Bound to Enemy

20

This union had been nothing but a nuisance that had to be overcome in the weeks leading up to today. But now that the day had finally arrived, I couldn't quite sit still. My bones were riddled with nerves, and I was a person who didn't get nervous easily. So why was I now getting frazzled?

I walked over to the chair behind my desk and made myself comfortable. All too soon, a knock came at my door, bringing my solitude to an abrupt end.

I leaned into the expensive leather of my chair and took in a few calming breaths that were needed.

I closed my eyes and willed whatever composure I had inside of my body to unleash itself upon me.

I opened them, ready to face my father-in-law. "Come in."

Ezekiel walked into my office looking every bit the alpha he was in his all-black attire for his pack. He wore a metal crown made of iron as did most alphas during traditional events such as this.

"Welcome, Alpha Ezekiel." I stood from my chair behind my desk. He walked inside and closed the door behind him. He didn't say anything at first; he simply walked toward my desk ever so slowly.

"Alpha Daxton. I trust you have been well." The eyes that were strikingly similar to his daughter's bored into the very depths of my soul. "Congratulations are in order; the day has finally come."

I swallowed hard, the nerves that had riddled my body returned slowly. "Thank you."

"May I?" He gestured to the chair on the opposite side of my desk.

"Please."

A thick silence fell over us, no one speaking at first.

"How has she been?" He broke the tension. "I trust you have taken care of her, and handled any mishaps that may have occurred."

He knew. This was his way of telling me without actually having to tell me.

"Yes, of course."

One side of his lips tilted upward. "You know that I had two sons along with Ale."

I nodded my head, leaning back into the chair.

"Alessandra was my little princess, my precious little flower that had to do no more than simply exist in her goodness. But then the rogues robbed her of her future. They robbed her of a chance to have a choice of what kind of future she would have. Sue was never meant to be alpha. She was not built for it.

To be what she is today, she had to kill certain aspects of her soul to become hard, brutal and precise. She made herself the efficient killing machine she is today. She sacrificed a lot to become what I and the pack needed. She has served me and so many others well."

I took every single word he said in.

"I know how you feel about my people, and your views on us may never change. But what I do ask is that you look at my daughter as more than just where she is from. She has suffered much pain and had to claw her way out of darkness. You don't have to love my daughter. But I do ask you to respect her."

"And respect her I shall," I agreed almost immediately. "I gave you my word before I left your land."

"And yet you nearly killed my daughter." The ice in his voice resembled the deep tundra of the Arctic. "I know and see all that happens here, Daxton. I don't care for your resources or your wealth. They pale in comparison to the value my daughter holds. She is my most precious thing."

The tenderness when he spoke of her was evident. Alessandra was his world, and he had entrusted her to his historical enemy. I understood his unease and wariness. And with the recent events that had unfolded, I would have expected him to launch at me. But instead, he sat opposite me speaking calmly.

"She is my daughter, Daxton. She is the only one I have left in my life. My sole reason for breathing." His eyes held mine; I could see the hidden message behind. The next words he was about to say weren't a request but rather a threat. "I am giving her to you, and I am placing her under your care. Should anything happen to her under your watch, then there will be some reparations that will need to be paid."

I understood the message loud and clear.

'If you hurt her again then I will end you'.

"Believe me when I say this, Eziekel, I will protect her with my life. You have my word."

"You better, Daxton. Otherwise, the rogues will be the least of your worries."

CHAPTER 12

ALESSANDRA

I

stood in the kitchen looking at the shot of whiskey Lily had poured for me. The corset of my white gown sucked my stomach in, pushing all my organs together and restricting my breathing.

Lily had told me that beauty was pain and breathing needed to be sacrificed. I, of course, did not care for any of this, well at least I thought I didn't up until the moment I walked out of my room and down to the kitchen to wait for my cue.

I stared out the glass door at the setup that had been laid out for the ceremony. Wooden benches filled with pack members were here to celebrate my union with their alpha. The stage where we were going to stand for the proceedings was right at the very front, and Daxton stood at the bottom.

I had not seen that man since the healer's room. We had not uttered a single word to each other since, and the first time I was going to face him would be on the stage on our wedding day.

I caught my reflection in the mirror and was taken aback yet again by how similar I looked to my mother with my hair up. Lily had worked wonders on my face by keeping my makeup light, but she highlighted my eyes with a subtle hint of gold on the lids. She had put my hair into an elegant updo with small wisps that dangled around my face, giving me this ethereal fairy-like look. It was very different from my usual high ponytail. I looked softer, feminine, and less mean.

"You are striking, Ale," my father came up behind me with a small smile on his lips. His eyes roamed the length of my body, drinking in my entire appearance. His eyes glistened with unshed tears, the pride of a father shining at me with great brilliance.

My father had always been this big, strong macho man who hardly showed any emotion. But within the last few weeks, I watched him turn from this hard exterior man to this ball of softness.

I moved the flowy skirt of the dress around and looked down at it.

The dress was a simple white gown with a tight-fitting bodice, with whale boning that sucked me in so my waist was virtually non-existent. My hair was adorned with a flower crown made from blue roses to represent the colors of my soon-to-be husband.

"You look like your mother," he choked out, barely able to get the sentence out. "She would be so proud of you, Ale."