The Alpha Tycoon's Substitute Mate: A Ten-Year Obsession

The grand ballroom of the Silver Moon Pack was drowning in the blinding light of crystal chandeliers, but all I could feel was a freezing, suffocating darkness. I stood at the edge of the crowd, my hands on my simple evening gown. My heart pounded in my rib cage like a caged bird. Tonight was to be the night. The night Julian Mercer, the boy I had loved since we were kids and the future Beta of our pack, would take me. Everyone knew it. I had been by his side for 10 years. When he trained, I bandaged his wounds; I helped him learn the pack laws; I laughed at the snide remarks of the other pack members who sneered at me as a "wolf-less disappointment". I did everything. Julian always told me that we were meant for each other. I saw him standing in the middle of the room. He was dressed in a black suit that was perfectly cut, with his golden blonde hair shimmering in the light. He was carrying a little velvet box in his hands. On the inside was Luna's Promise, an antique silver bracelet with a deep blue sapphire. This bracelet is given to a woman as much as a marriage proposal in our traditions. It meant that she was his one and only true love. His smile was always so cute and confident and made my tummy flip-flop. Julian smiled. He glanced at the sea of people. I breathed a small breath of hope and went forward, waiting for his call. But his eyes passed right over me. They didn't even stop. Instead, Julian moved towards the other side of the room. He came up to a beautiful, high-ranking female wolf named Maya, who had long blonde hair and a sneering face. All the room in the ballroom went silent. I stopped breathing. The blood was pounding in my ears, and I could hear the roar of the people. Julian grabbed Maya's hand. He whispered something into her ear that caused her to blush, and then, with gentle and precise movements, he wrapped the bracelet of Luna's Promise around her slender wrist. The silver closed. I heard a gunshot in my head. No, my mind replied. No, that's not correct. This is a joke. People began to clap. Cheers erupted. Maya embraced Julian and kissed him passionately in public. Julian wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close, laughing. Heavy, physical pain tore through my chest. It was so painful, I thought my heart had ripped in two. That old, unruly, unruly, unruly, unruly, unruly, unruly, unruly, unruly old wolf that had never fully awakened and made me a laughingstock let out a whimper in the back of my mind. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't bear to look at them any longer. Now people were looking at me, pity, amusement, and cruel satisfaction in their eyes. I turned around and shoved my way through the thick oak doors, running into the dark, silent hall. I leant against the cold stone wall, panting for breath. Hot tears burned my eyes, but I wouldn't let them fall. I squeezed my fist into my chest, trying to keep myself in check. Footsteps echoed nearby. I ducked behind a big marble column, wiping my eyes. It was Julian. He had left the ballroom, laughing with his closest friend, Liam. "Man, that was brutal," Liam was saying as he ran a hand through his hair. What about Aria? I mean, she's gorgeous, and her family is powerful, but... what about Aria? You dragged her for 10 years, and everyone thought you were a couple. What exactly have you taken Aria for?" My breath hitched. I had my back against the cold pillar and was scared but hoping for his response. A little silly little me hoped he'd say he had to do it. That he was still in love with me. Julian gave a casual smile to his lips. He pressed his back to the wall and crossed his arms. "Aria?" Julian chuckled, but it was a chuckle without any emotion. She's the girl I grew up with, my childhood sweetheart. What else could she be? What else could she be if not a woman? The words struck me like a blow. A decade of piety. Ten years of loving him, putting his needs before my own, believing his sweet whispers in the dark. I was a handy habit to him. I was nothing. He had a dog that he was fond of until he found a real prise. Liam shook his head. "She's going to be crushed. Julian shook his head and looked at his watch. "She'll be okay. She always does. Aria doesn't have a wolf, anyway, and she wouldn't survive without me. She'll be fine. He turned around and walked back into the ballroom, leaving Liam behind. I remained behind the pillar and was totally frozen. The tears stopped. The pain in my chest gradually became a freezing, hollow numbness. My hands finally calmed down. The innocent, tender-hearted girl who was a lover of Julian Mercer passed away at that time. No sooner had I had time to take in the deep silence of my own mind than hurried, frantic footfalls came running along the hallway. My dad, Alpha Vance, ran around the corner. His face was as white as a sheet, his eyes were as big as saucers, and he was as terrified as he ever had been in his life. His suit jacket was unbuttoned, and he was sweating profusely. My mother was crying behind him, clinging to her hands. "Father?" I came out from behind the pillar and forgot my heartbreak for a while. My dad was a proud and strict alpha, and I had never seen him look so scared. "What's wrong?" He gripped my shoulders, his hands rough and urgent. "Where is she? Where is your sister's sister?" "Chloe?" I winced at the firmness of his hand and frowned. I don't know; she was supposed to be getting ready for her wedding in the bridal suite. Tonight was not only a gala but also a distraction. The pack were dancing and drinking and partying, while Chloe was supposed to be quietly married to Dominic Thorne to pay a large blood debt we owed him. Dominic Thorne. Grown Alphas shook at the mere mention of the name. A ruthless and deadly Alpha in our world, and a billionaire tycoon in the human world. He was rumoured to be a monster. They told me that he was scarred, that he slew those that were his enemies with his own hands, and that he drank the blood of those that displeased him. Chloe had been crying for a long time about the arranged marriage, but our father had no choice. Without a bride, we'd have wiped our entire pack off the map if we didn't give Dominic one. My mother cried out in despair, "She's gone. My mother cried out in despair, "She's gone. Her room is empty, Aria. The window is open; she ran away. Chloe ran away!" My stomach dropped. She... she ran away? But the Thorne pack's cars are