The Alpha's Bride Swap

Chapter 3

Elowen

Embarrassment. I could see it burning in Draven’s eyes. He was in disbelief. The only thing that plagued me was guilt. We were in the waiting room at the mansion, and I could feel the tension in the air. There were guards all around the room waiting for Alpha Corven to arrive. I could tell already that this wasn’t going to end well.

After Draven had realized I wasn’t Alyssa, he had called for Alpha Corven who had fled the wedding hall. The crowd had become an uproar of surprise and embarrassment. They all looked at me with contempt if I had purposefully sabotaged the wedding. I didn’t expect any less. All I wanted was for Alyssa to be found.

The door opened and Alpha Corven stepped into the room. His hair was disheveled and his suit jacket had been taken off. He looked like a total mess and it left me wondering what would have made him that way. Well, his daughter was missing on the most important day of her life.

“Alpha Draven,” he greeted with a grim expression on his face.

“How dare you?” He demanded.

Alpha Corven’s jaws tightened as he stared at Draven. He knew he had made a big mess. The Stoneborn pack could raise hell in a matter of minutes.

Moreover, the room was filled with Delta guards. All from Stoneborn.

“Where is she?” Draven demanded.

Alpha Corven’s eyes came to mine and I could see the hatred burning in them. I gulped hard and sat still like a statue, praying that the ground would open up and swallow me. I didn’t want to be here. But I was a part of this too, and there was no escaping it.

“Where is she?” Draven demanded. His reaction was softer than I imagined.

Alpha Corven sighed before answering him.

“She is missing.”

Draven’s face fell, the rage on his face disappearing like quicksand.

“What?”

Alpha Corven’s eyes met mine. A malicious smile appeared on his face before he spoke.

“Yes. And she is the only one who can tell us where she is.”

My heart lurched. What? I shouldn’t have expected any less from Alpha Corven. He had readily sacrificed me to save his ass. It was true that I was the last person that set eyes on Alyssa, but I didn’t know where she had run off to.

Draven’s eyes came to me, those silver orbs burning with rage.

“You see, Alpha Draven. She is the mastermind behind all of these,” Alpha Corven continued feeling more confident. “She made Alyssa disappear so she could take her place as your bride.”

I stared at him completely baffled.

“What!? That’s not true!”

“Quiet!” Draven barked at me.

I shuddered in fright and kept my mouth shut. Tears stung the corners of my eyes. No. This couldn’t be happening. After being forced to go through with this, I was now being used once more to bail out the pack. I felt a churning sensation in my stomach. It was hate—hatred for Alpha Corven.

“You see, Alpha Draven. Elowen here had never belonged here. And so she was always so envious of my daughter. So when she realized that she was getting married to someone as prominent as you, she decided to take that opportunity.”

Draven’s eyes were still on me and I couldn’t move. I didn’t dare move an inch in fear that he might smite me. Alpha Corven’s words resonated deeper than I imagined. Maybe that was because I believed them. Some of them weren’t lies.

He was right about my being envious of Alyssa getting married. But I didn’t want this type of marriage. I wanted to marry someone who loved me for who I was. Someone who understood me.

“Listen, Alpha. I’m sorry for this misunderstanding,” Alpha Corven continued. “We will find Alyssa and get her to you as soon as we pry the answers out of this traitor.”

Draven’s eyes were still on me and I felt like I would pass out from the anxiety that consumed me. But then, he sighed and tore his eyes away from mine.

“The ties cannot be undone,” he said. “This shouldn’t have happened. It is done already.”

My heart skipped a beat as I heard that. This couldn’t be reversed? I gulped hard. I was married to Draven Stormveil. No. This couldn’t be happening.

“There’s a price for this incompetence,” he said to Alpha Corven who was feeling uneasy. I could see him sweating on his forehead and armpits. Who wouldn’t be scared? The Delta guards in the room were so quiet that you would forget their presence. This showed the military prowess of the Stoneborn pack.

“I’ll do anything to fix my mistake,” Alpha Corven said.

Draven nodded.

“Soldiers. I’ll need soldiers from you whenever I please,” he said.

Alpha Corven looked at him completely baffled.

“You mean you want to have control over my army?”

Draven nodded.

“But surely there’s something else you can get apart from that,” he suggested. “Please Alpha Draven.”

“My word is final, Corven.”

Alpha Corven’s jaws tightened and he nodded in agreement. He couldn’t go back on his word. And just like that, the bond between Draven and me was sealed.

Draven turned to me, and anxiety filled me once more.

“Pack your things,” he ordered. “We leave in one hour.”

I gulped hard and nodded.

***

I folded the last pair of clothes into my box and zipped it tight. Tears were stinging my eyes. I tried my best to hold them back. This wasn’t the time to cry. Why should I? I was leaving the place that treated me like garbage. I could only endure so much from them, and this time, I had taken a bullet for them.

My marriage to Draven Stormveil was against my wishes but I did it for the back. My life was ruined. My fantasy of marrying someone who loved me and didn’t see me as a liability vanished. This was my reality now and I was stuck in it.

I turned to the mirror to stare at myself one more time. The mascara on my eyes had been wiped off roughly leaving traces of it. My dark brown fell loosely on my shoulder and my green eyes were glittering with tears.

My eyes drifted to my shoulder, stopping at the mark on it. It was a crescent moon—a birthmark. It was bold like a tattoo. I touched the mark gently and sighed.

“You know you aren’t supposed to show anybody that,” a voice called from the door.

I turned around and found Myra, my adoptive mother standing there. Behind her was Teren and they both looked gloomy. I was leaving, and this hurt them.

“I’m so sorry, Mom,” I said walking up to them.

Myra hugged me warmly and the tears that I fought back for so long finally fell. They rolled down my cheeks making my vision blurry.

Myra pulled away from the hug and cleaned the tears from my eyes.

“There’s no need to cry, my darling. We are always here,” she assured.

Teren nodded in concurrence. He was Myra’s husband—my adoptive dad.

“If you need anything, we will be there in a jiffy,” he said.

I nodded with a crooked smile on my face. Teren glanced at his watch.

“I’m sorry that we can help you pack, our shift at the hospital begins soon,” Teren said. “So this is goodbye, Elowen. For now.”

I nodded and he pulled me into a hug. I was surprised. It’s been long since I got a hug from Teren. I was probably eight when it last happened.

Myra smiled and waved at me. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

I nodded and they departed the room. I sat on the bed rubbing my forehead. My adoptive parents were healers all their lives and I had never seen them work an afternoon shift. It was either morning or evening. I was certain that Alpha Corven had done this. He had changed their shifts just so they wouldn’t ask questions about what happened. I was fuming.

But then, the sound of the door swinging open came again and I thought they had forgotten something. But a figure stepped into the room and I was surprised as I realized who it was.

“Alyssa?”