Rejected into the Alpha's Arms

Seraphina’s POV The sun was the first thing that tried to kill me when I came out of prison. It hit my scaly skin with a blinding, predatory heat I hadn't felt in forty-eight months. I was finally free. Free from a crime I did not commit. I stepped onto the pavement with a nervous shaky smile that disappeared slowly as I came face to face with an empty street. “Where are they?” I asked no one, expecting no reply. We had all waited and prayed for this day. They had always encouraged me, begging me not to tell the truth and telling me how much they were grateful for my sacrifice. How much they would do for me… They were the reasons I hadn’t caved under the interrogations and torture. My family. I forced a small smile onto my face and pulled out a burner phone, dialing one of two numbers I knew by heart. My boyfriend's, Steven. The phone rang to no end and I knew he had to be at work. Calling my mum immediately, I was relieved when she picked up on the third dial. "Mom?" I called out, my excitement showing through the raspiness of my voice. "I’m out. I’m standing at the gate, waiting for you.” There was a long, suffocating silence on the other end and I soon began to wonder if the network had gone off. “Hello? Can you hear me mum?” The loud music in the background made it difficult to know if she had said anything so I brought the phone down to call again. "Seraphina," Her cold voice seeped through the speaker making me flinch in surprise. "I told you never to contact us directly.” "I’m sorry mum... I thought you’d be here," I stammered, my heart breaking slowly at the knowledge that they had forgotten that today was the day I was to be released. "I just got released and I thought you would be here to pick me up.” She made an annoyed sound at the back of her throat while I swallowed hard. “Listen, I might have forgotten to tell you, but Bianca is getting married today at St. Jude Cathedral and we are very busy at the moment.” “Really?” I asked, feeling excited for Bianca. “Should I go to the house to get cleaned up or head over directly?” “What are you saying?” She snapped, her annoyance uncontrolled. I flinched again in surprise. She had not talked to me like that in years. Not since my sacrifice. “F-for the wedding,” I replied in a small voice. “I want to help.” “The only way to help is to go to the house and remain locked in until we return, do you understand?” She warned in a hurried tone. “Do not let anyone see you. Keep your head down until we are back.” I didn’t get the chance to respond before the call hung up with a beep. I stood there for what felt like hours, trying to wrap my head around what she had said. They had not even thought to tell me about Bianca’s wedding. Hiding my disappointment as best as I could, I boarded a cab and arrived home just like she had instructed. But I was locked outside. There were no keys. I tried calling again but this time, she didn’t pick up. I almost cried out in frustration as the neighbours looked at me like I was an escapee from a psychiatric hospital. I was dirty, starved, and tired, with only the patio and my sad bag of clothes to use as a makeshift pillow. After waiting for about an hour, and hearing my stomach grumble about its hunger, I decided to ask the neighbours about the destination for Bianca's wedding and made my way there. At least there would be food. All I had was my last change as I boarded a cab there. It was an elaborate wedding, just from the outside. Every bit what I imagined having with Steven. My lungs burned from dehydration. I didn't care about the disgusted looks I got, my matted hair or the dirt under my fingernails; I just needed to eat and to see my family. "If any man can show any just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter forever hold his peace." The voice of the priest welcomed me just as I pushed through the heavy oak doors of St. Jude’s. A heavy silence fell and as if in unison, all heads turned towards the door to look at the intruder. My brain short-circuited at the sudden attention and the ill timing of my entry. All eyes widened as they landed on me, a ragged, skeletal figure in the middle of an ongoing wedding. My mother’s face went from porcelain pale to a sickly grey. She looked at me like I was a stain on a white expensive carpet. God please let the floor open and swallow me! "Sera?" Bianca whispered, her voice amplified by the silence. “What are you doing here?” She looked beautiful in her wedding gown. I wanted to apologise for the chaos and embarrassment. Then the groom turned and my world stopped spinning. The heat of the sun outside was nothing compared to the ice that flooded my veins. It was the jawline I had dreamed of kissing every night in my cell. It was the eyes I had looked into when I promised to take the fall, to protect our future. His future. “Steven? You–” My voice cracked with disbelief. “...you are getting married to my sister? Bianca, what is this? Please, someone explain what is happening here.” His hand remained firmly entwined with my sister’s and they both looked at me with a calm guileless look that sent me to hell and back. Oh God, oh God oh God. This has to be a prank. Yes, that’s what it is. Hahaha. "Sera, what are you doing?!" My dad yelled as he took long strides to me. By his side was my angry-looking mother. Her manicured nails dug into my skin the moment she reached me as she began to pull me away. “You’re ruining it,” she hissed under her breath, in a fierce whisper. “You’re ruining everything, you selfish girl.” I was practically lifeless as she pulled me like a doll, my eyes unmoving from the couple at the altar. I didn't know when I snatched my hand out of her grasp and made a run for the altar, laughter peeling my lips back as tears dropped in torrents from my eyes. A ripple of murmurs broke out among the pews. I was beyond madness. Far too gone. The next thing I saw as I reached for Bianca’s neck was Steven protecting her, pushing me away. I saw my father’s face, a mask of pure, jagged disgust as I fell, hitting my head hard on the marble floor. The last thing I heard as my eyes closed were the words.. “Take out the trash!”