CHAPTER 003
1356 Words
CHAPTER 003
A loud bang on the door roused her out of the very thin veil of slumber. She had slept hardly two hours, and her head was still heavy, her body sore.
Before she had time to respond, the door creaked open. The mother sneaked in with a broad smile on her face, and her pearl-white teeth were gleaming in the morning sunlight.
“Hi, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?”
Isabella, too fatigued to be false, raised one brow. The door was closed behind her by her mother, and she took another step towards the vacant area near her bed. Her suitcases were gone.
"Down the steps they are waiting," her mother said cheerfully and came nearer until she sat on the edge of the bed. The mattress sank with her. She touched Isabella on the cheek, but she shook her head off.
"There is no need of pretending," I told Father. "Just throw back the covers," Isabella said, muttering to herself.
Her mother flattened her dress and cleared her throat and made another attempt. I thought, perhaps, you would like somebody to help you get ready. I could twist your hair, perhaps do your make-up. Let me make you look pretty.”
What a sweet, almost playful voice, which, as Isabella said, ran chills down her veins. They had sold her to another pack, but as though it were a feast, they were celebrating this day.
“Pretty? You think I care about that?” Isabella scoffed.
Her mother looked wounded. “It is your wedding day. How do you not feel concerned about being in front of everybody? His family, his pack, him?”
Isabella gave a little laugh at the ridiculousness of it.
“I do not care, Mother. I never did. I will walk out there as I am. In case they take a dislike to what they see, then it is their problem.
Her lips tightened into a hard line on her mother. She swung her shoulders, with a menacing glare.
You will not be a fool to this family. You will be prepared, and you will look presentable when you get married to Alpha Edward. His entire pack will be there. His parents will be there. And so will we.”
Isabella held up a finger and tilted her head. “So let me be sure. I have nothing to say when it comes to making decisions about this wedding. Not even how I look?”
The expression of her mother lightened. She slipped the strand of Isabella's hair behind the ear and wrapped her cheek. “Oh, honey. No, you do not have a choice. But when I leave you, you will be like a princess.
Isabella sweetened her lips. She knew it was over. Nothing that she said can alter anything.
"Okay, fine," she said to herself, hauling herself to the vanity.
Omegas came in there silently, carrying makeup kits, hair products, and the white dress in their arms. The desire to gag increased with the onset of their work. Makeup layers hid her face, and a false-lasher pressed her eyes, and her curls were straightened and flattened by the makeup. Her mother had never liked those curls. They were the only ones of her family to be left to her father. According to her mother, they were not suitable.
Her mother has rushed to the rack when the last curl was missing. She helped undo the dress bag and showed the dress. White lace flashed in the sunshine, the straps plump, the neckline cut in a low heart.
“Look how beautiful this is. Suppose you should walk down the aisle in this, she thought, and touched the material.
A very great growl broke the silence. Isabella sprang out of her seat, and her heart throbbed.
She ran to the door and banged it open. Edmund was in the passageway, with gleaming eyes and heaving chest, breathing in and out in an unsteady manner. His nostrils dilated as he grabbed up her suitcase and threw it back against the wall in a tremendous crash.
"Gabby, pray, tell your brothers it is all right," Father said, and exhaled heavily.
Isabella stared at him and then at her brothers, who were standing behind him, and at them cold rage flashed through their eyes.
“No,” she said calmly, shrugging. but I am able to tell them the truth that you never gave me liberty to share.
Edmund growled louder. He seized the second bag and threw it flying through the hall.
“You sold your daughter?” His voice shook the walls. He marched up to their father and glared with fury.
Their mother ran down the stairs and stood in his way.
But better said, Noah said, as he came forward with a voice so low and dangerous, you sold our sister.
Isabella was leaning over the railing, with a little smile playing upon her lips. The kind of hope that she had was weird, as she was filled with fear in the eyes of her mother. Admittedly, her brothers could perhaps put an end to this craziness. Perhaps their rage was what could make her parents wake up.
But hope was cruel. It had been unfaithful to her, and it would be so.
A roar of anger broke out in her father. The house shook under the power of his Alpha voice. Isabella’s lips snapped shut. The wolves of her brothers fled at once, frightened by his strength.
“The deal is made. This will happen whether you like it or not. When you press it to the limit, then you will miss the wedding of your sister.
Her brethren bowed down, but their eyes were on her, so full of pain. She turned around and, ragingly, returned to her room and flung the door.
The fists itched to make a blow. Her chest heaved with fury. She would like to cut shreds off the dress, to tear it into rags so that not a bit would be left. Rather, she sat before the mirror.
Her image looked back, flushed with anger and rosy. Out of doors it was sunshine and appeared to laugh at her. The alliance would soon be heard of by the whole pack. They would rejoice and applaud, and they would not even have a clue that she was pulled into it.
Her parents would smile, make this sound as though it is love, and continue leading their lives. The truth would only be known by her brothers.
She undid the dress and gazed at it. Quietly, she made a vow.
The only ones she would allow in her life after this day would be her brothers. To her, her parents were already gone.
With trembling hands, she zipped the dress up again. She stood and looked at herself. The gown was beautiful, but the beauty was hollow. If this had been love, she would have been overjoyed.
But she was not a bride. She was only a girl in a dress.
She opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Everyone was gathered below, tension heavy in the air. All eyes turned to her as she descended the stairs.
Her mother clasped her hands, eyes shining. “Oh, honey, you look—”
“Save it. Let us just go,” Isabella cut in, her head held high as she walked past them.
Her brothers followed behind her. Edmund opened the car door, his voice low as she climbed in.
“This is not over.”
She laid her hand on his briefly. “I think it already is.”
The door shut with a dull thud. The ride was silent, her heart pounding in her chest. Her father sat in another car with her other brothers, but Edmund refused to leave her side.
As the vehicle pulled away, Isabella stared out of the window, her reflection caught in the glass.
Was this truly the end of her freedom, or only the beginning of a fight she had yet to imagine?
Would Alpha Edward break first, or would she?
- Writer
