“Your brother has been bedridden for three months. The costs are significant. And Isabella is expecting. A boy, the doctor says.” He let that hang in the air a moment like he’d pulled off a magic trick. “How much longer do you think I’ll keep paying for a son who may never wake up when I’ll soon have another?”
Even for my father, this was despicable. I almost choked as I managed to say, “You wouldn’t.”
“Marry Alexander, get the King’s reward, and Edward’s care continues,” he said, and in the light of the hallway I couldn’t help thinking he looked like some sort of demon. “It’s very simple, really.”
Isabella murmured something about being sensible. I looked behind me as Samantha
leaned against Liam with a contented smile. And Liam sat there, eyes on the floor, and said nothing.
I wiped my face with the back of my hand. The word was surprisingly easy to say.
“Fine.”
They locked me in my room that night.
Isabella called it a precaution. My phone was confiscated. A servant was posted outside the door.
I sat in the dark, gripping my mother’s sea-blue aquamarine necklace, the one keepsake she’d left me. Whenever I was afraid as a child, I would hold it and think of her. Tonight, though, it didn’t help.
I asked to see Edward. They refused.
Dawn came gray and quiet.
Isabella woke me with a curt instruction, “Pack your things.”
I took almost nothing with me: a few sets of clothes, my keepsakes of my mother.
They let me see Edward before I left. The steady hum of his machines filled the small room. I bent down and pressed my lips to his forehead.
“I’m going to keep you alive,” I whispered. “Just hold on. Wait for me.”
Outside and under a gray and cloudy sky, pack members who had heard the news gathered to say goodbye. They held my hands and wished me well.
One of the older women, an omega who had looked after me since I was small, gripped my shoulders and said, “We’ll take care of Edward. Don’t you worry about that.”
“Thank you,” I said. My voice cracked. It hurt, but it did help that I knew I had someone who cared for me and for my brother, even if I were leaving them behind.
My father just said, “Don’t ruin this for us.”
I climbed into the black car we used for formal events and sat looking out the windscreen as the car pulled away.
The drive was long. The familiar landscape gave way to forests and hills I’d never seen. With every mile, the fear in my chest tightened, and my hands started to tremble. I pull out my mother’s necklace and wrapped it around my fingers.
For Edward. As long as he lives, I can get through this.
The car crossed into Moonstone Pack territory late in the afternoon and well before I could figure out if I were promising my mother’s spirit or my own.
* * *
[Third-Person POV]
In a private study at Kingston Hall, Alexander Kingston stood before the window, tall, broad-shouldered, and flawless. No scar marred his face, no weakness showed anywhere.
His Beta, Oliver, stood by the desk.
“So,” Alexander said, his tone dark. “Another woman has agreed to marry me.”
“The King raised the reward this time,” Oliver said. “Apparently that was enough.”
Alexander let out an impatient breath. “She’ll run. Same as the others.”
He turned and glanced at his Beta. “Proceed as usual. Respect the king’s terms. But prepare everything the same way we did before. The wheelchair, the mask, all of it.” His expression hardened. “I want to show this girl exactly what she’s signed up for.”
He turned back to the window and nodded to himself. “It’s worked twice. No reason it won’t work again.”
[Evelyn’s POV]
When the cars pulled onto the Kingston Estate, my eyes were instantly drawn to the vast landscapes that surrounded the massive manor.
The place was surrounded by gorgeous, tall pine trees that bordered the property like a natural wall of defense. I knew the Moonstone Pack was known for their trading, but nothing would have ever prepared for the amount of various crops and resources that the estate single-handedly provided.
I was truly captivated.
There were orchards and organized sections of fruit-bearing bushes and vegetable patches – all of which were being tenderly attended to by numerous groups of pack members.
Each one looked determined, focused, and well inept to work in such rigorous conditions. As the limousines pulled through, some of the pack members glanced up from
their work to steal a quick glance at what was going on. I wondered if any of them knew about what was going on today. Everyone seemed busy at work and there wasn’t any other real indication that there was a wedding about to take place.
My heart leaped into my throat for the hundredth time since this morning when the car finally came to a stop. The actual house looked like something out of a fairytale.
As far as I was concerned, Silverwood Manor had always been a place of beauty and high social standing. However, nothing could have prepared me for the architectural majesty that was Kingston Hall. The place was massive, likely three times the size of my own home.
Its light red brick structure was adorned with white marble and numerous carved statues overlooking the massive grounds. It was elegant but cold. Maybe it was because Alexander technically lived alone.
I took a few steady breaths in, hoping to mentally prepare myself for the event that was about to take place. The driver got out and came around to open the door for me.
With the much-needed help from a few of the maids, I was able to gracefully get out of the car without too much fuss.
An older woman with a formal-looking uniform came out to greet us with a soft smile.
“You must be Miss Evelyn,” she said. “I’m Nina, the housekeeper here.”
“Hello, Nina. It’s nice to meet you.”
“And these people must be your family,” she greeted. “If you will all kindly follow me, I will take you to the living room.”
My family and I were led into the front hall where I was pleasantly surprised to find lightly decorated for the occasion. Small bundles of freshly clipped and arranged flowers were placed throughout the place along with delicate ribbons of white lace.
The living room was large and decently spacious with high ceilings. The decorations were gradually carried throughout the place. It all looked unexpectedly respectable, given the circumstances. I really thought that for a brief moment, things were going to be alright.
Maybe I wasn’t going to regret this marriage, after all.
However, those hopeful thoughts vanished from my mind within seconds. The moment I turned my head to glance down the small, make-shift aisle, I noticed that beside the altar, on the right side, was a wheelchair, a mask, and half a prosthetic limb.
It was a terribly eerie sight but it begged the question. Where on earth was Alexander?
“Um…”
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