The Crimson Alpha

Chapter 2: Standing at the Meeting

~Mabel's P. O. V.~

I remember seeing him, seeing the man I am meant to marry. Then, I remember darkness, just the blackness of the abyss. My body felt heavy and warm. It was all coming back to me. Zaine told me that my husband-to-be was stopping by today. Then, the dizziness and the hurling. I remember seeing his eyes when the door opened. They were blue and were ice cold. If I had to describe him? He would look like a much tanner Hugh Jackman with blue eyes. Those cold, unloving eyes. They haunt me. Remembering him made my body jolt awake. I was breathing hard, my room was like a cage and I had no way to escape it. An arm came into my view. I screamed at first.

"AH!" I covered my head.

"Miss! It's me. Mabel," Zaine's voice had me calming down. "I am so sorry, Miss. Mabel." He sounded hurt. His voice kept cracking.

"Sorry for what?" What did he mean? He let go of me and handed me a note. I read it over and over again. "No. No. I-I won't." Zaine cradled me as we both cried.

"Either I leave on my own, or I'm afraid he'll punish you or your family." He was right, this note wasn't an apology, it was a warning. If I continue to let Zaine stay here? He might end up on the news being found in a trench. I let go of him and nodded.

Before I let him go, I took the one thing that my fiance will now never have. I pulled Zaine's lips to mine and kissed him. It lasted for a few seconds before I let go. "I love you. I am so sorry." More tears ran down my cheeks.

"You have nothing to apologize for. I love you too. I have since I met you." He stole another kiss from me. And I let him. "Be strong. We may never see each other again, but I hope that you eventually find happiness." We hugged each other for a while. The sun was setting and that is when I knew he had to go. I helped pack his things, I helped write his letter of resignation. I even wrote a positive recommendation letter to other companies. The other maids and butlers were sad to see him go too. I walked him to the front of the house. He took my hand and kissed it. "Be safe, Mabel. And remember, I will always love you." He smiled sadly at me as the taxi came up. I watched in despair as he put his trunk in the back. Hearing the door close sealed my fate with this man. I will never see him again. And that hurt a lot. We watched as the cab drove away with the only person in this world who saw me for me. I crumpled the letter in my hand as fresh tears fell.

"Oscar?" I asked one of my other butlers.

"Yes, miss?" He came to my side. He was an older gentleman. But a good one.

"Get me the phone." I whispered. I saw him close his eyes and nod once to me. Leaving for a few moments before he came back. It was already dialing the one person I hated.

"Hello?" He answered. I want nothing more to do with this man.

"It's Mabel." I mustered as much courage, as much hate as I could to strengthen my voice. I was not going to show him I was weak.

"Ah, my dearest girl. How are you feeling?" He acted like he cared, but I knew the truth.

"A bit better." I answered him.

"Good, good. Now, was there a reason you called me?" He wanted me to say those words. And I will, out of hate.

"I belong to you and only you. Your demand was crystal clear." I heard him chuckle lightly. I ground my teeth together. For Zaine, I will endure. I would kill him if I had to. And I will play it off as protecting myself.

"Excellent. Tomorrow, I want you at the meeting here. I will give your driver the directions and the suite number. Am I clear?" He laced that with demand in his voice. I was going to hold my head up and look like I hated the world. I will not shed a tear. I will not smile. My heart is now blocked from all emotion but anger and hatred.

"Yes, sir." I narrowed my eyes into the setting sun's direction.

"Wonderful. I will see you tomorrow, Mabel." I didn't want to give him another thought. I hung up on him and turned to my maids and butlers.

"We keep Zaine and me a secret. I stole that man's victory in having my first kiss. He wants me? Then he is getting the worst of me. You are to address me as Miss or Miss. Lennon. I will apologize for my extremes, but this man will not have my heart!" They all bowed to me.

"Yes, Miss. Lennon!" I decided to skip supper and go straight for a shower before heading to bed. I kept the blinds closed. I let myself fester in my hate.

The next morning, I woke up and dressed myself in something I knew he would hate. A red dress that is a bit short and tight, with thick straps and red pumps. I did my hair in a classy braided tiara, I put on thick make-up to let my eyes pop out. I was going to shine like the red start of hate. Satisfied with my appearance, I went to the entrance of my house. Standing tall and shoving every emotion I can down. The limo pulled up and I got in. Slamming the door behind me. My people knew when not to ask. The driver nodded and drove into the city. It took 30 minutes to get to the building in question.

"Suite 2834, Miss." He handed me a sticky note.

