Tia.
Caleb finally came to see me four days after Alpha Aesop and Luke visited me. I sat at the back in the garden staring at nothing. I was still processing all Luke said to me and what he revealed as to why they were forcing the union.
" You have lost weight, Tia," Caleb said, sitting next to me, and I had nothing to say. He sighed, stood and began to pace about the garden. He seemed a bit frustrated. I knew he wanted to talk, but I had nothing to say. His mother had ruined my life because she believed I wasn't good enough for him. It had nothing to do with helping Luke. Luke and I were victims, forced into a loveless marriage to get me out of her son's hair. The woman was a bitch and selfish.
" Why didn't you tell me Luke came to see you?" Caleb asked me, and I looked at him.
" I did not feel it was necessary," I replied because I knew it wouldn't have mattered.
" We are friends, Tia. Everything is necessary. Everything matters," he said with concern. He looked stressed out. With the dark circles under his eyes, he wasn't sleeping.
" Help me, Caleb," I finally broke down, and he looked at me, worried.
" If I were Alpha, I would cancel this madness, " He said, shaking my head.
" Your mother set this up," I said, and he frowned at me.
" Luke said it before your father, and he could not deny it. She felt you and I might end up together, and she did not want you marrying from a middle-class family, so she troubled your father to join me with Luke so I would no longer be a problem," I said, and he shook his head.
" That is not true. She knows we are just friends, and there is nothing between us. If I wanted to date you, I would have," he said, and his words hurt, but they were expected.
" She doesn't see it that way. Please talk to her, Caleb. She is ruining two lives because of her fear—mine and Luke's. Your brother has someone he loves dearly. It is unfair to both of them. As for me, she condemned me to live a loveless life for the rest of my life. It is such a high price to pay for being your friend. Tell her I will drop the gamma position and move away. Help me, Caleb," I said and began to weep.
" I don't want to marry your brother. Please," I begged him with tears.
He sighed and sat next to me. He was speechless.
" If Luke is telling the truth, then I can't help. No one can talk to her, not even me," he cracked, and I began to weep.
" Caleb," I said with a weak voice, " Please. Luke will not go easy on me. He has laid down a lot of rules. I will be miserable. Please. I deserve happiness too. It is unfair for your mother to ruin two lives because of you. Does that not bother you? Your father bought me for Luke. My parents had no choice but to accept." I said, crying, and he pulled me close to comfort me.
" Please, Caleb, Help me", I cried bitterly, and he rubbed my back.
" Will talk to her about it. I can't make you promises, Tia, but I will try my best to beg her to stop." He said, and I nodded. I wasn't hopeful that he would succeed, but I would have felt worse if he hadn't tried.
Honestly, I would have braced myself and taken the match, but I did not want to be subject to the kinds of Luke. He was a murderer and a drunk, among other things. It would be loveless and empty.
We sat outside for a while, and soon, Caleb left, leaving me to sit alone and stare at nothing.
I waited two days, and yet no word from Caleb. He did not even call me, and I felt abandoned.
I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling, counting the days to my death. The day I married Luke would be my funeral. I doubted I would take up the Gamma position when the time came. The drive to serve had left me. A resignation was slowly becoming a choice.
There was a knock on my door, and I knew it was my mother; I could smell her, along with the tray of food she was holding. I was silent, and she gently let herself into my room. That was why I did not bother to answer in the first place. She was going to let herself in any way.
"Tia, You need to eat something," she said, laying the food tray on the table in my room.
" How can you and daddy live with yourselves after selling your daughter?" I asked her with a disgusted look on my face.
My mother looked away, standing frozen by the table.
" He gave us no choice, Tia. The money was to ease his conscience," She said.
" Yet you took it, and I am sure you have spent it. Did it ever occur to you that Luke might call it off and Alpha Aesop might want his money back?" I asked with disgust, and she looked at me.
" We had no choice, Tia. It was a take-it-or-get-out decision, so we chose to take it. We have money problems, Tia. We were about to lose our house. The bank was going to close in on us at any time. The loans we took to put you through the elite academy and get you private tutors had come to bite us in the arse," She explained, and I could not believe her.
" So you sold me to pay the loan you acquired for my education?" I asked, and she shook her head.
" No, Tia, Alpha Moon gave us no chance. We were already going to allow the bank to close on the property and move to my sister's house to stay for the time being. When Alpha Moon forced the union on us, we decided to use his money to solve our financial troubles," she explained, and I was still mad at her.
" What will you do if he calls it off and wants his money back?" I asked, still hoping Caleb would succeed.
" Why will he call it off and ask for his money back?" She asked me.
" I told Caleb what Luke said about the true reason behind the union, and he promised to speak to his mother about it and convince her to call it off," I said, and she looked at me wide-eyed and stunned. I bet she never expected I would act quickly on the matter.
She sat next to me with tears streaming down her face.
" Tia, my darling Tia. I did not know you would take it this hard," she said. "I am hurting too, but I need you to be tough. Caleb and Kirk travelled yesterday and will not be back until it is time for him to take over the Pack." She said, and I was stunned.
Did they decide to go on that vacation without me? Why will Caleb do this at the time I needed him the most? He was supposed to talk to his mother and get back to me. Instead, he decided to travel. My heart was broken. Silent tears streamed down my face.
" It was Luna Stacy that forced the trip," My mother said, " Caleb's butler, Norman, told me when he came for a check-up that Caleb had a heated argument with his mother about Luke and how what she was doing was unfair. She decided to force him on a trip to gain experience and return a better Alpha," She said, and I cried because it was my fault. I should have left well enough alone and not asked him to talk to his mother and get me out of the marriage. He would have been here. My friend was gone and won't be back until two years later, and I will still be marrying Luke. My effort was futile.
" Try to eat, Tia. Don't kill yourself. You are a tough woman; it is not easy for a woman to obtain the gamma position. I know and believe you will cope. I know Luke does not have a good reputation, but I believe you will adjust successfully," she said, pulling me closer and kissing my forehead. She finally left my room, and I did not bother to go near the food. The fear that churned my stomach made it impossible for me to eat.
I ate little, flushed the rest down the toilet, and washed my dishes. I wanted to fade away, but that was impossible to do.
I wept. The fact that they had not decided on a day yet scared me. Something about Alpha Aesop putting things in order and how big and significant this wedding was: forced marriages were hardly that, especially when the parties were unwilling. I hoped time would fly by quickly.
