His Wolfless Bride

CHAPTER 7: The Choice

If I become a rogue, all of my sacrifices and efforts for our pack will go in vain. Just on our last mission, I'd done the most heroic thing no one of any high-ranking officials from any of the kingdom’s five packs could do! And I deserve credit for that!

“They won’t go easy on you. Be smart in your next words.”

Contrary to what Umber has reminded me, the truest form of my thoughts escapes me.

“That isn’t fair. I have done a lot for our pack. It’s my duty to serve just like how my father did until his last breath. If I become a rogue, then I’ll serve no one.”

“Correction,” Luna Claudette says, raising an index finger. “You can serve Marguerite. Isn’t that what you want? Remember, she’ll be with you coz she'll become a rogue just like you.”

Her smug annoys the hell out of me. I’m trying to loosen my fists and my face and my shoulders, but I’m failing. My muscles keep on contracting and my veins are bulging on my arms and probably on my forehead too.

“Why don’t you just accept my husband’s offer? Why not marry our daughter and become one of our Betas or… how does a Chief Beta sound? And, once my daughter replaces my husband as the Main Alpha someday, you’ll automatically get the right to wear the Alpha title too! Isn’t that amazing?”

Luna Claudette’s childlike enthusiasm simmers my blood and coils my nerves more.

“Alpha Naomi isn’t my mate.”

Simple and quite impolite, and I hope they get my message that I don’t love and I don’t intend to love their daughter. However, my hope is quickly smashed to smithereens when Alpha Marcellus responds,

“You’re right. That’s because you haven’t rejected your current mate yet. Once you reject her, then we can do some rituals and ask the Moon Goddess to make my daughter your new mate. What can you say about that?”

I wanna say ‘NEVER!’. Though my tongue is itching to say that word, I keep it in my head instead.

“They’re desperate, Haile.”

I know.

“Alpha Marcellus and his officials need you. You’re a key piece of our pack. They can’t just let you go and marry Marguerite. That’s why they’re pushing you to the edge.”

Do you think if I also press on with what I want, they will…

“Don’t be stubborn! Sure, you’re needed, but you’re not irreplaceable!”

Umber’s words penetrate through my staggering confidence, reducing it to the extreme.

“Haile, you might haven’t dug deep enough inside your heart’s cave to find your answer, so let me bring the answer to you instead.”

My heart hummers my chest for a reason perhaps I already know, but doesn’t wanna admit.

“You want the promotion more than Marguerite. Serving an entire pack is better than protecting one werewolf. That’s your reality you must accept.”

That’s it! Umber slaps in my face the answer that I’m not prepared to acknowledge. I love Marguerite, but my duty to our pack is still at the top of my priorities. If I accept the Main Alpha and the Luna’s offer, that’ll absolutely break Marguerite. Will she be able to forgive me if I make her understand?

Now that the answer I’m afraid to know is brought to light, my body suddenly relaxes. Something bothersome is plucked out of my chest, giving me more freedom to breathe. Drawing out a long breath feels nice after holding out some of it in the last minute or so. I have to make this difficult decision… and I’ll decide now.

I collect some confidence, then say, “I’ll only say yes to your offer if you meet all of my demands.”

Alpha Marcellus and Luna Claudette glance at each other, before focusing their views back on me.

“And if we can’t agree to all of your demands?” Luna Claudette asks.

They’ve already swayed me, so I have to be tough this time. I have to have my demands met so I’d feel less apprehensive about marrying their horrible daughter and leaving Marguerite behind.

“Speak,” Alpha Marcellus says.

“First, I want Marguerite to be promoted as a Delta, so she will get a white-collar job and won’t be standing last in the line during meal time. Second, I want a decent house for her in a safe area of our territory. And lastly, anyone who’ll abuse her will be punished, even if it’s Alpha Naomi.”

Silence is all they could respond to me. I wait, but they just stare, also waiting who’ll be the first one to blow a word. The expressions on their faces is giving me the vibe that my demands are too much to be granted. If what I’m thinking about what they’re thinking is right, then how would they describe their own demands to me?

Luna Claudette raises her painted eyebrow, then says, “Until now, all you’re thinking about is that woman?”

“That brings me to my fourth demand,” I say.

Luna Claudette’s already high-arching eyebrow raises even higher. The difference this time is that her lips are now tightly closed.

“I’d like everyone to address Marguerite by her name, including you, my Luna, and you, my Alpha.”

Sigh echoes, but no word is heard again. It takes approximately a minute when Alpha Marcellus finally dulls the silence.

He asks, “What kind of punishment would you wanna give to anyone who abuses Marguerite?”

Great! He agreed to my fourth demand then. For the first time, he mentions Marguerite’s name. It might be nipping his mouth now, but I don’t care. At least we’re making some progress.

“Worse than whatever kind of abuse would be done to Marguerite. If Marguerite is whipped a hundred times, then her abuser will be whipped two hundred times. If she’s forced to eat dirty food, then her abuser will be forced to eat rotten and inedible food. If she’s starved again, then her abuser must die.”

The way I mentioned the word ‘die’ is so full of resentment that Luna Claudette’s eyelids twitch. On the contrary, Alpha Marcellus remains calm and unaffected. He knows me well, so my words and reactions are no longer a surprise to him. He expects me to react negatively to his offer and I did. He expects me to bend down to his offer and I did. He expects me to do the best I can to protect Marguerite until the end and that's exactly what I’m doing.

“Deal,” he says. “But if you cheat on my daughter with Marguerite, I’ll have both of your heads.”

I haven’t considered that. Now that it's mentioned, I have to avoid seeing Marguerite. It’s the best way to fight my feelings for her.

“Sure,” I say, unsurely.

“Alright then, tomorrow morning, I’ll send some Deltas to your home to talk to Marguerite. And in three days, you’ll marry my daughter.”

Three days? It’s too soon. I wanna protest, but the fact that Marguerite will be in a better situation if I just agree, I bear down on that protest even if it makes my heart bleed more.

“If there’s nothing else, My Alpha and My Luna, then I should leave,” I say with my head down low.

“Of course,” Alpha Marcellus replies, and before I could get off the chair, he adds, “I’m glad that you made the right choice.”

I don’t wanna confuse myself between ‘right’ and ‘sensible’. Leaving Marguerite isn’t right and marrying Alpha Naomi is an incomprehensible mistake. Regardless of how I feel about it, I've already made my choice and I chose what will benefit both Marguerite and me.

When I get home, I rush to my room and lock myself up. All the pain and doubt and regret are now catching up to me. They’re all devouring me alive.

What have I done?!

“It’s not easy, but you chose the better option. You’ll continue performing your duties to our pack. You protected Marguerite. You’ve given her a brand new start.”

A brand new start without me!

I crash to the floor in agony. Tears cascade down my eyes as helpless, wrenching sobs fill my unlit room. I clutch the chest area of my military uniform when the agony escalates as if it’ll burst out of my heart.

It’s alright. Marguerite will understand. We’ll both move on from this. I’ll marry Alpha Naomi and serve our pack while she’ll find her new mate and become happy with him.

F.uck! The thought of leaving her is excruciating enough, but the thought of her finding a new mate is intolerable! What if that happens?! Can I bear with it?!

I have no one to dump my anger on, but myself. I strike my fists against my head several times while inwardly telling myself, ‘I’ll unreservedly burn in a living hell if Marguerite really finds a new mate, a new lover.’