Should I Stay?

“Why are you doing this?”

I went after Emily—my biological mother—who I refused to call mom because of what she did to us. I grabbed her arm when she refused to stop walking through the hallway and bared my teeth at her when her eyes finally landed on my angry face.

“What are you talking about, Alice? Didn’t we discuss it already? And why did you follow me? You are supposed to thank the man who paid your father’s debt just to save you from that savage Alpha who recruits rogues from the mountains!”

“You are not answering my question,” I glowered at her. She didn’t look bothered that I was angry at her, though. It was because she never cared. She never cared for me or Dad. She never cared that I had to work three jobs to survive in the slum while she traveled the world with her new husband!

But then her expression changed, and her eyes glinted red as she yanked her arm from me. I wanted to wince from the pain she caused in my heart, but I suppressed myself from showing any emotion to her.

“It’s because I never want you to live a pathetic life like that man, Alice!” She hissed at me, her face so close as she gazed into my eyes.

“I understand that you despise father so much, Emily. But you have no right to decide for my life! You left me and lived your life like you had no daughter waiting for you for many years, and now you came back with that man, saying I have to marry him!?” I hissed at her. Emily raised a brow at me, but I ignored it. “I will never allow you to dictate to me what to do with my life!”

“Whatever you say, my lovely daughter,” she smirked at me, and I thought I was going to explode. “It is too late to escape what is coming to you.”

Those words gave me eerie feelings that made my skin crawl like poisonous spiders. My throat tightened and my chest heaved. I had to get away from this place or I would regret staying here for too long. I had to escape. I had to find the way out of here, away from that woman who was going to ruin everything that was left in me.

“Where do you think you are going, Alice Drakon?”

I spun to my heels and found Alpha Bellamy standing right behind me with a deep frown on his face. His arms were crossed on his chest as he squinted at me.

“And what do you want now? You told me it was a mistake that we are—”

In just a split second, he had closed the gap between us. My heart started to panic as he grabbed me by my arm and pulled me so close that his face was only an inch from me.

“You can’t say that to anyone here, Alice!” he hissed at me and then looked around him as if checking if someone had seen him pull me to him. After he confirmed that we were the only ones in the hallway, he made five steps back and then slipped his hands into the pocket of his black jeans. He looked so confused. Pained. And if I didn’t know that he was a total jerk, I would think he was tortured by the fact that he couldn’t keep me as his mate.

Because of Alpha Zenon. Because he was his best friend and I was the payment after Alpha Zenon saved my father’s life from Alpha Maverick, who wanted me to be part of his collection for his harem.

“Maybe it isn’t bad that I was bought to save my dad’s life,” I murmured with hatred, and Alpha Bellamy looked at me with a grave look in his eyes. “Maybe you are right. That it is better to hide this bond from everyone. But you know what? We don’t really have to hide.” I glared at him and then fumed, “Just reject me right here, right now!”

Alpha Bellamy went rigid as he stared into my angry eyes. I waited for him to snap, hiss, or yell at me, but he just stood there with his eyes staring at my face as if he were memorizing every detail, every inch of my face.

“What are you waiting for, Alpha Bellamy? I know this is what you want!” I snarled at him. “Just do it!”

To my surprise, Alpha Bellamy turned his back on me and then uttered flatly, “I am not going to argue with you now, Alice. You are upset, and I won’t deal with your tantrums about your mother or whatsoever. I’m out.”

I was stunned at what he said and was left watching him walk away, confused about what he said. Didn’t he just say he didn’t want me?! That being mated with me was a huge mistake, and it shouldn’t have happened? Then why didn’t he just reject me so we could move on from each other?!

“Alice…” a gentle, baritone voice called my name, and Alpha Zenon held my hand. My mind was so occupied with Alpha Bellamy that I didn’t notice he had already approached me.

I panicked for a bit. Had he seen me and Alpha Bellamy fighting?

“A-Alpha Zenon...” I murmured as I looked at his handsome face. I wasn’t ready to face or talk to him yet, but I had no choice. “I-I don’t think—”

“It’s okay, Alice. I am not forcing you about anything,” he smiled at me, and it was the most gorgeous smile I had ever seen that made me stare at his face with my lips partly opened. It was embarrassing after I realized it and shook my head, looking so red, and he just chuckled softly, “But from now on you are going to stay here with us. I can’t let you go back to that place where Maverick might harass you again. I can’t let that man take my future Luna.”

My eyes widened as I thought about the realization that this man would be my soon-to-be husband, thanks to my irresponsible mother, who put me in a complicated situation where I was already mated with a man who never wanted me and with a man who wanted me but I had no feelings for...

What should I do? Should I really stay here with him and just ignore Alpha Bellamy?