"Thank you, Hue. You may go now." I stepped out of the car and all eyes were on me. He didn't give me specifics on what to wear, so I chose myself. I saw men whose jaws were on the floor, women who sneared or scoffed. Good. This will definitely make him not want me. I went up to the security desk and told the lady where I was going. She knew of my arrival and keyed me up. In the elevator, I kept thinking of Zaine and how my heart would become stone. My eyes will exhibit the same icy coldness my fiance's did. I stepped off the elevator and went to his suite. 2834. Shutler Khun. That is who he is. A technology company owner. I straightened my back and went in. The receptionist looked up and her eyes widened.

She pressed a button, "Mr. Eustace? Your 9'o'clock is here." Was it only 9 am? I looked at the clock and sure enough, it was 8:55 a.m. Eustace, huh? I stood as I waited for him. When he entered, the shock on his face was priceless. Anger filled those blue eyes as he looked over me. He knew he couldn't make a scene here.

"Mabel. The meeting is about to start. Come." He turned on his heel and I followed. We entered a room with a large table in the middle. There sat many others, including my parents. I merely scoffed at them. Eustace gestured for me to stand beside him. I looked around the room. One man caught my attention. He was young, around my age, had dark brown hair, forest green eyes, pale skin and a killer body. s**t. He was sexy as hell. I noticed that he couldn't stop looking at me. I laughed on the inside, as I am sure Eustace noticed. The clearing of his throat told me yes. "Gentlemen and ladies. As you are all aware, Lennon LLC and Shutler Khun will be merging together. Mabel. Is my fiance." I looked towards my parents with so much hatred that I am sure everyone felt it. "Yes, her parents and I made a deal. That I wedded this gorgeous specimen to sell my company to them."

"You what?!" The man that was sitting next to Mr. Hottie stood and yelled. That caused the entire room to fight. It was absolutely glorious.

"You sold your daughter off?!" Another screamed.

"How f*****g dare you?!" A woman went up to my mother and slapped her.

I cleared my throat, "Please do not hit my mother. She was against it from the start. My father, on the other hand? Have at." All eyes turned on my father. I thought I heard some growling in the room. As if ravenous dogs were let loose here. An arm snaked around my waist.

"Mabel? What are you doing?" Eustace whispered in my ear. I wasn't going to let him terrify me.

"You only said you wanted me at this meeting. You didn't say how you wanted it. Now? My father is going to reap the rewards as much as you will." Stepping out from his arm. "I am going to use the restroom." I knew he had to stay for this. I found it and closed it. Locking myself in as I fall to the floor. I think he will kill me. In fact, I hope he does. If not? I will make his life a living hell.

~Eustace's P. O. V~

I cannot believe she did that, she made me look like a fool. That little stunt of hers is going to cost her dearly. I'll find that wretched boy and make sure he never comes back. The hatred and anger she has shown today proves that I was right. She and that butler were hiding their relationship. We heard a throat clear that caught all of our attention.

"I'll challenge you for her." A young Alpha spoke up.

"What?" I laughed a little, "You cannot be serious."

"I am." He stood and looked directly into my eyes. My wolf was pacing at the pure disrespect this new Alpha is giving us.

"I will not allow it!" Her father stood against him. "We have put years into this deal. I will not let another ruin it!"

"What if I could offer you a better deal? You see, Shutler Khun is only a million dollar company. My company? Is in the billions." I was too shocked to hear this. He would take my bride and her company away from me?!

"What is your name?" Her mother inquired.

"Seth. Seth Lakeland." Oh, s**t. The Alpha to one of the strongest and largest packs in the Northwest? f**k me!

"And why do you wish for my daughter's hand?" I glared at Sylvia. I knew she was against me and Mabel from the start, but to actively disregard me? That made my anger boil.

"Let's just say I feel a strong connection to her." I felt my mind go blank. No, that cannot be! My bride is his mate?! I looked at this man. He had a smile plastered on his face.

"And aside from money and this so-called connection, what else can you offer?" Sylvia was ruining this for me. I saw her smile appear just for a brief moment.

"I can offer much for her and yourselves. Your company won't be merging with mine. We would be sister companies. You will have all of your shares and no penalties. In other words, I would help you supply more to your company. Like I said, my company is in the billions. Not millions." He looked directly at me with that last part.

"Very well, Seth. We will consider your assets and will be in contact with you soon." She looked at her husband. "Let's get some lunch, Jackson. Now." She demanded him. They both left. As did the rest of the humans that were in attendance. I let my anger come out once I knew they were out of earshot.