out the door already! My father shook me a bit and said, "If Dominic Thorne finds out we broke the contract, he will kill us all." My terrified eyes suddenly fixed on his face. He looked at me for a long quiet moment. There was a feeling of sickness that swept over me. I wanted to get away, but he tightened his grip. I shook my head, saying, "Father... no. My father said, "Aria. My father said, "Aria. It's just a matter of doing it. "What? No! I am not the bride! I shrieked, fighting him. The contract was for Chloe! He expects Chloe!" My father's alpha energy was heavy on me as he roared, "He expects a daughter of the Vance bloodline! Since I didn't have an awakened wolf to help me, I couldn't stand the pressure and my knees buckled. Chloe is gone; we don't have time. The Thorne guards are down there now. If I go down there and tell them the bride ran away, they will slaughter everyone in this building. It wasn't fair to me. I protested to my mother, "You can't do this to me!" But she only closed her eyes and covered her face. They were leaving me to the wolves to save them. My father’s eyes were cold. “You owe this family.” You have no sense of honour; you are not a wolf, and Julian humiliated you in front of all of us. There's nothing here, Aria! Do this one good thing and save your family! He was being mean, but it was the truth. I had nothing. Julian just broke my heart and my future. My family saw me as a useless sacrifice. I was in the middle of nowhere with no one else around. I lost my battle. I felt a dullness in my chest, and it radiated outwards into my arms and legs. I stopped struggling. Fine," I whispered, my voice sounding completely dead. "I'll do it." In less than 10 minutes, I was pushed into an extra white dress. It was not well fitting. No make-up, no beautiful hair or no celebration. I was pinned on the head by my mother with a thick, heavy white veil, covering my face. Keeping the veil down," my dad said nervously as we walked out to the back exit of the pack house. Don't talk until the marriage papers are signed. Once the marriage is legal, Thorne will not be able to kill you without violating the laws of the High Council. Survive the night. His fatherly counsel was that. Simply don't die during the night. I was shoved out in the pouring rain and freezing temperatures. There were two huge, menacing men in black suits standing by a sleek, bulletproof black SUV. They were deadly and formidable. When they opened the back door, they didn't even look at me. I climbed in, the heavy door slamming behind me. The car picked up its pace at once and rushed out in the dark stormy night. I was sitting in the large back seat all by myself. The rain was heavy, and the city lights were dim in the darkness outside the tinted windows. I extended my arm and put my bare left wrist to my lips. No bracelet was found. No promise. No love. I closed my eyes and let one lone tear trickle down my cheek. I was saying goodbye to my old life. I was getting ready to leave the girl who cried over Julian Mercer. If I were to marry a monster, I needed to turn into a stone. I would not let Dominic Thorne break me, because there wasn't anything else to break. It was a long, long drive; it seemed like it lasted forever, but it didn't. The car slowed down, passing through huge, imposing iron gates. We drove up a long driveway surrounded by tall, dark pine trees. In the distance there was a fortress, the Thorne Estate. It was a large goth-style house made out of dark stone, which matched the contemporary billionaire glass architecture. It was cold, deadly and altogether unappealing. The car stopped. The door was opened, and the cold wind blew in, and the rain and the dark pine were strong. A deep, rough voice said, "Get out. I climbed out of the car, holding onto the skirts of my white dress that would get dirty in the mud. I couldn't see anything through the heavy veil, but I could sense the powerful, fearsome presence of this land. There was a lot of domination in the air. I was taken by two guards up the wide stone steps, and the big front doors were pushed open. I entered the large foyer. It was so beautiful, with a giant crystal chandelier that glittered on the black marble floors. However, all the beauty was marred by the overwhelming tension in the room. There were dozens of Thorne pack members in the shadows. They didn't speak. They simply looked at me with their eyes glowing and predatory. “So, the Vance family really pulled their weight.” The voice was from the top of the grand stairs. It was low, smooth, and laced with absolute, terrifying authority. It made the little sleeping wolf in me shake, not out of fear, but for some other reason. Something electric. I lifted my head up and looked through the sheer material of my veil. Dominic Thorne walked down the steps slowly. He was not a hideous creature, scarred. He was a handsome devil. He was dressed in a clean and neat black suit with the top buttons of his shirt open and no tie. Tall, strong and as deadly as an apex predator. His jaw was sharp, and his dark hair was a bit messy, but it was his eyes that caught me. They were cold, piercing and sharp as broken glass. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, standing only a few feet away from me. I was struggling to breathe with all those rolls coming from his body. Lift the veil," he said softly. My hands shook. I gingerly reached up, taking hold of the thick lace and drawing it back over my head. I raised my chin and tried to make eye contact with him. I was ready for his wrath. I was ready for him to be angry when he found out I wasn't Chloe. I was ready to die when he was going to kill me. Dominic stared at me. In an instant, the chillness of his piercing eyes was gone. The whole room went silent. Dominic didn't yell. He didn't look angry. Rather, a menacing, possessive obscurity spread across his eyes. He moved towards me slowly and deliberately and was larger than me. He reached out. I flinched, but his big, warm hand cupped my cheek. My thumb was placed on the dried tear track on his skin. "Aria," he murmured. His voice was so low, vibrating in a way that was deep and obsessive and sent a shiver down my spine. "You're finally here." He leant in, his lips brushing my ear as his strong arm suddenly locked securely around my waist, pulling me flush against his hard chest. "Baby," he whispered, his breath hot against my skin. "I've already waited ten years for you. I won't allow you to look back again."