Chapter 3:The Wedding
1521 Words
Selina POV
The wedding was everything Mom had dreamed of and surprisingly, everything was going well so far.
She looked absolutely radiant in her simple ivory dress, her face glowing with a happiness I had not seen in years.
Alpha Rowan could not take his eyes off her during the ceremony, and when he kissed her at the altar, there were actual tears in his eyes.
For a moment, watching them together in the pack’s ceremonial garden surrounded by white roses and fairy lights, I almost believed in happy endings.
Almost.
I stood in the front row wearing the nicest dress I owned, a soft blue thing that Mom had bought me specifically for today.
The triplets were lined up on the other side of the altar in matching black suits, looking like the perfect alpha sons they were supposed to be.
Ashran stood tall and composed, looking very much like the future alpha heir. Alex charmed the elderly pack members with his easy smile.
Aaron stayed quiet but attentive, exactly what everyone expected from the thoughtful youngest brother.
To anyone watching, we probably looked like a picture-perfect family about to embark on our new life together.
The reception was held in the pack house ballroom, a massive space I had only seen in pictures before tonight.
Crystal chandeliers cast warm light over round tables covered in white linens and more flowers than I had ever seen in one place.
The whole thing probably cost more than Mom and I had lived on for an entire year.
I spent most of the evening trying to blend into the background, which was harder than usual since I was technically part of the family being celebrated.
Pack members I had never spoken to before came up to congratulate me on my mother’s marriage, their curiosity about this unexpected development barely concealed behind polite smiles.
“Quite a change for your family,” said Mrs Henderson, the wife of one of the beta council members. She had kind eyes but a reputation for gossip that made me nervous.
“We are very grateful,” I replied carefully, the response I had been receiving all week.
“Your mother certainly landed on her feet,” she continued, glancing toward where Mom was laughing at something Alpha Rowan had whispered in her ear.
“After everything she’s been through, raising you alone all these years.”
The words stung, even though I knew she didn’t mean them to. Everything she has been through. Raising you alone. Like I was some kind of burden Mom had been carrying instead of her daughter.
“She deserves to be happy,” I said quietly.
“Of course she does, dear.” Mrs Henderson patted my arm in what she probably thought was a comforting gesture.
“And Alpha Rowan is such a good man for taking on… well, for accepting the whole package.”
The whole package. Meaning me. The broken girl who came along with the deal.
Before I could respond, she had moved on to talk to someone else, leaving me standing alone by the dessert table with a familiar ache in my chest.
“You look like you want to disappear,” a voice said behind me.
I turned to find Aaron Tranz holding two glasses of champagne, offering one to me with an expression I could not quite read.
He had been quiet all evening, which was normal for him, but there was something different about the way he was looking at me now.
“Thanks,” I said, accepting the glass even though I was not sure if I should be drinking.
“It’s sparkling cider,” he said, noticing my hesitation. “Dad thought you might want to feel included in the toasts without actually drinking alcohol.”
“How are you holding up?” Aaron asked.
“Fine,” I said automatically, then looked at him more carefully. “Why do you ask?”
“Because this is a lot of change happening very quickly. Anyone would be overwhelmed.”
I studied his face, looking for the trap.
With Ashran and Alex, their cruelty was obvious. But Aaron had always been harder to read, and right now he almost seemed… genuine.
“I am happy for them,” I said finally. “Mom deserves this.”
“And what about what you deserve?”
The question caught me off guard. “What do you mean?”
Aaron was quiet for a long moment, his dark eyes studying my face like he was trying to solve some complicated puzzle. “Nothing,” he said finally. “Forget what I asked.”
He walked away before I could respond, leaving me more confused than ever about the youngest Tranz brother and what he was really thinking.
The rest of the reception passed in a blur of congratulations, small talk, and dancing. I was too nervous to participate.
When it was finally time to leave, I felt like I had been holding my breath for hours.
Alpha Rowan drove us to the estate in his luxury sedan. Mom sat in the front seat still glowing with happiness. I sat in the back trying not to think about what came next.
The Tranz estate looked even more imposing at night, it was beautiful.
“Welcome home,” Alpha Rowan said as we pulled into the circular driveway, and I tried to make those words feel true instead of terrifying.
The house tour that followed was overwhelming in the best and worst ways.
Everything was beautiful and expensive and completely foreign to someone who had grown up in very different circumstances.
My new bedroom was on the second floor, with tall windows overlooking the gardens and more space than I knew what to do with.
The bed alone was bigger than my entire old room, it was covered in soft blue bedding that matched the curtains and had probably cost more than our monthly rent.
“I hope you will be comfortable here,” Alpha Rowan said, standing in the doorway with his arm around Mom’s waist.
“It is beautiful,” I said honestly. “Thank you for welcoming me into your home.”
“Our home,” he corrected gently. “This is your home now too, Selina. I want you to feel like you belong here.”
I wondered if that would ever be possible.
After they left me alone to unpack, I sat on the edge of my new bed surrounded by cardboard boxes that contained everything I owned.
My few belongings looked pitiful in such elegant surroundings, like I was playing dress-up in a life that belonged to someone else.
I had just started hanging clothes in the walk-in closet when there was a soft knock on my door.
“Come in,” I called, expecting Mom or maybe Alpha Rowan checking on me.
Instead, Ashran appeared in my doorway, still wearing his wedding suit but with the tie loosened and the jacket slung over his arm.
He looked older somehow, more serious than his usual predatory confidence.
I tensed immediately. “What are you doing here?”
Ashran walked towards me. He didn't answer right away. Just let his eyes roam over the room, then settle on me.
“So this is what happens when a mutt gets crowned,” he said flatly. “Silk sheets and custom curtains.”
His lips curled into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You really think you’re safe here? That a change in address makes you one of us?”
I stayed silent.
He stepped closer, slow and deliberate, the air around him growing colder.
“Let me remind you of something,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper.
“You’re not one of us. You’ll never be one of us. You’re just the freak we tolerated because our father decided to play house.”
Let’s get one thing straight,” he hissed, his voice low and cold.
“Whatever this house thinks you are, you’re not our sister. You say anything to anyone at school, and I swear you’ll regret it.”
In a sudden, suffocating movement, his hand closed around my throat. It was tight enough to cut off all air, enough to make me panic.
I grabbed at his wrist instinctively, trying to pry him off, my chest tightening with dread.
“When I speak,” he growled, “you answer.”
Tears welled up in my eyes as pressure built in my lungs, my heartbeat screaming in my ears.
“Enough,” Aaron’s voice came from behind, quiet but sharp. “She’ll pass out.”
Ashran hesitated, then finally let go. I collapsed back against the wall, coughing, gasping for air like it was the first breath I’d taken in hours.
“ I—I won’t tell,” I rasped. “I promise.”
Ashran gave me one last cold look, then turned and walked out without a word.
Since then, I haven’t seen any of the brothers.
They have actively avoided me like the plague.
- Writer
