly," Rose begged, following Alex down the hallway. "Please. Alex, stay here. T
Rose gave Ashly a gentle smile and followed her brother, and when she entered Alex's room, she could see how frustrated Alex looked. "Ale-" "No, I need to do this. I was stressed, and there were so many things going on in my head. Jasmine was not talking to me, and my Alpha didn't let me sleep peacefully. I can sense Ashly's sadness, and I don't know why, but I despise myself for all of this, Rose. Why did I do this to her, to Jasmine? Rose I can't love anyone except Jasmine. She is my life, and Ashly, I really don't know what to do or say to her. I thought I could fix this, but how can I play with Ashly with our bond? Even I don't like her, and I don't want her." "You slept with Jasmine on your wedding night," Rose asked with a stern voice. She and Alex both had tears pouring down their faces, and if Rose thought she felt sorry for Ashly when Alex walked out on the very next day after marriage, it was nothing compared to how she was feeling now. "Yes, and I did. I am sorry, Rose. B