A Christmas Wish

CHAPTER 17: AMELIA.

I didn’t want to push her, but clearly something had happened with my brother. I asked her how she ended up living in the Blue Moon cabins. She went quiet for a moment, and I began to think that she wasn’t going to answer me. I opened my mouth to try to change the subject, but she began speaking before I got a single word out. “I’m here because I thought that I had no other choice. My father is Alpha Coleson of the Waning Moon pack. He is only interested in status and power; he cares nothing for his children or even our mother. He has been marrying us off to the alphas of other packs in return for alliances. My eldest sister, Andrea, was married to a useless i***t of an alpha. He was only sixteen, and she was twenty-four. His father died, and he was named alpha of his pack. My father saw an opportunity and took it. It didn’t matter to him that Andrea was against it.

I found out that he was planning to marry me off to Alpha Braddock of the Frozen Mountains pack. He is an evil bastard who is more than three times my age. He has been married twice before, and both of those wives are dead. Everyone knows of his cruelty and mistreatment of women. I begged my father to choose someone else, but he laughed and told me that Alpha Braddock is old, and that I should keep my mouth shut and my legs open, and maybe I would outlive him,” she said, pouring her heart out along with her tears. “That’s terrible, Amelia. I’m so sorry that you’ve had to deal with that. But, where does David come into the picture?” I asked.

“I met David last year when he visited my pack looking for an alliance. My father had offered him my younger sister Ally, but David turned him down, saying she was far too young for him to take as a wife, and Luna. He sounded honorable to me in that moment, and we became friends. I always thought it strange that he didn’t offer me instead, but now I know that it was because he had other plans for me. After my conversation with my father, I called David to vent, knowing that he would be on my side. Since he didn’t marry my sister, my father refused the alliance, which caused resentment on David’s side. I had believed it was because he didn't agree with people being used as bargaining chips, but now I’m not so sure,” she continued.

I sat on the floor beside her and listened as she carried on telling me her story. “David said that I should leave. Just grab a few things that wouldn’t be noticed and sneak away in the middle of the night. He offered me sanctuary. I followed his instructions not to renounce my ties to the pack or tell anyone where I was going. He had his beta come and pick me up and bring me here. He told me he was housing me down here so no one would see me and report me back to my father. He convinced me that the best way to make my father realize that marrying me into a death sentence was to show him what it would be like to lose me. I honestly thought that he was trying to help me,” she wept.

So far, it sounded like my brother had been trying to help her; in fact, if I didn’t know David better, then I would have said he had a soft spot for her, even. “So what happened to change your mind?” I asked gently. She sighed mournfully. “David came to visit me tonight, and I told him that I was getting fed up with being stuck in this cabin. I asked if he had heard anything of my father’s reaction to my disappearance, and he told me that my father had been a bit distracted by Ally finding her mate. Apparently, it was some rich alpha from one of the big packs. My father is too excited about being connected to him to worry much about me. David suggested that maybe we could get married so that I wouldn’t be forced to marry Alpha Braddock. I was taken aback and told him that I only see him as a friend. I had never thought of him in a romantic way. He got angry and said that I should be grateful that he even offered. That maybe he should just deliver me to Alpha Braddock himself and see if there was a reward,” she said. I was speechless.

“I begged David to stop being cruel, and he laughed at me. I said that I just wanted some time out of this cabin, and he blew up. He told me that unless it was to take my place at his side as his wife and Luna, then I would never leave here. He said this cabin would be my prison and my tomb if need be. I replied angrily that I would never marry him, and he hit me across the face. It felt as though my cheek exploded. He said he didn’t need my permission; he would make a bargain with my father. That’s when I realized that he wasn’t honorable at all. He didn’t turn down the marriage alliance because he didn’t agree with using women like that; he turned it down because he was offered the wrong sister,” she finished.

I moved over and hugged her tightly. “I can’t make David stop or help you with your father, but I can offer you my friendship. Maybe then being stuck here won’t be so bad for either of us,” I said. Amelia looked up at me, her eyes still wet and red from crying. “You said that your husband left you for another woman?” she asked, clearly feeling that she had been open with me, and now it was my turn. I nodded. I guess it’s only fair. “Actually, my husband is that rich alpha that your sister mated with. She is the other woman that I was cast aside for,” I told her, wondering how she would take that information. “Oh, I’m so sorry, David didn’t mention that part,” she said. I smiled sadly, “No, he wouldn’t. It is an embarrassment to our family and to him personally after all,” I sneered. Amelia shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe that I ever thought he was a good man. Only an arsehole would see his sister’s pain as an embarrassment to himself. He should be helping to build you back up, not tear you down further,” she comforted me. I thanked her and suggested a cup of tea. She smiled and wiped her face, nodding. “That would be nice,”