"Your mate is my betrothed?!" I know my eyes have gone black.

"That she is, Alpah Eustace. You know about my pack, tell me. Do you wish war over her? I will gladly accept it." He crossed his arms and glared at me. His eyes were also black.

"Eustace." Alpha Corey of The Pearl Moon Pack stood and straightened his back. "You know we cannot interfere in the mate bond. If Alpha Seth is truly her mate, let her go."

"I agree with Alpha Corey. Alpha Eustace, renounce your claim over her. Don't turn this into a war." Luna Roxy from the Grinning Moon Pack said. She recently lost her husband and Alpha due to rogue attacks. With a majority vote, I had no choice. If I tried to keep her, Alpha Corey, Alpha Seth and Luna Roxy would declare war on me. I cannot have that. We in the Marble Lake Pack are small, even though I know we are also strong, we cannot survive 3 larger packs to attack us. I sat in my seat and contemplated. No, I am an Alpha, my pack comes first. I will let her go for now. When she turns into a wolf herself, I will be back to claim her for myself.

"Very well. I will not risk war over a woman." I stood and left the conference room.

~Mabel's P. O. V.~

Did I hear that right? Risk war over me? What did he mean by that? I just got back to the second door that leads to the conference room. I watched as he walked out of there. My parents weren't there either. Well, if you can call them that. I went back in and Mr. Hot Stuff turned his attention to me. My god, he was huge. Easily over 6 feet tall. Was it getting hot in here?

"Miss. Mabel. Please take a seat?" The remaining three smiled at me. I did as he asked. I sat and straightened my dress out so it could look longer than it actually was. He was making me nervous. My heart was speeding up in a good way this time. Why is he affecting me so? "Mabel, what your family did was unforgivable. The others and I felt that it was too cruel and rather unsightly for you to be chained in a deal like that." I looked into his eyes, they held no lies and were really warm. "So, I made a challenge." A challenge?

"Seth, you should probably slow down. She looks confused." The other woman said.

"Right," He cleared his throat a bit. "I am Seth Lakeland. I challenged Eustace for you. However, unlike him, I am not going to hold you hostage or put a claim on you until you want me to." What did he say?! "Mabel, you are no longer Eustace's property. You are no one's property now." I couldn't help the smile that spread on my face. Or the tears that followed. I closed my eyes to try to stop them. I felt his thumb wipe them away. "You're free." Those words spoken to me were ones I longed to hear. It was like a dam broke as more slid down my cheeks.

"This isn't a joke? Am I really?" My voice cracked a bit.

"Yes, Mabel. Your parents nor Eustace hold any power over you." The lady spoke. "I am Roxy Blake. You are free to call me Roxy." She came over and hugged me.

"And I am Corey O'Bryan." The other man spoke. They all vouched for me? I couldn't have been more indebted to anyone than these three right now.

"Mabel. Mabel Lennon." I wanted to take this makeup off now. It held no purpose anymore. "I'm needing a new dress. I wore this to make Eustace angry at me." Roxy's eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas.

"Gentleman, I believe I will be stealing Mabel away for a few hours later. Shopping time!" She chimed and smiled.

I looked at Mr. Hottie, aka Seth, and smiled a little. "I will return in a few moments. This makeup is starting to get uncomfortable." I stood and went back to the bathroom and washed the makeup off. I also washed all the tears away. The red brim in my eyes and the puffiness are all that remained. I returned to the meeting room where everyone was. Seth lowered his hand and pointed to the receptionist. I was curious and went up to her.

"Mr. Lakeland wishes for you to have these." She stood and pulled out an envelope from the inside of the drawer and handed it to me. It was sort of heavy. I sat in a visitors chair and opened the envelope. It held a key fob, a black card and a letter.

Please take these with you. The key fob is to my private hotel. Not my room specifically. It's one I own. When you and Roxy go and have a shopping spree, the black card will help you pay for what you want. All I ask is that you be careful. Your parents and I will discuss what is to be done. I promise, Mabel. They will not be in your life after this. Please be safe and please call me if anything goes wrong.

~Seth Lakeland

P.S.

This is more personal; I want to get to know you, Mabel. The real Mabel. And I want to prove that I will treat you better than they ever could. If you give me that chance, have a safe shopping trip.

I held that letter close to my heart. Can I give Seth a chance? What about Zaine? No, Zaine is now my past. I just hoped that where ever he is, he's going to be okay. The shopping trip with Roxy did sound fun. So, I will look forward to that instead.